UGC link
Also called: rel=ugc, user-generated content link, rel="ugc" attribute
A UGC link is an outbound link tagged with the rel="ugc" attribute, which tells Google the link came from user-generated content such as a blog comment or forum post. Google introduced it in 2019 and treats it as a hint, so these links are generally not followed and pass little ranking value.
The rel="ugc" value is one of three link attributes Google uses to describe outbound links, alongside rel="sponsored" (paid or advertising links) and the older rel="nofollow". It flags a link as coming from user-generated content: a comment, a forum reply, a profile field, anywhere visitors can post their own URLs.
In HTML it looks like this:
<a href="https://example.com" rel="ugc">example</a>Hint, not a hard rule
Google treats ugc, sponsored, and nofollow as hints rather than strict directives. The change took effect for ranking on September 10, 2019 and for crawling and indexing on March 1, 2020. Google reads the attribute as a signal when deciding whether to follow a link or count it for ranking, instead of ignoring it outright. In practice, links marked rel="ugc" are generally not followed.
You can combine values when a link fits more than one bucket, for example rel="ugc sponsored" for a paid link dropped inside a comment. Google also allows an exception: if a contributor has earned trust over time, you can remove the attribute so their links count normally.
Most modern platforms (WordPress comments, large forums, review sites) apply rel="ugc" or rel="nofollow" automatically, so you rarely set it by hand unless you run your own community.
How it affects your traffic
If your link building leans on comments, forum posts, or profile pages, most of those links carry rel="ugc" and pass little to no ranking signal, so the effort rarely moves your positions. The links that actually build authority are editorial placements that a publisher chose to give you, usually followed and in the body of real content. Knowing which category a link falls into keeps you from paying for volume that Google discounts by default. Our <a href="/services/link-building/">Link Building</a> service focuses on earned, followed links from relevant sites rather than UGC placements that dilute into the background.
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