Do Nofollow Links Pass Link Juice and Improve Your SEO

Nofollow links may not pass link juice in the classical sense, but they can still have an impact on your SEO. According to Google, nofollow links do not pass PageRank, which is the algorithm used to determine a page's importance.

However, nofollow links can still drive traffic to your site, increase brand awareness, and even improve your SEO indirectly. For example, a nofollow link from a reputable source can still be crawled and indexed by search engines, potentially leading to increased visibility.

The key to leveraging nofollow links for SEO is to focus on quality over quantity. A single high-quality nofollow link from a trusted source can be more valuable than a dozen low-quality links.

Link juice is a slang expression used by SEO professionals to describe the power or value a link conveys to another site or page, enhancing it. Every link has a certain value, which can be distributed among different pages by linking them.

The idea of link juice can be illustrated like a pyramid of goblets, where pouring too much liquid into the top goblet causes it to spread evenly across the containers on the next level and so on.

Link juice and PageRank are close concepts, but not the same thing. PageRank was one of the indicators that Google used to determine what position pages should have in search results, but Google algorithms have changed, and PageRank has become just one of many ranking factors.

Link juice is passed through dofollow links, which have great value for SEO, but not through nofollow links. Nofollow links do not pass link juice, but they still have their value for SEO by diluting the link profile and indicating that it is natural.

Here's a breakdown of how link juice is passed through different types of links:

This means that if you get a link from a page with a high PageRank, you would automatically see your page rank go up, but nofollow links won't have the same effect.

Nofollow links are useful for instructing search engines not to pass link juice to pages that are less important, but they're not as effective in SEO as they used to be.

There are two main types of links: dofollow and nofollow links. Dofollow links pass on PageRank and contribute to the ranking of the linked page, encouraging Google to crawl and index the link.

Nofollow links, on the other hand, do not pass on PageRank and are typically not followed for crawling and indexing purposes. This means that if you get a nofollow backlink, the linking page doesn’t pass the authority to your page.

Here's a quick summary of the difference between dofollow and nofollow links:

A dofollow link is a link that passes authority, or link juice, to the linked page. It's considered an endorsement by Google and contributes to the ranking of the linked page.

Dofollow links pass on PageRank and encourage Google to crawl and index the link. This means that if you get a dofollow backlink, the linking page will pass the authority to your page, which can improve your rankings and transfer PageRank.

On the other hand, nofollow links do not pass on PageRank and are typically not followed for crawling and indexing purposes. This means that if you get a nofollow backlink, the linking page doesn't pass the authority to your page, and it won't improve your rankings or transfer PageRank.

Here's a summary of the key differences between dofollow and nofollow links:

It's worth noting that nofollow links are not useless and can still have value for SEO. In fact, Google says that they don't follow nofollow links, but occasionally they do. This means that nofollow links can have a measurable, direct impact on your rankings, especially if optimized with the right anchor text.

You want to avoid using dofollow links for low-quality, irrelevant, or spammy pages to prevent passing on PageRank to them. This can harm your website's credibility and search engine rankings.

Using dofollow links for spammy pages can lead to receiving unwanted emails, and we all hate spam.

Google can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to crawl and process dofollow or nofollow links.

The time it takes for Google to recognize a dofollow or nofollow link can vary based on several factors, such as the site’s crawl rate and when the link was added.

A nofollow link can be marked with a rel=”nofollow” attribute, which tells search engines not to pass PageRank.

It's generally best to give Google some time to crawl and process these links before expecting any changes to take effect.

Checking dofollow links can be a bit tricky, but there are some great tools to help you out. One way to check dofollow links is by manually reviewing the webpage.

If you're not up for manually checking every link, you can use the Mangools SEO extension, which makes it easy to identify dofollow links on a webpage. This extension can save you a lot of time and effort.

Another option is to try an SEO audit tool, which can scan a webpage and highlight the dofollow links for you. This can be especially helpful if you're working with a large website.

If you want to take it to the next level, you can utilize LinkMiner, which can provide you with detailed information about the links on a webpage, including their attributes.

Nofollow links have long been considered the poor cousins of dofollow links, but they're not as useless as you might think. In fact, they still have value for SEO by diluting the link profile and indicating that it's natural.

