Over the years, if you have spent any time learning about SEO at all, there is one common advice that many have heard repeatedly.
Only dofollow backlinks matter.
There is still some truth in that statement, but it ceased being the whole picture a long time ago.
The game of search engine optimization as we formerly practiced it has changed a lot in the modern era. Google is now assessing websites with hundreds of back (or ranking) signals, and backlinks are merely the smaller percentage in a larger system. Even more importantly, Google has significantly changed how they view nofollow links compared to a few years ago.
Thus, do nofollow links help the SEO?
Well, yes and no but not the no that most people think.
Nofollow links unlike dofollow, almost never pass traditional PageRank but they matter for your SEO success, they will help you reach more brand visibility, improve your traffic from referral methods support the natural link profile of websites since not all links are going to be big dofollow backlinks in the future and nofollows can lead to some when people actually find your content.
The top-ranking sites today acquire thousands of nofollow backlinks from high-authority sources like social media, forums, online communities, Wikipedia, major news sites and question & answer sites. While these links might not necessarily boost rankings in the direct sense, they frequently open doors that will ultimately bring up a site’s authority.
How Nofollow Links Work in 2026: When They Matter, When They Don’t, and How to Use Them as a Successful SEO Strategy → In this guide you will learn exactly how Nofollow Links Works in 2026.
Why Backlinks Matter in SEO
Everything You Need to Know About Nofollow Links — But FirstWhat Is Why Backlinks Are One Of Google Top Ranking Signal
Simply put, a backlink is a link from one site to another.
Every backlink is basically a recommendation.
When a credible website cites your content, it signals to search engines that your page has something of value.
Not all backlinks are created equal, though.
Backlinks are influenced by number of factors, including:Google
Ranking Factor
Importance
Website authority
Very High
Topical relevance
Very High
Anchor text
High
Content quality
High
Link placement
Medium
User engagement
Medium
Link attributes (nofollow/dofollow)
Medium
Google does not count links, they focus on the quality & context of links.
It is better to have a couple of links from valuable sources than hundreds of low cost ones.
What Are Nofollow Links?
Nofollow Link: A hyperlink that contains the attribute to avoid search engines from following it.
rel= nofollow
In this case, it informs the search engines that the linking website does not want to provide total support for that destination page.
For example:
Visit Website
Google initially added this attribute to prevent spam in blog comments and discussion forums.
Linking To Untrusted External Sources Is Bad SEO We need to trust external links as they can send us ranking signals but at the same time, website owners need this user-generated content by not passing any ranking signal via tagged up linking.
Eventually, nofollow became one of the many link attributes recognized by Google.
Today, you’ll commonly encounter:
Link Attribute
Purpose
Dofollow
Can pass ranking signals
Nofollow
Indicates limited endorsement
Sponsored
Paid or sponsored links
UGC
User-generated content
Google’s current approach to using these attributes is a hint rather than an absolute (so search engines may still crawl or assess certain nofollow links contextually).
As a result, nofollow links are worth more now than most people think.
Nofollow vs Dofollow Links
But one of the greatest SEO myths is that nofollow links are “useless”.
That’s simply not true.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison.
Feature
Dofollow Links
Nofollow Links
Pass traditional PageRank
Yes
Usually No
Can improve rankings directly
Yes
Limited
Generate referral traffic
Yes
Yes
Build brand awareness
Yes
Yes
Increase content visibility
Yes
Yes
Can lead to natural backlinks
Yes
Yes
Help diversify backlink profile
Yes
Yes
Even though dofollow links are still more valuable for ranking purposes, this type of link must be complemented with other SEO techniques, and nofollow links actually offer several indirect SEO benefits that many marketers fail to see.
Mixing both is nearly always a common characteristic of a healthy backlink profile.
Having only dofollow links pointing to your website may be an unnatural pattern. Some of those types are blogs, news publications, social media, forums sites, business directories, review websites and discussion about a product or service within a community.
An indicator of confidence is a natural diversity.
Do Nofollow Links Help SEO?
Yes.
However, not necessarily due to passing great quantities of link equity.
Instead, they are good for SEO because they can correlate with many signals that drive long-term organic growth.
Here some of the most significant benefits:
They Drive Qualified Referral Traffic
Referral traffic is one such SEO Benefit that is very underrated.
