What Is Do-follow?
Do-follow is a way to describe a normal link on a website that search engines are allowed to follow. When a link is do-follow, it can help the other page rank better in search results.
Definition
A do-follow link is a regular clickable link that tells search engines like Google to:
- Visit the linked page
- Count the link as a signal of trust
- Pass on some SEO value, often called link juice or authority
Links are do-follow by default unless they use special tags like rel="nofollow" or other attributes that block this.
Why Do-follow Matters
Do-follow links are important for SEO because they can:
- Help pages rank higher in search results
- Show search engines that a page is trusted by other sites
- Send both visitors and ranking power to a page
Websites often try to earn do-follow links from good, trusted sites to grow their visibility in search.
How Do-follow Works
Here is what happens with a do-follow link:
- A page adds a normal HTML link, for example
<a href="https://example.com">Visit site</a>. - A search engine crawler finds and follows that link to the other page.
- The search engine counts the link as a vote that the other page has value.
- Some authority from the first page is passed to the linked page, which can help its rankings.
Do-follow vs Related Terms
Do-follow vs nofollow
- Do-follow link: Search engines follow it and pass SEO power.
- Nofollow link: Uses
rel="nofollow"so search engines are told not to pass SEO power.
Both types can send visitors, but only do-follow links clearly help with rankings.
Example of Do-follow
Here is a simple do-follow link in HTML:
<a href="https://example.com">My favorite site</a>
Because there is no rel attribute like rel="nofollow", this link is treated as do-follow by search engines.
FAQs
Is every link do-follow by default
Yes, most links are do-follow unless a special attribute like rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc" is added.
Do I need to write rel=”dofollow” to make a link do-follow
No. You usually leave the link as a normal link. If there is no extra rel attribute that blocks it, search engines treat it as do-follow.
Are do-follow links always good for SEO
They help when they come from real, high quality, and relevant sites. Buying spammy do-follow links or using tricks can cause penalties instead of helping.
How can I tell if a link is do-follow
You can inspect the link in the page code. If you do not see rel="nofollow" or similar, it is likely a do-follow link.
