dofollow link
Also called: do-follow, follow link, dofollow backlink
A dofollow link is a standard hyperlink that search engines follow and use to pass ranking authority (PageRank) to the linked page. It is the default for any link: there is no rel="dofollow" value, and a link only stops passing authority when someone adds rel="nofollow", "sponsored", or "ugc".
How Google actually treats it
“Dofollow” is a term the SEO community invented, not Google’s. Google’s guidance runs the other way: a plain link needs nothing added. The Search Central docs say, “For regular links that you expect Google to fetch and parse without any qualifications, you don’t need to add a rel attribute.” So a dofollow link is just a normal anchor:
<a href="https://example.com">anchor text</a>A link stops being dofollow only when you attach an attribute that limits it: rel="nofollow" (no endorsement), rel="sponsored" (paid or advertising), or rel="ugc" (user-generated content like comments). Google introduced nofollow in 2005 to fight comment spam, then added sponsored and ugc in 2019.
One nuance: since 1 March 2020, Google treats all three attributes as hints for crawling and indexing rather than strict directives. In practice, dofollow links from relevant, trusted pages are the ones that move rankings, because they pass authority and topical context. Nofollow backlinks still send referral traffic and add profile diversity, but they are not built to transfer PageRank.
Not every dofollow link carries equal weight either. An editorial link from a page with real authority and topical relevance counts for far more than a footer link on a thin directory.
How it affects your traffic
Dofollow backlinks from relevant, credible sites are the links that actually raise your rankings, because they pass authority to your pages. If most of your profile is nofollow, social, or low-quality directory links, you get visibility but little ranking pressure, and competitors with earned editorial links outrank you. Our Link Building service focuses on earning dofollow links from pages that carry real authority in your niche, so that authority compounds into organic traffic instead of sitting idle.
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