Dofollow vs Nofollow Backlinks: Which Matter More for SEO?

Most link-building conversations treat nofollow backlinks as second-class citizens — tolerated but not truly wanted. The reality is more nuanced, and getting the distinction wrong leads teams to either dismiss valuable link opportunities or over-invest in placements that offer diminishing returns. The debate around dofollow vs nofollow backlinks matters, but the way it is usually framed is too binary to be useful. Here is a clearer picture of what each link type actually does, how Google's position has shifted, and what a well-run link-building programme looks like in practice.

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What the Two Link Types Actually Mean

Every hyperlink on the web is either followed or unfollowed by search engine crawlers. The difference comes down to a single HTML attribute.

Dofollow links: the default

A standard HTML link — <a href="https://example.com">anchor text</a> — is dofollow by default. There is no special tag required. When a page links to yours in this way, search engines treat it as a vote of confidence. They crawl the link, attribute authority from the linking page to the destination, and factor that signal into how your page ranks. This transfer of ranking influence is sometimes called "link equity" or, informally, "link juice."

Nofollow links: a directive, not a wall

A nofollow link carries the rel="nofollow" attribute: <a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">anchor text</a>. When Google first introduced this attribute in 2005, it was a direct instruction — do not follow this link, do not pass authority. Its original purpose was to combat comment spam, where automated bots flooded blog comment sections with keyword-stuffed links. Site owners could mark those links nofollow and remove the incentive.

Two additional attributes were introduced by Google in 2019: rel="sponsored" for paid placements and rel="ugc" for user-generated content. These sit alongside nofollow as part of the same family of link qualifiers, and understanding them matters for any site running affiliate programmes or publishing community content.

How Google's Treatment of Nofollow Changed in 2019

Here is where most competitor articles stop short. Google's September 2019 announcement changed the nature of nofollow in a way that many practitioners still have not fully absorbed.

Prior to September 2019, nofollow was a hard directive. Google would not crawl the link and would not consider it for ranking purposes. From September 2019 onwards, Google reclassified nofollow as a hint rather than a directive. That means Google may choose to crawl a nofollow link, index the destination, and — at its discretion — factor it into ranking calculations.

Google was explicit: "We'll use these hints — along with other signals — as a way to better understand how to appropriately analyse and use links within our systems." In practical terms, this means a high-quality nofollow link from a trusted, authoritative domain is no longer guaranteed to pass zero ranking influence. Google retains the right to treat it as a positive signal if it judges the context warrants it.

This does not mean nofollow and dofollow links are equivalent. It means the gap between them is narrower than it was, and that blanket dismissal of nofollow links is no longer strategically sound.

What Nofollow Backlinks Still Do Well

Even setting aside the 2019 change, nofollow backlinks carry real value that a purely authority-transfer framing misses entirely.

Referral traffic

A nofollow link on a high-traffic page sends visitors to your site regardless of its SEO attributes. A mention in a BBC article or a Guardian opinion piece carries a nofollow tag by editorial policy at many publishers — and it will still drive meaningful, high-intent traffic.

Brand visibility and trust signals

Being cited on recognisable platforms builds brand credibility with human readers. That credibility can translate into direct searches, branded query volume, and eventual dofollow links from third parties who discover you through those original placements.

Profile naturalness

A backlink profile composed entirely of dofollow links from editorial placements looks, to an experienced analyst — and arguably to Google's systems — more like a constructed profile than a natural one. Real-world authority accumulates across social shares, forum mentions, directory listings, and press coverage, most of which will be nofollow. A healthy mix signals organic growth rather than a deliberate link acquisition campaign.

Indexation assistance

Because Google may now crawl nofollow links, they can assist with content discovery — particularly useful for large sites with deep page structures or newly published content that hasn't yet attracted dofollow links.

The Link Profile Ratio: Is There a Target to Aim For?

Agencies and SEO tools frequently publish "ideal ratios" of dofollow to nofollow links. Treat these with scepticism. There is no publicly documented target ratio from Google, and the right proportion varies enormously by industry, site age, and the nature of the content being published.

What matters is whether the profile looks coherent relative to the site's activity. A software company that publishes thought leadership, attends industry conferences, and operates an affiliate programme will naturally accumulate a different mix than a local solicitors' firm running a regional content strategy.

