Dofollow Links: What They Are and Why They Matter for Rankings

Dofollow Links: What They Are and Why They Drive Rankings

A dofollow link is any hyperlink that does not carry a nofollow, sponsored, or ugc attribute in its HTML code.

By default, all links on the web are followed unless explicitly marked otherwise, which means the vast majority of links you encounter are technically dofollow links.

When a search engine crawls a followed link, it passes PageRank from the linking page to the destination page, contributing to the destination’s domain authority and its ability to rank for target keywords.

This equity transfer mechanism is why acquiring followed editorial links from authoritative sources remains the most direct and reliable method for improving search rankings.

The term “dofollow” is actually informal shorthand that has become standard in the SEO industry.

There is no rel=”dofollow” attribute in HTML. The default followed state of a link is simply the absence of any rel attribute that would instruct search engines not to follow it.

When SEOs describe a link as “dofollow,” they mean it is in the default, unmodified state where equity transfer occurs normally.

How Dofollow Links Pass Equity

PageRank, Google’s original link-based authority metric, flows through followed links from one page to another.

A page that has accumulated strong equity through many high-quality inbound links can pass a portion of that equity to pages it links to via followed links.

The amount of equity passed per link is inversely proportional to the number of outgoing links on the linking page: a page with 5 outgoing followed links passes more equity per link than a page with 50, because the available PageRank is divided among all outgoing destinations.

This is why in-content editorial links from pages with few other outgoing links are among the most valuable dofollow placements available.

A niche edit inserted into a focused, well-linked article on a DR 60 domain, on a page with 8 total outgoing links, passes significantly more equity per link than a footer link on the same domain that appears on every page alongside 30 other outgoing links.

Checking Whether a Link Is Dofollow

Verifying that a link is followed is straightforward but important. Right-click any link on a page and select Inspect in your browser developer tools.

Look at the anchor tag in the HTML. If it shows simply href=”[URL]” with no rel attribute, the link is followed.

If it shows rel=”nofollow”, rel=”sponsored”, or rel=”ugc”, the link is not passing equity in the standard way.

Many link building services claim to deliver followed links but do not verify placement attributes before reporting.

Always check the live link yourself or use Ahrefs to confirm the link type for any placement you are paying for.

Dofollow Links vs Nofollow Links

The practical difference between dofollow and nofollow links for SEO is substantial.

Followed links directly transfer PageRank. Nofollow links were originally a hard directive telling Google not to pass PageRank, though in 2019 Google changed the nofollow attribute to a hint rather than a directive, meaning some equity may flow through nofollow links in certain contexts.

Despite this change, followed links remain substantially more valuable than nofollow links for building domain authority.

The nofollow links guide covers the full implications of this distinction.

In practical link building terms, always prioritise acquiring followed links from editorial sources.

Nofollow links that occur naturally as by-products of brand mentions, press coverage, and social sharing add supplementary brand visibility value, but they should not be pursued as the primary acquisition target of any link building programme designed to improve organic rankings.

The Best Sources of Dofollow Links

High-quality dofollow links come from sources that make genuine, independent editorial decisions about what to link to.

Editorial publications and industry media that link to content because it is genuinely useful for their readers produce the most valuable followed links available.

These links are naturally followed because editorial content does not typically use nofollow on links to external resources, and the editorial decision-making behind them is precisely the signal Google’s algorithms are designed to reward.

Editorial guest posts on genuine publications produce followed in-content links that combine domain authority with topical relevance.

Niche edits in existing well-ranked articles provide followed links with the additional benefit of page-level authority from a page already established in Google’s index. Digital PR campaigns earn followed editorial links from major publications that would be difficult or impossible to acquire through standard outreach.

Evaluating Dofollow Link Opportunities

When assessing any prospective dofollow link opportunity, apply the following framework.

