A no-follow link is a type of hyperlink that instructs search engines not to pass authority or “link juice” to the website it points to. Unlike regular links, which can influence search engine rankings by signaling trust and relevance, a no-follow link tells search engines not to consider the link as an endorsement for the destination site.
This attribute is commonly used in situations where the linking website doesn’t want to vouch for the content of the linked page or to prevent potential SEO manipulation, such as with paid advertisements or user-generated content like blog comments.
Although a no-follow link doesn’t directly impact the search engine ranking of the linked site, it can still drive traffic and increase visibility. For users, there is no noticeable difference in how they interact with the link, but for search engines, it acts as a directive to not pass on ranking benefits. While it may not contribute to SEO, no-follow links are still valuable for generating traffic and building online relationships.