Dofollow Links.

Dofollow links are standard hyperlinks that do not carry a `rel='nofollow'` (or `rel='sponsored'` or `rel='ugc'`) attribute — meaning they pass PageRank and anchor text signals from the linking page to the destination page. The term 'dofollow' is colloquial (there is no actual `rel='dofollow'` attribute in HTML); a link without any `rel` attribute is the default dofollow state.

Dofollow vs. Nofollow

Nofollow links (`rel='nofollow'`) carry a directive to search engines not to follow the link for PageRank purposes — originally conceived to combat comment spam. Google now treats nofollow as a 'hint' rather than a directive (since 2019), meaning it may still follow and credit nofollow links at its discretion. For practical link-building purposes, dofollow links from authoritative, topically relevant sites remain the gold standard.

Sponsored and UGC Attributes

Google introduced two additional link attributes in 2019: `rel='sponsored'` (for paid or affiliate links — supersedes nofollow for commercial links) and `rel='ugc'` (for user-generated content like forum posts or comments — prevents passing PageRank for unverified third-party contributions). These help Google understand the commercial and editorial nature of links.

Link Profile Balance

A natural link profile contains a mix of dofollow (editorial citations), nofollow (press releases, forums, comments, social links), sponsored (affiliate, paid placements), and ugc links. A profile consisting entirely of dofollow links is unnatural and signals potential manipulation — particularly if all anchor text is keyword-rich.