If you’re new to Digital Marketing and SEO (Search Engine Optimization), you’ve likely encountered two essential terms while building backlinks: Dofollow and Nofollow links. However, many beginners still struggle to understand the real technical difference between them and how they impact a website’s SEO performance.
Do nofollow links really provide no SEO value? Can only dofollow links help your website rank? And most importantly, how do search engines and AI answer engines (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity) treat these links in 2026? In this in-depth guide, we’ll answer all these questions in simple language, using practical examples and code snippets to help you understand the real impact of dofollow and nofollow links.
Quick Summary: Dofollow vs. Nofollow Links
- Dofollow Links: Standard hyperlinks without special attributes. They pass link equity (“link juice”) to the destination site and directly signal authority to search engine crawlers.
- Nofollow Links: Links tagged with
rel="nofollow". Historically ignored by crawlers, search engines now treat them as “hints” for indexing and context. They do not pass standard PageRank but still offer semantic visibility.
What is Dofollow Link in SEO?
A dofollow link is a standard hyperlink that does not contain any restrictive attributes. When a reputable website gives your blog or page a dofollow link, it sends a signal to search engine bots, commonly referred to in SEO as “link juice” or “link equity.”
Google treats every dofollow link as a “vote of confidence.” If a website with high domain authority (DA) links to your site, Google’s algorithm interprets this as a signal that your content is valuable and trustworthy. As a result, it can positively impact your organic keyword rankings and help improve your website’s overall authority.
Dofollow links are hyperlinks that search engines can follow and use to pass authority to your website, helping improve its credibility and search rankings.
How to Check DoFollow Links?
Some people refer to this as “Link Juice,” and it happens as a result of Google’s PageRank statistics.
Therefore, while adding external links to your blog, be sure they come from reputable sources because doing so will help your blog’s authority increase.
There are some SEO tools which is you can use to check dofollow links:
1. Inspecting the HTML code:
HTML inspection is the most popular method for determining if a link is dofollow. Every link is a dofollow link by default. Therefore, in theory, a dofollow link’s code would resemble the following code:
<a href="https://example.com">Anchor Text</a>For example:
<a href="[https://backlinkseo.com](https://backlinkseo.com)">What is a Dofollow Link</a>
The no follow link, on the other hand, has a rel attribute. In theory, a no follow link appears like this.
<a href="https://domain.com" rel="nofollow">anchor text</a>
For example:
<a href="https://backlinkseo.com" rel="nofollow">What is a Nofollow Link</a>
This is how you can determine whether a link is dofollow or nofollow if you are on a Chrome website.
To look up the code,
Right-click the anchor text and then select Inspect from the menu that appears.
Now scan the chosen HTML code for the rel attribute. If the link is present, it is a nofollow link. If not, it is a dofollow link.
For instance, this code lacks the “rel” attribute. It must be a dofollow link as a result.
On the other hand, the code contains a “rel” attribute. So, a nofollow link is displayed in the code here.
It’s simple as pie, right?
2. Using Backlink Monitoring Tools:
It gets quite difficult to handle all the links as your website expands. It’s good for you that there are a few backlink-tracking tools available. You can try BacklinkSEO because you are already here. In addition to identifying dofollow and nofollow links, this tool can facilitate your link-building activities.
The backlinkseo dashboard looks like this. It gives you a birds-eye perspective of your backlink profile, as you can see. The options for dofollow and nofollow are displayed on the left panel. Additionally, it displays domain information, link status, and website analytics.
All that’s left to do now is crawl the system. The dofollow and nofollow statuses of your website will be shown immediately.
All of your dofollow backlinks for a specific site are shown on the dofollow link overview page.
3. Use Chrome Extensions:
Utilizing Chrome extensions is another simple method for determining whether a link is dofollow. You can use MozBar without cost. Add the extension and proceed as directed. This is a page from one of our blogs, so to speak. The MOZbar is visible at the top of the page.
Now select the pen icon in the upper left corner.
All of the dofollow links are marked, as you can see. All nofollow links are now marked in pink when you click the nofollow button. Additionally, you may confirm the internal and exterior status of a link.
What is NoFollow Link in SEO?
However, there are links that you can insert without having them point back at you. They’re referred to as nofollow links. They don’t help with higher positioning in SERPs or increase PageRank.
Nofollow links are displayed on websites using an HTML tag similar to <a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Anchor Text</a>
Search engines are forewarned by this tag, and as a result, do not take it into account when determining how highly to rank websites that link to it.
When integrating links into part of your material, you can weigh the pros and downsides using tools like SEMRush, which can show you nofollow vs. dofollow connections.
A nofollow link is a type of hyperlink that uses the rel=”nofollow” attribute within its HTML code. In simple terms, it tells search engines:
“I do not endorse or verify the content of this external website, so please do not pass link equity (link juice) to it.”
The 2019 Evolution (Google’s Hint Model)
Previously, Google treated nofollow links as a strict directive and generally ignored them completely. However, in September 2019, Google updated its algorithm and began treating the nofollow attribute as a “hint” rather than an absolute directive.
