The difference between Dofollow and Nofollow links is one of the most challenging things to grasp effectively when learning about running and promoting a site. On paper, any link leading back to your site should be beneficial, right? However, is this actually the truth or a self-deceiving white lie? And what is the actual difference between the two? What is their definition in the first place? Read on and learn about the proper way to use these two types of links. And to the fullest extent of the benefits, they allow at that!
The definition of a Dofollow link
People try to get hyperlinks leading back to their pages on other people’s websites because of the way Google works. You see, every page has a ‘ranking,’ which decides its position in the Google Search results. This means that when someone looks up keywords tied strongly to that page, it will pop up among the first few results if its ranking is good. If the ranking of the page is poor, then it might even be last. Naturally, since no one goes that deep into their searches, the page will not attract any attention. Dofollow links contribute to this ranking. Because the website posting a link to your page is ranking high, your own page’s, and website’s rank, receive a boost. This is why many people are trying to figure out how to get free Dofollow backlinks from high-authority sites.
The definition of a Nofollow link
Nofollow links, however, are the exact opposite of that. They are still links that people have posted on their website or platform. But, they have gone out of their way to flag it in a specific way. This āflaggingā then warns Google that the link host does not want to be associated with or contribute to the pageās rankings. As a result, itāll bring no benefit to the person or business that had tried to get their link featured. It can be helpful to learn how to recognize a Nofollow link since some sites mark them as such for security or other very good reasons. Still, if a link is actually featured on a reliable and well-known platform or website, then you can, most of the time, at least assume it is safe to visit it.
Are Nofollow links useless?
After grasping the primary difference, you might wonder: Is the latter useless for you? Should you give up trying to get Nofollow links posted on other websites entirely and just work with those who want to post Dofollow links? Well, as the marketing experts from moverstech.com love to emphasize, such links are not worthless at all!
The first and most obvious example of Nofollow linksā beneficial aspects is exposure. While not allowing direct SEO benefits, getting featured on a popular site will make you attract more attention. Visitors count, and comments they might leave are still very much beneficial. Then, there is the fact that Nofollow links, although Google is typically ignoring them, are actually sometimes very useful. This is when they are used as crawler bridges if they are relevant enough to the page to which they were posted and integrated well into the content. So, that is another leveling field for the Dofollow and Nofollow links.
How does Indexing play into the Dofollow and Nofollow links?
Weāve mentioned ācrawlingā at the end of the previous paragraph. As you learn more about running a site, you will run into the concept of Google Indexing. This is the process Google uses to make websites actually āvisibleā to those using their search engine. Meaning that if a page or a website is not āIndexed,ā it will not pop up in Google Search Results. And that’s even if you had typed in all the relevant keywords and scoured the results pages for them.
It is obvious why this is a very bad thing for a site. You are losing out on traffic and the potential of endless outreach that Google provides. Occasionally, however, you actually want a page not to be indexed. This is because it would otherwise hurt your SEO. And while some briefly believed that the āNofollowā tag is a suitable replacement for the tag that prevents indexing, it actually isnāt.
Why are Nofollow links useful?
This difference between Dofollow and Nofollow links does bring up a question: Why use Nofollow links in the first place? Is it merely a measure that successful websites take to keep others from reaching their level of success? Or is there more to it? Well, as it turns out, there is! First and foremost, Google actually demands Nofollow links in some circumstances. The first reason is paid links: Google asks that paid links are marked Nofollow or given a special tag indicating they were paid to be featured. This is so that no one site can use the money to inflate its rankings artificially. Then, there is the original purpose of introducing Nofollow links: battling comment spam, optimizing website security, and helping to prevent potential threats. Once upon a time, a person could get a ton of ranking clout by spamming their links in comments of successful sites.
Final advice
Now that we have answered the question of āWhat are Dofollow and Nofollow links?ā, it should be easier for you to make proper use of them. Just remember one thing: There are places where each of the two types of links is useful. For one thing, it is tremendously hard to get Dofollow links on more popular websites because of the links between the two this creates. Still, most sites are much more relaxed in their approach to Nofollow links. This means that you will have much better chances of getting your website out there while just starting out or trying to grow your business. And while Nofollow links certainly do have their disadvantages, they are still beneficial enough to make it well worth the effort to get them on as many websites as you can!
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