Nofollow
A 'Nofollow' link is an HTML attribute used to instruct search engines not to pass any SEO value or 'link juice' to the linked page.
Description
In the digital marketing industry, 'Nofollow' links play a crucial role in controlling the flow of SEO value on a website. These links are created by adding the 'rel="nofollow"' attribute to an HTML anchor tag. This tells search engines like Google not to consider the link as an endorsement of the linked page. While 'Nofollow' links don’t contribute directly to a page’s ranking, they still have their uses. They can help webmasters avoid potential penalties from search engines when linking to untrusted or user-generated content, like blog comments or forums. Additionally, 'Nofollow' links can still drive traffic to your site and increase brand visibility even though they don’t pass SEO value.
Examples
- A blog comment section: Websites like WordPress often use 'Nofollow' links for URLs included in user comments to avoid linking to potentially harmful or low-quality sites.
- Sponsored content: When a website publishes sponsored posts or paid ads, they often use 'Nofollow' links to comply with Google's guidelines and avoid penalties for paid links.
Additional Information
- 'Nofollow' links were introduced by Google in 2005 as a way to combat spammy links.
- Despite not passing SEO value, 'Nofollow' links can still contribute to referral traffic and brand exposure.