For example, picture that your site gains a nofollow backlink from:
A popular industry blog
A respected news publication
A Reddit discussion
A Quora answer
A LinkedIn article
Real humans (rather than google) can still click on the link, so even if it doesn’t pass much PageRank it will have some value.
You get countless more benefits from that backlink if those visitors pass time on your content, sign up for your newsletter, buy products or share your articles.
And quality referral traffic more often generates opportunities for further interaction, increased brand awareness and subsequently organic links.
For a lot of businesses, just 1 nofollow link on that kind of website would add more value than many low-quality dofollow backlinks put together.
They Improve Brand Visibility
Google increasingly rewards trusted brands.
If your website is mentioned across authority platforms over and over again, people start to know your business.
Nofollow links make your brand visible on:
Industry publications
Online communities
Podcasts
Resource pages
Social media
Forums
News websites
They create a stronger digital footprint and help people recall your brand.
There are certainly backlinks that pass little or no real ranking power — but even if a backlink doesn’t move the needle in your SERP ranking, more visibility often leads to greater search volume for brand queries, higher click-through rates and supporting editorial backlinks from other publishers.
Google’s Treatment of Nofollow Links in 2026
For years, specifically via the early development of search engine optimisation practitioners thought nofollow links were irrelevant even if they weren’t as a result of links had been generally fully disregarded by Google.
That shifted in 2019, when Google announced that the nofollow attribute would be considered a “hint” rather than a hard directive. In short, it means that Google can choose whether or not to crawl, index or ignore a nofollow link by way of its own algorithms and the context where the link appears.
Google ranking systems in 2026 are a lot more sophisticated than just seeing if a link is dofollow or nofollow. There are thousands of signals they look at to assess this, including the quality of the linking page, authority of the site as a whole, topical relevance, engagement metrics and many more before assigning a value (if any) for that link.
To illustrate, a highly authoritative newspaper mentioning your site with nofollow will have a much greater impact on ranking than dozens of text links from badly designed dofollow websites.
The key takeaway is simple:
Not all nofollow links are ignored by Google anymore. Rather, it assesses them based on the overall context of your website’s authority and link profile.
Do Nofollow Links Pass Link Equity?
This is one of the most common questions about SEO.
The answer is:
Usually not—but sometimes indirectly, yes.
Traditional PageRank is still the majority of its passage through dofollow links. But it is not the only domain that nofollow links can positively affect SEO – in many ways and indirectly, helping to increase the share of trust for your website.
These include:
Driving highly targeted referral traffic
Increasing brand searches on Google
Helping Google discover new pages
Earning editorial mentions
Attracting natural dofollow backlinks
Improving content visibility
Ignore link juice, think about your business!
In other words, a nofollow backlink that sends hundreds of prolific visitors every month, brings in leads and earns more backlinks from other valuable websites, translates into an ROI far beyond its apparent SEO value.
Direct SEO Advantages vs Indirect SEO Advantages
Backlinks Are Only Measured by PageRank Many Marketers
This phenomenon can explain why by October of 2023, the perspective needed for SEO is much more comprehensive.
Benefit
Dofollow
Nofollow
Passes PageRank
✅ Yes
❌ Usually No
Referral Traffic
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Brand Awareness
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Content Discovery
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Generates Leads
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Helps Earn More Backlinks
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Improves Trust Signals
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Creates Natural Link Profile
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Now you can see nofollow links still do have a role to play in many key areas of SEO even if they don’t pass traditional authority.
When Do Nofollow Links Actually Help SEO?
Not every nofollow link gives you value.
The impact is determined based on the nature of source of link and followed interaction.
These are examples of only where nofollow backlinks can really help.
High-Traffic News Websites
Picture your business was covered by a leading online publication.
Or perhaps a thousand readers will flow from that social media site to your website even when the backlink is flagged as nofollow.
Benefits include:
More referral traffic
Increased brand recognition
Higher engagement
More social shares
A higher chance of getting links from future editorials
It might be something that an automated link-building campaign would struggle to match, the chances created by traffic from trusted publications.
Industry Blogs
Most authoritative blogs employ nofollow connections for outbound connections.
And when your article is included by a well-known figure, the audience literally links your brand with something reliable.
This establishes topical authority over time.
Online Communities
Many communities like forums and discussion channels often add nofollow tags to outbound links.
Still, communities like those can generate:
Qualified visitors
Product sales
Email subscribers
Brand mentions
Backlinks from bloggers who land on your posts in the future
A valuable contribution in a community is often worth much more than getting another dofollow backlink.
