Story Based Question
You’re running a travel blog, and one of your recent posts, “Top 10 Hidden Beaches in Bali,” starts gaining traction. A large tourism website links to your post. Excited, you check the link but notice something strange—it’s marked as “nofollow.” At the same time, another smaller blog links to your post with a “dofollow” link. You’ve heard these terms before but aren’t sure how they impact your SEO. What’s the difference between dofollow and nofollow links, and how do they affect your site’s visibility?
Exact Answer
“Dofollow” links pass SEO value (link juice) from the referring site to the linked page, helping improve its rankings. “Nofollow” links don’t pass SEO value but can still drive traffic and contribute to a natural backlink profile.
Explanation
Let’s break it down.
Dofollow Links
These are regular backlinks that allow search engines to follow the link to your page. They pass link equity (SEO value) from the linking site to your site, which helps boost your domain authority and rankings.
Nofollow Links
These links include a special tag in the HTML code (rel="nofollow") that tells search engines not to pass link equity. Google doesn’t use these links for ranking purposes directly.
Why Use Nofollow Links?
Nofollow links are often used:
- For user-generated content (e.g., comments or forums) to prevent spam.
- On paid links or advertisements, following Google’s guidelines.
- When the linking site wants to avoid endorsing the linked content.
SEO Impact
While nofollow links don’t directly improve rankings, they still offer value:
- Referral Traffic: Users can click the link and visit your site.
- Diversity: A mix of dofollow and nofollow links looks natural and avoids penalties.
- Potential for Visibility: Nofollow links from high-authority sites can still build brand awareness and may lead to future dofollow links.
In your case, the large tourism site used a nofollow link, likely to comply with guidelines on user-generated content. While it won’t pass SEO juice, it can still bring relevant traffic and boost your blog’s reputation. On the other hand, the smaller blog’s dofollow link helps strengthen your rankings for keywords related to Bali beaches.
Example
Let’s compare how these links might impact your travel blog.
Scenario 1: Dofollow Link
A travel influencer links to your blog post using “hidden beaches in Bali” as anchor text, with a dofollow link. This link:
- Passes SEO value, helping your page rank higher for “hidden beaches in Bali.”
- Signals search engines that your content is trustworthy and relevant.
Scenario 2: Nofollow Link
A large travel forum mentions your post in a discussion about Bali but uses a nofollow link. While it doesn’t improve your rankings directly, it:
- Drives thousands of clicks from users interested in Bali travel.
- Exposes your blog to a new audience, increasing its reputation.
After six months, you see a steady rise in traffic, with users bookmarking your site or sharing it elsewhere. Some of these visitors create new backlinks that turn out to be dofollow, further boosting your SEO.