The practical question is not "what percentage of my links are dofollow?" but rather: "Does my link profile reflect the genuine footprint of a site people find useful and worth mentioning?" If the answer is yes, the ratio will likely take care of itself as you pursue quality placements. If you are building links purely to hit a dofollow quota, the resulting profile will look thin in exactly the ways that matter.

A useful diagnostic: pull your link profile in Ahrefs or Semrush and look at where the nofollow links originate. If they cluster around low-quality directories and comment spam, that is a problem worth addressing. If they come from recognisable publishers, social platforms, and aggregators, they are doing their job.

Where the Dofollow Priority Still Holds

None of the above should be read as an argument for pursuing nofollow links over dofollow ones. For most sites with genuine ranking ambitions in competitive markets, dofollow links from topically relevant, authoritative domains remain the primary currency of off-page SEO.

Domain authority and ranking power

The mechanisms by which Google uses links to assess page authority — concepts like PageRank, even in its evolved form — are fundamentally built around the flow of link equity between pages. That flow is still most reliably associated with dofollow links. If your target keyword sits in a competitive SERP, the sites above you almost certainly have more high-quality dofollow links pointing to those pages.

Where to focus outreach effort

When running a deliberate link-building programme — whether through digital PR, content-led outreach, or guest contribution — dofollow placements should be the target. Not because nofollow links are worthless, but because the effort required to secure a quality placement is similar regardless of the link attribute, so you may as well pursue the outcome with the more direct ranking impact.

The exception is high-authority nofollow sources where the brand and traffic value clearly justifies the effort — a feature in a national publication, a citation in a widely-read industry newsletter, or a listing in a sector-specific directory used by your buyers.

FAQ

Do nofollow backlinks help SEO at all?

Yes, though not in the direct way dofollow links do. Since Google reclassified nofollow as a hint in 2019, high-quality nofollow links from authoritative sources may carry some ranking influence at Google's discretion. Beyond that, they drive referral traffic, support brand visibility, and contribute to a natural-looking link profile — all of which have indirect SEO value.

Can too many nofollow links hurt your site?

Not inherently. Having a large number of nofollow links does not trigger a penalty. The concern arises only if the nofollow links come from low-quality, spammy sources — in which case it is the source quality that is the problem, not the link attribute. A nofollow link from a respected publication is never harmful.

How do you check whether a backlink is dofollow or nofollow?

Right-click the link in your browser and select "Inspect" to view the HTML. If the anchor tag contains rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc", it is not a standard dofollow link. You can also use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz to audit your full backlink profile and filter by link type at scale.

Should you ever add nofollow to outbound links on your own site?

Yes, in specific circumstances. Paid or sponsored links — including affiliate links — should be marked rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" to comply with Google's guidelines on qualifying outbound links. User-generated content links — such as links in comments or forum posts — should carry rel="ugc". Failing to do so on paid placements is a breach of Google's link scheme policies and carries ranking risk.

What to Do This Week

If the distinction between dofollow and nofollow backlinks has been at the back of your mind, here are the specific steps worth taking in the next five working days.

• Audit your current link profile. Export your backlink data from Ahrefs or Semrush and segment by dofollow vs nofollow. Note where each type originates. Flag any nofollow clusters from spammy sources for disavowal review.
• Check your outbound link compliance. If your site runs affiliate links or sponsored content, confirm that every paid or incentivised outbound link carries the correct rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" attribute. This is a compliance matter, not just an SEO preference.
• Identify your top three link targets for the quarter. Using your audit, find the domains that link to your closest competitors with dofollow links but have not yet linked to you. These represent the clearest editorial gap in your link profile and the most logical outreach starting point.
• Stop declining nofollow opportunities reflexively. If a relevant, high-traffic publication or industry resource is willing to cite you — even nofollow — take the meeting. Evaluate it on traffic and brand value, not just link attribute.
• Review any recent digital PR coverage. Confirm whether press mentions are being captured as dofollow or nofollow. Many publications apply nofollow by default; some will update to dofollow upon request if the relationship warrants it.

The practical goal is not to maximise one link type at the expense of the other. It is to build a profile that reflects genuine authority — and to ensure every link-acquisition decision is made with a clear understanding of what you are actually getting.

Related Reading

• Paid vs Editorial Backlinks: What Builds Authority
• What Makes a High-Quality Backlink? (And What to Avoid)
• What Is Topical Authority and How Do You Build It?
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