When reviewing backlink delivery sheets or performing an SEO audit, DoFollow and NoFollow are the two terms you will encounter most frequently. Many beginner webmasters mistakenly fall into a binary trap: focusing exclusively on DoFollow links because they pass direct PageRank, while writing off all NoFollow links as a complete waste of time.
In modern Google SEO, this rigid view is not only outdated but can also be dangerous. Artificially forcing a high DoFollow ratio without establishing natural foundation links is a major footprint that can trigger Google's link-manipulation spam filters.
This guide breaks down the mechanics of DoFollow, NoFollow, and their family attributes, and explains how to construct a natural, safe link profile at different stages of your website's growth.
1. Key Concepts and HTML Implementations
Link attributes are specific instructions written inside the rel attribute of HTML anchor () tags. Crawlers read these tags to determine the relationship between the linking page and the target page.
A. DoFollow Links (Votes of Confidence)
By default, standard HTML hyper-links are treated as "DoFollow." There is no such thing as a rel="dofollow" attribute in official HTML syntax (using it is actually a markup error). If a link has no restrictive attributes, Googlebot automatically treats it as a DoFollow link.
- HTML Example:
<a href="https://your-site.com">Visit My Website</a>- How it works: Google crawlers follow this link to index the target page and transfer a portion of the source page's PageRank (link equity) and TrustRank. These are the primary links that lift your Domain Rating (DR) and keyword rankings.
B. NoFollow Links (Non-Endorsement Signal)
Introduced in 2005 to combat comment spam on blogs, the rel="nofollow" attribute tells search engine crawlers: "I am adding this link, but I do not vouch for this target website's credibility or transfer PageRank to it."
- HTML Example:
<a href="https://your-site.com" rel="nofollow">External Resource</a>C. UGC Links (User Generated Content)
Introduced by Google in 2019, the rel="ugc" attribute specifically flags links that appear in content generated by users. This includes forum threads, blog comments, social bookmarks, and user profile pages.
- HTML Example:
<a href="https://your-site.com" rel="ugc">User Profile Link</a>D. Sponsored Links (Commercial and Paid Placements)
Also introduced in 2019, rel="sponsored" is designed for links created as part of advertisements, sponsorships, paid partner banners, or sponsored posts. Using this label helps prevent algorithmic penalties for buying or selling links.
- HTML Example:
<a href="https://your-site.com" rel="sponsored">Our Sponsor</a>Pro Tip: Google allows you to combine these attributes. For example, if a link is placed inside a user-generated forum comment and you do not want to pass any link equity, you can use rel="ugc nofollow". This is fully compliant and highly recommended for forum moderators.2. Debunking the Ratio Myth: What is a "Natural" Link Profile?
Many old SEO guides advocate a strict "golden ratio" for backlinks, such as maintaining 70% DoFollow and 30% NoFollow links at all costs. In modern SEO, trying to force a fixed ratio is a counterproductive practice.
The Risk of Artificial Manipulation
Google's spam brain algorithms (like SpamBrain) look for artificial patterns. If a brand-new website has 90% of its backlinks as DoFollow links from guest posts, this looks highly suspicious. In reality, a natural web presence accumulates a diverse footprint. Users naturally share links on social platforms (NoFollow), talk about brands in forums (UGC), and register business profiles (UGC/NoFollow).
Stage-Based Backlink Distributions
A natural link profile depends entirely on the growth stage of your website and the types of links you are building:
- The Launch and Foundation Stage (70% - 90% NoFollow/UGC):
When a website is brand new, your primary goal is to establish "entity trust." You do this by setting up high-DR profiles (GitHub, Trello, Solo.to), local directories, and business listings. Because these world-class platforms enforce strict spam prevention, their outbound links are 100% NoFollow or UGC. During this stage, having a massive proportion of NoFollow/UGC links is completely normal, natural, and safe.
- The Content and Growth Stage (DoFollow rises to 30% - 50%):
Once your foundation is laid, you begin building editorially-placed links via Guest Posting, digital PR outreach, and high-quality resource page integrations. Because these are hand-placed in article bodies by webmasters, they are typically DoFollow. Consequently, your DoFollow ratio will climb steadily and organically.
Trying to artificially maintain a specific ratio by building low-quality DoFollow links is dangerous. As long as your links are built manually on relevant platforms and respect the natural settings of those channels, your backlink profile will remain healthy and algorithm-proof.
3. Google's "Hints" System and the Value of NoFollow Links
In March 2020, Google changed how it handles nofollow attributes. Instead of ignoring them completely, Google now treats nofollow, ugc, and sponsored as hints.
How the Hint Model Works
Under the hint model, Google's AI crawler evaluates the context, topical relevance, and authority of the linking page. If a link is highly relevant to the search query and sits on an extremely authoritative platform, Google may choose to follow it and pass ranking weight anyway.
Authority Trumps Link Attributes
An organic UGC or NoFollow link from a DR 90+ authoritative platform (like Reddit or Medium) can pass more trust signals to Google than a DoFollow link placed on a low-quality, DR 20 link-selling farm. Do not underestimate the ranking power of a high-authority NoFollow link.
4. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: Will Google index pages linked via NoFollow links?
Yes.
Link attributes govern how crawlers evaluate trust and authority transfer; they do not block Googlebot from crawling or indexing the destination page. As long as the target page has high-quality content and is indexable, it will index normally.
Q2: Why does my backlink delivery report contain mostly UGC and NoFollow links?
High-DR profile creation, social bookmarks, and directory submissions default to UGC or NoFollow on almost all reputable modern sites. This is a technical setting managed by the platforms to prevent automated spam. These links are critical because they form the trust foundation of your site. Once this foundation is in place, you can safely add expensive DoFollow guest posts without triggering spam alerts.
Q3: Do I really need to mark paid links as rel="sponsored"?
According to Google's official Webmaster Guidelines, any paid link (advertisements, sponsored posts, paid guest posts) must carry the rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" tag. Failing to do so can lead to outbound link penalties for the selling site and ranking penalties for the buying site.
For a complete breakdown of building manual high-DR links and how to structure your backlink profile across different growth cycles, read our master pillar page: Ultimate Guide to Manual High-DR Link Building. This comprehensive guide covers strategic allocation for profiles, web 2.0s, and guest posts to help you grow authority safely.