Dofollow Backlinks Vs Nofollow Backlinks: What Is The Difference?

A dofollow link is a link that passes on “link juice” to the linked-to website. In other words, it’s a voting system that tells search engines that the linked-to website is important and should be ranked higher in search results.

This is how it works by default. So, technically, there’s no such thing as a dofollow link. Let’s take a look at what a dofollow link looks like:

<a href=”example.com”>anchor text here</a>

This is opposed to a nofollow link, which doesn’t pass on any link juice and tells search engines to ignore the linked-to website. And unless you add a rel=”nofollow tag, search engines will follow every link on your site.

Dofollow links help your website rank higher in search results. When others link to your website, search engines consider your website a valuable resource. Plus, you can your website’s authority by linking to trustworthy websites.

But suppose you want to link to a site without endorsing it to search engines. That is when you’ll use nofollow links.

When we talk about link value for rankings, we usually mean backlinks. Dofollow links are one of the most important ranking factors for SEO. They help search engines determine the quality of a website and whether it is worthy of a top spot in the search results.

When a dofollow link points to your site, it is like a vote of confidence. The more dofollow links you have, the higher your site will rank.

Many factors go into how dofollow links are computed, but they all come down to one thing: quality. Search engines want to surface the best possible results for their users.

Search engines have many ranking factors (we know that Google has more than 200), and high-quality backlinks are in the top-2 major factors with content. A Backlinko 2020 study revealed that pages ranking first in Google had 3.8 times more backlinks than pages ranking in the top 2-9.

Dofollow links are one of the most important signals to determine which sites are worthy of a top spot. Focus on building high-quality dofollow links from reputable websites to improve your rankings.

Understandably, you want to get as many dofollowed backlinks as possible as a website owner. However, don’t overlook the benefits of nofollow links.

Even if a nofollow link does not improve the linked-to website’s SEO, it can still be helpful for SEO in several ways. They can help to increase a website’s organic traffic, brand awareness, rankings, and potential customers. As a result, while nofollow links are not directly helpful for SEO, they can still have indirect benefits that make them worth pursuing.

They directly impact rankings: Links from authoritative sources do good for your website regardless of their attribute values. A study by Ahrefs shows that the total number of backlinks is a bit stronger than the correlation for the number of “dofollow” backlinks. This can mean that Google values nofollowed links from strong pages more than followed links from weak pages.

They drive traffic and increase awareness: Links from trusted sources can have a large impact on increasing traffic and awareness. When people click through to these links, they may browse other pages on the site or even register for email updates if it seems like something worth checking out!

They help build a natural backlink profile: The dofollow-only backlink profile may cause suspicion in search engines. Nofollow links help build a natural backlink profile, whereas the dofollow-only backlink profile might seem that all links are paid.

They give opportunities to get dofollow backlinks: When you need to grow your backlink profile, links in general increase the chance of being recognized by users. So, you may get more dofollow links.

Practically, every link you generate is a dofollow link unless you add a rel= “nofollow” tag. Here are some ways to create dofollow backlinks:

1. Guest blogging: When you guest blog on someone else’s website, ensure to include a link to your own website in your author bio. This is a great way to get high-quality dofollow backlinks.
2. Directory submissions: Many online directories allow you to submit your website for free. But, not all of these directories will give you dofollow backlinks. So, be sure to do your research before submitting your website to any directory.
3. Forum signatures: Many forums allow you to include a link to your website in your signature. In this way, you can get dofollow backlinks from high-authority websites.
4. Blog comments: When you leave a comment on someone else’s blog, make sure to include a link back to your own website. However, don’t spam other people’s blogs with links to your website. This will only get you banned from the blog, and it won’t do anything for your SEO.
5. Resource page links: Many websites have resource pages that list helpful websites and resources on a particular topic. If you have a website that would be useful for someone’s resource page, reach out to the webmaster and ask if they would be willing to include a link to your site.

Don’t forget that social media posts, sponsored posts, and other “inorganic” content are mostly nofollow.

To be honest, there is no “golden ratio” for nofollow and dofollow links. There are several studies about it, though.

According to Alexa Rank data, the most common ratio for nofollow and dofollow backlinks is a 25/75 mix. So, when acquiring backlinks, you can aim for that ratio for your website.

A higher ratio of dofollow to nofollow links indicates to search engines that a site is more trustworthy and relevant, and as a result, it will be given a higher ranking. However, achieving the perfect ratio is not always easy, and too many dofollow links can actually result in a lower ranking.

The best approach is to focus on creating high-quality content that will naturally attract both dofollow and nofollow links. Over time, this will create a balance that will help to improve your website’s SEO.