What is a Dofollow Link? What You Need to Know for Link Building

Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) remain a cornerstone of SEO. Dofollow backlinks are the links that pass authority and influence search rankings.

In our recent industry survey, 80% of SEO professionals consider link building a crucial part of their SEO strategy. Yet, it’s also rated as one of the most challenging aspects of SEO (61% cited link building as the hardest part) .

This comprehensive guide will explain what dofollow links are, how they differ from nofollow and other link attributes (like sponsored and UGC), and why they matter for SEO.

We’ll also look into how search engines interpret dofollow links in 2025 with up-to-date data and expert insights, and outline best practices for acquiring quality dofollow backlinks.

What is a dofollow link?

By default, a normal hyperlink with no rel attribute is a dofollow link (though “dofollow” is not an official attribute, just an SEO slang term). In HTML, links can include a rel attribute that tells search engines how to treat the link.

This means search engines are free to crawl the link and count it as a vote of confidence toward the linked page. According to Google’s documentation, for regular links that you expect Google to follow and index, “you don't need to add a rel attribute.” 

In other words, a plain <a href="..."> link is considered a dofollow link that passes authority to the target page.

Dofollow vs. Nofollow

On the other hand, rel="nofollow" is an attribute that tells search engines not to pass on ranking credit (“link juice”) to the target page. A nofollow link looks like:

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Example</a>.

Historically, Google would not count any link marked nofollow as a ranking signal. Nofollow was introduced in 2005 to combat spam (like blog comment spam) and to flag untrusted or paid links. If a backlink to your site is nofollow, it means that it typically won’t improve your site’s rankings or pass PageRank to you .

Site owners often use nofollow on user-generated content or anywhere they don’t want to vouch for the linked page.

Google’s guideline is: use nofollow when you “don’t want to imply any endorsement, including passing along ranking credit to another page.”

From an SEO perspective, the main difference between dofollow and nofollow links lies in PageRank passing and crawling/indexing .

Dofollow links do pass on PageRank and can influence the ranking of the linked page (and search engines will usually crawl that link), whereas nofollow links do not pass PageRank and are typically not followed for indexing purposes.

How do I make a link dofollow?

It’s important to note that there is no actual rel="dofollow" attribute in HTML – you either use nofollow/sponsored/UGC, or you use nothing and it’s a follow link by default.

Some SEO practitioners emphasize this to prevent newcomers from mistakenly adding rel="dofollow" which has no effect.

How do I check if my link is dofollow?

Here's a step-by-step instruction on how to check for a dofollow link.

Do only dofollow links impact rankings?

Google has clarified that since late 2019, they treat all of these rel attributes (nofollow, sponsored, ugc) as “hints” rather than absolute directives.

This means that in most cases Google will not count those links for ranking, but they reserve the right to consider them for crawling or indexing if helpful.

For example, Google might still choose to crawl a nofollow link if it appears useful for discovery, but generally it won’t pass ranking influence.

The reason for this change is that even nofollow links contain useful information (like anchor text context or indications of link patterns), so Google didn’t want to ignore them completely .

However, from a practical link building standpoint, dofollow links are the ones that carry ranking weight, while nofollow/sponsored/UGC links are mostly ignored in ranking algorithms (or given minimal weight as a hint).

If you earn a backlink from a high-authority site but it’s nofollow, it may still drive traffic and have indirect SEO benefits, but it likely won’t boost your search rankings the way a dofollow link from that site would. That's why it's important you monitor the links you build so they stay as dofollow.

Are dofollow links a ranking factor?

From a ranking perspective, backlinks remain extremely important. Google has confirmed that backlinks (i.e. followed links) are among the top ranking factors in its search algorithm.

In fact, one source notes that Google’s ranking algorithm regards content and links as the top two criteria evaluated for rankings.

Independent studies by SEO firms back this up: there is a strong positive correlation between the number of websites linking to a page and that page’s search ranking and traffic. 96.5% of pages get zero search traffic from Google (often due to not having backlinks).