Social Media Platforms
Nofollow links are used by nearly every major social platform.
Even so, millions of businesses spend time and money on social media because it:Saves and makes them money.
Reach larger audiences
Build brand awareness
Generate website traffic
Increase engagement
Encourage content sharing
Social signals In themselves are not ranking factors but they can create visibility that will then results in natural backlinks from journalists, bloggers and website owners.
Google Doesn’t Rank Websites Based Only on Backlinks
It is a critical point which confuses most of the beginners.
While backlinks continue to be one of the most powerful ranking signals for Google, they are no longer alone.
Google also evaluates:
Ranking Signal
Importance
Helpful content
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Search intent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Topical authority
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
User experience
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Core Web Vitals
⭐⭐⭐⭐
High-quality backlinks
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Brand reputation
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Internal linking
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is why dofollow backlinks are not a sustainable SEO strategy.
An ideal website runs on the best content, technicals, user experience and has a very natural mix of backlink profile overall which consists of dofollow & nofollow too.
Common Myths About Nofollow Links
There are still many myths floating around the internet about SEO that have been outdated for quite some time.
Let’s separate fact from fiction.
Myth
Reality
Nofollow links are useless
False. It brings you traffic, exposure and credibillity.
Google ignores all nofollow links
False. Google treats them as hints.
Only dofollow backlinks matter
False. Natural SEO includes both types.
Every nofollow backlink should be ignored by your side
False. A lot of it is from highly authoritative sites.
Nofollow links do NOT cause rankings to ever flow
False. Many contribute indirectly by increasing editorial links and signals for the brand.
It is also helpful to understand these myths because it can help you in making smarter decisions when analyzing which backlinks to target.
Real-World Example
So let us say there are two websites and they both have new blog content starting from now.
Website A
Creates 50 low quality dofollow backlinks from unrelated sites.
Receives almost no referral traffic.
Gains little brand recognition.
Website B
Gets featured on influential industry blogs.
Gets included in a news article and receives a nofollow link.
Socialise the content.
Receives hundreds of targeted visitors.
Other bloggers find it and link with a dofollow backlink.
What website has a higher chance of growing over time?
Generally, authority develops more when the links to website B are nofollow links. That is because they create exposure, attract real audiences from which high-quality editorial backlinks originate.
This is why if you only focus on PageRank, you might miss out.
TOP PLACES TO GET HIGH-QUALITY NOFOLLOW BACKLINKS
You might be wondering where all the old backlinks that came from nofollow pages have gone. A nofollow link from a reputable, high-traffic site is worth hundreds of links from dormant or low-quality sites.
The end goal should NEVER be how many no follow links you can grab. Instead, concentrate on obtaining links from those with actual audiences, topical significance, and high authority domains.
Next, here are some top places to get valuable nofollow backlinks.
Source
SEO Value
Referral Traffic
Brand Exposure
Industry Blogs
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
High
High
News Websites
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Very High
Very High
Business Directories
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Medium
Medium
Q&A Platforms
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
High
High
Forums & Communities
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
High
Medium
Social Media Platforms
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Very High
Very High
Podcast Show Notes
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Medium
High
Resource Pages
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Medium
High
These sources together can be a significant portion of SEO as they will activate more traffic to your content by providing you with exposure allowing qualified visitors who most likely are interested in what you wrote, and more importantly driving your content to people who may link building to it later on without being paid for this action.
Building Valuable Nofollow Links
It is not so much “building” backlinks that are nofollow, as it is making yourself visible for them.
These are the strategies that will consistently provide better performance long-term than any form of automated link-building.
Publish Link-Worthy Content
Great Content – Every successful backlink strategy is based on great content.
Develop assets that people actually want to refer to:
Ultimate guides
Original research
Industry statistics
Step-by-step tutorials
Free tools
Case studies
Infographics
You naturally attract mentions in blogs, communities and news websites with content that solves real problems.
Guest Posting on Relevant Websites
There are many sites that offer dofollow links and others use nofollow attributes for external users.
However, you should not dismiss all the guest post opportunity just for having a nofollow backlink.
Ask yourself:
Is the real traffic going to this website?
Is it relevant to my niche?
Will my article be read by potential customers?
Will it enhance my brand credibility?
If so, then the opportunity is valuable.
Participate in Industry Communities
Communities stay one of the easiest avenues to gain regular nofollow backlinks along with trust.
