“Do Follow” and “No Follow” are attributes assigned to external links on a webpage that instruct search engines on how to handle those links in terms of passing “link juice” or ranking power.
Do Follow Links
- Definition: These are regular hyperlinks that search engines like Google recognize and follow. When you link to another website with a Do Follow link, some of your website’s authority or ranking power is passed to the linked site.
- Purpose: Do Follow links are used to build backlinks, which can improve the search engine ranking of the linked page. They are a signal to search engines that you vouch for the credibility and relevance of the linked content.
- Example:
<a href="https://www.example.com">Example Site</a>
No Follow Links
- Definition: These are hyperlinks with a special
rel="nofollow"attribute that tells search engines not to follow the link or pass any authority to the linked page. - Purpose: No Follow links are often used for:
- Sponsored Content or Ads: To avoid passing link equity to paid or sponsored links, which could be seen as manipulative.
- Untrusted or User-Generated Content: To prevent passing authority to potentially untrustworthy sites or those you don’t fully endorse (e.g., in blog comments or forums).
- SEO Strategy: To control your site’s link equity flow and prevent passing too much authority to external sites.
- Example:
<a href="https://www.example.com" rel="nofollow">Example Site</a>
Key Differences
- SEO Impact: Do Follow links contribute to the SEO ranking of the linked site, while No Follow links generally do not.
- Link Equity: Do Follow links pass link equity, No Follow links do not.
- Search Engine Directives: Do Follow links instruct search engines to follow and index the linked page; No Follow links tell them not to.
Practical Use
- Do Follow: Use for natural, organic links that you trust and want to endorse.
- No Follow: Use for sponsored, affiliate, or user-generated content where you don’t want to pass link equity.
Conclusion
Balancing Do Follow and No Follow links on your site is important for maintaining good SEO practices, adhering to search engine guidelines, and managing your site’s authority distribution effectively.
