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Backlinks, also known as backlinks, are links from a source website to a destination website. These links can come in many forms, from text, images to interactive buttons. In the world of SEO, backlinks serve as one of the most important signals for search engines, like Google, to evaluate the quality and authority of a website. Google's algorithms, including PageRank, use backlinks to analyze the quantity and quality of links pointing to a website, thereby determining the importance of that page in search rankings.
In essence, a backlink from an authoritative website is a “vote of confidence” for your website. Google bots, such as Googlebot, use these links to discover and index new web pages more quickly. Furthermore, a quality backlink from a high PageRank site can help your website grow in keyword rankings, improve trust, and attract traffic from the link source. This creates a positive cycle where a highly ranked website will continue to receive more quality backlinks, strengthening its position in the search engines.
In the linking ecosystem, two basic types of backlinks are distinguished based on their HTML attributes: Dofollow and Nofollow. This difference determines how Googlebot interacts with and passes value from the source page to the destination page.
Dofollow Backlink: This is the default and most common type of link, allowing Googlebot to "follow" and pass ranking power from the source page to the destination page. Dofollow backlinks are considered a direct signal that a website is "endorsing" the content of the linked website, passing some "link power" (also known as "link juice") to the destination page. Technically, a Dofollow link either has no rel attribute or has a rel="dofollow" attribute in the HTML code, although the latter is not required and is rarely used. For example, a link like <a href="https://example.com">Anchor Text</a> will automatically be recognized by search engines as Dofollow
Nofollow Backlink: Conversely, a Nofollow backlink is a link that has the rel="nofollow" attribute in the source code, which tells Googlebot not to pass ranking power from one page to another. This attribute was originally created to combat spamming on forums and blog comments. While Nofollow does not directly improve rankings, it plays an important role in creating a natural and diverse backlink profile, bringing in referral traffic, and increasing brand awareness.
To summarize, here is a detailed comparison table of these two types of links:
| Criteria | Dofollow Backlink | Backlink Nofollow |
| Power transmission mechanism | Yes, pass "link juice" | No, block ranking power transmission |
| Impact on SEO | Directly, helps increase keyword rankings and PageRank | Indirect, does not directly affect rankings, but is necessary for the naturalness of the backlink profile |
| HTML Structure | <a href="url">Anchor Text</a> or <a href="url" rel="dofollow">Anchor Text</a> | <a href="url" rel="nofollow">Anchor Text</a> |
| Intended use | Vote of confidence, increase website reputation | Anti-spam, control unsafe links |
| Strategic value | Core Elements for Building Domain Authority | Contribute to creating diversity and naturalness for backlink profile, bringing indirect traffic |
A Dofollow Backlink is more than just a link; it is a powerful strategic tool that directly impacts a website's core SEO metrics.
Search engines like Google use Dofollow backlinks as a signal to evaluate the importance of a website. Google's PageRank algorithm, developed based on this mechanism, will analyze the quantity and quality of links pointing to a page to decide its importance. Therefore, a Dofollow backlink from an authoritative site will pass PageRank value, helping your website be rated higher by Google.
Besides PageRank, Dofollow backlinks are also closely related to other authority metrics such as Moz's Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA), or Ahrefs' Domain Rating (DR) and URL Rating (UR). These metrics, developed by SEO companies, are measures that predict the ranking potential of a particular domain or page. Getting Dofollow backlinks from high DA/DR sites is one of the most important factors to increase your website's reputation score.
The mechanism by which Google values quality Dofollow backlinks can be understood through the concept of "vote of confidence". When an authoritative website links Dofollow to your page, it serves as a “vote,” confirming that your content is trustworthy and valuable. The more votes from relevant and authoritative sites, the more trusted your website is and the higher it is likely to rank. Additionally, quality backlinks bring direct traffic from the source site and expand your brand awareness to a new audience.
A deeper analysis shows that “link juice” is not simply ranking power, but a “flow” of trust and relevance. This concept goes beyond PageRank to include context and topical relevance. A Dofollow backlink from a site in the same niche as you and placed in a natural context will pass a much stronger signal than a backlink from an unrelated site, regardless of its DA/DR. This shows that Google is increasingly placing importance on semantic relationships between websites, making Dofollow backlinks a bridge not only of technical strength but also of trust and relevance in the eyes of the search engine.
Determining whether a link is Dofollow or Nofollow is the first step in assessing its value. There are two main methods for doing this.
