For years, SEOs have chased after do-follow links, believing they were the only ones that mattered for ranking higher in search results. Nofollow links, on the other hand, were often dismissed as useless. However, recent studies and expert opinions suggest that nofollow links can be quite valuable for SEO. While they might not directly contribute to a website's PageRank, they can still significantly benefit SEO by driving traffic, building brand awareness, and creating a more natural link profile.
To gather information for this article, we analyzed various articles and studies on the impact of nofollow links, examined case studies, and reviewed expert opinions.
What are Nofollow Links?
Nofollow links include the rel="nofollow" attribute when creating a link. This attribute tells search engines not to crawl the linked page or pass link equity (ranking strength). Essentially, it means saying, "I'm linking to this page, but I don't necessarily endorse it or want to pass on my SEO juice."
There are different types of nofollow links and ways the tags can be implemented. For example, some websites use a page-wide nofollow directive in the robot meta tag, automatically turning all links on a page into nofollow links. This tactic has been helpful for websites with a lot of user-generated content, such as YouTube and Reddit.
While nofollow links don't directly contribute to a website's PageRank, they can still positively impact SEO in several ways.
How Nofollow Links Benefit SEO
Unlock a New Stream of Visitors with Referral Traffic
One of the most significant benefits of nofollow links is their ability to drive referral traffic. Even though search engines don't pass link equity through nofollow links, users can still click on them and visit your website. This is particularly valuable if you get a nofollow link from a high-traffic website in your niche. For example, a nofollow link from a popular blog or news site can bring many visitors to your site, even if it doesn't directly boost your rankings.
One study by TechWyse found that a nofollow link from a site with a Domain Authority (DA) of 97 brought in 100-250 visitors daily to their client's website. This traffic, in turn, helped improve the website's ranking for its target keywords.
Build Brand Authority with Increased Brand Awareness
Nofollow links can also help increase brand awareness. When your website is linked to various online platforms, it increases your brand's visibility and exposure. Even if the link doesn't pass SEO value, it can still introduce your brand to a broader audience and build credibility.
For example, get a nofollow link from a reputable source like Forbes or The Guardian. It can enhance your brand's reputation and make you appear more trustworthy in the eyes of potential customers.
Cultivate a Healthy Link Profile with Diversification
A natural link profile is essential for SEO. Having only do-follow links can look suspicious to search engines, potentially leading to penalties. Nofollow links help create a more balanced and organic link profile, which can improve your website's credibility in the eyes of search engines. A website with only follow links may appear unnatural or manipulative to search engines, potentially triggering red flags. By maintaining a healthy balance of nofollow links, your site demonstrates a more organic growth pattern.
Boost Engagement and Rankings with Improved User Experience
While nofollow links don't directly pass PageRank, they can indirectly influence rankings by improving user engagement. When users click on nofollow links and find valuable content on your site, it can lead to longer dwell times, lower bounce rates, and increased page views. These engagement signals can positively impact your rankings, as they indicate to search engines that your website provides a good user experience.
Expand Your Reach with Social Shares
Nofollow links can also lead to increased social shares. When your content is linked to from various sources, it's more likely to be shared on social media platforms, further expanding your reach and driving more traffic to your website.
How Nofollow Links Help with Link Building and Outreach
Nofollow links play a crucial role in link building and outreach:
- Protect against link spam: Nofollow tags help protect your website from penalties by preventing spammy links from passing on link equity.
- Drive referral traffic: As mentioned earlier, nofollow links can drive valuable referral traffic to your site, even if they don't directly improve rankings.
- Build relationships: Nofollow links can help you build relationships with other website owners and influencers in your niche. By linking to their content, you can show your appreciation and earn reciprocal links in the future.
- Diversify your link profile: Including nofollow links in your link-building strategy helps create a more natural and diverse link profile favored by search engines.
- Control link equity distribution: With nofollow backlinks, you can control how your website's link equity is distributed, preventing it from being passed to low-quality or irrelevant websites. This helps protect your site's reputation and avoid search engine penalties.
It's essential to use nofollow links in the proper context. Here are some examples of where nofollow links are commonly used:
- Blog comments: Many website builders, like WordPress, include the nofollow plugin as part of your website to prevent spammy link comments.
- Forums: Forums are another place where spam sites often post their links. Using nofollow links here prevents spammy comments and keeps the content authentic for visitors.
- Paid links: If you're paying for a link to be in a particular place, it shouldn't count towards organic link traffic. Google frowns on using or promoting paid links as "organic" links.
Case Studies: Proof That Nofollow Links Work
Several case studies demonstrate the positive impact of nofollow links on SEO:
- Moz: Moz experienced a 271% traffic spike from a nofollow link in BuzzFeed. This demonstrates the power of nofollow links from high-authority websites, even if they don't directly pass link juice.
- Ahrefs: Ahrefs shared a case study where a marketer achieved a #1 ranking for a target keyword after getting a sitewide nofollow link from OkDork, a popular marketing blog. This case study highlights how high-quality nofollow links can influence search rankings.
- Fractl: Fractl conducted a study where they secured a nofollow link from The New York Times. As a result, they saw their referral traffic quadruple, with thousands of page views in hours. This demonstrates the potential of nofollow links to drive massive traffic from authoritative sources.
- TechWyse: In a study by TechWyse, a client's website saw a 288% growth in organic traffic after building a link profile that consisted of 89% nofollow links. This shows that a diverse link profile with many nofollow links can still lead to substantial SEO gains.
These case studies provide concrete evidence of the effectiveness of nofollow links. Furthermore, leading SEO experts also recognize their value.
Expert Opinions on Nofollow Links
Many SEO experts now recognize the value of nofollow links:
- Mailchimp: Experts at Mailchimp believe that while nofollow links don't directly pass authority, they are still beneficial for increasing website traffic and avoiding penalties.
- Sterling Sky: Experts at Sterling Sky argue that nofollow links can pass value under the right conditions, especially from high-ranking, high-traffic websites.
- Morningscore: Morningscore experts emphasize that nofollow links should be part of a comprehensive link-building strategy, and website owners should not turn down contextual links marked with "rel=nofollow".
Conclusion
While dofollow links remain essential for SEO, nofollow links should not be overlooked. They offer various benefits, including driving referral traffic, increasing brand awareness, diversifying your link profile, and improving user engagement. By incorporating nofollow links into your SEO strategy, you can create a more holistic and practical approach to link building and improve your website's overall performance in search results.
It's important to remember that while nofollow links do not stop people from clicking on them, they may psychologically affect some users, who might perceive them as less valuable or trustworthy. Therefore, it's crucial to have a balanced link-building strategy that incorporates both do-follow and nofollow links.
For a long time, SEOs dismissed nofollow links as worthless. However, Google updated how it handles the nofollow tag in 2020. This update signaled a shift in Google's approach to nofollow links, suggesting they may play a more significant role in SEO than previously thought. By understanding the value of nofollow links and incorporating them strategically, you can enhance your website's visibility, traffic, and overall SEO performance.
