What is the nofollow Attribute? SEO Guide

Definition

nofollow is an HTML attribute (rel="nofollow") added to a link to tell search engines not to pass ranking signals — historically called link equity — through that link. Since 2019, Google treats nofollow as a hint rather than a strict directive, and has introduced two related values: rel="sponsored" for paid links and rel="ugc" for user-generated content.

When to use nofollow (or its variants)

• Paid or sponsored links — use rel="sponsored" to comply with Google's guidelines on paid placements.
• User-generated content — comments, forum posts, profile links should use rel="ugc".
• Untrusted destinations — when you cite a source you don't want to fully endorse.
• Login or sign-up CTAs — links to gated areas that don't need indexing.

Common myths

• nofollow does not hide the link — users still click it, browsers still follow it, and the page still loads.
• nofollow does not guarantee no ranking effect — Google may still use the link as a signal.
• Internal nofollow is rarely useful — Google has stated that PageRank sculpting via internal nofollows does not work the way it once did.

Use nofollow purposefully on outbound links you don't want to vouch for. For internal navigation, focus on a clean structure and healthy links instead.