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DoFollow vs. NoFollow Backlinks – Explanatory Guide

Written by Rahul Sihmar Jun 2, 2021 · 4 min read

Having a Website is just so ordinary nowadays but ranking your website at a particular keyword is difficult if the competition on that particular keyword is high. Now, I am pretty sure many of you have heard Dofollow, Nofollow, Index, and Noindex, what exactly does it mean?

And what is the difference between a Dofollow link and a Nofollow link?

Will it increase your website traffic?

Well, many of you might be new to these terms and frankly speaking the terms I just spoke about are the parts of SEO and building links is one of the key factors in ranking a website.

Now, What are the main initiatives we should look for after creating a website?

Well, after building a website you should maintain stability by posting regular content and the content should be long and rich, your keyword should be less competitive and there you go, your website has been ranked! Doesn’t sound that easy, right?

Yeah, this isn’t that easy at all.

Indeed content should be your king but building links is the backbone of every website and yes, it surely helps you rank easily although there are terms one must understand before entering the link-building world.

Now, before we get deep into this, let me just get clear with the overall basics. There are two types of links, one we call a ‘Nofollow’ link, and the other one is a ‘Dofollow’ link. So, further ahead I will explain the importance of both links and, How they are used to rank a website.

Nofollow

• Nofollow doesn’t pass any link juice and thus, they hold zero value but it’s important for a clear search engine and to prevent spamming. When the site owner provides you with a Nofollow link it means he or she doesn’t want to pass any link juice and thus only humans can follow such links. The Nofollow idea is pointless since Google doesn’t consider this and hence you cannot drive traffic with the help of Google. 
• As I spoke earlier only humans can follow such links. Now, if the idea of Nofollow links isn’t profitable then why do people make such links? Well, you have to keep the balance between ‘Nofollow’ and ‘Dofollow’ links hence both are important.
• But the Nofollow link can also save the website of the link giver from a penalty. Because Giving a dofollow link to a spammy website can also harm the website of the person who is giving the link.

Nofollow backlinks carry less amount of weight yet it’s a good practice to use Nofollow links to those attribute links you don’t pass any link juice.

<a href=”https://www.google.com/” rel=”Nofollow”>Google</a> 

Or

<a href=”https://www.google.com/” rel=”Noopener Nofollow”>Google</a> 

Here is an example of a Nofollow link.

Recently, Google announced that they still count the Nofollow link as an outgoing link in terms of the distribution of PageRank from your page. Though it still depends on, where you have placed the Nofollow link. If the Nofollow link is at the bottom then it may show very little impact whereas if the link is placed at the top then it may show some impact. Moz and Alexa also count the Nofollow links but on their own rules and give us ranking stats on the same basis.

Dofollow

• Dofollow links are followed by Google as well as by all the search engines and also by humans. If the webmaster is linking back to you then Google and humans both can follow the link.
• It passes the link juice when the site owner provides you with a dofollow link and you should fetch the link in your webmaster account, this will create a ‘backlink’, and creating quality backlinks can rank you higher and it’ll increase your domain authority as well.
• Anchor text links are the best way to provide someone with a dofollow link, it means that you are linking to a website or page through a particular keyword. In easy terms, you can say that the site is connected to you internally; frankly speaking, it’s the best way to rank a site.

<a href=”https://www.google.com/”>Google</a>

An example of a dofollow backlink.

Additional Information on Link Building

Now, when to do link building, and how fast can you rank for it?

• If you’re creating an Event-Blog with a low competitive keyword, start writing articles 6 months before the actual event and build some links as well and gear up by building links at the very last week. This would be enough to rank. Create backlinks from high authority sites.
• If you’re running a long-term blog then you must go slow. Write awesome content and build backlinks slowly.

So, it totally depends upon the requirements you’re dealing with. Now almost everyone here knows WHITE HAT, GREY HAT, AND BLACK HAT SEO, right?

How should you create links over them?

White-hat SEO: [link building strategy]

Content is the king for white hat SEO, go slow, post regularly, and build quality backlinks. The procedure sure takes time but it’s perfect for a long-term blogger. And do as the Google guidelines say.

Grey-hat SEO: [link building strategy]

Everything should be neutral in such a case. Build links regularly and post good content. Lots of long-term bloggers follow this strategy and they are earning well although you’re never sure when your site gets outranked.

Black-hat SEO: [link building strategy]

Most people use black hat SEO for event blogging. Continue creating backlinks, and spam as much as you can but there is a high risk that your site may get taken down anytime by Google. It’s risky but it’s quick money.

So, now that you have enough knowledge over Nofollow and Dofollow links and you can just dig in and create links for your own site but wait, how will you differentiate between a Nofollow and Dofollow link?

How to find if a link is a ‘Dofollow’ or a ‘Nofollow’?

• How to find out if the link is a ‘Dofollow’ or a ‘Nofollow’? Well, it’s pretty simple, just follow the instructions below and you’re good to go.
• Open Google Chrome, go to the navigation bar, and click view – developer – view source, or else you can just right-click on the page and click inspect element.
• For Firefox do right-click – view – open source.
• Then, do an edit – find and search for Nofollow links in the search bar. All the Nofollow links will be highlighted.
• Want to go for an even easier way? There are many extensions available in Google Chrome and Firefox where it will automatically highlight the Dofollow and the Nofollow link. I am using Mozbar to check if the links are Follow, No Follow, External, or Internal.

As I mentioned earlier keep an equal balance between both links for a greater profit. Now, make sure to do proper On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO and build quality backlinks and you’re sure to rank.

Ranking a website can be really difficult if you’re not building any backlinks at all. Making too many links is dangerous to your site so make sure to create a limited amount of them. You can create backlinks by spamming comments, and guest posts, creating PBNs or Web 2.0, etc. Creating links and the whole concept is easy and you will get comfortable once you start doing the procedure.

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