In other words, pages that have more dofollow backlinks from unique domains tend to rank higher and get more organic traffic, all else being equal. This doesn’t mean raw quantity is everything (quality and relevance of links matter enormously, as we’ll discuss), but it illustrates that links are a foundational ranking signal.

Do dofollow links pass link equity?

When a page links out via a dofollow link, a portion of its own authority is passed to the page it links to. This is often referred to as “link equity” or colloquially “link juice.”

The more authoritative the linking page (and site), the more equity a dofollow link from it can transfer. However, that link equity is not split equally among all outbound dofollow links on the page because the Reasonable Surfer model also considers the placement of the link.

Search engines use a variant of the PageRank algorithm to distribute authority across the web graph of links. Thus, a dofollow backlink from a single high-authority site can be far more valuable than dozens of links from low-authority or spammy sites.

Quality matters: an industry study found 93.8% of link builders prioritize link quality over quantity. Moreover, if a site links out to too many places or is deemed untrustworthy, the value passed by its links may be discounted. Search engines have become very sophisticated at evaluating link quality – they consider the linking site’s credibility, the context of the link, the anchor text, and whether the link appears natural.

How do dofollow links impact crawling and indexation?

Dofollow links also influence how search engines discover and index new content on the web.

Googlebot and other crawlers constantly follow links from page to page. If your new page is linked from an existing page that’s already indexed (and the link is not nofollow), Googlebot can find it and add it to Google’s index.

A dofollow link from a crawlable page essentially invites search engines to visit the target page.

In contrast, a nofollow link is like a road with a “Do Not Enter” sign for crawlers. Google’s guidelines say if a link is nofollow, they’d rather not crawl or associate your site with the linked page.

As of 2019, nofollow is a hint, so Google might still choose to crawl it, but generally they treat it like a low-priority or untrusted path. For SEO, this means if you’re trying to get a new page indexed, a dofollow link from a relevant, frequently crawled site can expedite discovery.

Conversely, if the only links pointing to your page are nofollow (for example, all your backlinks come from Wikipedia, which adds nofollow to external links), Google might not attribute much ranking value to that page.

How does anchor text of a dofollow link impact rankings?

The anchor text of a dofollow link (the clickable text of the hyperlink) is another factor search engines consider. A dofollow link with a descriptive anchor text helps Google understand what the linked page is about.

For instance, if many websites link to your page with anchors like “SEO statistics 2025”, it signals to Google that your page is relevant for the query “SEO statistics 2025.”

Google has stated that it uses anchor text as a ranking signal, as it often describes the content of the target page.

However, a word of caution: anchor text is also an area where over-optimization can trigger spam filters. In the past, the Penguin algorithm targeted sites that had lots of manipulative exact-match anchor text in their backlinks.

The key is to earn anchors naturally. Some will be your brand or URL, some “click here,” and some the keywords. In general, dofollow links with relevant anchor text can boost your rankings for those anchor terms, since they act as an endorsement for specific topics.

Not all dofollow links are equal

Modern search algorithms evaluate the context and source of each link. A few high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites in your industry will typically outweigh a larger number of links from low-quality sites.

Links from sites that are topically relevant to your own site also carry more weight.

For example, if you run an SEO blog, a dofollow link from Moz.com or Search Engine Journal (reputable SEO sites) will help your rankings more than a random dofollow link from an unrelated blog.

Search engines also discount or ignore links that appear to be spam or part of link exchange schemes.

In fact, about 10.6% of all backlinks to the top 110,000 sites are nofollow (implying ~89.4% are dofollow) according to Ahrefs study. And only 0.01% carry a sponsored tag.

This shows that the vast majority of links on the web that “count” are dofollow by default. Google expects a natural backlink profile to have a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. If a site’s backlinks are 100% dofollow, it could be a red flag of manipulation (since typically some links are nofollow).

