Nofollow links do not pass PageRank in the traditional sense, but writing them off entirely is a mistake most SEOs eventually correct. Since September 2019, Google treats all link attributes (nofollow, sponsored, and ugc) as hints for ranking, not absolute directives. And since March 1, 2020, those same attributes also became hints for crawling and indexing. The practical upshot: a nofollow link from a high-traffic, authoritative page still brings real visitors, strengthens your link profile’s appearance of naturalness, and can get new pages discovered by Googlebot. None of that is nothing.
For the full breakdown of how rel attributes work (including sponsored and ugc), see the complete guide to link attributes.
What “Nofollow” Actually Means (and What It Doesn’t)
The rel="nofollow" attribute was introduced in 2005 to combat comment spam. When Google first launched it, the instruction was simple: any link tagged nofollow would not be counted as a ranking signal, period.
“Dofollow” is not an actual HTML attribute. It is the default state: a link without any qualifying rel value. When SEOs say “dofollow,” they mean a link that Google treats as a normal editorial endorsement and may use for ranking purposes.
For fourteen years, the nofollow directive was absolute. Then in September 2019, Google changed the rules.
What Changed in September 2019 and March 2020
Google’s September 10, 2019 announcement introduced two new link rel values: rel="sponsored" for paid placements and rel="ugc" for user-generated content like comments and forum posts. More importantly, it redefined how all three attributes are processed.
Google stated: “All the link attributes (sponsored, ugc, and nofollow) now work today as hints for us to incorporate for ranking purposes.”
The word “hints” is doing significant work in that sentence. Before this change, nofollow was a directive: Google would not follow or credit the link under any circumstances. After September 2019, Google may choose to use these signals for ranking, depending on other context and signals.
Then, on March 1, 2020, a second change took effect. Google’s announcement confirmed: “For crawling and indexing purposes, nofollow will become a hint as of March 1, 2020.”
So the precise timeline is:
- September 10, 2019: nofollow, sponsored, and ugc become ranking hints (Google may choose to use or disregard them for ranking).
- March 1, 2020: nofollow becomes a crawling and indexing hint (Googlebot may choose to follow nofollow links to discover and index the destination page).
This does not mean nofollow links now pass PageRank freely. Google still generally does not follow them. But the absolute ceiling is gone. Google exercises judgment rather than following a blanket rule.
Three Ways Nofollow Links Still Send Real Value
1. Referral Traffic From High-Authority Placements
A nofollow link on a Forbes article, a Wikipedia citation, or a major news site sends human visitors whether or not PageRank flows. Backlinko notes that “the right nofollow link can send targeted traffic to your site” even without direct ranking benefits.
Visitors from authoritative placements tend to be relevant, engaged readers who clicked because the context was right. Those visits generate real behavioral signals: time on site, page interactions, branded searches. None of that depends on the link attribute.
Wikipedia’s entire external link profile is nofollow. So are most links from Reddit, Quora, Twitter/X, and countless news publishers. If nofollow links were truly valueless, these platforms would be irrelevant for referral strategy. In practice, teams actively pursue Wikipedia citations and major press mentions precisely for the traffic they reliably deliver.
2. A 100% Dofollow Profile Is a Red Flag
Natural editorial link profiles always contain a meaningful share of nofollow links. News coverage, social shares, forum discussions, directory listings, and press releases all routinely add nofollow attributes by default. A site with zero nofollow links has almost certainly been acquiring links through deliberate outreach only, which looks unnatural to Google’s spam detection systems.
Google’s December 2022 link spam update used its SpamBrain AI to detect and neutralize patterns of unnatural link building. An implausibly high dofollow share in your profile is exactly the kind of pattern that algorithmic systems are trained to flag.
SEO practitioners typically observe that well-ranked sites carry somewhere between 10% and 40% nofollow links in their backlink profiles, though the right proportion varies by industry and site type. The value of nofollow links from a profile health standpoint is not that they boost rankings directly. It’s that they help the overall profile look like something a real, widely-cited site would accumulate.
3. Crawl Discovery for New Content
Since March 2020, Googlebot may choose to follow nofollow links when deciding what to crawl. Google’s official documentation confirms: “The linked pages may be found through other means, such as sitemaps or links from other sites, and thus they may still be crawled.”
For a new post with few inbound links, a nofollow mention on a forum thread, a social share, or a curated list can be the first path Googlebot uses to discover and index the page. This is a real, practical benefit, particularly for sites that publish frequently and want new content indexed quickly.
How to Check Your Own Nofollow/Dofollow Ratio
Google Search Console’s link export does not include a column for link attribute type. You cannot determine whether your inbound links are nofollow or dofollow from GSC alone.