The first way is to manually check the HTML source code. SEO experts often use the Inspect Element feature (press F12 on Chrome browser) to view the source code of the website. Here, they look for the <a> tag containing the link to check. If this tag has the rel="nofollow" attribute, it is a Nofollow link. Conversely, if it does not have any rel attribute, or has the rel="dofollow" attribute, it is a Dofollow link. While this method is accurate, it can be time consuming when checking many links.
To increase efficiency, experts often use browser extensions. Extensions such as Nofollow , NoDoFollow (for Firefox and Chrome), or SEOquake are designed to automatically colorize Nofollow links on a website, making it easy for users to quickly and accurately distinguish them.
Evaluating the quality of a backlink is a complex process that requires a combination of many different factors, not just based on whether it is Dofollow or Nofollow.
Some popular metrics used to evaluate backlinks include Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) developed by Moz, or Domain Rating (DR) and URL Rating (UR) by Ahrefs. These metrics provide a score from 0 to 100 that predicts the ranking potential of a particular domain or page. Backlinks from pages with higher scores are more valuable. However, it's important to note that these are third-party metrics, not direct Google ranking factors.
A deeper analysis shows that backlink quality is a multivariate function, not just dependent on DA/PA metrics. Other important factors include:
Source website relevance: A backlink from a site that shares the same topic or industry as you is much more valuable than a backlink from an unrelated site.
Source Page Traffic: A backlink from a high traffic site can bring direct traffic and leads.
Link context: Links should be placed naturally within the content of the article, rather than in non-value-added locations like sidebars, footers, or comment spam.
An SEO expert understands that focusing solely on high DA/PA metrics can lead to an ineffective strategy. A backlink from a low DA site with highly relevant content and placed in a natural context can provide better conversion value and signals to Google than a backlink from a major news site that is irrelevant and purely PR. Evaluating backlinks requires a holistic view, not just relying on a single metric.
To perform a professional and comprehensive backlink analysis, experts often use the following evaluation table:
| Evaluation criteria | Detailed description | Level of importance |
| Domain Authority (DA)/Domain Rating (DR) | Domain Authority Score (0-100) | High is a good overall indicator |
| Page Authority (PA)/URL Rating (UR) | The authority score of a particular page | High, reflecting the strength of the landing page |
| Website Relevance | Is the source website on the same topic as the destination website? | Very high, directly affects semantic signals |
| Source page traffic | The amount of traffic the source page receives | Medium, brings traffic value and brand awareness |
| Context of the link | Are links placed naturally within the article content or just in spammy locations? | Very high, affects the naturalness and quality of the link |
| Anchor text | Is the anchor text relevant to the landing page content? | High, need to be diverse and relevant to avoid penalties |
In any sustainable SEO strategy, high-quality content is the core foundation. Creating unique, useful, and valuable articles, infographics, or videos will naturally attract backlinks from other websites, without having to use expensive or risky methods. When your content is compelling enough, other websites will voluntarily link to you as a trusted reference, creating quality and sustainable Dofollow backlinks.
Guest Posting is one of the optimal solutions to build quality Dofollow backlinks. This strategy involves writing a quality article and posting it on another website or blog that has the same topic.
The implementation process includes the following steps:
Research potential websites: Look for blogs, forums or websites that have high authority (good DA/PA/DR) and have a similar target audience
Content Idea Proposal: Generate a content idea that is unique, valuable, and relevant to the target website's audience.
Write articles and place links: Write a high quality article and insert Dofollow backlinks naturally into the article content, not in less effective positions
This method not only brings quality Dofollow backlinks but also helps reach a large number of potential customers and build a reputable personal/author brand.
Digital PR is an advanced strategy, based on creating "newsworthy" content to attract the attention of press, media, and reputable websites. This method can bring Dofollow backlinks from extremely authoritative sources.
Experts often create “trustworthy” content by:
Conduct exclusive research or surveys to generate fresh, compelling data and insights
Transform complex data into intuitive, shareable infographics or reports
Provide quotes or analysis from industry experts
The outreach process involves finding and submitting news stories or content ideas to industry journalists, editors, and bloggers so they can cite and link to your website.
Broken Link Building is an advanced “white hat” link building technique that is considered a “win-win” tactic. The mechanism of action includes the following steps:
Find broken links: Use specialized tools to find broken links (404 errors) on reputable, relevant websites.
Create replacement content: Create a high-quality piece of content to replace the lost content of that broken link.
Reach out to the website owner: Contact the website owner and suggest replacing the broken link with a link to your new content.
This method helps improve website quality for both sides: the website owner fixes the 404 error, and you get a quality and sustainable Dofollow backlink.
