Quick answer
A dofollow link passes SEO authority from the linking page to yours. A nofollow link tells search engines not to pass that authority — but it can still send real traffic and brand exposure. You need both in a natural-looking profile, not just one.
That's the short version. Here's the full picture, including how the underlying mechanism actually works, when each type genuinely helps you, and a distribution table you can use as a sanity check on your own backlink profile.
How the nofollow attribute actually works
The rel="nofollow" attribute was introduced by search engines to combat comment-section and forum spam, and it's now a standard part of the HTML link element specification. When it's present, search engines are told not to pass ranking credit through that link.
In 2019, Google expanded the system with two related attributes, each signaling a slightly different reason for the "don't pass authority" instruction:
rel="sponsored"— for paid links and advertisementsrel="ugc"— for user-generated content, like blog comments or forum postsrel="nofollow"— the original, general-purpose catch-all
Google now treats all three as hints, not absolute rules — meaning it may still factor them into its systems in some contexts. But don't build your strategy around that exception. Treat nofollow, sponsored, and ugc links as providing traffic and visibility value, not guaranteed ranking value.
Dofollow vs. nofollow, side by side
| Dofollow | Nofollow | |
|---|---|---|
| Passes ranking authority | Yes | No (by default assumption) |
| Typical use case | Editorial mentions, guest posts | Paid links, comments, UGC |
| Required for compliance | N/A | Sponsored/paid content |
| Referral traffic value | Yes | Yes — identical |
| Brand visibility value | Yes | Yes — identical |
| Risk if overused | Can look manipulative | None — expected in any profile |
The traffic and visibility columns are identical for a reason worth repeating: a nofollow link on a high-traffic, relevant page can easily outperform a dofollow link on a low-traffic one, once you look past the SEO-authority question and think about actual clicks.
Why nofollow links still matter
It's tempting to treat nofollow links as "worthless" and chase dofollow exclusively. That's a mistake, for a few concrete reasons:
- Real referral traffic. A nofollow link on a high-traffic page can drive meaningful visitors regardless of its SEO weight — and a visitor who converts doesn't care what the
relattribute said. - Brand visibility. Getting your name and site in front of a new, relevant audience has value that compounds — repeat visitors, word of mouth, direct traffic later.
- Profile diversity. A backlink profile that's 100% dofollow doesn't occur naturally. Real websites accumulate a mix, and an unnaturally clean profile is itself a signal worth noticing.
- Faster discovery. Search engine crawlers still follow nofollow links to discover new pages, even without passing authority through them — so nofollow links can still help get a brand-new page indexed faster.
Why dofollow links still matter more for rankings
None of the above means dofollow doesn't matter — if your primary goal is moving a specific page up in search rankings, dofollow links from relevant, reputable sites remain the more direct lever. This is what most people mean by "link building" in the strict SEO sense, and it's the type of link most worth spending vetting time on. Our guide on how to vet a backlink site before buying walks through that process in detail.
A natural anchor and link-type distribution
There's no single "correct" ratio, but a commonly cited, reasonably safe distribution for a mature, natural-looking backlink profile looks roughly like this:
| Link type | Typical natural share |
|---|---|
| Dofollow, editorial | 50–70% |
| Nofollow (comments, mentions, social) | 20–40% |
| Sponsored / paid (nofollow or sponsored tag) | 5–15% |
If your profile is 95%+ dofollow with almost no nofollow links at all, that's actually a pattern worth double-checking — it can look more like a purchased profile than an organically grown one.
The legal and disclosure angle
In many jurisdictions — including under FTC guidance in the United States — paid links and sponsored content are required to be disclosed, typically through the sponsored or nofollow attribute. This isn't optional guidance for larger publishers; it's a real compliance requirement.
What this means practically:
- Using a plain dofollow link for a clearly paid placement, with no disclosure, is both an SEO risk and a regulatory one
- A seller who insists on nofollow/sponsored tags for paid content isn't being difficult — they're often protecting themselves (and you) from a compliance problem
- If a site offers dofollow for a clearly paid link with zero disclosure attributes at all, treat that as a caution flag rather than a bonus feature
How to check any link's type yourself
You don't need a paid tool for this. Right-click the linking page → "View Page Source" (or Inspect) → search for your URL. If you see rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc" anywhere in that anchor tag, it's not passing standard authority. No attribute at all means it's a standard dofollow link.
Several free browser extensions will also visually highlight nofollow links directly on any page you visit, which is faster if you're checking multiple links at once.
