What Is a Dofollow vs Nofollow Link?

Dofollow and nofollow are just instructions you attach to a link. One says pass the value along, the other says look but do not credit. Knowing which is which keeps your linking honest.

The short version

A dofollow link is a standard link that passes ranking value to the page it points to. A nofollow link includes an attribute telling search engines not to pass that value, often used for paid, untrusted, or user generated links.

When nofollow is used

• Paid or sponsored links

• Links in comments or user generated content

• Links to sources you do not want to vouch for

Why the mix matters

A natural backlink profile has both. An all dofollow profile can look manufactured. Chasing only dofollow links and ignoring valuable nofollow mentions misses the point, since even nofollow links can drive traffic and awareness.

FAQ

Do nofollow links help SEO at all?

Indirectly. They may not pass classic value, but they can drive referral traffic, brand awareness, and a natural looking link profile.