Are Dofollow or the Nofollow backlinks – are they useful?
There are two crowds when talking about nofollow backlinks. Some people are strictly backing their opinion with search engine guidelines, which clearly state that they do not follow these links, therefore they don't use them as a ranking factor.
There is also another crowd, not sure how big compared to the first one, thinking that the nofollow backlinks are being used by SE for ranking purposes even though people from those companies openly deny it. I am also working on something called which is also taking so much time to create.
Where does the truth lie? Is there any reputable case study about nofollow backlinks? Is it even possible to find out?
It may be challenging to find a specific case study solely focused on nofollow backlinks used in SEO and digital marketing, but you can check a few factors that instruct search engines not to pass authority or page rank to the linked page:
You can consider these:
- Google's Official Statement: Google has said that nofollow links are normally not used for ranking considerations. Search engines may still crawl and index them, though.
- User Experience and Traffic: While nofollow links do not directly affect search engine results, they can nevertheless drive traffic to your site if visitors click on them. Increased visitors might indirectly improve your website's exposure.
- Natural Link Profile: A diversified link profile that contains both nofollow and dofollow connections is considered natural by search engines. It may imply that your website is not attempting to influence search rankings.
- Social Signals: Links from social media platforms are frequently nofollow, but they can help enhance exposure, brand recognition, and referral traffic.
Dofollow backlinks and nofollow backlinks serve different purposes in search engine optimization. Dofollow links inherit link equity and benefit your search engine rankings and organic traffic. Although nofollow links do not directly impact search engine optimization, they can still contribute to your website's visibility and generate valuable referral traffic. A balanced mix of both types is often beneficial for a natural and diverse link profile, increasing your overall online presence and authority. The context and quality of the link source are important factors in the effectiveness of website advertising.
This resource is useful,
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/09/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identifyGoogle always works with link popularity for a ranking in the SERPs. Link popularity doesn't mean backlinks only. If a link is mentioned even then it's get a positive score in link popularity index. Similarly, nofollow links too provide a positive score in the link popularity index.
By the way, above link dictates that nofollow links too are crawled and considered in the ranking factor since 2019. There should not be any confusion by now in it.
@Emmamacron Can you please provide a supporting link for the Google's official statement! It looks a deprecated statement.
The truth about nofollow backlinks lies in the fact that search engines such as Google state that they do not use them for ranking purposes. The lack of credible case studies supporting their impact has led some to speculate otherwise. It remains crucial for SEO success to focus on creating valuable content in light of the ambiguity.