Questions About No Follow Links?

There has been controversy over no follow linking since a lot is still unknown about how Google, Yahoo, and other top search engines actually interpret their use.  Here are some questions to help you decide whether or not you should use no follow links:

Q.  What Are No Follow Links?

A.  No follow links are hyperlinks that have the rel=”nofollow” tag added.  The tag is an HTML attribute that is used to command a search engine to not follow the hyperlink and that the link should not influence the page’s ranking.  Though, the definition and interpretation is really what has been the subject of controversy.

Q. Why were no follow links designed?

A.  The original purpose of the no follow link was to reduce comment spam within the blogging community.  With no follow links, the idea was that spammers would be less likely to use such forums for spamming if their links could not be followed and would not influence page rank.

Q.  If I use a no follow link will the search engines still follow my link?

A.  This is where the controversy really starts.  At first, the idea of the no follow link was meant to be taken literally, meaning a hyperlink with the rel=“nofollow” tag would not be followed.  However, the attribute has been interpreted differently by different search engines.  Ask.com has admitted that they ignore the no follow tag completely.  Google and Yahoo interpret the no follow tag to mean “do not regard this link for page ranking” instead of “do not follow.”  

Q.  If I use a no follow link will the search engines use that link towards my page ranking?

A.  And here is where it gets even more complicated.  A Sacremento, CA SEO company says even search engines that have said they do not use no follow links for page ranking (such as Google) have been found to actually use the link to calculate page ranking to some extent.  Though, since search engines will not share their system for calculating page rank, to what extent they actually count a no follow link is still up in the air.

Q.  When Should I Use a No Follow Link?

Even though there are still no exact answers when it comes to no follow links, there are still instances when it is important to use them, such as when you:

•    Do not trust the site you are linking to or from
•    Do not want a search engine to associate you with the site
•    Do not want to another site to influence your page rank
•    Do not want to promote the other website, especially in the case of a competitor.
•    Think the other site is too small and could end up hurting your page ranking
•    Think the other site is too large and would not benefit from your linking to it.  (If this is the case then you might rather pass your linking power on to another site that will benefit or that you can set up a link trade with.)
•    Want to less important internal pages to count less in your page ranking (e.g. “About Us”, “Contact Us”, “Privacy Policy”, “Site Map” pages)

Q.  When should I avoid using no follow links?

If you are doing reciprocal link trades with another website, make sure you do not use a no follow link.  And if you trust a website and think that your page rank could benefit from that site, you can avoid using a no follow link.