What Is a Dofollow Link?

The rel values a dofollow link lacks

A link counts as dofollow when it carries none of the three rel values Google recognizes for qualifying outbound links: sponsored (ads and paid placements), ugc (user-generated content) and nofollow (any other link you would rather Google not associate with your site). Google treats all three as hints rather than strict commands. Our guide to dofollow vs nofollow explains when each one applies and how to check a link.

Why dofollow links matter

Followed links from relevant, trusted pages are one of the signals Google uses to discover pages and judge their importance. That is why link builders care about the split, and why a natural link profile contains both: plenty of followed editorial links, plus nofollow links from social sites, forums, comments and sponsored placements.

Paid links must not be dofollow

Google's spam policies treat links bought to pass ranking credit as link spam, and say paid links should carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Selling followed links can earn a site an "unnatural links from your site" manual action, and buying them carries its own risk. Read buying backlinks: risks and alternatives before you pay for any placement.

Illustrative examples

Hypothetical scenarios that show how the term applies. They are not reports of real cases.

• <a href="https://example.com">Example</a> is a followed (dofollow) link.
• <a href="https://example.com" rel="sponsored">Example</a> is a paid link correctly qualified for Google.
• <a href="https://example.com" rel="ugc nofollow">Example</a> is a typical link in a forum post or comment.