What is Nofollow Attribute?

Ecommerce SEO Glossary > Off-Page SEO > Nofollow Attribute


What You Need to Know about Nofollow Attribute

Link-Level Implementation

Add rel=”nofollow” directly to individual anchor tags to control specific links without affecting other page links.

Paid Link Compliance

Google requires nofollow or sponsored attributes on advertisements, sponsored content, and any compensated link placements.

Comment Spam Protection

WordPress and platforms automatically apply nofollow to user comments preventing manipulation through spam link injection.

Crawl Budget Consideration

NoFollow can prevent crawlers from wasting resources on low-value pages like terms of service or login screens.

External Link Control

Use nofollow when linking to untrusted sources or when you don’t want to editorially vouch for destinations.

Modern Treatment Evolution

Since 2019, Google treats nofollow as a hint for crawling and indexing rather than an absolute directive.


Frequently Asked Questions about Nofollow Attribute

1. When should I add nofollow to internal links?

Apply to low-value pages like login screens, admin areas, or filtered pages that don’t need ranking priority.

2. Does nofollow completely prevent link value?

Google may still use nofollowed links as hints and for discovery, though they typically don’t pass traditional authority.

3. What’s proper syntax for nofollow links?

Use anchor text or combine with other values like rel=”nofollow sponsored”.

4. Should affiliate links always be nofollowed?

Yes, FTC and Google guidelines require nofollow or sponsored attributes on all affiliate and commission-based links.


Explore More EcommerCe SEO Topics

Related Terms

Referral Traffic

Visitors who click links from other sites to reach yours, measured separately from search and direct traffic.

Referral Traffic

Natural Link

Editorially earned backlinks acquired organically without outreach, payment, or manipulation, representing genuine content endorsements.

Natural Link

Link

A connection between two web pages, created by HTML code, that allows users and search engines to navigate from one page to another.

Link

Nofollow Attribute

HTML attribute added to links signaling search engines to ignore them for authority transfer and ranking credit calculations.

NoFollow


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