Dofollow Links

Dofollow links are ordinary hyperlinks that carry no nofollow, sponsored or ugc attribute, so search engines may follow them and count them as a signal when ranking the linked page. “Dofollow” is an SEO nickname, not a real HTML attribute: a link is dofollow by default.

Written by Paul Hoda, SEO consultant since 2005. Last updated 8 November 2026.

How dofollow links work

In HTML, a link is an <a> tag with an href value that points to the destination page. With nothing else added, it is a dofollow link. There is no rel="dofollow" value; adding one does nothing.

Site owners can add a rel value to change how a link is treated. These link attributes are:

  • rel="nofollow": you do not want to vouch for the linked page.
  • rel="sponsored": the link is an advert, sponsorship or other paid placement.
  • rel="ugc": the link sits in user-generated content such as comments or forum posts.

Google introduced sponsored and ugc in 2019 and said it would treat all three as hints rather than strict instructions. So a nofollow link may still be crawled or considered, while a dofollow link is not guaranteed to pass value.

Why dofollow links matter for SEO

Links remain one of the ways search engines judge how important and trustworthy a page is. The original idea behind PageRank was that a link acts like a vote. Dofollow links from relevant, reputable sites are the kind of backlinks that can pass link equity and support rankings.

That does not make nofollow links worthless. They can still send visitors, raise brand awareness and lead to further dofollow links when others see your content. A natural link profile normally includes a mix of both.

How to check whether a link is dofollow

  1. Right-click the link in your browser and choose “Inspect”.
  2. Look at the <a> tag in the code panel.
  3. If it has no rel attribute, or only values like noopener, it is dofollow.
  4. If it includes nofollow, sponsored or ugc, it is not.
  5. Also check the page itself: a meta robots tag with nofollow applies to every link on the page.

SEO tools and browser extensions can highlight nofollow links automatically, and backlink tools usually report the split.

When links should not be dofollow

  • Paid links. Google’s spam policies say links bought or exchanged for money, goods or services should use sponsored or nofollow. Unmarked paid links can lead to penalties.
  • User content. Links in comments and forums should use ugc or nofollow.
  • Untrusted sources. Use nofollow if you must link to a page but do not want to endorse it.

Common myths

  • “Only dofollow links count.” Nofollow links bring traffic and visibility and are treated as hints.
  • “Nofollowing internal links saves ranking value.” This old tactic, called PageRank sculpting, has not worked for many years.

Key Takeaways

  • A dofollow link is a normal link with no nofollow, sponsored or ugc attribute.
  • There is no rel=dofollow value: links are dofollow by default.
  • Google treats nofollow, sponsored and ugc as hints, not strict rules.
  • Paid links and links in user content should not be left as dofollow.
  • A natural link profile includes a mix of dofollow and nofollow links.

Related Terms

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