Do “Nofollow” Links Have Any Value?

In the world of SEO, one topic that frequently generates debate is the value of “nofollow” links. For those new to this term, a “nofollow” link is a hyperlink with a rel="nofollow" attribute, which signals to search engines not to pass “link juice” or ranking value from the linking page to the target page. This tag was introduced by Google in 2005 as a way to combat spammy links and maintain the quality of search engine results.

But even though they don’t directly impact PageRank, “nofollow” links can still play a valuable role in your SEO strategy. Here’s how.

1. Referral Traffic

The most straightforward benefit of “nofollow” links is their ability to drive real world human referral traffic to your site. For example, if a reputable blog, social media profile, or major website with high traffic includes a “nofollow” link to your page, users may click on it and visit your site directly. Regardless of the SEO impact, targeted referral traffic can lead to conversions, new subscribers, or brand followers.

Example: A “nofollow” link from a popular blog post mentioning your brand/product/service can bring in a significant amount of visitors due to it being very relevant to them, which may ultimately lead to sales, email sign-ups, or other conversions.

2. Brand Exposure and Authority Building

Gaining visibility on well-regarded platforms, even with a “nofollow” link, strengthens brand recognition. If your website is mentioned on sites like Forbes, The New York Times, social media or industry blogs, it builds credibility for your brand and can stick in the minds of potential customers. This brand exposure can have indirect SEO benefits by increasing your audience’s familiarity with your content or services and can lead to more “dofollow” links naturally over time.

Example: Being mentioned on reddit—even with a “nofollow” link or no link at all—can make your brand seeming more trustworthy and having some significance worth exploring, encouraging other websites to research and link to your content with “dofollow” links in the future.

3. Indirect SEO Benefits through EAT

Since 2019, Google’s focus on E-A-T—Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness—has grown. While “nofollow” links don’t directly influence rankings, links from credible sources signal to Google that your website is authoritative. If your site is mentioned frequently across high-quality, reputable sites, Google’s algorithms may take this into account when evaluating your site’s credibility, even if they’re “nofollow.”

There is lots of speculation of exactly how this algorithm works, however there is somewhat agreement that any reputable link does help your site in the eyes of search engines.

4. Creating Link Diversity

A natural backlink profile includes a mix of “dofollow” and “nofollow” links, which helps avoid a spammy-looking link profile. A site with only “dofollow” links from high-DA sites might look suspicious, making “nofollow” links essential for a healthy link profile. This balanced approach can improve your SEO strategy’s sustainability and authenticity.

Example: If a site appears to only seek “dofollow” links, it may raise red flags. A blend of both link types reflects an organic growth pattern and expected of most sites.

5. Leveraging “Nofollow” Links for Social Media Impact

While links on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are “nofollow,” they can significantly boost your content’s reach. Sharing engaging and valuable content on social media often leads to reshares, mentions, and increased visibility. The initial “nofollow” links can snowball into other high-quality “dofollow” links as your content gains popularity and credibility.

Example: Sharing a blog post on social media with a “nofollow” link can lead to more people linking to your post from their own sites or blogs if they find it valuable.

6. Increased Crawl Paths for Googlebot

While “nofollow” links generally signal Google not to follow them, search engines do still discover new content and crawl “nofollow” links. This means that even though a “nofollow” link doesn’t directly pass link equity, it can still help get your site or content noticed by search engines and included in their indexex. This can be beneficial for new websites that might not yet have been discovered by Google or where the search engine in the past decided the content was not worth indexing.

Conclusion: Is “Nofollow” Still Worth It?

While “nofollow” links may not have the direct ranking power of “dofollow” links, they still hold substantial value in an SEO strategy. Rather than viewing “nofollow” links as useless, think of them as supporting your website in other ways and providing wider exposure you otherwise might not have gotten.

The Bottom line is “Nofollow” links won’t singlehandedly improve your rankings, but they play a crucial role in a balanced SEO strategy.

SEO Hawk offers a range of services including Guest Posts and Niche Edits to obtain ‘Do Follow’ backlinks and Press Releases to obtain Nofollow backlinks from reputable site.