This means that if the linked content is valuable and relevant, Google may still crawl it and use it to better understand context and discover pages, even if the link is marked as nofollow. As a result, in modern SEO, nofollow links can still play a significant role in improving brand visibility, driving referral traffic, and increasing overall online exposure.
How to Check NoFollow Links?
Here are some easy steps to check nofollow links on the website.
Step1. Right-click on any web page and click “Inspect” or “View Page Source”.
Step2. Look into the HTML source of the web page:
Step3. If you see a rel=”nofollow” attribute then that link is nofollow link. Otherwise, the link is dofollow link.
The nofollow link looks like this:
<a href=”https://www.spinxdigital.com/blog/example-link” rel=”nofollow”>
The dofollow link looks like this:
<a href=”https://www.spinxdigital.com/blog/example-link” rel=”noopenernoreferrer”>
DoFollow vs NoFollow Links:
The differences between dofollow and nofollow links are briefly discussed and contrasted below. Continue reading if you’re interested in learning more.
| Criteria | Dofollow | Nofollow |
| Purpose | To pass PageRank | Not to pass PageRank |
| SEO Value | High | Low |
| Crawled | Always crawled | May or may not be crawled |
| Indexed | Always used for indexing | Not always used for indexing |
| Anchor Tag Attribute | None required | rel=”nofollow” |
| Best Backlink Ratio | 75% or more | 25% or less |
UGC and Sponsored Links (2026 Standards)
By 2026, Google has standardized two additional link attributes alongside nofollow to help search engines better understand link relationships. If you’re not using them appropriately, your website may fall behind in terms of technical SEO.
1. What are Sponsored Links (rel="sponsored")?
If you are adding a paid promotion, advertisement, or affiliate link to your blog, you should use the rel="sponsored" attribute. This tag helps Google understand that the link is part of a commercial relationship or business partnership.
HTML Code Example:
<a href=”https://example.com/product” rel=”sponsored”>Buy Our Affiliate Product</a>
What are UGC (User-Generated Content) Links (rel="ugc")?
The rel="ugc" attribute is used for links that are automatically generated within your blog’s comment section, forums, or user profiles. It helps prevent spammy user-generated links from negatively affecting your website’s SEO rankings.
HTML Code Example:
<a href=”https://user-website.com” rel=”ugc”>User’s Comment Link</a>
You can also use two attributes together, such as rel="nofollow sponsored", if you want to be extra cautious and fully comply with Google’s guidelines.
Types of Dofollow Links:
- Editorial links
- Press release links
- Testimonial links
- Acknowledgment links
- Badge links
- Review links
- Resource links
- Guest post links
Types of Nofollow Links:
- Paid links: These nofollow links should be used for adverts or paid placements and should have the rel=”Sponsored” tag.
- User-generated content (UGC) links: These nofollow links should be added to UGC links, such as comments and forum posts, and should have the rel=”ugc” attribute.
- Nofollow links: When other nofollow values don’t apply and you don’t want Google to link your site to the linked page, use the default nofollow value with the rel=”nofollow” tag.
- Multiple rel values: are also permissible and can be specified as a list with spaces or commas, for example, rel=”nofollow sponsored” or rel=”ugcnofollow”.
Best Ratio Between Nofollow and Dofollow Backlinks:
According to the majority of SEO professionals and link-building companies, there is no set ratio for nofollow and dofollow links.
However, according to data from Alexa Rank in the US, a 25/75 combination of dofollow and nofollow backlinks is the most typical ratio.
The backlink profiles of the most popular websites with the highest rankings and traffic contain more dofollow links than nofollow links. Therefore, when building backlinks for your website, you should strive for a minimum 25/75 ratio of dofollow to nofollow links.
Many bloggers ask what the perfect ratio of dofollow to nofollow backlinks should be in a backlink profile. The truth is that there is no fixed percentage, but maintaining a natural link profile is essential. If 100% of your backlinks are dofollow, Google may suspect that you are buying links or manipulating rankings, which could lead to penalties. A healthy backlink profile typically consists of 70–80% dofollow links and 20–30% nofollow, sponsored, or UGC links.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and Link Relevance
AI-powered answer engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity generate direct responses by summarizing information from relevant and authoritative sources. These systems are more likely to cite pages whose external links are contextually relevant and add value to the content. If you naturally include high-quality reference links in your articles—whether they are dofollow or nofollow—AI systems may view your page as more authoritative and trustworthy, increasing its chances of being used as a source when generating answers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, nofollow links do not directly improve rankings because they do not pass PageRank. However, links from authoritative websites like Wikipedia, Forbes, or Reddit can generate referral traffic, strengthen brand visibility, and contribute to a more natural backlink profile, which may indirectly support your SEO efforts.
No, not all external links should be nofollow. When citing reputable sources like Wikipedia, Google Blogs, or other authoritative websites, leaving the links as dofollow can help search engines recognize that your content is based on trustworthy references, which may strengthen its overall credibility.
Affiliate links and other paid promotional links should always include the rel="sponsored" attribute. You can also use rel="nofollow sponsored" to indicate that the link is both sponsored and should not pass PageRank. This helps comply with Google’s guidelines and ensures transparency for search engines.
