Optimizing a website for increased traffic can sometimes take a lot. It requires investment in various different tools. Everyone wants his/her website to rank favorably on search engine result pages. One way to optimize your content for search engine ranking is using links. Backlinks help generate traffic, increasing your web presence. However, not all links count towards your rankings. Some links contribute to increased traffic but not to your ranking. A no follow link specifically allows visitors to access the linked pages on your website without contributing to the ranking parameters for such links. Thus, you can provide links to other content without contributing to their ranking.

Many websites allow people to contribute content without letting them earn ratings for following links. The websites make use of no follow link code to manage the links on the website. The code allows viewers to follow such links without influencing the ranking of such content. Thus, you can use no follow link html code to allow others to contribute content on your website without letting them build their SEO ranking using those links.

FACT: High-quality content and link building are the two most important signals used by Google to rank your website for search. (Impact BND)

What is a NoFollow Link?

Nofollow links are links to your website that have the rel= “nofollow” tag. Search engines ignore the link because of the tag when counting towards your site’s backlink ranking. As such, any link with the rel= “nofollow” tag does not affect your search results ranking directly. However, viewers can still follow such links back to your website. Since a no follow link does not count towards a website’s ranking, most people assume that such links have little to no benefit to a website. However, nofollow links can help you optimize your site in several ways. Here is an example of this type of link:

(Image credit: Ezibeline)

Test your SEO in 60 seconds!

Diib is one of the best SEO tools in the world. Diib uses the power of big data to help you quickly and easily increase your traffic and rankings. We’ll even let you know if you already deserve to rank higher for certain keywords.

• Easy-to-use automated SEO tool
• Keyword and backlink monitoring + ideas
• Speed, security, + Core Vitals tracking

• Intelligently suggests ideas to improve SEO
• Over 500,000k global members
• Built-in benchmarking and competitor analysis

For example “www.diib.com”

Test Your Site for Free

Used by over 500k companies and organizations:

• 
• 
• 
• 

Syncs with

Why are NoFollow Links Important?

Most people misunderstand nofollow links and therefore do not know their value. However, despite not counting directly towards your website’s search engine ranking, they add value to the website and help boost traffic. Backlinks help improve SEO rankings. However, nofollow links do not count as backlinks. That does not mean that users cannot click on the links and follow them back to a given website. Their impact on your website would therefore not be direct. Rather, they lead visitors back to your website where the visitor can then interact with content on different pages. Thus, by leading people back to your website, they help you build your ranking through internal links. The use of nofollow links also contributes to your Domain Authority. Here is a visual that will help you understand:

(Image credit: Ezibeline)

The use of no follow link codes started because people and companies developed a habit of putting their website URLs as comments on blogs. That boosted their ranking in search results while providing little benefit to the owner of the blog. Spam companies maximized on this and overloaded blogs and other websites with links that made their websites rank better than the credible sites with valuable information. The introduction of nofollow links by Google then allowed companies to create no follow link html code to prevent spam sites from posting their URLs on the comment section to boost their search rankings. With that, content creators can now post content on their sites without worrying that other companies and people are going to misuse the comment section to boost their rankings at the expense of the valuable sites. The use of a no follow link href code ensures that while people can post URLs on your website, those links they provide would not count towards their sites’ rankings.

When to Use Nofollow Links?

Instances that necessitate the use of nofollow links include blog comments, forums, and paid links. Google designed nofollow links specifically for blog comments. Prior to that, spam companies were taking advantage of valuable content online to build their websites’ rankings. Today, most website builders such as WordPress have the nofollow plugin to prevent spam companies from posting links in the comments sections. You can use the nofollow link WordPress to limit the impact of the links in the comment section. While visitors to the page can still see and click on the links, the no follow link href code limits the benefits of such links.

Similar to comments, people can take advantage of forums to post links redirecting back to their websites. Spam companies can take advantage of forums to boost their search engine rankings by constantly posting their links on forums. The nofollow links help prevent spammy content and links. That helps boost the authenticity of the content. The nofollow links discourage spam companies that seek to boost their rankings by posting links on other websites. We have all had to see, or even deal with, spam like the following:

Sometimes companies pay for links. There are websites that allow paid links to help companies drive traffic to their websites. However, Google has a negative view of paid links. It disregards paid links when counting organic traffic for your ranking. Nofollow links are thus necessary for paid links as they exclude the links from the ranking count. Here is Google’s link scheme policy:

The nofollow links prevent other companies from overloading your content with unnecessary links. They help you maintain your site’s authenticity while keeping the web pages interactive. Thus, you are able to create and build relationships with your audience. Your content remains valuable to visitors as there may be fewer links to contend with.

