What is a do-follow link?
Dofollow links are links that give permission to search engines like Google to follow them back to your website or blog.
When you include a dofollow link on your site, it helps to establish your authority by showing search engines the other sites, blogs, or posts that are linking to you.
These links also pass on what is called “link equity” or “link juice” to the page they are pointing to. This link equity is a crucial factor that Google considers when determining search rankings. Unlike nofollow links that only send referral traffic, dofollow links not only bring traffic but also contribute to improving your organic search rankings and overall traffic.
How do-follow links help in SEO?
Dofollow links play a crucial role in search engine optimization (SEO) as they bring several benefits that contribute to better rankings and increased organic traffic. Let’s delve into the explanation of these advantages:
- Trust Signal: Dofollow links act as trust signals for search engine algorithms. When reputable and reliable websites link to your content using dofollow links, search engines view it as an endorsement, which can enhance your website’s credibility and trustworthiness.
- Passing Link Equity: Dofollow links pass on what is known as “link equity” or “PageRank value” from the originating webpage to the destination page. This means that search engines recognize the authority of the linking page and transfer some of that authority to the linked page. It helps boost the visibility and ranking of the linked page in search engine result pages (SERPs).
- Improved Search Rankings: By acquiring dofollow links from high-quality and relevant sources, web pages have a greater chance of ranking higher in search engine results for their targeted keywords. The accumulation of such authoritative links signals to search engines that your content is valuable and deserves a higher position in search rankings.
- Indexing and Discovery: Dofollow links aid search engines in discovering and indexing your content. When search engine bots encounter dofollow links, they follow them and crawl the linked pages. This helps in ensuring that your content gets properly indexed and has a better chance of being ranked in search results.
- Enhanced Page and Domain Authority: Dofollow links contribute to increasing the Page Authority of the linked page. Page Authority is a metric that predicts the ranking potential of a specific page. Additionally, when a website accumulates high-quality dofollow links, it can lead to an overall increase in the website’s Domain Authority, which measures the overall authority and credibility of the entire domain.
Should I dofollow an external link?
When it comes to deciding whether to make an external link dofollow or nofollow, you have the opportunity to unleash your creative judgment. Consider the following aspects that can help guide your decision-making process:
- Relevance and Credibility: If the external link aligns seamlessly with your content and offers valuable insights to your readers, you may opt for a dofollow link. By doing so, you convey your endorsement and contribute to the linked website’s ranking. However, it’s crucial to verify the credibility and trustworthiness of the linked website, ensuring that it aligns with your content’s integrity.
- Relationship and Collaboration: If you have a professional affiliation or collaboration with the website you intend to link to, such as partnerships, affiliates, or sponsored content, incorporating dofollow links is a common practice. Just remember to adhere to search engine guidelines and transparently disclose any sponsored or paid relationships to maintain transparency.
- Balancing Link Profile: Unleash your creativity by curating a diverse and natural link profile. Strive to achieve a harmonious blend of dofollow and nofollow links in your overall link portfolio. This creative approach contributes to an organic and well-rounded backlink profile, which is highly beneficial for SEO purposes.
How to find do-follow links on a webpage?
Here are the step-by-step instructions to check if a link is dofollow or nofollow:
Step 1: Right-click on the link you want to check in your browser.
Step 2: Select the “Inspect” option from the context menu. This will open the browser’s developer tools and display the HTML code related to the link.
Step 3: Look for the presence of the rel=”nofollow” attribute within the HTML code. If you find this attribute, it means the link is marked as nofollow. If the attribute is not present, the link is considered as dofollow.
Alternatively, you can use a backlink analysis tool such as Ahrefs or Moz. These tools can provide detailed information about the attributes and properties of a link, including whether it is dofollow or nofollow.
