The entire world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was chaotic, like the wild west, except for the shootout. This was all before Google introduced the idea of Dofollow and Nofollow links. Webmasters and bloggers would actively engage in spammy backlinking practices by adding links to the company’s website anywhere they want just to get backlink juice.

These days, it is an arduous job to create and execute successful backlinking strategies. As a matter of fact, 65% of marketers mention that linkbuilding is the most critical task in SEO. However, it is a good thing! It implies that ranking on the first page of the SERPs needs a valuable and result-oriented web page.

Typically, links between websites are determined in two ways – dofollow and nofollow links. Our post explores these options and the real difference between them.

What are Backlinks?

Backlinks are links directing traffic from one website to the other. They play an integral role in boosting search engine rankings and improving website stats such as Domain Authority, rating, etc. Dofollow backlinks are the key to passing link juice. It helps the search engines to know about the authority and relevancy of a website in a better way. You can obtain them by creating exceptional and flawless content naturally linked by the other websites.

On the other hand, they are gained through your outreach efforts, collaboration with influencers, or guest blogging. However, it is essential to keep in mind that SEO backlinks are from relevant and authentic sources that maintain the credibility and quality of the website.

What Are Dofollow Links?

A dofollow link normally passes the website’s authority where it is posted to the other linked website. The link helps boost the SEO of the linked website and gives it “link juice.” It is the term that describes the passing of authority.

Dofollow links boost the domain authority or the rating of the website, consequently improving the keyword rating. All links are dofollow by default unless they are specified differently.

Dofollow links give a point to SEO that gets tracked by Google and checks the number of inbound links a website has and from where they arrived. If Google finds a website with multiple inbound links, it chooses it over the other websites with related topics. Therefore, when a user searches for the relevant keywords to your website on search engines, Google will give your website more priority and display your website higher on the search results.

Dofollow links are termed follow links, allowing the search engines to follow these links and reach other websites. The links add more value to the website.

Example of dofollow link-

<a href=”abc.com”>anchor text here</a>

Google and other major search engines notice the Dofollow link as approved by the web community. These links ensure that the content on the website is relevant, valuable, and credible across the algorithms. A website collects more Dofollow links, the more credibility and authority it would attain from the search engines, thereby boosting its ranking on the SERPs.

What Are Nofollow Links?

A Nofollow link in SEO is considered as a road sign that informs search engines, like Google to bypass the link when they decide which websites to display in search results. It is the manner of informing the search engines not to follow the link and not give any SEO credit to the website the link targets. Therefore, the search engines do not follow that specific link as it crawls through the website.

The Nofollow links are like discreet and discerning companies across every search engine journey. Although they are linking your website to the other along with its content, it does not impact the site’s SEO. The links would prevent search engines from understanding that each link on the website forms an endorsement of the linked site.

Example of a Nofollow Link-

<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>anchor text here</a>

Importance of Do-Follow and No-Follow Backlinks

Do-Follow Backlinks

– Enhanced Search Engine Rankings: Dofollow links are important for SEO. They signal the other websites that trust and agree with your content to positively impact the authority of the website and the search engine rankings.

– Increased Organic Traffic: High rankings in SERPs lead to maximized visibility and organic traffic. Dofollow links from authentic sources drive the targeted traffic to your website, which results in more engagement and greater conversions.

– Improved Domain Authority: Getting dofollow links from reputable domains boosts the overall domain authority of the website, making it more competitive across the search rankings. This is because search engines evaluate the quantity and quality of the backlinks to a website.

– Better Indexing: Dofollow links help crawl and indexing of your website by search engine bots. When the bots find the dofollow links, they follow them to find and index new pages, improving the content’s visibility in the search results.

No-Follow Backlinks

– Referral Traffic: While Nofollow backlinks are not directly contributing to SEO they will bring valuable referral traffic whenever placed strategically on the high-traffic platforms. The traffic will lead to conversions or other desired actions across the website.

– Diversification: Having a blend of both Dofollow and Nofollow backlinks in your link profile seems natural to the search engines. It implies that your website is attaining recognition and mentions across different platforms that contributes to a holistic SEO strategy.

– Brand Exposure: Nofollow backlinks, mainly from influential websites or social media platforms, notably boost brand awareness and visibility. If they do not pass link equity directly, they would contribute to the entire online presence and indirectly support your marketing efforts.

– Risk Mitigation: Nofollow links offer a robust way to mitigate the risks linked with spammy or low-quality backlinks. Using the nofollow aspect can help the website owners at preventing their website from getting linked with questionable content or link schemes that would negatively affect their SEO efforts.

Dofollow vs. Nofollow Backlinks

Link Juice and SEO Impact

The main difference between dofollow and nofollow backlinks remains the manner in which they are impacting search engine optimization. Dofollow backlinks pass link juice that helps the linked site get authority and boost its search engine rankings. Alternatively, nofollow backlinks do not pass link juice and have no direct effect on SEO. But, it is important to note that nofollow links will drive traffic to a website, contributing to its online visibility.

Crawlability and Indexing

The search engine crawlers gain more discovery and index new content by following dofollow backlinks. The backlinks help the flow of link equity all around the web, leading to maximized visibility and a better scope of ranking. However, nofollow backlinks are not indexed or crawled by the search engines, which means that they are not directly contributing to the visibility of the website on the SERPs. Still, nofollow links will attract human visitors to generate referral traffic.

User-generated content and Social Media Platforms

Commonly, nofollow backlinks are used in the UGC platforms and social media networks. Platforms such as forums, blogs, and comment sections implement the nofollow attributes, preventing spamming and removing the chances of affecting SEO techniques. Social media platforms use nofollow aspects on the user-generated links, maintaining a sound user experience and prevention of abuse.

Balancing Dofollow and Nofollow Backlinks

It is essential to bring a better balance between both kinds of links in the backlink profile of a website, although dofollow backlinks will hold more SEO value. The natural backlink profile includes a blend of dofollow and nofollow backlinks that appear organic and avoid possible penalties from search engines. Furthermore, the diverse range of link profiles shows that search engines and users trust the website.

Best Practices for Backlinking

– Aim to create relevant and valuable content that naturally allures other websites to link with yours.

– Guest blogging on authoritative websites in the industry can help build high-quality backlinks.

– Actively engage with the different online communities and build connections with influencers to increase the likelihood of getting backlinks out of websites.

– Use social media platforms for content promotion and encourage the rest to link to it.

– Do complete research on the backlinks of your competitors and aim to attain the relevant ones since it will help enhance the credibility and visibility of the website.

– Monitor and audit the backlinks regularly, ensuring they are of high quality and extremely relevant.

– Focus on obtaining dofollow backlinks via PR linkbuilding from relevant websites to get more SEO benefits.

Obtain High-Quality DoFollow Links With A Digital PR Campaign

The debate revolving around dofollow vs. nofollow backlinks fuels the objective of linkbuilding. They are both vital for SEO. Knowing how to use them can help enhance the ranking of your website and drive greater traffic.

Ensure to build high-quality links that enhance the visibility of your website and add to its credibility. Fortunately, we can help! At Prism PR, we can create the best digital PR campaigns based on a pay-for-performance model. It helps you secure Dofollow backlinks from high-authority websites. We will create the marketing pitch, generate good content, and track the progress of your campaign, giving you an effortless way to boost your domain authority and SEO rankings. Connect with us today to schedule a consultation!