The Essential Guide to Do Follow Links: Benefits and Best Practices
Dofollow links are powerful for boosting site visibility and rankings. They play a direct role in transferring authority from one site to another, helping to increase search engine rankings and improve online visibility.
Let’s dive into what dofollow links are, their benefits, and how you can use them to strengthen your website’s search engine rankings.
What are dofollow links?
A dofollow backlink is a type of hyperlink that search engines can follow to reach another website. By allowing these links to pass “link juice,” or authority, to the destination site, dofollow links directly contribute to the PageRank of the linked page. This can enhance both the authority and ranking potential of that page in search engine results.
Dofollow links are standard links and don’t require any additional code to function as dofollow links. Their key role is passing value from one site to another, improving the SEO of the receiving site. This makes them essential in link-building strategies aimed at boosting a website’s visibility and authority.
Understanding nofollow links
In contrast, a nofollow backlink contains a rel=”nofollow” attribute in its HTML, which instructs search engines not to pass link juice to the linked site.
While they don’t directly impact SEO rankings, nofollow links are still valuable for driving traffic and improving visibility. Social media platforms, comment sections, and user-generated content (UGC) often use nofollow attributes to avoid spam and ensure a healthy user experience.
Common misconceptions about nofollow Links
While it’s true that nofollow links don’t directly impact SEO rankings, they still carry significant indirect value.
One misconception is that nofollow links have no SEO benefits; however, they can contribute to a site’s overall visibility and authority by driving high-quality referral traffic. Additionally, a varied backlink profile, including both dofollow and nofollow links, is seen by search engines as a sign of natural link-building practices.
Nofollow links help diversify this profile, indicating to search engines that the links pointing to your site are earned and varied, which can contribute positively to SEO in the long term.
Benefits of using dofollow links
Dofollow links offer several significant SEO benefits:
- Improving PageRank: Dofollow links contribute to the PageRank of the linked page, which can help increase its authority and ranking potential.
- Higher search rankings: By passing authority from one site to another, links can boost the receiving site’s search engine ranking, enhancing its visibility.
- Driving referral traffic: In addition to SEO value, dofollow links can drive direct traffic to the linked site, increasing engagement and potentially boosting conversions.
- Enhanced online visibility: Consistent exposure to new audiences through dofollow links helps a site expand its online presence and influence.
The key to maximizing these benefits lies in building high-quality dofollow backlinks, as dofollow links pass link juice from the referring domain, significantly impacting a website’s credibility and ranking performance.
The impact of anchor text in dofollow links
Anchor text, the clickable text in a hyperlink, serves as an important ranking factor for dofollow links. Well-optimized and relevant anchor text amplifies the SEO benefits of dofollow links by providing search engines with context about the linked content.
For example, a natural anchor like “best SEO practices” linked to a relevant guide helps search engines interpret the content’s topic and relevance.
However, overuse of exact-match anchor text, or stuffing keywords in anchor text, can appear manipulative and may lead to penalties. It’s best to vary anchor text with descriptive but natural phrasing to ensure a balanced, organic link profile.
Building high-quality backlinks
The cornerstone of effective link building is high-quality content. To attract valuable dofollow backlinks, start by creating original, relevant, and engaging content that other sites will want to link to.
Effective on-page SEO practices are crucial for maximizing the benefits of these backlinks, ultimately contributing to better conversions and revenue.
High-quality backlinks can also be obtained by:
- Outreach: Contacting relevant sites and suggesting links to your content can establish connections and potentially lead to organic backlinks.
- Relationships: Building meaningful relationships with other site owners and industry influencers can lead to voluntary link placements.
A relationship-based approach can foster organic backlinks that enhance a site’s authority and drive consistent traffic.
Best practices for dofollow link building
To effectively incorporate dofollow links into your SEO strategy, follow these best practices:
- Link to reputable sites: Ensure that outbound dofollow links point to high-quality, reputable sources. Linking to low-authority or spammy sites can harm your SEO.
- Mix dofollow and nofollow links: Using both types of links creates a balanced link profile. This organic approach demonstrates credibility to search engines.
- Use dofollow link checkers: These tools can help you verify whether links on your site are dofollow or nofollow, allowing you to monitor the authority of linked pages. You can also inspect the link’s HTML code in the browser to see if the ‘rel=”nofollow”‘ attribute is present.
Tools for managing Dofollow and Nofollow links
Managing dofollow and nofollow links is crucial for maintaining a healthy backlink profile and optimizing your website for search engines. Here are some tools that can help you manage dofollow and nofollow links:
- Ahrefs: Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO tool that allows you to analyze your backlink profile, including do follow and nofollow links. You can use Ahrefs to identify high-quality dofollow links, monitor your backlink profile, and track changes over time.
- Moz: Moz is another popular SEO tool that offers a range of features for managing dofollow and nofollow links. You can use Moz to analyze your backlink profile, identify opportunities for do follow links, and track your progress over time.
- SEMrush: SEMrush is an all-in-one SEO tool that includes features for managing dofollow and nofollow links. You can use SEMrush to analyze your backlink profile, identify technical SEO issues, and track your progress over time.
- Google Search Console: Google Search Console is a free tool that allows you to monitor your website’s performance in Google search results. You can use Google Search Console to identify dofollow and nofollow links, monitor your backlink profile, and track changes over time.
- LinkMiner: LinkMiner is a tool that allows you to analyze your backlink profile and identify dofollow and nofollow links. You can use LinkMiner to monitor your backlink profile, track changes over time, and identify opportunities for links.
