Dealing with Search Engine Optimization is a tough and complex building. It is an investment of time and money that should lead to the increase of your web page authority and Bank. Building backlinks to achieving this goal is of paramount importance. However, your backlink profile must be diverse. This means that as you try to gain more backlinks you will inevitably gather both follow and Nofollow backlinks. But just what are Nofollow backlinks and do you have any benefit from them. Many are pondering on whether you should waste time and money on Nofollow links? These conundrums are rooted in the misunderstanding of the Nofollow link’s value and effect. So, you should learn more about them to reach your conclusion.
Dofollow and Nofollow – just what they are!
The best understanding of these types of links can come from putting them in relation to your SEO effort and Google search engine ranking and authority. A goal of any SEO in a company is to increase the authority of the domain and increase its ranking. To do so you must position your page as one of authority that has many backlinks showing that content is relevant and has merit and quality. In this respect, Dofollow links have the greatest value.
Dofollow links are simply put all those backlinks that link to a certain page. Their HTML code is not edited and it gives a clear reference to the linked site. Essentially it tells Google that the linked site should rank and it increases its score and SEO rank with Google. On the other hand, Nofollow links have a changed HTML stating that the referring site is not to be ranked (rel=”nofollow”). These links do not add any SEO value and do not contribute to the website’s SEO and finally, Google ranks directly.
So, SEO does not gain anything from Nofollow links directly. They do not build domain authority and do not add to your SEO effort. Therefore you should identify those sites that provide only Nofollow backlinks and stop link building with them. It seems that you definitely should not waste time and money on Nofollow links. But this is not the whole story.
The value of Nofollow links
As stated, the story about Nofollow backlinks is much deeper than their direct SEO effect. You have no reason not to invest in building a mixture of backlinks, Nofollow links included. Why? Simply because they drive traffic to your website that can indirectly boost your SEO. Here are a few key reasons, and explanations on why you should not avoid Nofollow backlinks:
- Increased traffic from these backlinks,
- SEO boost,
- Social network signals,
- Influencer marketing,
- Domino effect.
Increased traffic from these backlinks
Although Nofollow links do not add to your SEO rank they still work normally. These links direct people to your website all the same. So, having them may drive traffic to your site and increase the number of page visits. What that means is that you still benefit from the increased traffic, and potential customer visitations. If your backlink comes from a site with a massive audience the benefit is even greater and may even contribute to brand awareness. The effect is even greater if you take into account second-tier links. These refer visitors from the pages that do not link to you directly. In this sense, Nofollow links are far from worthless and can benefit your business greatly.
SEO boost
How do you get an SEO boost if the links are Nofollow? Well even if the webpage wants to restrict your SEO benefits Google can see what is happening. It still knows that web pages are linking to your website. The practice shows that there are considerable benefits your SEO can have even with the Nofollow tag. Google seems to provide benefits through its algorithm to all pages that are referenced. This effect is not the same as with Dofollow links but it provides an unexpected SEO boost. Every professional company that works on improving SEO results, such as the Link Department, for example, will also use Nofollow backlinks. So investing in these links can be beneficial in the long run.
Social network signals
All of the links that you can get from social media are Nofollow links. But it is clear and we can all see the influence social media has on the success of an online business. So, what is the value of these social signals for your SEO? Well, the media is always buzzing about brands, stimulating brand awareness. It is sharing your website and linking to your pages thus leading traffic to your websites and influencing the final conversion. So, this is the direct benefit you should know when debating the use of Nofollow links.
In addition, Google also follows these social signals to follow your website and determine how updated and popular it is. Based on this it can still assign a rank to it although links are Nofollow. So, investing in social media presence will benefit your SEO status despite these facts.
Influencer marketing
Every company using influencer marketing is essentially trying to get a huge following that influencers have to become interested in their product. So, as people trust influencers you can work with them to get your products marketed to the audience through their blogging and other activities. As the influencer markets your webpage you get a share of its following that generates traffic to your website and ultimately gets you profit. So, although these links are Nofollow they still get the traffic and conversion to your page and ultimately profit so they are everything but worthless. These mentions and references have exceptional value so nurturing them and investing in influencer marketing is a valid strategy.
Domino effect
Use the domino effect despite the Nofollow links. This means that by building a large base of backlinks, even if they are Nofollow, they will generate more backlinks in due time. It is a self-perpetuating process that can lead to a good ranking through the massive amount of backlinks even though the majority may be Nofollow. Spread your links and you will benefit from them and Nofollow links will start turning into Dodollow links. You have to push one domino for all others to fall so try this strategy.
To conclude, you should not view Nofollow links only in the context of SEO development. They have a lot of value for your business success by generating, direct traffic, visits, leads, and customers. In this way that has the power of driving up your profits regardless of your SEO rankings which is your real goal. So, when you think of it that way then the question of should you or shouldn’t waste time and money on Nofollow links loses its meaning.