Do-Follow vs No-Follow Links: What Guest Posting Buyers Should Know

Every site in our Publisher Directory lists whether its links are dofollow, and this single detail matters more than most people realize when evaluating a guest posting opportunity.

What Dofollow and Nofollow Actually Mean

By default, a hyperlink is “dofollow” — it passes some ranking authority (often called “link equity”) from the linking page to the destination. A “nofollow” link includes a specific HTML attribute (rel=”nofollow”) that tells search engines not to pass that authority through, originally introduced specifically to combat comment spam. Google’s documentation on the nofollow attribute explains the current, more nuanced treatment of these link attributes.

It’s More Nuanced Than a Strict On/Off Switch Now

Google has clarified that nofollow, sponsored, and UGC (user-generated content) attributes are now treated as “hints” rather than strict directives — meaning Google may still choose to consider a nofollow link in some contexts, though dofollow links remain the more reliable, direct way to pass authority for SEO purposes.

Why This Matters for Guest Posting Specifically

• A dofollow link from a guest post directly contributes to your site’s backlink profile in the way most people mean when they talk about “link building”
• A nofollow link still has value — genuine referral traffic, brand exposure, and a more natural-looking overall link profile — but doesn’t pass the same direct SEO authority
• Some publishers nofollow all outbound links as a blanket editorial policy, regardless of the content’s quality

Why a 100% Dofollow Link Profile Isn’t Actually Ideal Either

Counterintuitively, having every single backlink be dofollow can look unnatural to search engines — genuine organic link profiles typically include a healthy mix of both types, since real websites link to sources for many different reasons with varying editorial policies. A guest posting strategy built entirely around dofollow links, to the total exclusion of nofollow ones, can actually look more manipulative than a natural mix.

What to Actually Check Before Ordering a Placement

Confirm the link type directly rather than assuming — reputable agencies disclose this upfront, as we do throughout our own Guest Post Agency listings. If a placement is nofollow, factor that into whether the price reflects appropriate value — a nofollow placement should generally cost less than an equivalent dofollow one, given the different SEO contribution.

How to Verify a Link’s Type Yourself

You don’t have to take a publisher’s word for it — right-click any link on a live page and select “Inspect” (in Chrome or most modern browsers) to view its HTML directly. A dofollow link will show a plain <a href=”…”> tag with no rel attribute (or one unrelated to nofollow); a nofollow link will explicitly include rel=”nofollow” in its code. This takes under a minute and removes any ambiguity about what you actually received.

Sponsored and UGC Attributes: Two Other Tags Worth Knowing

Beyond plain nofollow, Google introduced rel=”sponsored” (for paid links and advertisements) and rel=”ugc” (for user-generated content like forum posts or comments) as more specific hint attributes. A guest post disclosed as sponsored content, using the sponsored attribute, is Google’s own recommended way for publishers to handle paid placements transparently — seeing this attribute on a placement isn’t necessarily a bad sign, just a different, more specific category than a plain follow or nofollow link. Google’s guidance on qualifying outbound links covers when each attribute is appropriate.

Why Anchor Text Choice Matters Alongside Link Type

Beyond dofollow versus nofollow, the actual clickable text of your link (the anchor text) also affects how much SEO value it contributes and how natural the link looks. Over-optimizing anchor text with your exact target keyword repeated across many placements can look manipulative; a natural mix of branded terms, generic phrases (“click here,” “this guide”), and occasional keyword-relevant text tends to look far more organic to search engines evaluating your overall link profile.

The Bottom Line

Dofollow links pass direct SEO authority; nofollow links still offer real value through traffic and exposure, but with a different, more hint-based relationship to search rankings. Understanding which type you’re getting — and pricing your expectations accordingly — is a basic but important part of evaluating any guest posting opportunity.