Nofollow links don't pass link juice, which means they don't contribute to the ranking of the linked page. However, they can still help increase your brand visibility and generate referral traffic.

If you get a nofollow backlink, the linking page doesn't pass the authority to your page, which won't improve your rankings and transfer any PageRank.

Nofollow links are typically not followed for crawling and indexing purposes, but they can still be beneficial for your SEO strategy.

A nofollow meta tag is placed in the header of a webpage and instructs search engines to not pass PageRank for any outbound links on the entire page.

It seems as though Google expects to see nofollow links in your backlink profile, and if there are none, that potentially raises a red flag for an unnatural profile.

In fact, the #1 ranked sites on Google have an average of about 20%-40% nofollow links pointing to that page. Sometimes it's even higher, with 3 out of 10 links marked with this attribute.

Here are some examples of #1 ranked sites and their nofollow link percentages:

It's clear that nofollow links are still an important part of a natural backlink profile.

Nofollow links are not just for spammy or low-quality sites. In fact, even top-ranked sites have a significant percentage of nofollow links pointing to them. According to a study, #1 ranked sites on Google have an average of 20-40% nofollow links pointing to that page.

You should use nofollow links to promote your best content. One of the best ways to use nofollow links is to increase traffic and generate more attention for your best onsite content.

If you want to scale your link building strategy effectively, you need to make sure you have a balanced, natural backlink profile. That means at least some of your dofollow links should be nofollow. If you’re following best practices for content management and SEO, you should end up with the right balance of nofollow links naturally.

Here are some scenarios where you should use nofollow links:

Google doesn't follow nofollow links, but that doesn't mean they're useless. In fact, nofollow links can have significant value for your SEO strategy.

Nofollow links can increase your rankings, especially if optimized with the right anchor text, as seen in an experiment by Adam White on SEMRush.

Nofollow links also bring more attention to your content, even if Google isn't passing PageRank via this link. A single nofollow link can lead to dozens of standard dofollow links.

A balanced, natural backlink profile should include a mix of dofollow and nofollow links, with 5-20 percent nofollow links being a reasonable expectation.

Here are some key takeaways to keep in mind:

In short, nofollow links are not inherently bad for SEO, and can even contribute to a natural and diverse backlink profile.

You can use the Yoast SEO plugin to add a nofollow attribute to all links on a chosen web page or individual links. This plugin allows you to change the dofollow/nofollow status for all links on the page by checking the "Yes" or "No" option in the "Should search engines follow links on this Post" section.

Alternatively, you can use the External Links plugin for WordPress for a complete link management system. This plugin can help you manage links more efficiently.

To add a nofollow attribute to individual links, simply highlight the text, click the link icon, and check the "nofollow" option from the dropdown menu.

Google can crawl nofollow links, but it traditionally didn't follow them to discover new pages or pass PageRank.

However, in 2019, Google updated its approach to treat the nofollow attribute as a hint for crawling and indexing, which means it might choose to follow a nofollow link in some cases.

The time it takes for Google to recognize a dofollow or nofollow link can vary based on several factors, such as the site's crawl rate and when the link was added.

Generally, it could range from a few days to a few weeks for Google to crawl and process these links.

A nofollow link is an individual link marked with a rel=”nofollow” attribute, which tells search engines not to pass PageRank.

Using WordPress plugins can make managing links a breeze. Yoast SEO is a great plugin to use, as it allows you to add a nofollow attribute to all links on a chosen web page or just individual links.

To change all links on the page from dofollow to nofollow, scroll down to the Yoast SEO plugin and click on the "Advanced" tab. Check the "Yes" or "No" option in the "Should search engines follow links on this Post" section.

Changing dofollow/nofollow status for only a few links via Yoast SEO is pretty straightforward. Highlight the text you want to use as a link in the WordPress editor, click the link icon to add your URL, and check the "nofollow" option from the dropdown menu.

Alternatively, you can use the External Links plugin for WordPress for a complete link management system. This plugin can help you manage links more efficiently.

To make linking externally more user-friendly, use target="_blank" to open links in a new tab. This will make it easier to return to your page and improve the user experience.