Check the domain’s DR and organic traffic in Ahrefs. Check the specific page’s URL Rating and its own organic traffic: a page with URL Rating 15 and no organic visitors passes minimal equity regardless of the domain’s DR.

Verify the link will be placed in-content rather than in a footer, sidebar, or navigation template.

Confirm the anchor text will be natural and contextually relevant. And confirm the link will actually be followed by inspecting the live placement.

This checklist applies equally whether you are evaluating a niche edit opportunity, a guest post placement, or any other followed link acquisition.

A placement that passes all five criteria is a genuinely high-value dofollow link.

A placement that fails on two or more criteria is unlikely to produce meaningful ranking impact regardless of how attractively it is priced or presented.

Building a Profile Rich in Quality Dofollow Links

The goal of any link building programme focused on rankings is to accumulate as many high-quality dofollow links as possible from diverse, authoritative, topically relevant sources.

Each new high-quality followed link adds to the cumulative equity of your domain, raising the authority floor from which all of your pages compete.

The compounding effect of consistent monthly acquisition of quality dofollow links over 12 to 24 months produces a domain authority profile that is very difficult for competitors to replicate quickly, creating a durable competitive advantage in organic search that other marketing investments cannot easily produce.

Dofollow Links and Domain Rating Growth

Domain Rating in Ahrefs is calculated primarily from the quality and quantity of followed links pointing to a domain.

Each new high-quality dofollow referring domain contributes to DR growth, with diminishing returns as DR increases (moving from DR 20 to DR 40 requires fewer high-quality dofollow links than moving from DR 60 to DR 80).

Understanding this relationship helps set realistic expectations for how many quality dofollow links are needed to produce measurable DR improvement at your current authority level.

For sites in the DR 20 to 50 range, each new high-quality dofollow referring domain from a DR 40-plus source produces visible DR movement.

For sites above DR 60, the incremental impact of individual links is smaller and consistent acquisition volume is needed to produce measurable trajectory.

This is why a monthly managed programme of followed editorial link acquisition outperforms episodic campaigns for mid-to-high authority domains: the consistent addition of new high-quality dofollow referring domains maintains the DR growth rate that the compounding authority base requires to keep improving.

The full strategic context is in the link building guide.

Sources

External Sources

1

Backlinko We Analyzed 11.8 Million Google Search Results

Backlinko’s 11.8M study confirming that equity passed per link is inversely proportional to total outgoing links on the linking page — the data behind why in-content placements on focused articles outperform footer or sidebar links on the same domain.

2

Google Search Central Blog Evolving Nofollow: New Ways to Identify Links

Google’s 2019 announcement changing nofollow from a directive to a hint — the update that created the nofollow vs dofollow distinction nuance and the need to verify follow status rather than assuming it from editorial context alone.

3

Ahrefs URL Rating: What It Is and How to Improve It

Ahrefs’ URL Rating guide — the page-level metric that determines how much equity a specific linking page can pass, why checking both domain DR and page UR is necessary to evaluate the true value of a dofollow opportunity.

4

Ahrefs What Is Domain Rating? (And How to Improve It)

Ahrefs’ Domain Rating documentation — confirming that DR is calculated primarily from the quality and quantity of followed links, and how DR growth rate relates to the number of high-quality dofollow referring domains acquired at each authority level.

5

Ahrefs Link Building Tools: Find Quality Sites Fast

Ahrefs’ placement verification methodology — confirming the need to inspect live HTML to verify follow status before counting any placement as a dofollow link, since platform defaults can override editorial intent.

Internal References

6

LinkPanda Nofollow Links: Do They Help Your SEO?

The full context on nofollow links — when to welcome them as supplementary brand signals, when they have indirect SEO value, and why followed links remain the priority for deliberate acquisition.

7

LinkPanda Niche Edits: How Contextual Link Placements Build Rankings

How niche edits deliver verified followed in-content links from pages with established authority — the primary acquisition method for building dofollow referring domain profiles.