Short answer
A dofollow link is a standard hyperlink that passes ranking signal and crawl equity to the linked page, while a nofollow link carries a rel="nofollow" attribute that tells search engines not to pass that signal. Since 2019 Google treats nofollow as a hint rather than a strict rule, meaning it may still crawl and occasionally use these links, but the practical difference remains: dofollow links are built for direct SEO value, nofollow links are used for comments, paid content, and untrusted sources to keep a link profile natural and compliant.
What does each attribute actually tell a search engine?
A dofollow link is simply a standard hyperlink with no rel attribute added, it tells search engines to crawl through it and, historically, to pass some of the linking page's authority to the destination. A nofollow link carries rel="nofollow" in its HTML, which was introduced in 2005 specifically to let site owners mark links they did not want to vouch for, such as blog comments or forum signatures.
Since a 2019 update, Google added two related attributes: rel="sponsored" for paid or affiliate links, and rel="ugc" for user-generated content like comments and forum posts. All three, nofollow, sponsored and ugc, are now grouped by Google as hints rather than absolute directives, meaning Google reserves the right to still crawl and, in select cases, count these links when it has other signals suggesting they are relevant and trustworthy.
Why does the distinction matter for a real link building strategy?
It matters because link building that ignores the distinction usually backfires. A profile built entirely from dofollow links, especially from guest posts, directories and PR placements, looks manufactured to a search engine, because natural link acquisition on any real website always produces a mix of both types from comments, social shares, citations and editorial mentions.
It also matters for compliance. Google's guidelines require sponsored or affiliate links to carry rel="sponsored" regardless of whether the destination site is dofollow or nofollow by default, and sites that skip this tagging on paid placements risk manual action if the pattern is detected. At WebBox we tag every paid PR and guest post placement correctly as a matter of process, not as an afterthought, because the tagging itself is part of what keeps a client's link profile defensible over time.
So which one is actually more valuable to earn?
Neither one wins outright, the value depends on context. A dofollow link from a relevant, high-authority, editorially selective site is worth more for rankings than almost anything else you can build, but a nofollow mention from a major publication like a national news outlet or an industry-leading blog still drives referral traffic, builds brand recognition, and can influence how AI-driven answer engines and generative search tools cite and describe your business, which is a growing part of what we track under GEO.
The practical takeaway is to stop filtering opportunities by rel attribute alone and instead filter by relevance, authority and audience fit. A backlink audit should look at the full mix, not just count dofollow links, because a healthy ratio of both types combined with topical relevance is what search engines and AI systems actually reward.
Related questions
Does Google still use nofollow links for ranking?
Since 2019 Google treats nofollow, sponsored and UGC tags as hints rather than strict instructions, meaning it can still crawl and, in some cases, weigh these links for ranking or discovery purposes.
Should I use sponsored or nofollow for a paid guest post?
Use rel="sponsored" for any link tied to payment, an exchange of value or an affiliate arrangement: it is the tag Google explicitly built for paid placements and using nofollow instead does not remove the compliance requirement.
Can a nofollow link still send referral traffic?
Yes, the rel attribute has no effect on whether a human visitor can click and arrive at your site, it only signals how search engines should treat the link for ranking and crawling purposes.
Is a link profile that is 100% dofollow a red flag?
Yes, an unnaturally clean profile with no nofollow, UGC or sponsored links at all is a common signal search engines use to flag manipulative link building, since natural link profiles always contain a mix.
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