When to use nofollow links
Nofollow backlinks are useful in cases where you don’t want to pass link authority to the destination page. Common scenarios include:
- Sponsored and affiliate links: These links are typically nofollow to indicate they’re promotional, helping avoid potential penalties from search engines.
- User-generated content (UGC): Comments or guest posts on your site should often be nofollow to prevent spamming and ensure a positive user experience.
- Spam prevention: Nofollow links can discourage manipulative SEO tactics, keeping your site clean and search-engine-friendly.
How search engines crawl and index links
Search engines like Google use “spiders” to crawl and index pages. When search engine spiders crawl and encounter a dofollow link, they follow that link to discover and index the new content, transferring PageRank value. Nofollow links, however, are generally not followed, which prevents them from contributing directly to SEO value.
It’s essential to understand that search engines are selective in crawling, so high-traffic sites and links from reputable sources may be prioritized, and low-authority links may take longer to be indexed.
Common mistakes to avoid in link building
Avoiding pitfalls is key to building a healthy backlink profile. Here are some common mistakes to watch for:
- Misusing nofollow links: Internal links should usually be dofollow to ensure proper navigation and authority flow within your site.
- Blindly applying nofollow to all external links: Each external link should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for relevance and authority.
- Relying on low-quality backlinks: Quality is more valuable than quantity. Linking to untrustworthy or irrelevant sites can harm your SEO.
- Using manipulative tactics: Attempts to game the system, like using excessive nofollow links, can result in penalties, making it crucial to use ethical SEO strategies.
The role of dofollow links in SEO
Dofollow links are integral to SEO success, supporting higher rankings, enhanced visibility, and increased referral traffic. Building a strong link profile of credible dofollow links elevates your site’s authority in the eyes of search engines, which translates into greater visibility for relevant search terms. It is essential to check and manage the attributes of links within the HTML of a web page to ensure that only valuable pages are indexed by search engines.
User-generated content and social media platforms
Since UGC platforms and social media networks are prone to spam, they commonly use nofollow and dofollow links by default to maintain a clean and user-friendly experience. Social media platforms, in particular, leverage the nofollow attribute to discourage abuse while still allowing valuable traffic to flow to linked sites.
Balancing your backlink profile
An effective backlink profile is crucial for search engine optimization, balancing dofollow and nofollow links to signal credibility and avoid penalties. A well-rounded link profile demonstrates that your site’s authority is earned organically rather than manipulated, building both trust with search engines and value for users.
Future of dofollow Links
The future of links is likely to be shaped by changes in search engine algorithms and the evolving nature of the web. Here are some trends that may impact the future of dofollow links:
- Increased emphasis on quality: Search engines are likely to place even greater emphasis on the quality of links in the future. This means that websites will need to focus on building high-quality, relevant dofollow links that add value to their content.
- More nuanced link evaluation: Search engines may develop more nuanced ways of evaluating dofollow links, taking into account factors such as the relevance of the linking page, the authority of the linking domain, and the user experience of the linked page.
- Greater transparency: Search engines may provide more transparency into their link evaluation algorithms, allowing websites to better understand how dofollow links are being evaluated and what factors are influencing their ranking.
- Increased use of artificial intelligence: Search engines may use artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate dofollow links and identify patterns that indicate high-quality or low-quality links.
- More emphasis on user experience: Search engines may place greater emphasis on the user experience of dofollow links, taking into account factors such as the relevance of the linked page, the quality of the content, and the user experience of the linked page.
Overall, the future of dofollow links is likely to be shaped by a combination of these trends, as search engines continue to evolve and improve their algorithms for evaluating links.
Case studies and examples of effective dofollow link use
CASE 1: CASINO SITE — “From zero to hero”
When this client partnered with Bazoom in June 2024, their organic traffic skyrocketed. Despite having many backlinks before, Bazoom’s focus on high-quality, relevant links drove a significant increase in traffic, proving the impact of strategic link building.
| TRAFFIC | LINKS | COUNTRY |
| 92 → 3.837 | 352 → 387 | NL |
CASE 2: TECH SITE — “Let’s double the traffic”
Since partnering with Bazoom in June 2023, this client has seen remarkable growth in their organic traffic. Starting with 1.1 million visitors, our strategic link-building efforts helped them more than double their traffic to 2.8 million today.
By focusing on relevant and high-quality backlinks, we’ve driven sustained and impactful growth for their website.
| TRAFFIC | COUNTRY |
| 1.1 mio → 2.8 mio | US |
CASE 1: CASINO SITE — “From zero to hero”
Back in November 2023, this client partnered with Bazoom and have since experienced impressive growth. Their organic traffic in Spain surged from 7,000 to 16,400, while their Domain Rating climbed from 28 to 39.
This significant increase demonstrates the effectiveness of Bazoom’s targeted link-building strategy in driving both traffic and authority.
| TRAFFIC | LINKS | COUNTRY |
| 7.363 → 16.438 | 115 → 193 | ES |
Final thoughts on dofollow links and SEO
Incorporating dofollow links is a powerful way to improve your site’s search engine optimization (SEO). By building high-quality backlinks, maintaining a balanced link profile, and avoiding common mistakes, you can enhance your website’s credibility and rankings. Keep in mind that a comprehensive SEO strategy relies on both dofollow and nofollow links to create a natural, trustworthy link profile that ultimately benefits both your audience and search engines alike.