Ahrefs includes a nofollow flag and link-type column in its backlinks report. Semrush’s backlink analytics similarly classifies links by follow type. You can filter your full backlink profile in either tool to see the split.
If you are working from an export (from GSC, Ahrefs, or Semrush), BacklinkTower classifies the full attribute mix (nofollow, dofollow, sponsored, ugc) from the data in your export, so you can see your ratio and flag over-optimization without manually reviewing individual links.
A practical check: if your dofollow share exceeds 90%, look closely at how those links were acquired. That concentration should prompt an honest review of your link-building approach. If you want to audit your backlink profile more thoroughly, including identifying low-quality links that may need disavowal, the process is covered step by step in the audit guide.
Should You Actively Build Nofollow Links?
No, at least not as a primary strategy. Chasing nofollow links through deliberate outreach is inefficient because the primary mechanism by which links influence rankings (PageRank) is at most a hint, not a guarantee, with nofollow.
Nofollow links happen naturally when you produce content worth referencing on platforms that apply the attribute by default. The effort belongs in creating content that earns those mentions, not in outreach campaigns designed to get nofollow placements.
The exception is brand exposure. A placement on a major publication, a Wikipedia citation, or a Reddit thread that drives relevant traffic has standalone value regardless of the link attribute. Pursue those when the opportunity fits. But do not mistake that for a nofollow link-building “strategy.”
Dofollow vs. Nofollow at a Glance
| Factor | Dofollow | Nofollow |
|---|---|---|
| Passes PageRank | Yes | No (may be treated as a hint since Sept 2019) |
| Referral traffic | Yes | Yes |
| Google crawling hint | Yes | Yes (since March 1, 2020) |
| Profile naturalness role | Primary signal | Necessary component |
| Typical sources | Editorial links, citations, directory | News, social, Wikipedia, UGC, press releases |
| Over-optimization risk | Yes (if 95%+ share) | Rarely |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do nofollow links pass PageRank?
No, nofollow links do not pass PageRank in the conventional sense. Since September 2019, Google treats nofollow as a hint rather than an absolute directive, meaning it may occasionally factor in these links for ranking purposes. However, Google’s default behavior is still to not credit nofollow links with PageRank flow. You should not build nofollow links with PageRank transfer as the expected outcome.
Are nofollow links bad for SEO?
No. Nofollow links are a normal, expected component of any organic link profile. Sites with zero nofollow links look unnatural, and Google’s spam detection systems treat an unusually high dofollow concentration as a potential manipulation signal. Beyond profile health, nofollow links from authoritative pages deliver referral traffic and can help Googlebot discover new content.
What is a natural dofollow-to-nofollow backlink ratio?
There is no single correct ratio, and Google has not published a specific target. Industry observations put well-ranked sites at roughly 60-90% dofollow, with the remainder nofollow. A dofollow share above 95% warrants review, since real editorial profiles always include nofollow links from sources like news coverage, social platforms, and user-generated content. Use competitor profiles in your niche as a benchmark, not a universal number.
Should I build nofollow links on purpose?
Not as a primary tactic. Nofollow links happen naturally from platforms that apply the attribute by default (news sites, forums, Wikipedia, social media). Deliberately pursuing nofollow placements through outreach is inefficient compared to acquiring followed editorial links. The exception: high-visibility placements on major publications or platforms that drive meaningful referral traffic are worth pursuing regardless of the attribute, for the brand exposure and traffic alone.
What exactly changed about nofollow in 2019 and 2020?
Two distinct changes happened at different times. In September 2019, Google announced that nofollow, sponsored, and ugc attributes would be treated as “hints” for ranking, meaning Google may choose to use or disregard them rather than following a strict no-credit rule. Then on March 1, 2020, Google extended the hint model to crawling and indexing: Googlebot may now follow nofollow links when deciding which pages to crawl and index.
How do I check whether a backlink is nofollow?
View the page source or use browser developer tools and look for rel="nofollow" on the link element. For bulk analysis, Ahrefs and Semrush both classify links by follow type in their backlinks reports. Google Search Console’s link export does not include attribute data, so GSC alone cannot tell you whether your inbound links are nofollow or dofollow.
Does the sponsored or ugc attribute affect SEO differently from nofollow?
Google treats all three (nofollow, sponsored, and ugc) as hints in the same general framework. Sponsored signals that a link is paid; ugc signals user-generated content; nofollow is the catch-all for links you’d rather Google not associate with your site or follow. From a ranking-signal perspective, the practical difference is minimal. The main reason to use sponsored or ugc accurately is transparency with Google and compliance with its link spam policies, not because it produces a different algorithmic outcome.
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