In link building (or search engine optimization in general), the so-called “dofollow link” is often mentioned. This has certain advantages over other link attributes.
What is a dofollow link?
The crawlers of all search engines “scan” a website and also take into account the links, which can have different attributes. Each link is set via HTML and lets the search engine know whether it should follow the link or whether it is not very relevant. A dofollow link is the standard for every link – because if a link is inserted, it is automatically a dofollow link. It only changes if another attribute is entered, for example “nofollow”. For Google and other search engines, however, the dofollow link is the indicator of how the ranking is moved. If an external website links via dofollow, then this link is “more valuable” than another link attribute. It also forms the basis for a solid ranking in the search engine results.
What value do backlinks have?
Every search engine, but Google in particular, sees backlinks as a quality feature. If a website has a high number of backlinks, it will be more successful in the rankings. Google uses the algorithm for these calculations, which is worked on daily. Accordingly, buying high-quality backlinks makes all the difference – quantity is therefore less important.
What is the effect of dofollow links?
The crawlers of every search engine crawl every website, measuring the usual factors such as loading speed, content and the like. But backlinks are also taken into account. Crawlers understand which pages are linked to each other. High-quality dofollow links have an effect on your page ranking.
Recognize dofollow link
A dofollow link cannot be recognized by the user as there is no special highlighting or anything else. However, anyone can check which link attribute is involved. In the Google Chrome browser, all you need to do is click the right mouse button and select “Inspect” in the context menu. Another window will now appear in the browser, displaying the HTML code. The key combination CTRL + F can be used to search specifically for the link text, making it easy to look up the respective attribute in the source code. There are also plugins that can show you this, along with all other SEO metrics.
When should a dofollow link be used?
As already mentioned, dofollow links are the standard. There are only a few exceptions where this is not the case. In these cases, nofollow is (usually) used:
- Posts in forums
- Blog comments
- Social Media
- Affiliate Link
- Press releases
- Sponsored content
- Widgets
- Untrustworthy websites
Google evaluates these links and takes the context into account, as it may be an “unnatural” link. Google does not want to include this in the ranking. It could also damage your own site, which is why unnatural links should be marked with a nofollow tag (nofollow link).
Google presents new link attributes
New link attributes have been in place since 2019 to make it easier to distinguish between links. The rel=”sponsored” identifies purchased links, as can happen in the context of a product placement. Previously, the nofollow tag was used for this. User-generated links, such as those from forum posts, blog comments and similar, are marked with rel=”ugc”. These new attributes ensure more diversification and make it easier for site operators.