How Nofollow Links Differ from Dofollow Links

Ordinarily, dofollow and nofollow links look the same visually. However, their coding differs, making them have a different effect on a website. The no follow link code uses the html rel=”nofollow” tag to inform search engines that a link should not count towards the ranking of a website. Thus, any link with the tag does not have a direct impact on SEO. Since dofollow links do not have the rel=”nofollow” tag, they count towards your site’s ranking. They have a direct effect on your Domain Authority as well as your ranking. While both do follow and nofollow links may lead to an increase in traffic to your website, dofollow links are preferable because they have greater value in rankings. However, nofollow links also have several benefits to your website, albeit indirectly. You can therefore use them to your advantage.

Benefits of Nofollow Links

Although nofollow links do not have a direct impact on your search engine results rankings, they have benefits that lead to better rankings. Some of the benefits include increasing traffic to your website, normalizing your profile, building brand awareness, leading to dofollow links, and boosting domain authority.

We hope that you found this article useful.

If you want to know more interesting about your site health, get personal recommendations and alerts, scan your website by Diib. It only takes 60 seconds.

Enter Your Website

For example “www.diib.com”

Test Your Site for Free

I have used Diib analytics for years. Their dashboard is addictive! The answer engine is my favorite feature. It is an invaluable resource for continually improving my site. Upgrading to the premium version was the best decision I could have made for my business.

Tom Lineen
CEO FuzeCommerce

Increasing Website Traffic

Nofollow links may not help in building your backlink profile. However, they still lead to increased traffic to your website. People can still click the links and follow them back to your website. Thus, if you provide valuable and relevant content, people will constantly be following your nofollow links back to your pages. As more traffic flows to your website, people will be able to interact with more of your content. That can improve your search engine rankings due to internal links. The content people interact with on your website may also lead to more leads and conversions. Thus, while the nofollow links may not have a direct impact on your ranking, they result in higher traffic, which can have better outcomes. You can therefore use them to attract audiences to your content and build your profile out of the many visits you get. However, you should maintain relevance so that visitors can spend more time on your pages. Here is an example of an increase in traffic after a nofollow link implementation:

(Image credit: Neil Patel)

Building Brand Awareness

Content creation for SEO aims at creating, building and maintaining a strong online presence. It focuses on creating a brand awareness that can translate into buys from visitors. Nofollow links help in this by directing traffic to your website. As visitors interact with content on your website, they are able to understand your business, products, or services. Through the links, people are able to discover what you offer, and that can be of great benefit to your business. As more people become aware of your brand, you will increase visits to your various pages, which then boosts your search engine results page rankings. And the fact remains, that:

Greater brand awareness leads to repeat visits, as people aware of your business will keep visiting to seek what you offer. Thus, you can use nofollow links to drive traffic to your website and use your content to keep them engaged. The content and products you offer will however play a big role in keeping visitors on your website. The more relevant and engaging your content is, the more time people spend on your site. That will lead to better ranking.

Normalizing Your Profile

Your business needs a natural profile. That means, it should have both dofollow links and nofollow links. A profile that only has dofollow links may appear suspicious. Google may perceive such sites to be using some SEO techniques for fixing statistics. Thus, it is important that you have nofollow links on your website for it to look authentic and natural. The nofollow links make your profile look normal, allowing for a better reputation.

Nofollow Links May Lead to Dofollow Links

The biggest advantage of using nofollow links is the resulting dofollow links. Many people may be of the opinion that nofollow links have little value to your website. However, the impact can be huge. Authority websites may limit the links to your site as follows. However, the links will still be able to drive traffic to your site. People will develop an interest in your business through these links and will come to interact with your website. The traffic resulting from nofollow links can be crucial in building credible leads. From the leads, you may earn dofollow links.

