TL;DR

Nofollow tells Google 'don't count this link as a vote.' It was created for user-generated content (blog comments, forum posts) to prevent spam. Google now treats it as a hint, not a directive.

Key Points

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Google introduced nofollow in 2005 to fight comment spam; in 2019 it was reclassified from a directive to a hint

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Two companion attributes were added in 2019: rel='ugc' (user-generated content) and rel='sponsored' (paid links)

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Nofollow links do not directly pass PageRank, but they still drive traffic and can build brand visibility

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Internally nofollowing links on your own site wastes crawl budget and can actually hurt PageRank flow — avoid it

The History and Purpose of Nofollow

Google introduced the rel='nofollow' attribute in 2005 to combat link spam in blog comments and forums^[1]. Before nofollow, spammers posted thousands of comments on blogs purely to get backlinks — each comment link passed PageRank to the spammer's site. By adding rel='nofollow', webmasters could signal to Google that a link should not be followed for PageRank purposes. This effectively removed the incentive for comment spam. In 2019, Google expanded the system with two new link attributes: rel='ugc' for user-generated content (comments, forum posts) and rel='sponsored' for paid or affiliate links. All three are treated as hints rather than directives — Google may choose to follow them.

Nofollow, Sponsored, and UGC

The three link attributes serve distinct purposes but all prevent (or reduce) PageRank transfer^[1]^[2]. rel='nofollow' is the general-purpose signal for any link you don't want to endorse. rel='sponsored' is required by Google's guidelines for paid links, affiliate links, and advertorial content — using 'nofollow' on paid links is acceptable but 'sponsored' is more specific. rel='ugc' is for user-generated content where you can't vouch for the destination. You can combine attributes: rel='nofollow ugc'. The practical difference between them for most sites is minimal — Google treats all three similarly in terms of link equity. The critical distinction is that paid links that pass PageRank without a nofollow or sponsored attribute violate Google's spam policies.

When to Use (and Not Use) Nofollow

Use nofollow on: paid links and sponsorships, affiliate links, user-generated content you can't vet, login pages and thank-you pages you don't want crawled, and advertising. Do not use nofollow on internal links to your own pages — this was a popular tactic called 'PageRank sculpting' that Google has confirmed doesn't work as intended and can actually harm PageRank flow by creating crawl dead-ends^[2]. Also avoid nofollowing links to your most important pages. Nofollow links from high-authority sites (Wikipedia, major news sites) are still valuable for referral traffic even without passing PageRank — and Google has confirmed it uses nofollow links as hints that may influence crawling even if not full PageRank transfer.

SOURCES

Google Search Central — Qualify Your Outbound Links to Google

Ahrefs — Nofollow Links: What They Are and How to Use Them

Last updated: June 9, 2026

Related Terms

Backlink

A hyperlink from one website pointing to a page on another website, used by search engines as a signal of authority and trust.

PageRank

Google's original algorithm that assigns a numerical importance score to web pages based on the quantity and quality of links pointing to them, treating each link as a 'vote' of confidence.

Link Equity

The SEO value and ranking power passed from one page to another through hyperlinks — sometimes called 'link juice' — determining how much of a linking page's authority is transferred to the pages it links to.

Anchor Text

The clickable, visible text of a hyperlink — the words a user sees and clicks to follow a link, which signals to search engines what the destination page is about.

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