Luckily, most sites do accumulate some nofollows naturally. The takeaway for SEO professionals is to focus on earning dofollow links from trustworthy sources, and don’t worry if you also get nofollow links. Those still have value in terms of traffic, awareness, and a natural-looking link profile.

Search engines beyond Google

While Google dominates and sets the standard, other search engines have similar treatments. Bing, for instance, also respects nofollow attributes (they typically don’t count them as votes). Most SEO experts’ advice on link building primarily revolves around Google’s guidelines, but the benefit of earning a good dofollow link applies across all engines (and can bring referral traffic in addition to SEO value).

Real case study building dofollow links

For our client, an AI note-taking SaaS, we built 15 dofollow backlinks per month for 9 months. The result of building dofollow links was a 40x increase in website traffic from 500 to 20,000 monthly visitors.

The links had a quick impact on keywords rankings as well:

• Top 3 keywords grew from 23 to 255.
• Top 10 keywords expanded from 48 to 1300.

Best practices for acquiring dofollow backlinks

Earning high-quality dofollow links requires effort, creativity, and a strategic approach. As Google’s algorithms get smarter, the emphasis is firmly on earning links naturally through valuable content and relationships, rather than trying to spam links across the web. Here are some white-hat best practices for acquiring dofollow backlinks:

Create link-worthy content

90% of marketers say publishing quality content is their main strategy for generating backlinks.

Focus on creating resources that people naturally want to link to. This could be original research with compelling statistics, in-depth ultimate guides, infographics or data visualizations, expert interviews, or comprehensive tutorials.

Long-form content (3000+ ) in particular tends to earn significantly more backlinks on average than shorter articles. When your content provides exceptional value or unique insights, other sites in your industry will reference it as a credible source.

For example, if you publish a study with new SEO statistics, bloggers and news sites covering that topic will likely cite and link to your study (and such links are typically dofollow).

Investing in high-quality content is a long-term link acquisition strategy which it’s sometimes called “link earning” rather than link building.

Outreach and guest blogging

One ethical way to build dofollow links is through guest blogging on reputable sites in your niche.

This involves writing an article for another website and including a relevant dofollow link back to your site. Many webmasters allow 3 links from a guest post from my experience, so link one for yourself and organize link exchanges for the other two.

Many industry publications allow guest contributors, though some will nofollow external links by policy. It's good to check their guidelines before writing anything.

Target sites that are authoritative and relevant to your field. For instance, an SEO specialist might guest post on Moz’s blog, Search Engine Journal, or Ahrefs.

Ensure your content is truly valuable and not just a link vehicle. Google still values these links if the host site is selective and the content is high-quality. Besides guest posts, outreach can involve asking for links where appropriate.

If you have a great piece of content, you can reach out to bloggers or journalists who have covered similar topics and politely suggest your content as an additional resource.

Personalize your outreach emails and highlight why your content would be useful to their audience. Although outreach has a low success rate, even a few wins can result in excellent backlinks.

Remember to target sites that are likely to genuinely find your content relevant; a handful of strong contextual links is far better than dozens of forced links on unrelated sites.

Digital PR and press mentions

Digital PR is the effort of getting your brand/content mentioned by online news outlets and blogs.

If you can create a newsworthy story or a piece of content with broad appeal (such as a study, a survey, a tool, or a bold opinion), you can pitch it to journalists and reporters.

Press mentions often include a dofollow link to your site as the source or for attribution but it's not guaranteed.

Tools like Help A Reporter Out (HARO) are popular for digital PR. You can respond to journalists’ requests with expert insights and often earn a mention + link in their article if they quote you.

Broken link building

This is a classic tactic where you find broken (dead) links on other websites and suggest your content as a replacement.

It works because webmasters generally don’t want to send their users to 404 error pages.

Find a high-quality site in your niche that has a resources or links page (or an old blog post) with dead links. There are tools and browser extensions that highlight broken links on a page.

When you find a broken link that is related to a topic you have content on, reach out to the site owner. Let them know (politely) that they have a broken link and suggest your relevant article as an updated link.