In addition to the above strategies, building Dofollow backlinks can also be done through many other methods:
Build backlinks from forums and communities: Participate in specialized forums and communities and contribute useful content. Backlinks from here can bring direct traffic and potential customers.
Leverage Social Media: Although most backlinks from social media platforms are Nofollow, they still play an important role in increasing brand awareness, generating indirect traffic, and can lead to natural Dofollow backlinks when your content is widely shared.
A deeper analysis shows that strategies like Guest Posting and Digital PR are two sides of the same coin – strategic content marketing. Both are based on the core principle of creating quality content to attract the attention of third parties. Guest Posting is usually focused on smaller blogs and websites, while Digital PR is aimed at larger media channels like newspapers. Both generate quality Dofollow backlinks, but Digital PR can create a stronger viral effect and increase brand awareness. An overall strategy should combine both, using Guest Posting to build the foundation and Digital PR to create the big push, transforming backlink building from a purely SEO technique to an integral part of a comprehensive marketing strategy.
While quality Dofollow backlinks are a "miracle drug" for SEO, "toxic" backlinks are a serious threat. Bad backlinks often come from spammy, irrelevant websites, or are created using "black-hat" techniques such as link buying, PBN (Private Blog Network), or comment spam.
Signs include sudden backlink growth, backlink sources from low authority (high spam score) sites, or links that are irrelevant to your topic. Having too many low-quality backlinks can decrease a website's reputation and PageRank, and even lead to penalties from Google.
The Google Penguin algorithm, launched in 2012, is Google's link spam prevention tool. Its main goal is to prevent search ranking manipulation through unnatural link building and keyword stuffing.
Penguin doesn't work like a direct manual penalty. Instead, it ignores or devalues spammy links, causing a site's rankings to decline gradually rather than being demoted immediately. However, in severe cases, a website may still face a manual penalty from Google's team.
To protect your website from these risks, it is important to check and manage your backlink profile. This process is as follows:
Analyze your backlink profile: Use tools like Google Search Console, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to periodically check the backlinks pointing to your website.
Identify bad backlinks: Filter out links from domains that are highly spammy, irrelevant, or come from unnatural sources.
Create a Disavow File: List the URLs or domains to disavow in a .txt file in Google's standard format. For example, to disavow a domain name, you would write domain:example.com .
Use the Disavow Tool: Upload a file to the Disavow Tool in Google Search Console to ask Google to disregard the value of those links. This will help prevent your site from being negatively affected by low-quality links.
Understanding the duality of Dofollow backlinks is the mark of a true SEO expert. On the one hand, they are a core element for improving rankings; on the other hand, overusing them or building them unnaturally can lead to serious risks. The advent of the Penguin algorithm proved that Google not only wants to reward good links but also wants to punish bad links. This places a higher requirement on SEOers: not only do they need to know how to build backlinks, but they also need to know how to check, evaluate and "clean" their link profile periodically.
A backlink profile that Google considers natural is never 100% Dofollow. The combination of both types of links creates a trust signal that your link profile was built organically, not through manipulative tactics.
Although Google does not publish exact numbers, many experts based on practical experience have suggested a “golden ratio” for backlink profiles. This ratio is usually maintained at around 70% Dofollow and 30% Nofollow . This ratio helps the website gain ranking power while maintaining its naturalness, minimizing the risk of being considered spam.
This Nofollow/Dofollow ratio truly reflects human behavior online. In the real world, not everyone links to you with the intention of "voting" for PageRank. There are links that are simply for reference, to cite sources, or to introduce without the intention of passing power. A website with only Dofollow backlinks may be considered by Google to have practiced manipulative tactics. This ratio shows a deep understanding of how Google simulates natural human linking behavior and helps SEOs build a sustainable link profile that passes quality control algorithms.
Maintaining a healthy backlink profile requires care and maintenance. Experts recommend performing regular backlink analysis, either monthly or quarterly, to detect bad or devalued links early. This helps prevent potential penalties from Google. At the same time, continuously creating unique and valuable content is still the most permanent and sustainable source of energy to attract natural backlinks, thereby strengthening the website's position on the search rankings.
Dofollow backlinks are still one of the most important ranking factors in modern SEO. However, link building has evolved from a mere technique to a comprehensive strategy that requires a combination of technical knowledge, analytical thinking, and the ability to create valuable content. By understanding how it works, implementing advanced “white hat” strategies, and proactively managing the risks of Google’s algorithms, you can build a solid Dofollow backlink profile that will not only help your website rank well, but also maintain credibility and sustainability over the long term.
