A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Nofollow Link

Definición:

In the field of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or search engine optimization, a nofollow link is a type of link that tells search engines not to give credit or "link juice" to the destination link. In more technical terms, when you add the rel="nofollow" attribute to a link, you are telling search engines not to consider that link for the calculation of the landing page ranking in search results.

How and when to use Nofollow Links?

The nofollow tag should be used on links you don't want to endorse, in terms of SEO, or on links you don't want search engines to follow. Some cases where a nofollow link could be used include:

  • Advertising or sponsorship links: When paying for a link, it is advisable to mark it as nofollow to follow the guidelines of search engines and avoid penalties.
  • User comments: Links within the comments of a blog or forum are usually marked as nofollow to avoid spam and not endorse low-quality sites.
  • User-generated content: If users are allowed to post content on a website (such as a forum or community), it's a good idea to use nofollow links in any links they add.

Benefits of Nofollow Links

Using nofollow backlinks can have several advantages:

  • Avoid penalties: The correct use of nofollow links can avoid penalties by search engines for unnatural or manipulative link building practices.
  • Control the link juice: Nofollow links allow you to control where the link juice goes on a website, which can help optimize the internal link structure.
  • Prevent spam: By using nofollow links in comments and user-generated content, you can prevent spam and maintain the quality of a website.

Nofollow Links and the Evolution of Google Link Attributes

In September 2019, Google announced changes to how link attributes should be used, including the nofollow tag. Two new attributes, rel="sponsored" and rel="ugc", were introduced to provide more detailed context on the nature of links.

Rel="sponsored" should be used for links that were created as part of sponsorships, advertising deals, or other compensation arrangements. While rel="ugc" should be used for links within user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts.

The importance of Nofollow Links in an SEO Strategy

Although nofollow links do not directly pass the link juice, they are still an important part of an SEO strategy. Nofollow links can help diversify a website's link profile, which can make the link profile look more natural in the eyes of search engines.

In addition, even nofollow links can generate traffic to a website. For example, if a high-authority website includes a nofollow link to a website, many people are likely to click on that link and visit the website.

 

Nofollow Vs. Links Dofollow Links

It is important to distinguish between nofollow and dofollow links. Unlike nofollow links, dofollow links do convey the "link juice" to the landing page, which can help improve your search engine rankings.

Search engines consider dofollow links as a kind of vote of confidence of the page that links to the landing page. The more link juice the linking page has, the more valuable the dofollow link will be.

In any SEO strategy, it's important to have a balance between nofollow and dofollow links. A link profile consisting solely of dofollow links may seem artificial to search engines, while a link profile that only has nofollow links may not provide enough "link juice" to improve search engine rankings.

How to Add the Nofollow Tag to a Link

To add the nofollow tag to a link, you need to add the rel="nofollow" attribute to the link tag. Here's an example of what a link with the nofollow tag looks like:

<a href="https://www.ejemplo.com" rel="nofollow">Link< text>

In this example, the rel="nofollow" attribute tells search engines not to consider this link for the calculation of the "www.ejemplo.com" page ranking.

It is important to mention that although most search engines respect the nofollow tag, not all do. Some search engines may choose to ignore it and follow the link anyway.

Related terms

Somos ADnaliza

Especialistas en Campañas SEM y Analytics.