Skyscraper content and outreach

Popularized by Brian Dean, the Skyscraper Technique involves finding content that has lots of backlinks, creating an even better version of that content, and then reaching out to all the sites that linked to the original, asking them to consider linking to your improved version.

For example, if there’s a 2019 article on “Top 50 SEO Tips” with many backlinks, you might create a “Top 100 SEO Tips for 2025” post that’s more comprehensive and up-to-date.

Then contact those linking sites to inform them of your new post. The idea is that you’ve built a taller “skyscraper” that supersedes the old resource.

This method leverages existing link patterns. Those sites already link out to content on that topic, so they’re likely candidates to link to a better piece.

Leverage community and relationships

Building links can also come from building relationships in your industry. Engage with other content creators, contribute in communities, and be genuinely helpful.

Sometimes opportunities for natural link placements arise through partnerships or collaborations. For instance, participate in expert roundup posts where a blog asks multiple experts to chime in on a question. These posts usually include a link to each expert’s site.

While many community-based links (like forum signatures or blog comments) are nofollow to prevent spam, being active in your niche can lead to earned dofollow links down the line.

Black-hat tactics to avoid

Because dofollow backlinks are so valuable, there’s always been temptation to cheat the system by manipulating links.

However, search engines have become very adept at detecting artificial or spammy link building, and engaging in black-hat tactics can do more harm than good.

Here are some link building practices to avoid:

Buying links

Paying other webmasters or networks of sites to insert dofollow links to your site is a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.

Google explicitly states that “links that are paid for should have rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". If you pay for a link and leave it as a dofollow, you are attempting to pass PageRank in a way Google considers deceptive.

It’s no secret that link buying is common: one industry survey in 2024 found 74.3% of link builders admitted to paying for links at least occasionally.

And there is a robust underground market where the price of a link correlates with the site’s Domain Rating (with high-DR sites charging hundreds or thousands of dollars per link).

Google has a dedicated “Webspam” team and algorithms (like the Link Spam Update in late 2022) that specifically target paid and unnatural links.

Google’s AI-based spam detection system, SpamBrain, can now detect sites that are selling or buying links and neutralize the impact of those links on search rankings.

In other words, you could spend a lot of money on links that ultimately get ignored by Google – or worse, your site could incur a manual penalty if caught.

Private Blog Networks (PBNs)

PBNs are networks of websites (often owned by the same entity) created solely to link out and inflate rankings.

Typically, an SEO might buy expired domains with existing authority, resurrect them with minimal content, and use them to link to their main site.

For a while (years ago) this tactic could work if done subtly, but Google’s algorithms and manual reviewers now frequently catch PBNs.

If all your backlinks come from a cluster of sites that interlink and have no real audience or purpose other than linking, that’s a huge red flag.

PBN links might help briefly, but when the network is discovered, all those links get discounted en masse.

We’ve seen high-profile cases of PBNs being de-indexed and sites dropping from rankings overnight.

It’s simply not worth the long-term risk. Instead of investing in a fake network of sites, put that effort into getting links from real, independent websites. Even if it yields fewer links, they’ll be sustainable.

However, if you’re ever evaluating an SEO agency or provider and they mention their “network of sites” that can link to you, that doesn't always mean it's a PBN. Network of sites could also refer to a network of relationships they have curated over time.

Excessive link exchanges or reciprocal linking schemes

Trading links with other websites (“you link to me and I’ll link to you”) in moderation is natural. Many sites link back and forth when they have related content.

In fact, 73.6% of domains have some reciprocal links in their backlink. But organized link exchange rings or “you add my link to 100 of your sites, I’ll do the same” arrangements are considered spam.

If your site has an unnaturally high percentage of backlinks that are reciprocated, it looks fishy.

Google’s algorithms can pick up on patterns like a group of sites that all link to each other in a circular way.

Focus instead on one-way links and ABC exchanges or hire professionals to build your links.