What is a dofollow link?
A dofollow link is an ordinary link that has no nofollow, sponsored or ugc value in its rel attribute, so search engines are free to count it as an endorsement of the page it points to. For example, this is a dofollow link:
<a href="https://example.com/guide">Example guide</a>Nothing in that code says "dofollow". The link is called dofollow only because it lacks the values that would make it a nofollow link. Google's own documentation says that for regular links Google should fetch and parse without qualification, "you don't need to add a rel attribute" [2].
SEOs use "dofollow" as shorthand for "a link that can pass ranking value". The terms "followed link" and "do-follow link" mean the same thing.
Is dofollow a real HTML attribute?
No, dofollow is not a real HTML attribute or rel value, and writing rel="dofollow" does nothing. Google lists sponsored, ugc and nofollow as the values it recognizes for qualifying outbound links, and says a regular link needs no rel value at all [2]. A link marked rel="dofollow" behaves exactly like a link with no rel value.
The mistake is common enough to measure. HTTP Archive's 2024 Web Almanac found rel="dofollow" on 0.5% of mobile pages and 0.4% of desktop pages, and the equally meaningless rel="follow" on 0.4% of both [1]. Those sites are not harmed by the extra word, but they gain nothing from it either. Adding dofollow cannot override a nofollow on the same link, and it cannot force Google to count a link.
What is the difference between dofollow and nofollow?
The difference between dofollow and nofollow is one word in the link's code: a nofollow link carries rel="nofollow", while a dofollow link carries no qualifying value. Google treats a dofollow link as a normal link it can use for ranking, crawling and discovery, and treats nofollow as a signal that the linking site does not want to be associated with the destination [2].
| Dofollow (followed) link | Nofollow link | |
|---|---|---|
| Code | <a href="..."> | <a href="..." rel="nofollow"> |
| Real HTML value? | No, it is the absence of a value | Yes |
| Endorsement | Can count as a vote for the destination | Asks Google not to associate the two sites |
| Use for paid links | Not allowed for ranking purposes | Accepted (sponsored preferred) |
| Share of pages using the value (2024) | rel="dofollow" on 0.5% of mobile pages, with no effect | nofollow on 32.7% of mobile pages |
The figures in the last row come from the 2024 Web Almanac [1]. The full history and Google's current treatment of nofollow are covered in the nofollow link entry, so this entry does not repeat them.
Where did the term dofollow come from?
The term dofollow only exists because nofollow does. Before Google introduced the nofollow value in January 2005, every link was simply a link, so there was nothing to contrast it with [3].
2005: nofollow creates its opposite
Matt Cutts of Google and Jason Shellen of Blogger proposed rel="nofollow" in early 2005 to stop blog comment spam [3]. Once some links carried nofollow, SEOs needed a word for the links that did not, and "dofollow" stuck, even though no such value was ever defined.
2019: sponsored and ugc join nofollow
On September 10, 2019, Google announced two more values, rel="sponsored" for paid links and rel="ugc" for user-generated content [3]. Since then, a link is only "dofollow" if it carries none of the three. A link marked sponsored is not dofollow, even though the word nofollow appears nowhere in its code.
2024: rel="dofollow" still turns up on real sites
The 2024 Web Almanac counted rel="dofollow" on 0.5% of mobile pages [1]. The number is small, but it shows that some site owners and plugins still write the value into their code, expecting it to do something.
How do you check if a link is dofollow?
To check if a link is dofollow, right-click it in your browser, choose Inspect, and read the rel attribute in the highlighted code. If the rel attribute contains nofollow, sponsored or ugc, the link is not dofollow. If there is no rel attribute, or it only contains other values such as noopener or noreferrer, the link is dofollow.
Three checks catch most of the errors people make:
- Ignore the word "dofollow". A link that says
rel="dofollow nofollow"is a nofollow link. - Check the page, not just the link. A robots meta tag with
content="nofollow"in the page's head applies nofollow to every link on the page, even when the links themselves look clean. - Check the link that is live today. Sites change their link policies. A listing that was followed when it was created may be nofollow now, and the reverse.
noopener and noreferrer are security and privacy values and have nothing to do with SEO. noopener is the most common rel value on the web, found on 41.7% of mobile pages in 2024 [1], which is why it is easy to mistake for a nofollow at a glance.
Are "dofollow sites" lists worth using?
"Dofollow sites" lists are usually not worth using as published. The lists collect sites said to give followed links, typically comment sections, forum profiles, social bookmarking sites and directories, and three problems follow:
- They go out of date. A site that gave followed links when the list was written may have switched to nofollow, and nobody updates the list.
- The links are often the kind Google calls spam. Google's spam policies name "low-quality directory or bookmark site links" and "forum comments with optimized links in the post or signature" as examples of link spam [4]. A followed link from that kind of page is a risk, not an asset.
- Followed is not the same as useful. A followed link from an unrelated page that nobody visits does little, while a nofollow link from a well-known site can still send visitors.
The honest version of a dofollow list is one where every link was checked on a live page. Search Insider checked the website link on live business listings across the 300 sites in Foundation Links, its free list of business directories and profiles [5]. Of the 192 sites that link to the business's website at all, only 74 leave that link followed, while 113 mark it nofollow, sponsored or ugc [5]. Another 24 depend on how the member sets up their own listing, and 5 send the link through the site's own redirect [5]. On established directories, a followed link is the exception.
Are dofollow links better than nofollow links?
Dofollow links are better than nofollow links for passing ranking value, because Google can count a followed link as a full endorsement. They are not automatically better links. A followed link that was paid for, exchanged or placed by automation breaks Google's spam policies, which say paid links must carry nofollow or sponsored [4]. A followed link from an irrelevant site may be ignored.
Judge a link by the site and page it sits on first, and its rel value second. A followed link from a relevant, trusted page is the strongest signal. A nofollow link from the same page still brings visitors and visibility.
When should a link be dofollow?
A link should be dofollow when it is a genuine, editorial recommendation that nobody paid for. That covers almost every link a site places in its own content, such as citations, references and links to useful resources, plus all internal links between a site's own pages.
A link should not be dofollow when:
- It is paid, sponsored or affiliate. Use
rel="sponsored"(nofollowis also accepted) [2]. - It sits in user-generated content. Use
rel="ugc"for comments and forum posts [2]. - You would rather not be associated with the destination. Use
rel="nofollow"[2].
There is no need to write rel="dofollow" on any link. Leaving the rel attribute off a link is how a link becomes dofollow.