Do you really need No-follow backlinks to promote your website?
Everyone knows that link building is an important part of SEO, and 99.2% of the TOP 50 results for any query have at least one backlink. But what about no-follow backlinks? Do they really help you rank? Are they useless or even harmful? Should they be considered when analyzing the backlink profile?
If you know what no-follow backlinks are, you might think they are absolutely useless in SEO. In fact, you might even avoid them completely and never try to build such backlinks on your own.
But this is absolutely wrong. Search engine optimization has come a long way, and old and new optimization strategies must be carefully analyzed to separate the good from the bad. In this article, we'll share how no-follow backlinks can be useful from an SEO perspective and from other points of view as well.
What are no-follow links? You've probably heard about no-follow backlinks more than once, but you don't quite understand what they are. To understand this, you need to first consider do-follow links. In simplified form, do-follow backlinks are any links that convey link juice to the linked site. In turn, no-follow backlinks are used when the webmaster does not want to pass the link weight of the page to the resource that the page links to.
No-follow links are hyperlinks with a "rel" attribute “nofollow.”
Such links do not affect the ranking of the pages they lead to, since Google does not transfer PageRank through them. In fact, Google's search bot doesn't even visit such pages.
No-follow vs. do-follow links
Links with and without the no-follow attribute look similar for regular users.
The difference between the two becomes noticeable only if you dig into the HTML code.
They are identical, except that the rel = "nofollow" tag appears in the second link.
The only difference between the two types of links is that no-follow links tell the search engine that the specified site should not be identified with the site being linked to.
Are no-follow backlinks helpful for SEO?
First, let’s see what Google’s official stance in this matter is:
This statement is quite vague and can be interpreted differently. Some experts believe that all no-follow links convey some PageRank. Some think that Google passes PageRank on some, but not all, no-follow backlinks. Others are absolutely convinced that no-follow backlinks do not pass link juice.
But even if we assume that no-follow links have no direct impact on SEO, they can still have an indirect impact because:
1. No-follow Links Help Google Understand What Is Your Website About:
Do you need a reason to get no-follow backlinks? Here’s a great one: they still submit information about your site to Google, even if they prevent Google from crawling it. This information is contained in the anchor text of the link.
A no-follow link can still tell Google what content is on the other side of the link, thereby helping to increase your site’s authority in that area.
2. No-follow Links Can Still Pass Juice Indirectly.
Link juice is a term that SEOs know very well. This is the numerical value the backlink adds to the overall site’s authority score. Still, when a link is marked as rel = no-follow, it cannot transfer link power to your site. Does this mean that no-follow links absolutely cannot give you link juice under any circumstances?
It is true that no-follow links do not directly transfer link juice; that’s why they are used. However, let’s not forget about the main purpose of links: to allow users to navigate between websites. If someone visits your site and likes your content, they can link to it from their own site! And it might even be a do-follow backlink.
Building a no-follow backlink is like planting a seed that will eventually turn into a flower. No-follow links, especially if they come from reputable websites, can open an obscure path full of advantages for your brand.
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3. No-follow Backlinks Make Your Backlink Profile Look Natural
Google establishes the rules of the Internet. One of the rules set by the online titan is to have a natural backlink profile, one that has both: do-follow and no-follow backlinks. Websites that build only do-follow backlinks are more likely to suffer a drop in their rankings.
Focusing on do-follow backlinks only will get Google’s attention, and it’s not a good thing. Therefore, it is important to maintain a healthy balance for your link-building strategy.
A mixed profile of do-follow and no-follow backlinks shows that your efforts are genuine and that you are playing SEO in an honest way.
Would you like to outsource your link-building campaign to an agency that can provide high-quality, natural links for your website? We at CrowdMark can help you build natural backlinks that will generate referral traffic and a significant boost in search rankings through crowd marketing.
4. Metrics Other Than Google’s Ones, Use No-follow Links
Google metrics aren’t the only metrics you should be using. There are other metrics, such as DA (domain authority) and Alexa Rank, that can significantly help you with SEO. These “unofficial” metrics evaluate your website’s potential to rank high in Google, and they consider your no-follow backlinks.
Therefore, building no-follow backlinks is necessary in order to take advantage of the “unofficial” SEO metrics.
You’ll want to research what each metric means before applying them in your SEO campaign.
5. No-follow Backlinks Are Extremely Valuable In Local SEO
Google treats unlinked brand references as “implied” links. They may not offer as many benefits as do-follow links, but they certainly make a difference. One way to add a bit of appeal to an unrelated mention and make it more useful is to turn it into a no-follow backlink.
This is especially effective when you are optimizing your site for a local search. In local SEO, the users’ search intent is always more clearly defined compared with regular searches. When you show users a link, chances are more likely to click on it.
6. Better a No-follow Link than No Link
A mention of your brand with a no-follow link is far better than an unlinked mention (and surely better than nothing at all).
Backlinks unlock opportunities to connect you with your target audience. A no-follow link is even more valuable if it leads to you from a reputable website with a large audience; it might even make a bigger difference for your business goals.
For example, Quora is one of the most powerful platforms you can use in your digital marketing strategy. Even though Quora backlinks do not pass link juice to your website, a backlink from this platform, is a source of traffic, and a powerful tool for building brand awareness. If you need a reliable partner to manage your Quora marketing campaign, reach out to CrowdMark team.
By offering helpful answers and linking your website, you are guaranteed to get referral traffic and establish yourself as a niche expert.
Recommended reading: How to use Quora for marketing
7. No-follow traffic remains traffic.
The primary goal is to drive more traffic to your websites. While link building is usually viewed in conjunction with SEO in the same context, it is mostly applied for audience engagement opportunities.
It works like this:
Links> Traffic> Engagement> Profit
The primary goal is to drive more traffic to your websites. While link building is usually viewed in conjunction with SEO in the same context, it is mostly applied for audience engagement opportunities.
It works like this:
Links> Traffic> Engagement> Profit
Thus, no-follow links can be even more useful than do-follow links, when placed on the platforms that mostly cover your audience.
And since user experience matters to Google, they can ultimately improve your search engine rankings.
Final thoughts
No-follow links play a vital role when it comes to SEO and website promotion.
Hopefully, this guide has successfully armed you with the knowledge you need to make no-follow backlinks work for you … Not against you.
Finally, I have one last – probably pretty obvious point:
If you are actively building backlinks to your website, then it makes sense to prioritize do-follow link building. These are the ones that pass Page Rank and have a direct impact on SEO metrics. Still, you can’t entirely neglect no-follow backlinks.
CrowdMark provides strategic, creative, and performance services to consumer-oriented businesses. We help companies increase brand awareness, raise sales, create community, drive interaction and improve site rankings through innovative SEO techniques.