Helpful participation can generate:
Referral traffic
Brand mentions
Business inquiries
Future collaboration opportunities
Avoid dropping links without context. Instead, add relevant replies and only include your link when the content adds value.
Digital PR
That is digital pr {one of the foremost powerful techniques} to earn authority backlinks.
An effective PR campaign can better place you in publications with mentions from:
Industry publications
Online magazines
Business websites
News portals
Editorial blogs
Here are a lot of links nofollow but they provide exposure enough to get more editorial backlinks on other sites.
Nofollow vs Dofollow – Which You Should Be Focusing On?
There is no straight forward response to this question because both are used for different purposes.
Factor
Dofollow
Nofollow
Passes ranking signals
✅ Yes
Usually Limited
Drives referral traffic
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Builds brand awareness
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Creates trust
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Supports natural backlink profile
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
Generates leads
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
The smartest SEO strategy is not one or the other — it’s earning a healthy mix of both.
Search engines have an expectation of links accrued to natural websites from multiple sources. Your profile can give an impression of manipulation if all backlinks are do follow.
Finding the right Dofollow vs Nofollow ratio
One of the biggest myths in SEO is that there’s a right backlink ratio.
Now in fact, Google has never explicitly recommended a certain percentage.
Focus on building a natural backlink profile instead of targeting a specific ratio.
Now, this is what a healthy profile on average looks like:
Link Type
Suggested Range
Dofollow
60–80%
No follow
20–40%
These numbers are not rules, they are simply what the well established sites earn simply by existing over a period of time.
Worrying about how you hit this percentage, you should always worry about quality, relevance and diversity.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Some website owners entirely neglect no follow links or opt to pursue them in the wrong manner.
Avoid these common mistakes.
Ignoring High-Authority Mentions
A single no follow backlink from a quality publication is more valuable than dozens of low-quality do follow links.
You should never turn down an opportunity simply based on the link attribute.
Building Links Only for SEO
Just like every other backlink that gets created, it should do more than help rankings.
Ask yourself:
This is, will anyone click this link?
Is it reaching my intended audience?
Does it strengthen my brand?
And if the answer is yes you should probably do it.
Buying Low-Quality Backlinks
Backlink packages that are low-cost generally contain links from numerous irrelevant, spammy sites.
These links will hardly ever drive traffic or business value, and they can even harm your site in the long run.
Buy quality not quantity
Ignoring Relevance
As a rule of thumb, a backlink from an extremely relevant site typically outweighs the impact of a link from an unrelated niche.
For example, if you are an SEO agency likely links from websites regarding digital marketing, business, technology or entrepreneurship would be better than links from people in totally unrelated industries.
Should You Buy Nofollow Links?
Usually, the answer is no.
The cheapest backlinks that you can buy in bulk are rarely worth your money.
However, actually putting pen to paper for real advertising, sponsored content or digital PR placements on reputable publications is still rewarding via:
Brand exposure
Referral traffic
Media coverage
Lead generation
Increased credibility
Don?t look for a backlink, but marketing value.
No follow links, on the other hand, are not taken into account with respect to your SEO rating and they appear like this.
Expert Tips for Maximizing the Value of Nofollow Links
Prioritize relevant, authoritative websites.
Create referable content.
Network with journalists, bloggers, and industry experts
Get the word out about your brand through digital PR.
Reference traffic in your analytics prep.
Stop shooting for link metrics, start building trust
Balance and Natural Backlink Profile
For example, combine no follow backlinks with do follow links that can work for prolonged SEO.
The case for a balanced link-building strategy
The best and most successful websites do not get caught up in their concern if every single backlink is do follow.
Instead, they concentrate on gaining authority by:
Helpful, original content
High-quality editorial backlinks
Brand mentions
Digital PR
Guest posting
Community engagement
Strategic outreach
This strategy not only increases visibility in search but also builds authority and fuels long-term sustainable organic growth.
FAQs
Do nofollow links help SEO?
Yes. Although no follow links typically don’t pass traditional PageRank that do follow links do, they still help with SEO by generating referral traffic, increasing brand awareness and content discovery, plus helping to earn natural backlinks from other sites. No-follow and do follow links are all part of a good SEO strategy.
Does Google ignore nofollow links?
No, Google has stopped considering literally rel=”nofollow”. It instead regards it as a suggestion; in other words, Google may crawl or assess a no follow link based on factors like context, relevance and quality of the linking page.
