Dofollow link

Long definition

The term "dofollow" exists only in SEO conversation. There is no rel="dofollow" attribute in the HTML specification — the W3C never defined one and browsers ignore it if you write it. A "dofollow" link is simply an <a> tag without any of the link-modifier rel values that Google introduced over the years to suppress or qualify authority transfer.

The relevant rel values that do exist:

• nofollow (introduced 2005) — originally a directive to not pass PageRank, now a hint as of March 2020.
• sponsored (introduced 2019) — required for paid/affiliate links.
• ugc (introduced 2019) — user-generated content (comments, forum posts).

A link without any of those rel values is "dofollow" in the colloquial sense. The browser, search engines, and HTML parsers all treat it as a normal link. From Google's perspective: full link equity flows, anchor text is a relevance signal, and the link is part of the source page's outbound link inventory.

The practical consequence: when you build links, the default state is dofollow. You only add a rel modifier when you have a specific reason — payment, affiliate relationship, untrusted user-generated content, or low confidence in the link target.

A common mistake in CMS configuration: themes or plugins that auto-apply nofollow to all external links by default. This silently strips link equity from your editorial outbound links — usually the opposite of what you want, since linking out to authoritative sources is itself a quality signal Google rewards.

Common misconceptions

• "I need to add rel="dofollow" to make a link pass equity." No. The default <a href> already passes equity. Adding rel="dofollow" does nothing — the attribute value is non-standard and ignored.
• "Only dofollow links matter for SEO." Nofollow links still drive referral traffic, brand exposure, and (since 2020 hint treatment) may pass anchor-text context. Wikipedia links are nofollow and still extremely valuable.
• "All my outbound links should be nofollow to conserve PageRank." PageRank sculpting via nofollow stopped working in 2009. Google distributes PageRank across all outbound links; nofollow on some doesn't redirect more to the others.
• "A site that nofollows all outbound links is suspicious." It's a signal of low editorial confidence but not a penalty. Many news sites apply blanket nofollow for legal reasons. Google reads it as "they don't vouch for these," nothing more.