What is a “No Follow” link in SEO?
Most of you have read a blog that had links added into the content that lead you to a different website. These are called “backlinks”. This gives you added content and endorses the website you are linking to. When someone links to your site, this boosts your Page Ranking and makes you look like more of an authority and a reliable source in Google’s eyes. So acquiring as many backlinks as you can is best, right? Not necessarily, because not all backlinks are created equal.
There may be a time that you want to link to a site that has a low Page Rank, may be untrusted, or could potentially be “spammy”. This will lower your authority score, so you have to be careful what you include on your site. The problem is that these links that aren’t necessarily the best might still bring you quality traffic from search engines. So what do you do?
Use “Do Follow” links and “No Follow” links.
A “Do Follow” link is when a website endorses the link and the linking site gets credit for the backlink. Google uses these “Do Follow” links to measure Page Rank and the overall importance and authority of a page. More links equals more link juice, which results in a higher Google ranking (most popular = most reliable/best quality pages).
The issue is that these links were abused by SEO specialists in the past, who were determined to get as many links as possible and did so by spamming the web to get them.
A “No Follow” link is when a website does not endorse the link. This allows you to include a link to a website from your page and send your visitors there, all while telling Google to not give credit to the site you are linking to, washing your hands of any negative feedback the site could give you. The site doesn’t get the backlink credit and you don’t get negative backlash, just additional valuable traffic to your site. Basically, the “No Follow” link gets no love from you.
Where should you use the “No Follow” attribute? Paid links, comments, forums, or anything that would be considered untrusted content should have the “No Follow” link added to your code. So what does it look like?
Do Follow:
<a href=”https://examplesite.com”>Anchor Text</a>
No Follow:
<a href=”https://examplesite.com” rel=”nofollow”>Anchor Text</a>
It’s that simple! The key is to build a brand. What links help to establish you as an industry authority? Use links to build trust and boost your page rank with Google. Use “No Follow” links when necessary to keep you from getting pulled down by other poorly ranking sites.
Have questions or need help with your site’s SEO? Contact AutoGrowl today! We provide complete SEO services to any business in need of a boost. We will conduct a free analysis of your site and let you decide if we can help you.