OFF PAGE · SEO GLOSSARY
Follow Link
A follow link (also called a dofollow link) is a hyperlink that does not have a rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc" attribute — meaning it passes PageRank (link equity) from the linking page to the target page. Follow links from authoritative, relevant sites are the primary currency of off-page SEO.
Definition
By default, all HTML hyperlinks are follow links — they pass PageRank unless a rel attribute is added to indicate otherwise. The term "dofollow" is informal (there is no actual rel="dofollow" attribute in HTML); it simply means the link lacks a nofollow-type attribute. **How follow links pass equity**: Google uses the PageRank algorithm (in its modern, continuously updated form) to calculate the authority of pages based on the quantity and quality of follow links pointing to them. A follow link from a high-authority domain (high PageRank, strong topical relevance, genuine editorial placement) passes more link equity than a follow link from a low-authority or topically unrelated domain. **Follow links and Google\'s policies**: follow links imply editorial endorsement — the linking site is willing to pass its PageRank to the linked page. Paid follow links (links acquired by payment without rel="sponsored") violate Google\'s spam policies because they misrepresent paid placement as editorial endorsement. Reciprocal link exchanges ("link to me and I\'ll link to you") are a link scheme that Google may discount. Natural follow links — earned through content quality, brand mentions converting to links, digital PR, and resource page inclusion — are the goal of legitimate link-building programmes. **When to use nofollow vs follow**: use rel="nofollow" for links where you don\'t want to vouch for the target (user-generated content, untrusted links, comment sections); use rel="sponsored" for all paid links and affiliate links; use rel="ugc" for user-generated content links. Leave links without rel attributes (follow) when they represent genuine editorial endorsement of the target.
Why it matters for SEO
Follow links from high-authority sites are the most powerful ranking signal in off-page SEO. A single editorial follow link from a highly authoritative, topically relevant domain can have more impact on rankings than hundreds of nofollow links or low-authority follow links. Link building programmes aim to acquire follow links through content creation, digital PR, and relationship-based outreach — the editorial endorsement signal they carry is what makes them valuable.
How DeepSEOAnalysis checks this
The audit analyses outbound link attributes on the crawled pages: identifies whether paid links (affiliate links, sponsored content) use rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" as required by Google\'s policies; checks whether UGC links have rel="ugc" attributes; and analyses the ratio of follow to nofollow outbound links. For inbound follow link analysis — the profile of authoritative follow links pointing to the site — use a dedicated backlink tool (Ahrefs, Majestic, Moz Link Explorer, Semrush).
Useful tools and resources
GLOSSARY
Related terms
off page
Nofollow Link
A nofollow link is a hyperlink with the rel="nofollow" attribute, which signals to search engines that the linking page does not want to pass PageRank to the target. Google treats nofollow as a hint (not a directive) — it may still crawl and occasionally index linked pages, but typically does not pass link equity through nofollow links.
Read definition →links
Backlink
A link from an external website to a page on your site — the primary off-page ranking signal in Google\'s algorithm.
Read definition →off page
Link Spam
Link spam is the practice of creating unnatural, manipulative, or low-quality backlinks to a website with the goal of artificially inflating its PageRank and search rankings. Google\'s SpamBrain system and Penguin algorithm (now integrated into the core ranking system) are designed to detect and neutralise link spam.
Read definition →off page
Anchor Ratio
Anchor ratio is the distribution of anchor text types (exact match, partial match, branded, naked URL, generic) across a site\'s backlink profile. An unnatural anchor ratio — particularly over-concentration of exact-match keyword anchors — is a signal of manipulative link building and a risk factor for Google Penguin penalties.
Read definition →links
PageRank
Google\'s original algorithm that scores pages by the quantity and quality of links pointing to them — still a core (now internal) ranking factor.
Read definition →See how your site scores on Follow Link.
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