NoFollow and DoFollow: The SEO-based Concept You Can’t Ignore

The terms ‘Nofollow’ and ‘Dofollow’ are mostly related with LINK that we create from and to the post or page of our site.

Through website/blog development process, Link building is a major factor. By creating inbound links, we can expect to draw great number of Referral traffic to our site. On the contrary, By outbound link, we can send traffic to other websites.

But Nofollw-Dofollow fact comes into scene when we tend to control, by outbound links, whether SEO benefits will pass to other websites or not.

Simply we build three types of links for on-page and off-page SEO [Search Engine Optimization] purposes. They are-

However, as a promising webmaster, site/blog owner, mis-understatnding of these two terms may lead one to missing out chance of a probable SEO benefits.

Here we’re going to clarify these two terms- NoFollow and DoFollow for the novice webmaster staying above the complication of technical terms as far as possible. Let’s proceed through our Question-Answer process.

NoFollow link versus DoFollow link

QUESTION: Why did these words ‘Nofollw’ and ‘Dofollow’ come into Link-scenario?
ANSWER:  This is an inquisitive question indeed.

To create a link, we use the following code –

<a href="http://www.example.com">TEXT</a>

Here ‘TEXT’ is ‘Display Text’ and the part within inverted comma is the URL which leads to the destination page. This is Follow Link or DoFollow Link. This is Usual or Natural or Standard link. You needn’t do anything to create DoFollow link but should only follow the structure above.
Now what does this Dofollow link refer to?

Now, if man (HUMAN BEING) were satisfied with what this standard link gives, then, there would arise no question or Nofollow-Dofollow tale. You have to understand that you not only intend your links be indexed by SE, also wish it is left un-indexed in some cases. Such is the reason for the words Nofollow and Dofollow being appeared on Linking backdrop.

QUESTION: How can I draw most benefit out of DoFollow?
ANSWER: In case of backlink, you always want that your inward links be Dofollow to rank your site higher in SE’s. It is a common Off-page SEO practice to find out the renowned Dofollow Backlink Sites to ensure backlinks and avoid the Nofollow ones.

When you think of External link from your site, it is usual that you fix Nofollow attribute as you don’t like that others easily get credited from you without leaving thing back to you.

Backlink from big, established and high PR [Page Rank] site will certainly prove your site important and trustworthy in the eye of Google as well as other Search Engines. Linking- either Backlink or Internal link is considered a ranking signal by SE for the destination site or page. So you must have considerable amount of internal link in your post and that is with Dofollow.

So in order to get mostly benefited, you should try to get more DoFollow backlinks than the number of Outward (External) DoFollow links released from your site.

If you do the opposite, you are sure to lose authority over your competitors.

QUESTION: Then what are the probable reasons for my choosing Link as Nofollow?
ANSWER: From the above discussion, it is clear that NoFollow backlink is no way creditable for you. In case of External linking, you always tend to casting NoFollow links intentionally.
But what about Internal links? DoFollow is your right. But there might have factors that will force you to attribute NoFollow in Internal linking. Frankly speaking, this means that you’re not willing to let Search Engine index some of your URL’s.

• Comment spam: Commenting is integral part of blogging. through viewers’ comment channel, spammers might try to push illegal links back to their sites to get quick click in order to rank higher in SE. Putting NoFollow in Comment will discourage spammer from targeting your site. Noted, by default, WordPress comment is attributed with Nofollow to prevent such probable Comment spam. So it is unnecessary to do it by your own.
• Definite pages: You might/must have definite pages which are unusual for you to want being indexed by Search Engine Bot. Examples of such pages are Admin and Log in page, Author archive, Attachment page, Internal search page and so on. You can also put Noindex in those page. But there are differences between NoFollow and No-index. Simply NoFollow tells Search Engine to ignore a definite URL meaning not to crawl and not to index. But Noindex tells that SE would crawl but won’t index a URL.
• Ads or paid links: For monetizing purpose, you might put some sponsored links or paid links in your site. It is not your responsibility to oversee what content lies in those destination pages. So, is it wise to attribute DoFollow in those links? Obviously not.
• Untrustworthy links: You should always put NoFollow in the links imported from unreliable sources or users.

<a href=”http://www.example.com” rel="nofollow">TEXT</a>

Hope you got answers to most of the highlighted questions in you on NoFollow and DoFollow as an SEO terms. Expect a well-thought comment.

 All SEO