A do-follow link is a standard link that doesn?t use the Nofollow attribute. Do-follow links pass on PageRank, which potentially helps the page or site they link to. However, do-follow links can also have a negative impact if they link to/from lower quality sources or irrelevant pages.
What is a Do-Follow Link?
In HTML, links are created with the <a> tag. By default, a link without special attributes is considered a “do-follow” (or “follow”) link. That means search engine bots can crawl it and count it as an endorsement, transferring part of the linking page’s authority to the target page.
If a link includes attributes like rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc", it signals to search engines not to pass ranking benefit. These links are treated differently.
Because do-follow links pass link equity, acquiring them from reputable, relevant sites is an important part of SEO and link building strategy. A good do-follow backlink can help improve a page’s visibility in search results.
However, not all do-follow links are equal. The value of a link depends on factors like the linking site’s authority, relevance, anchor text, and how naturally the link is placed. Spammy or irrelevant do-follow links can raise red flags.
No. The term “dofollow” is a colloquial way to refer to links that don’t have rel="nofollow" or similar attributes. All links by default are “followed” unless otherwise marked.
Inspect the link code and see if it lacks rel="nofollow" or similar tags. If there’s no such attribute, it’s likely a do-follow link. Some SEO tools or browser extensions also help identify link types.