When a website links to another website, there are two ways the website can be linked. The first way being a do-follow link, and the second way being a no-follow link. Although both types of links achieve the same goal of linking from the origin site to the destination site, they tell the search engine two different things.
Let’s discuss the differences between, and the use cases for do-follow and no-follow back-links.
What is a Do-follow Back-link?
A do-follow link is a link that helps in terms of SEO by passing the authority of the origin site to the destination site. This passing of authority is called, “link juice.” Acquiring do-follow back-links will help improve a website’s domain authority, or domain rating, which in turn, helps to improve keyword ranking.
By default, links are do-follow, so there is no need for rel=”do-follow” when linking to a website.
What is a No-follow Back-link?
A no-follow link, or back-link, is a link which does not pass authority on to the website it is linking to. These links do not help in terms of SEO.
To make a link no-follow, add rel=”no-follow” to the code when linking to a website.
When Should a No-follow Back-link Be Used?
A no-follow back-link should be used when you do not want to pass link juice to, or endorse the linked website.
For example, no-follow back-links were first recognized by search engines in 2005 when comment spam became an issue. Webmasters were able to make links in the comment fields no-follow so the website wouldn’t benefit from spamming comments with links.
Other situations where you might want to use a no-follow link would be for sponsored links, affiliate links, or user-generated content.
Are No-follow Links Bad?
No! Acquiring no-follow links is not a bad thing. Although you do not get the full SEO benefits of a do-follow link, no-follow links can generate traffic to your website, as well as diversify your back-link portfolio. A natural back-link profile consists of a distribution of both do-follow and no-follow back-links.
How to Tell if a Link is Do-follow?
To check if a link is do-follow or no-follow, you can simply inspect the link in the browser and check the HTML code.
To do this, right-click on the link in the browser and select “Inspect”. This will bring up the HTML code associated with that link. If you see rel=”no-follow”, then the link is a no-follow link. If you do not see rel=”no-follow”, then the link is a do-follow link.
In addition to using the inspect tool, you can use a back-link analysis tool like Ahrefs or Moz.
To Sum It All Up
Do-follow back-links and no-follow back-links are two ways of identifying a link and telling Google how to associate the website you are linking to your website. Do-follow links are a way to pass on authority to a website, while a no-follow link does not pass on link juice.
If you have a question that wasn’t answered above, or would like to speak to our SEO team, feel free to reach out by filling out a free consultation form.
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