Dofollow is an informal SEO term for a standard hyperlink that passes ranking authority (PageRank / link equity) to its target. It is the default state of every HTML <a> tag. There is no actual rel="dofollow" attribute — a link is dofollow simply because it lacks rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc". Pages ranking in Google's top 10 have roughly 3.8x more dofollow backlinks than pages on page 2.
Every link on the web starts life as dofollow. The nofollow attribute was invented in 2005 to fight comment spam; dofollow simply became the shorthand for the original, unchanged behaviour. Understanding it is the entry point to almost every link-building conversation in SEO.
What is a dofollow link?
A dofollow link is a hyperlink that instructs search engines to follow the link, crawl the destination, and pass ranking signals from the source page to the target. Because HTML has no explicit dofollow attribute, the term is defined negatively:
<a href="/target">— dofollow (default)<a href="/target" rel="nofollow">— nofollow (hint)<a href="/target" rel="sponsored">— sponsored (paid link hint)<a href="/target" rel="ugc">— user-generated content hint
Since 2019, Google treats nofollow, sponsored, and ugc as hints rather than strict directives — meaning the search engine may still use them for ranking in some cases. Dofollow remains the strongest signal that the linking page endorses the target.
Google’s John Mueller has repeatedly clarified that dofollow "is not a real attribute" — there is nothing to add to make a link dofollow. It is the default. The instruction from Google is simple: never add nofollow to editorial links you want to endorse.
Why dofollow links matter
Dofollow links are the currency of organic ranking. Three reasons every SEO cares about maximising the ratio of high-quality dofollow inbound links:
- PageRank flow. Dofollow is the mechanism that lets authority pass from one page to another. Nofollow explicitly interrupts that flow.
- Discovery and indexing. Dofollow links are the strongest signal for Google to crawl and index a new page. New sites often depend on a single high-authority dofollow link to enter the index.
- Topical relevance. A dofollow link from a topically related, high-authority page is a compounding trust vote that improves your rankings across the entire topic cluster.
How dofollow works
Google’s crawler (Googlebot) follows every dofollow link by default. When a page passes ranking signals, it does so proportionally to the number of outbound dofollow links on the source page and the source page’s own authority.
<a href="https://target.com/page/">anchor text</a>
# Google sees this as:
Source → crawl + pass PageRank → Target
# Nofollow HTML (contrast)
<a href="https://target.com/page/" rel="nofollow">anchor text</a>
# Google sees this as:
Source → crawl hint only, minimal PageRank → Target
What counts as "high-value" dofollow
Not all dofollow links are equal. Value scales with linking domain authority, page topical relevance, anchor text, and link placement (in-content editorial links outperform footer or sidebar links).
Dofollow vs nofollow, sponsored, and UGC
| Attribute | rel= value | Passes PageRank? | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dofollow | (none) | Yes (full) | Editorial links, endorsements |
| Nofollow | rel=nofollow | Hint only | Untrusted content, comments |
| Sponsored | rel=sponsored | Hint only | Paid / affiliate links |
| UGC | rel=ugc | Hint only | Comments, forum posts |
Real dofollow link examples
1. Editorial in-content link
A journalist embedding a link inside body copy to cite a source. Full dofollow, high editorial weight.
2. Resource page link
A curated resource page linking out to recommended tools. Dofollow by default, valuable because of topical relevance.
3. Nofollow comment link (contrast)
A blog comment injected by a user. Most CMSs auto-tag with nofollow ugc so the site isn’t liable for the link.
4. Sponsored blog placement
A paid placement legally requires sponsored to disclose the commercial relationship. Google penalises dofollow paid links.
Dofollow vs nofollow — when each should be used
Use dofollow when
- You editorially endorse the destination
- The link is a citation, source, or reference
- Both pages are on trusted, related sites
- You want the linked page indexed
- The link is in-content, not footer/sidebar boilerplate
Use nofollow / sponsored / ugc when
- The link is user-generated (comments, forums)
- The link is paid or an affiliate placement
- You cannot vouch for the destination’s quality
- The destination is behind a login or paywall
- Legal disclosure of a commercial relationship is required
7 best practices for dofollow links
- Aim for editorial dofollows, not link exchanges. Editorial links from journalists, industry publications, and topical authorities move rankings; reciprocal link swaps do not.
- Target relevance over raw authority. A dofollow from a topically aligned DR40 site often outperforms one from an unrelated DR90.
- Diversify anchor text. Exact-match dofollow anchors at scale look manipulated. Mix branded, naked URL, and descriptive phrasing.
- Do not nofollow your own internal links. Internal links should always be dofollow — PageRank sculpting via nofollow was deprecated in 2009.
- Audit outbound dofollows. If you dofollow-link to a site that later goes toxic, disavow it or convert to nofollow.
- Verify link status with header inspection. Use tools like Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, or the NoFollow Simple extension to catch links that were meant to be dofollow but got rewritten.
- Never buy dofollow links. Google’s SpamBrain systems detect paid link networks and can devalue an entire domain overnight.
New SEOs often chase 100% dofollow inbound profiles. That looks unnatural. A healthy backlink profile has a mix — typically 60-80% dofollow, the rest nofollow / ugc / sponsored. Nofollow links still drive referral traffic and topical relevance signals.
Common dofollow mistakes to avoid
- Adding rel="dofollow" — not a real attribute; wastes bytes and confuses code review.
- Removing nofollow from paid links — violates Google’s webmaster guidelines.
- Nofollowing internal links to control PageRank — deprecated since 2009.
- Ignoring toxic dofollow inbound links — disavow via Search Console when needed.
- Assuming every high-DR link is dofollow — Forbes, HuffPost, Reddit and many others default to nofollow.
How theStacc helps with dofollow analysis
Understanding your dofollow profile is half the battle in link building. theStacc pulls your full inbound link profile, separates dofollow from nofollow / sponsored / ugc, ranks the dofollow links by topical value, and identifies competitor dofollow opportunities you could realistically win. You leave with a prioritised outreach list, not a giant spreadsheet.
Frequently asked questions
Dofollow describes a standard hyperlink that passes SEO ranking authority (link equity) to the linked page. It is the default behaviour for every HTML anchor tag unless the author explicitly adds a rel=nofollow, rel=sponsored, or rel=ugc attribute.
No. There is no rel=dofollow attribute in HTML. Dofollow is the default state of any link. The term exists only as the opposite of nofollow to describe links that do pass authority.
Right-click the link, inspect the HTML, and look at the anchor tag. If there is no rel attribute or the rel attribute does not contain nofollow, sponsored, or ugc, the link is dofollow. Browser extensions like NoFollow Simple highlight non-dofollow links automatically.
No. Dofollow links only qualify to pass ranking signals. Whether they help depends on the linking domain’s authority, relevance, anchor text, link placement, and Google’s evaluation of link intent. A single dofollow link from a high-authority page can outweigh hundreds of low-quality dofollow links.
Both terms mean the same thing. Dofollow is the more common phrasing among SEO practitioners; some tools display it as follow. Neither term exists in the HTML specification — both describe the default absence of a nofollow attribute.