Applying this to link exchange and buying links
When browsing listings on a marketplace, check the link type each site offers before ordering — LinkLazy shows this upfront on every listing, so you're not left guessing or discovering it after payment. A practical approach:
- If you're specifically building authority for a target page, prioritize dofollow listings from sites relevant to your niche
- If you're more focused on referral traffic and brand exposure, a nofollow link from a high-traffic, relevant site can still be genuinely worth pursuing
- For a broader campaign, deliberately mix both rather than filtering exclusively for dofollow — both for the natural-profile reason above, and because nofollow options are often cheaper for the traffic value they deliver
A brief history worth knowing
The nofollow attribute dates back to 2005, introduced jointly by major search engines specifically to fight comment-spam — at the time, spammers were flooding blog comment sections with links purely to harvest ranking authority. Nofollow gave publishers a way to accept comments without inadvertently endorsing every link inside them. Over the following years, its use expanded far beyond comments to cover paid content, sponsored posts, and general untrusted links — which is exactly why Google eventually split it into the three more specific attributes (nofollow, sponsored, ugc) covered above, giving publishers a more precise way to signal why a link shouldn't pass authority.
A realistic scenario
Imagine you run a SaaS product and you've secured two opportunities in the same week: a nofollow mention in a roundup post on a major industry publication with 200,000 monthly visitors, and a dofollow guest-post link on a much smaller blog with 3,000 monthly visitors.
Which is more valuable? It depends on your goal:
- If you need direct ranking authority for a specific competitive keyword, the smaller dofollow link likely helps more directly, assuming the site is genuinely relevant.
- If you need visibility, referral traffic, and brand credibility, the larger nofollow mention could easily outperform it — a link in front of 200,000 relevant readers, even nofollow, can drive real signups, and being featured on a major publication carries reputational value a small dofollow link simply can't match.
Most experienced marketers wouldn't skip either opportunity. This is exactly why treating nofollow as automatically "worthless" leads to leaving real value on the table.
Tools for checking link type at scale
If you're auditing dozens or hundreds of backlinks rather than checking one at a time, manually viewing page source isn't practical. A few options:
- Ahrefs or Moz's backlink reports classify each link as dofollow or nofollow automatically as part of a full backlink audit
- Screaming Frog (a desktop crawling tool) can crawl a list of URLs and report the
relattribute on every outbound link found - Browser extensions remain the fastest option for a quick, one-page manual check
For most link builders working through a marketplace like LinkLazy, this level of bulk auditing matters less, since the link type is disclosed upfront on every listing before you order — but it's worth knowing these options exist if you're auditing an existing, larger backlink profile.
How this connects to your overall link-building budget
If you're weighing where to spend limited budget, it's worth explicitly deciding what percentage you'll allocate to each link type rather than defaulting to "dofollow only." A simple starting allocation many campaigns use:
- 60–70% of budget toward dofollow links from relevant, well-vetted sites — this is your core ranking-authority spend
- 20–30% of budget toward nofollow placements on high-traffic, relevant sites — this is your visibility and referral-traffic spend
- The remainder kept flexible for opportunistic placements that don't fit neatly into either bucket
This isn't a rigid formula — treat it as a starting point to adjust based on what you learn from your own results.
No — nofollow links are a completely normal, expected part of any real website's backlink profile. There's no penalty for having them, and a total absence of them is more unusual than having plenty.
Can a nofollow link ever pass ranking value at all? Google has said nofollow is treated as a "hint," meaning in rare cases it may still factor a nofollow link into its systems. Never rely on this possibility when deciding whether to pursue a link — evaluate it on its traffic and visibility merits instead.
Should I push back if a seller insists on nofollow for a paid link? Generally, no — for FTC and search-engine-guideline compliance, nofollow (or sponsored) is often the correct, expected choice for paid content. Judge the site on its overall quality rather than insisting on dofollow specifically.
What's a realistic dofollow percentage to aim for across my whole site? Somewhere in the 50–70% range tends to look natural for most niches, though this varies. The goal isn't hitting an exact number — it's avoiding the extremes of "almost entirely dofollow" or "almost entirely nofollow."
The takeaway
Both link types serve a real purpose, and treating nofollow as worthless is one of the more common mistakes in link building. Before evaluating any specific site for either type of link, make sure you've also read our guide on how to vet a backlink site before buying — link type is one factor among several that determine whether a placement is actually worth pursuing.