Independent SEO Research

Dofollow vs Nofollow Backlinks

“Dofollow” is informal shorthand for an ordinary link without a nofollow-style qualification. Modern link attributes provide more specific context.

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Ordinary links

A normal HTML link does not need a “dofollow” attribute. The term is commonly used by SEO practitioners to distinguish an ordinary link from links carrying attributes such as nofollow.

rel="nofollow"

Nofollow communicates that the publisher does not want to provide a normal endorsement signal through the link. Search engines decide how to interpret the hint.

rel="sponsored"

Sponsored is appropriate for advertising, sponsorships and compensated links. Link Layer Lab uses rel="sponsored" on its Money Robot affiliate CTAs.

rel="ugc"

UGC can identify links within user-generated content such as comments and forum posts.

Do not reduce quality to an attribute

A normal link from a poor page is not automatically valuable, and a qualified link can still send useful referral traffic. Evaluate the whole placement.

Researching automated backlink software?

Money Robot is one example of a highly automated submission product. Review the risks first, then check the merchant if the workflow fits your use case.

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