No-follow links are a type of HTML link attribute used on websites to instruct search engines not to pass any authority or “link juice” from one page to another. In other words, when a search engine crawler encounters a no-follow link, it won’t consider that link as a signal for ranking or indexing purposes.
Link Juice: When a webpage links to another webpage, it’s essentially endorsing the linked page. This endorsement can influence the linked page’s search engine rankings. This flow of authority is often referred to as “link juice.”
No-Follow Attribute: Adding the “no-follow” attribute to a link tells search engines that the link shouldn’t be counted as an endorsement. It’s like telling search engines, “I’m linking to this page, but I don’t necessarily vouch for its content or want it to gain ranking benefits from my site.”
Where No-Follow Links Are Uses?
Paid Links: If you have paid content or advertisements on your site, using no-follow links on these helps you comply with search engines’ guidelines. This includes sponsored posts, affiliate links, and advertising banners.
User-Generated Content: Links in user comments, forum posts, or other types of user-generated content can be marked as no-follow to avoid potential spammy links affecting your site’s SEO.
Untrusted or Unverified Links: If you’re unsure about the credibility of a linked site, you might use a no-follow link to avoid inadvertently endorsing problematic content.
Internal Links: While no-follow links are most commonly associated with external links, you can also use them for internal links, although this is less common. For instance, you might no-follow certain internal links to control the flow of link juice within your site.
Remember that search engines still follow no-follow links to discover new pages and to understand the context of the linked content, but they won’t pass ranking value through these links. No-follow links are an important tool for maintaining the integrity of your site’s SEO and adhering to search engine guidelines.