Dofollow link

Editorial links from articles and product pages are dofollow by default. These are the links that can help pages like /pricing or /guides/getting-started rank.

Links from social networks, comment sections, many directories and paid placements often carry a rel attribute. Those mark them as nofollow, sponsored or ugc. They may still be crawled, but are not meant to pass signals in the same way, as of 2026.

You do not need to ask for “dofollow”. You need relevant coverage with a natural anchor. A paragraph mention that links the words “signup flow guide” to /guides/getting-started is better than a footer logo link to your homepage.

1. 1

   Open the linking page

   Load the page that links to you. Do not rely on screenshots or emails.

2. 2

   Inspect the element

   Right click the anchor and view source or Inspect. Look for rel attributes on the <a> tag.

3. 3

   Decide by absence

   If there is no rel, it is dofollow by default. If you see rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc", it is not dofollow.

4. 4

   Check page level rules

   If the page uses <meta name="robots" content="nofollow">, all outgoing links are treated as nofollow hints.

5. 5

   Follow the redirect chain

   If the link goes through a redirect, check the final URL still resolves and is indexable. Dead chains do not help.

Search Console’s Links report shows who links to you, but not rel values. Sample key links by hand. Save copies in a simple spreadsheet: URL, anchor, rel, target page, status.

Since 2019 Google treats rel values as hints, not hard rules. A nofollow link is not necessarily ignored, but you should not bank on it.

• Pages worth citing: publish a clear, referenced guide, a dataset, or an original teardown with one page per topic.
• Anchors that fit the sentence: if a post writes “compare pricing tiers”, a link to /pricing or /comparison/acme-vs-you is ideal.
• Fix discoverability: link to your best pages from your own articles and nav, so journalists and bloggers can find and cite them.
• Pitch pages people keep: offer a short quote or chart they can embed with a plain <a> link to a specific URL, not your homepage.
• Repair link targets: if a good site links to /old-page, add a 301 to the new page and keep the content relevant there.

A fixed example: a review mentions “onboarding checklist” and links to yourproduct.com/guides/getting-started with no rel. That is a clean dofollow link you keep updated.

• Paid links must use rel="sponsored". Do not try to remove it.
• Sitewide footer swaps often get ignored. One contextual link on a relevant page is worth more.
• JavaScript-only links may not be seen if the content fails to render. Prefer normal <a href> links.
• Nofollow on the page via meta robots makes all outbound links hints, even if individual anchors lack rel.
• Noindex or blocked pages can still link, but their link value is often minimal.
• Anchor text still matters. “Click here” helps much less than “React error tracking” if that is your page’s topic.