What are nofollow and dofollow links?

Nofollow is the rel="nofollow" value on an <a> tag. It tells search engines "don't count this link as an endorsement". Google recognises two more values: rel="sponsored" for paid or sponsored links and rel="ugc" for user-generated content such as comments and forums. "Dofollow" is not an official value; it's simply the name for a normal link that carries none of these.

#Why it matters

• Since 2019 Google treats nofollow as a "hint", not a strict rule. Ranking value is still mostly expected from dofollow links.
• Failing to mark paid links with sponsored or nofollow breaks Google's link spam policies.
• A natural profile contains both. An all-nofollow profile builds no authority; an all-dofollow profile can look artificial.

#Where you see it in SEOAsist

• The Nofollow domains card on Backlinks → Overview counts domains that link to you only with nofollow.
• The Follow column in the Links, Lost and Toxic tables shows whether each link is dofollow or nofollow.

More: Backlink sync.

#Example

<!-- dofollow (normal) -->
<a href="https://examplefurniture.com/">Example Furniture</a>

<!-- nofollow -->
<a href="https://examplefurniture.com/" rel="nofollow">Example Furniture</a>

<!-- sponsored content -->
<a href="https://examplefurniture.com/" rel="sponsored">Example Furniture</a>

#Common mistakes

• Adding nofollow to your own internal links; it hinders crawling and gains nothing.
• Writing off nofollow links as worthless; they can still bring traffic and awareness.
• Not marking links given in exchange for ads or product placement.