Although you can achieve dofollow links from nofollow links, you have to structure your website and content in a way that will lead to better SEO outcomes. The impression visitors get when interacting with your content will determine their response. Thus, it is important to optimize your content so that you can retain and convert your visitors. Relevancy and consistency are key to generating and retaining great leads that can help build your dofollow links. The more valuable content you provide, the more leads will provide dofollow links to your website. You can build a strong following by having valuable content that is both relevant and consistent. That will also help establish you as an authority in your given field.

Improving Domain Authority

Domain Authority is an indicator of how your site would rank against competitors in search results. A good domain authority would therefore mean that you would enjoy a good ranking among your peers. Your goal would therefore be to attract quality and reputable traffic to your website to boost your domain authority. Nofollow links help drive reputable traffic to your website. They help build the credibility of your site. They also increase trust among your audience, enhancing your domain authority.

What is Domain Authority? The domain authority of a website describes its relevance for a specific subject area or industry. This relevance has a direct impact on its ranking by search engines, trying to assess domain authority through automated analytic algorithms.

How to Add No Follow Link

The following link is similar to the nofollowed link on a basic level. However, while the HTML code is similar for both, you have to add the rel=”nofollow” tag to make a link nofollow. You can use a nofollow link generator or robots meta tag to create nofollow links. It is possible to make all links on a webpage nofollow possible by putting a robots meta tag in the header with the value “nofollow”. However, in case you want to leave some links as dofollow links, then the most common practice is to use the re=”nofollow” tag. For instance:

Most people may not know how to add no follow link. However, if you are using WordPress, there are tools that ensure to nofollow links in the comments section of your page. WordPress has a nofollow link generator that automatically creates a nofollow link WordPress for comment links. That prevents spammers from enjoying any SEO benefits from the links they post on your site.

Sometimes, you may be concerned that your links are nofollowed. You can check that by right-clicking on the comment and selecting “Inspect”. The highlighted HTML code will provide the necessary information you need to determine whether it is a nofollow link or not. A nofollow link will contain the rel=”nofollow” tag in the HTML code. You can also install the nofollow Chrome extension on your browser to highlight all nofollow links.

Making the Most Out of Nofollow Links

We all seek success in all our efforts. It is thus important to know when to use nofollow links as well as the most effective way to do so. Using nofollow links is only a part of a bigger process of optimizing your website. You can use some effective techniques to ensure your nofollow links are effective in improving your domain authority and search results ranking.

First, you must find a way to motivate viewers to click on the links you post. That is the first step to start interactions with the viewers. Focus on the language that you use. Attractive wording will help capture the attention of the viewers, prompting them to click on the link to your site.

You also need access to a greater audience. That will ensure more people see your links, increasing the probability of more people visiting your site. To achieve that, you need to follow industry leaders. You can also share your post multiple times. You may also reference others in your content, increasing the probability that they will share your post.

Relevancy is another key factor in maximizing on nofollow links. Always ensure both your link and content are relevant to increase the impact of the links. People will rarely click on links that contain information that is irrelevant to them. If someone were to click on a link and discover that the information is not relevant, he/she is likely to exit the page without viewing anything else on the site. You should therefore avoid using misleading headlines just to get clicks. Here is a good example of using links in a relevant matter:

Lastly, you need to optimize your landing page. While appropriate wording may earn you clicks from nofollow links, a good landing page increases the chances of subsequent clicks. A well-designed landing page will create a positive impression on visitors, prompting them to visit other pages on the website. Using a related posts plugin will ensure they keep reading your content on other pages. It will help boost your rankings as well as your domain authority.

Diib®: Track the Health and Strength of Every Link!

Most people fear nofollow links. The perception is that they have no benefit to a website. However, despite the low direct value that the links seem to add to a website, you can use them to improve both your search results ranking and your domain authority. Diib’s comprehensive analytics software has the capability to track and analyze the effectiveness of each and every link on or direct to your website. Here are some of the features of our software you’ll love:

• Objectives to help you isolate and remove bad links and fix older backlinks that point to pages that have been deleted from your website.
• Alerts that tell you about your Domain Authority and number of follow/no-follow links pointing to your website.
• Competitor backlink research for up to 6 of your most intense competitors.
• A monthly call with a Growth Expert to see how you can grow your domain authority.

Call today at 800-303-3510 to speak with one of our Professional Growth Experts or click here for your free 60 second site scan.