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How valuable are Nofollow links for SEO? It is still important for SEO optimization.
External links and backlinks, we know that only the right combination of links can lead to higher search rankings and a lot of traffic.
However, there is one more question: how much intrinsic weight does the nofollow link get?
This article will try to answer that question and explain why nofollow links may benefit a site's operability in search engines.
What's the difference between tracing text and Nofollow tags?
Search engines follow (i.e. crawl) every link by default unless you tell us otherwise.
You can tell search engines not to follow a specific link by using the Nofollow attribute, which is an HTML snippet that looks like this:
<a href=”https://www.answersrates.com/” rel=”nofollow” >
Search engines won't penalize you as long as the links you put in your content are useful, relevant, and valuable.
However, sometimes you should choose how to link.
When to go to the Nofollow link
- Product link: It's pretty much the same story, you agree to links placed on your website in exchange for a product or service, if you decide to use some of those links, please don't use them.
- Comment link: You should always Nofollow links featured in paid reviews of products or services, if you receive a product or service for review, not nofollowing links can be a costly mistake.
- Affiliate Links: All affiliate links should be Nofollow by default, and search engines recognize that these links have the potential to generate revenue and they do not want to provide additional benefits to sites participating in affiliate programs.
- Links from untrusted sites: Nofollow links to untrustworthy sites, sites from the known spam industry, or any objectionable content. Linking to low-quality sites can hurt your existing search rankings.
- Unindexed links: If your link object doesn't have any indexed links, make sure to Nofollow it, you don't want to allow low-quality link equity to flow to your site.
- Links used in widgets and images: Nofollow links feature widgets and images that you can embed into third-party websites, such as logos, icons, shareable design elements, etc. Search engines may look at this link scheme.
- Guest Comment Post Link: Google has had several warnings years ago for visiting customers posting reviews and leaving links, and Nofollow is your best bet.
- Admin Pages: You do need or need search engines to crawl your login information, shopping cart, privacy, terms of use, and other relevant web pages, make sure they default to Nofollow.
- Social Media Buttons: Social media share buttons should also be Nofollow, and while search engines won't censor this, you never want to push valuable link equity to third-party sites (especially if those sites are huge social media platforms).
Why Nofollow Links Matter
It does not transmit PageRank or anchor text on links via the Nofollow attribute. However, the search giant doesn't always play by its own rules:
Generally, we don't pay attention to them. This means that search engines will not transmit PageRank or anchor text in these links.
Rumor has it that this "general" comment suggests that sometimes search engines exceptionally track and count links with the no-follow tag. This is the case with Wikipedia, for example, and while every link on Wikipedia is a Nofollow link by default, my personal experience is that Wikipedia backlinks can do wonders for a site's SERPs.
Top sites influence a site's SERPs, even if their links have a Nofollow attribute,
Obviously, links to trusted sites will have an impact no matter what tags you use, however, even if we assume nofollow on any site to render any link's visibility in search engines useless, a link can still serve as your site's path.
