How Do You Use The Nofollow Attribute In Links?

Story Based Question

Imagine you’re managing a bustling online forum where users frequently post links in discussions. While you want the community to thrive, you also notice some users are spamming links to questionable sites. You don’t want search engines to pass authority to these external links and harm your site’s credibility. Or perhaps, you’re writing sponsored content and want to comply with search engine guidelines to avoid penalties. In both cases, you hear about the “nofollow” attribute. But how exactly should you use it?

Exact Answer

The “nofollow” attribute is added to HTML links to instruct search engines not to pass link equity (or ranking credit) to the linked page. You use it by adding rel="nofollow" to the link tag. It’s typically used for untrusted links, sponsored content, affiliate links, or user-generated content to prevent these links from influencing search engine rankings.

Explanation

The “nofollow” attribute is a powerful tool to manage how your site interacts with external links in the eyes of search engines. By default, search engines follow links to understand relationships between pages and distribute link equity, which helps boost rankings. However, there are situations where passing link equity is either undesirable or against search engine guidelines.

When to Use “Nofollow”

1. Sponsored Content:
   If you’re publishing paid reviews, sponsored posts, or advertisements, you need to add the nofollow or sponsored attribute to links within the content. This avoids passing ranking credit to the sponsor, which search engines consider manipulation.
2. User-Generated Content (UGC):
   Forums, comments, and guest posts often contain links you don’t fully control. Adding nofollow prevents potentially harmful or spammy links from impacting your site’s reputation.
3. Untrusted Links:
   If you’re linking to a site whose credibility you’re unsure of or don’t want to endorse (e.g., temporary references or non-reliable sources), nofollow ensures your site doesn’t vouch for them.

How to Add “Nofollow”

Here’s an example of how to use it in HTML:

<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Visit Example</a>

For affiliate or sponsored links, you can combine multiple attributes:

<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow sponsored”>Check Out This Product</a>

Example

Let’s go back to the forum example. Users frequently post links to their personal blogs or external resources in the comment section. You add the nofollow attribute to all comment links automatically through the forum’s backend configuration. This ensures no link posted in the forum passes authority, even if a spammer sneaks in.

Additionally, you write a sponsored article about a new tech gadget and link to the sponsor’s website. To stay compliant with search engine guidelines, you tag the link like this:

<a href=”https://sponsorwebsite.com” rel=”sponsored nofollow”>Learn More</a>

In both cases, you’ve effectively used nofollow to protect your site from link manipulation while maintaining ethical SEO practices.