Before we start comparing dofollow vs nofollow links we need to separate them and explain to you each of them individually. Chances are you already know most of this but maybe you will find some new piece of information and that is always good. We will also show you some additional resources where you can continue your research because link building is a field that evolves quickly and you need to stay on top of your game if you want to have a good SEO strategy.
Resources for your further research
Let’s start with resources. We suggest you head out to the AZ Citation Services website as you will find a lot of useful (and fresh) information about this and similar topics. And that’s what you need right now. Of course, there are a lot of other websites where you can find useful information, and luckily all you have to do is go to Google search and type your keywords. It’s easy as that nowadays. All available information will appear in front of you in a matter of seconds.
Dofollow links
Now we can begin with our topic for today and we can start with dofollow links. They are the ones that allow Google (and other search engines but Google is the most important one for now) to point back to your website. If you have a blog that works as well and it works the same. That means that every time you insert this kind of link on your site it will point back to you. That will strengthen your authority by showing Google (and other search engines) what other websites or blogs are linking to you. The more authority you have the more Google will appreciate you and you will be ranking better. As you can see dofollow links are extremely important and you need them.
Nofollow links
Nofollow links are pretty much the opposite of Dofollow links. A nofollow link will not boost your rank and cant help a page’s placement in SERPs. So, what’s the whole point of them? Why do we use them? The reason why they exist is that it allows a site to add a link that abstains from being an editorial vote. This is a completely safe way to buy links (which is something Google doesn’t appreciate at all). It is a completely machine-readable way to specify that a certain link doesn’t have to be counted as a vote by a search engine but this is a current situation. This can change soon because Google is always developing ways to get on to any mischief.
Are they valuable for SEO?
They can still be valuable for your SEO campaign. You can implement them as part of your link-building strategy if you wish. Even if you’re not reaching out to get those kinds of links, you should not turn down contextual links marked with “rel=nofollow”. This is how you can spot them – that’s how they are marked. Using only nofollow links is a completely absurd practice and if by a chance you happen to find an SEO expert that claims that this can be a good strategy this will be your red flag. You have been warned.
Pro tip
Make sure that you are always informed about news from Google about this and find SEO predictions from Google. They change at least once a year.
Dofollow vs Nofollow links
Surely by now, you understood the differences and the use of both of them. These are two different ways of identifying a link and telling Google how to associate the website you are linking to. Dofollow links will pass on authority and nofollow will not. It’s as easy as that.
How do I know which link is a Dofollow and which one is a Nofollow?
This is the most common question and that’s why it’s important to address it now. We even have a quick guide for you :
- right-click on your browser
- then click “View page source”
- look for the link in the HTML of the page
- as we said earlier if you see rel=”nofollow” this is a nofollow link
- if you do not see this, it is a dofollow link
How easy was this? If you didn’t know this before now you will know and you can even show others.
Hiring professionals to help you
You want to rank as high as you possibly can on Google. That’s only natural. Sometimes people who are already running a business do not have time to learn all of this (and so much more) in order t be on top of their SEO game. That’s why outsourcing is the best solution. You are but one person and you cant handle every aspect of your business and the bigger your business or website gets the more you will have to outsource.
Outsourcing SEO and other aspects of your website
It’s smart to engage people for different segments of your business. You should also find someone to help you with your citations and most importantly someone to help you to clean up your citations. SEO experts can deal with SEO strategies and link building which is currently the best SEO strategy. Luckily there are plenty of great companies who can do this for you. We left you where to look for them.
Hopefully, you understood our little dofollow vs nofollow links talk. If you have any more questions we left you resources where you can continue your research. Now all you need is to keep reading. Or if you don’t have the time you need to start interviewing skilled people to help you out.