Do-Follow Link
A do-follow link is a standard hyperlink that passes link equity from the referring website to the linked page, contributing to the target site's domain authority and search engine rankings.
Do-follow is the default state of any hyperlink. Unless a link is explicitly tagged with a rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc" attribute, search engines like Google will follow it and pass ranking signals from the referring page to the destination.
Do-Follow vs. No-Follow Links
- Do-follow — passes link equity; contributes to domain authority and rankings
- No-follow (
rel="nofollow") — historically told Google not to pass equity; now treated as a "hint" rather than a directive - Sponsored (
rel="sponsored") — required for paid link placements; signals a commercial relationship - UGC (
rel="ugc") — for links in user-generated content such as forum posts or comments
Why Do-Follow Links Matter in Link Building
Do-follow links from authoritative, relevant websites are the primary mechanism through which link building improves search rankings. A do-follow backlink from a domain with high authority and topical relevance can meaningfully improve a target page's ability to rank for competitive keywords.
When Links Should Not Be Do-Follow
Google's guidelines require that paid placements — including sponsored content, guest posts that are paid for rather than editorially earned, and affiliate links — be marked as rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Failing to do so on paid link placements is a violation of Google's link spam policies.
Related Terms
Anchor Text
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink — a key SEO signal that tells search engines what a linked page is about, influencing how it is indexed and ranked for relevant queries.
Backlink
A backlink is a hyperlink from one website that points to a page on another website, signaling trust, authority, and topical relevance to search engines — one of the most important ranking factors in SEO.
Link Building
Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from external websites that point back to your own, with the goal of improving domain authority, search engine rankings, and organic traffic.
PR & Marketing Glossary