Can no follow links improve Google rankings?
Not directly in most cases. Still, they can, in an indirect manner, rank better by:
Sending qualified referral traffic
Increasing brand searches
Building online credibility
Helping content reach new audiences
Leading to editorial do follow backlinks
These ancillary benefits can help your overall SEO efforts long term.
Should I only build dofollow backlinks?
No, only targeting do follow links will lead to an unbalanced link profile. Search engines look out for different link types and your websites need to earn them from blogs, news sites, forums, social media, directories and any other trusted site. A nofollow/dofollow link balance makes for a healthier SEO over the long run.
How to determine if a backlink is no follow?
You can check the HTML of the link or take advantage of SEO tools such as Ahrefs, semrush, Moz, etc., as well as browser extensions that highlight both no follow and do follow links. All these tools allow you to explore your backlinks and find link features.
The Final Words: Will No Follow Links Help with SEO?
Well, to know that we will ask the last time.
Do nofollow links help SEO?
Yes but the true value extends well beyond a conventional leader-board.
Actually No follow links do not pass the same authority as Dofollow but it does not mean that Nofollow links are useless. These actions aid to shape a clean backlink profile, send worthy referral visitors, grow logo visibility, maintain superior tier of online belief in and are likely to be proper backlinks that have considerable price.
Unlike its predecessor, modern SEO is not about getting free do follow links as many as possible. In return, search engines like to see that websites demonstrate expertise and authority, trustworthiness, and actually engage with the site itself. A well-rounded mix of backlinks that includes some no follow, and do follow links is a positive signal for a natural and authoritative website.
Do not ask if a backlink is do follow or no follow, ask this instead:
Is this link going to help real people find my content or business?
If yes, it is probably worth a try.
Best Practices Checklist
Use this checklist to strengthen your backlink strategy:
Best Practice
Status
Create high-quality, helpful content
✅
Earn backlinks from relevant websites
✅
You can link both do follow and no follow.
✅
Concentrate on the referral traffic and not just a domain authority
✅
Prioritize quality over quantity
✅
Avoid spammy backlink schemes
✅
Monitor your backlink profile regularly
✅
Invest in long-term brand building
✅
Implementing the above practices in SEO will help you create a sustainable strategic plan which is Google-compliant, thereby allowing your business to reap long-term results.
The Reason To Prefer Professional Link Building Services?
It requires time and skill to create a healthy backlink portfolio backed by regular manual outreach. Chasing hundreds of links that offer little to no SEO value is a waste of time for competitive and successful businesses.
At White Label Link Building Agency, we help businesses, agencies and SEO professionals sustainably build backlink profiles through:
High-authority guest posting
Manual outreach campaigns
Contextual link insertions
White-label link-building solutions
Niche-relevant publisher partnerships
Editorial backlinks from real websites
Transparent reporting and quality assurance
Each campaign is unique and customized to your industry, objectives, and audience — creating an authentic link profile that contributes to the ongoing performance of your organic program over time.
If you’re an agency searching for a white-label link-building partner that you can trust or a company that is looking to increase your SERP rankings in the long term, investing money into high-quality link building is one of the smartest long-term SEO decisions.
Conclusion
The industry definition of no follow links has changed a lot throughout the years. They do NOT pass traditional PageRank the same way do follow links do, but they still play a vital role in a solid SEO plan.
They are a means of reaching your audience, bringing in quality traffic, increasing brand awareness and diversity to your backlink profile, and giving you snippets that can be used for earning credible editorial backlinks. No follow links, when contrasted with quality content and technical SEO and executed as part of a process with strategic outreach, aid visible long-term organic growth.
Do not see them as “valued lower” – see it as one part of an eternal SEO-jigsaw. It is the websites whose primary goal is to offer value and gain trust in order to build real relationships rather than link metrics that keeps winning in search results.
No follow Links: If your strategy is letting you succeed in the long run with SEO, Do not overlook no follow links. Leverage them smartly, as part of an overall holistic, organic and user-centric link-building strategy.
Final Thoughts
SEO is not about the backlink, but rather building authority in a way that’s natural to users and search engines. A well-rounded link portfolio, bolstered through truly great content and widespread outreach will be effective in the long term far beyond any shortcuts.
To remember: The best backlink is a natural one that brings human traffic to your website. Where real value goes, rankings tend to follow.
