A nofollow link tells search engines not to count it as a vote for your website
A nofollow link is a hyperlink with a special instruction attached to it. When someone clicks a nofollow link pointing to your site, the search engine that follows it does not treat it as a recommendation or endorsement of your content. In normal links, search engines pass what is called "link juice" — a small amount of ranking power — from one page to another. Nofollow links do not pass that power along.
The instruction itself is invisible to anyone clicking the link. The person who clicks it lands on your page exactly as they would with any other link. The difference exists only in how Google, Bing, and other search engines process the link behind the scenes. A nofollow link still brings traffic to your site; it just does not help your search ranking.
Search engines introduced nofollow links in 2005 to fight spam. Before that, anyone could leave a comment on a blog or post a link in a forum and when ready boost their own website's ranking. Nofollow made it possible for websites to let people link to them without accidentally helping spam sites climb the search results.
Key Takeaways
- Nofollow links send visitors to your site but do not pass ranking power to it, so they do not improve your search visibility the way regular links do.
- You can see whether a link is nofollow by right-clicking it, selecting Inspect, and looking for the text rel="nofollow" in the code.
- Comments, forum posts, user-generated content, and paid links are commonly marked nofollow to prevent spam and maintain search engine trust.
- Getting nofollow links is not wasted effort — they still drive real people to your site and can lead to regular links, shares, and customers.
Where you will see nofollow links in practice
Blog comments are the most common place to find nofollow links. When someone leaves a comment on a blog post and includes a link to their own site, that link is almost always marked nofollow. The blog owner does this to prevent commenters from gaming the system — leaving spam comments just to boost their own ranking.
Forum posts work the same way. If you post a link in a forum like Reddit or a niche discussion board, the link is usually nofollow by default. User-generated content across the web — guest posts, directory listings, social media profiles — often carries nofollow tags for the same reason.
Paid links are marked nofollow by policy. If a company pays another website to link to them, that link must be nofollow. Search engines require this because paid links are not genuine endorsements; they are transactions. A regular link that passes ranking power is supposed to mean "we genuinely recommend this site," not "we were paid to mention it."
Some websites also mark nofollow on links they do not fully trust or do not want to endorse. A news site might link to a source while marking it nofollow to say "we are citing this, but we do not vouch for it."
How to check whether a link is nofollow
You can see the nofollow instruction by inspecting the link's code. Right-click the link, then select Inspect or Inspect Element (the exact wording depends on your browser). A panel will open showing the HTML code behind the page.
Look for the text rel="nofollow" in the code. If you see it, the link is nofollow. If you see rel="dofollow" or no rel attribute at all, the link passes ranking power normally. Some links also carry other instructions like rel="sponsored" (paid links) or rel="ugc" (user-generated content), which search engines also treat differently from regular links.
You do not need to check every link pointing to your site. Search engines see nofollow links automatically. What matters is understanding that not all links help your ranking equally — and that is by design.
Why nofollow links still matter even though they do not boost ranking
A nofollow link does not help your search ranking, but it still brings real people to your site. Someone reading a blog comment or forum post might click your link out of genuine interest, become a customer, or share your content with others. That traffic and those connections are valuable regardless of what the search engine thinks.
Nofollow links can also lead to regular links. If someone finds your site through a nofollow link, likes what you have made, and decides to link to you from their own site without the nofollow tag, that regular link does help your ranking. The nofollow link was the first step in that chain.
Building relationships in your industry often starts with nofollow links — comments on other people's blogs, participation in forums, mentions in discussions. These are how people discover you and decide whether to work with you or recommend you. The ranking boost is secondary to the actual human connection.
The difference between nofollow, dofollow, sponsored, and ugc
Search engines now recognize four main types of link relationships, each with a different meaning:
Dofollow (or no tag at all) means the link passes ranking power normally. This is the default for most links on the web. Nofollow means the link does not pass ranking power and the site is not endorsing the destination. Sponsored means the link is paid for or part of an advertising relationship. UGC (user-generated content) means the link came from a comment, forum post, or other content created by a user rather than the site owner.
From a ranking perspective, nofollow, sponsored, and ugc all work similarly — they do not pass ranking power. The different tags just help search engines understand why the link exists. A news site might use sponsored to mark paid ads, while a blog uses nofollow for comments. The effect on your ranking is the same.
How nofollow affects your search strategy
If you are trying to improve your search ranking, nofollow links should not be your focus. Spending time trying to get nofollow links from high-traffic sites is less useful than building genuine relationships and creating content that other sites want to link to naturally.
That said, do not ignore nofollow opportunities entirely. Participating in forums, leaving thoughtful comments on blogs, and building a presence in communities where your audience hangs out are all worthwhile. These activities bring traffic, build your reputation, and create the foundation for regular links later.
The real ranking power comes from regular links — links from sites that genuinely recommend you because they think your content is valuable. Those links are harder to get, but they are what actually moves the needle in search results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see all the nofollow links pointing to my website?
Tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and SEMrush show you links pointing to your site and whether they are nofollow. Google Search Console is free and shows you links Google has found. Paid tools give you a more complete picture, but they cost money and require a subscription.
Should I add nofollow to links on my own website?
Only if you have a specific reason — you do not trust the destination, it is a paid link, or it is user-generated content like a comment. For links to sites you genuinely recommend, leave them as regular dofollow links. Do not nofollow links just to keep ranking power to yourself; that is not how it works.
Do nofollow links hurt my ranking?
No. A nofollow link straightforward does not help your ranking. It does not penalize you or make your site rank worse. It is neutral from a ranking perspective, though it can still bring you traffic and help you build relationships.
If I get a lot of nofollow links, will search engines think something is wrong?
No. A natural link profile includes both nofollow and dofollow links. Comments, forum posts, and mentions naturally carry nofollow tags. Search engines expect this and do not penalize you for it.
Can I change a nofollow link to dofollow?
Only if you own the website the link is on. If someone else's site links to you with nofollow, you cannot change it. You can ask them to remove the nofollow tag, but they are under no obligation to do so.