What is nofollow?
Nofollow is a value of a link's rel attribute that tells search engines you do not vouch for the linked page. Google introduced it in 2005 to fight comment spam. In September 2019 Google changed its treatment: nofollow became a hint, meaning Google may still use the link for discovery or ranking, and it added two more specific values, sponsored and ugc.
There is also a page-level form: nofollow in a robots meta tag applies to every link on that page. That version is covered under meta robots; this entry is mostly about the link attribute.
How it works
Each link on the web can be read as a small endorsement. Adding rel="nofollow" removes the endorsement. The three values Google recognizes today:
rel="sponsored"for paid links, affiliate links, and anything given in exchange for money or products.rel="ugc"for links inside user-generated content such as comments and forum posts.rel="nofollow"for any other link you do not want to endorse.
You can combine them, for example rel="nofollow sponsored". Google's guidelines require paid links to carry sponsored or nofollow; unmarked paid links can be treated as link spam.
Because nofollow is a hint, it is not a way to control crawling. If you want a URL kept out of the index, a nofollowed link to it does nothing reliable. Use noindex on the target page instead.
Example
<a href="https://partner.example/deal" rel="sponsored">Partner discount</a>
<a href="https://someones-blog.example" rel="ugc nofollow">Commenter's site</a>
An editorial link to a source you cite should carry no rel value at all. Linking out to good sources is normal and is not something to hide.
In WordPress
WordPress adds rel="nofollow ugc" to links in comments and commenter URLs by default. The block editor has no nofollow checkbox, so SEO plugins usually add one. Hydrogen SEO's General screen has a Nofollow External Links switch that adds rel="nofollow" to every external link in your content, plus a separate new-tab option; see general settings. Page-level nofollow is set in the Robots screen or per post in the SEO Settings sheet.
Common mistakes
- Nofollowing internal links to "sculpt PageRank". It has not worked that way for over a decade and only removes useful signals.
- Nofollowing every external link out of fear. Citing reputable sources is fine; reserve nofollow for paid, untrusted, or user-generated links.
- Leaving affiliate links unmarked. Use
sponsored.
Common questions
Do nofollow links help SEO?
They pass little or no ranking credit, though Google may use them as a hint. They can still send referral traffic and help a page get discovered.
Should I use sponsored or nofollow for affiliate links?
Google prefers sponsored for paid and affiliate links, but nofollow is still accepted. Either one satisfies the requirement to mark paid links.