Nofollow vs Dofollow Backlinks: What Founders Need to Know
Not all backlinks are created equal. Understanding the difference between nofollow and dofollow links helps you prioritize where to spend your time.
When another website links to yours, the link can either pass SEO value (dofollow) or explicitly tell search engines not to pass value (nofollow). Understanding the difference changes how you prioritize your link-building efforts.
Dofollow links
A dofollow link passes "link equity" from the linking site to yours. This equity, often called PageRank, helps your site rank higher in search results. By default, all HTML links are dofollow unless the rel="nofollow" attribute is added. When a DA 60 site links to you without any rel attribute, you are getting a dofollow link.
Nofollow links
Nofollow links do not pass SEO value directly. They were originally introduced by Google to prevent manipulation through paid links and comment spam. Social media links, most Wikipedia citations, and many news sites use nofollow. They still have value for traffic and brand visibility — just not for direct ranking signals.
Sponsored and UGC attributes
Google also recognizes rel="sponsored" for paid placements and rel="ugc" for user-generated content (comments, forum posts). These are treated similarly to nofollow for ranking purposes.
What this means for your strategy
Prioritize getting dofollow links from high-authority sites. Product directories, guest posts on established blogs, and editorial mentions in relevant publications are the most reliable sources of dofollow links. A verified product listing on a platform with strong domain authority — that passes dofollow links — is worth pursuing early and keeping updated.
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