What is a nofollow link?
A nofollow link is a hyperlink with the rel=”nofollow” attribute, which instructs search engines not to pass link equity to the target. It was introduced to combat comment and forum spam and is now widely used for ads, UGC and untrusted links.
Why nofollow links matter
Nofollow links do not directly boost rankings, but they still send referral traffic, build brand visibility and contribute to a natural link profile. Google treats nofollow as a hint, not a hard rule, and high-authority nofollow mentions can still carry influence — especially for AI-era entity signals.
When to use nofollow
- Paid and sponsored links (rel=”sponsored”).
- User-generated content (rel=”ugc”).
- Links you don’t vouch for or that could look manipulative.
Related terms
How Social SEO Team can help
We build balanced link profiles that mix dofollow value with safe nofollow mentions. See our link building service.