A hyperlink with a rel='nofollow' attribute, instructing search engines not to pass link equity through it.
A nofollow link is a hyperlink that includes the rel='nofollow' attribute in its HTML code: <a href='...' rel='nofollow'>. This attribute tells search engines not to pass PageRank through the link. Nofollow was originally introduced to combat comment spam — a common way for spammers to build links.
Wikipedia uses nofollow on all external links. Many forums and news sites nofollow user-generated links. Google Ads links are tagged nofollow. Press release links are typically nofollow. Social media links are nofollow.
In 2019, Google introduced two new link attributes: rel='ugc' (for user-generated content like forum posts) and rel='sponsored' (for paid/compensated links). These are treated similarly to nofollow by Google — they are all 'hints' that Google may or may not fully respect.
Nofollow links still have value: they can drive referral traffic, build brand awareness, and contribute to a natural-looking link profile. A backlink profile consisting exclusively of dofollow links looks unnatural.
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