Dofollow Link

Definition

A dofollow link is a standard HTML anchor tag with no `rel="nofollow"`, `rel="ugc"`, or `rel="sponsored"` attribute: `<a href="/page">anchor text</a>`. All links are dofollow by default — "dofollow" is a shorthand the SEO community uses to mean "a normal link that passes PageRank". When Googlebot follows a dofollow link, it transfers some PageRank from the linking page to the linked page, weighted by the linking page's own authority and the total number of outbound links on that page. The nofollow attribute signals to crawlers not to pass equity — originally created for blog comment spam in 2005, now also used for sponsored/paid links (`rel="sponsored"`) and user-generated content (`rel="ugc"`).

Why it matters for SEO

The distinction between dofollow and nofollow links is fundamental to link building: only dofollow links pass PageRank. A guest post on a DA-60 publication is valuable because it passes equity; the same link with `rel="nofollow"` passes no equity (though it may still send referral traffic). Google's guidelines require paid links to use `rel="sponsored"` — dofollow paid links are a manual action risk. For internal links: all internal links should be dofollow. A site that accidentally nofollows internal links (some JavaScript-rendered navigation does this) loses internal PageRank distribution.

How DeepSEOAnalysis checks this

The audit checks all internal links for `rel="nofollow"` attributes. Internal nofollow links are flagged — there is rarely a legitimate reason to nofollow an internal link, and it breaks PageRank flow. External links are checked for the presence of `rel="nofollow"` or `rel="sponsored"` on links that appear to be commercial relationships (affiliate links, sponsor mentions) — the absence of these attributes on monetised links is a guideline violation risk.

Useful tools and resources

• Full links audit