The nofollow attribute refers to a tag that web publishers, webmasters, and bloggers add to their webpage links as a sign for search engines not to follow the link or count it as a vote. If this tag is absent on a link, search engines will follow the link and consider the page it links to as a high-quality and trusted site that doesn’t get compensation after obtaining the link.
The nofollow attribute of this link gives more context to the relationship between the link target and the linking page. As this attribute also provides search engine signals not to follow links with this value, search engines don’t link authority to the targets. However, Google may still choose to ignore the nofollow attribute and follow the link and may also give it link authority.
When to Use the Nofollow Attribute?
There are many instances of using this attribute. For example, it may be used for a link that doesn’t occur naturally or wasn’t earned through genuine interest. Other examples of instances to use nofollow attribute are:
- When you have to link to a target without being associated with the website.
- Press releases
- Certificate badges
- Widgets
