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Are NoFollow Backlinks Worthless?

By Christina Mulberry

I was recently approached by someone who is completely new in the field of internet marketing. He had a number of general questions which had left him stymied in his intial attempts to promote his website. During this discussion, the topic turned to backlinks and their importance. I was explaining the advantages of Do Follow backlinks, or at least those backlinks that don't have the NoFollow attribute.

After discussion regarding how to determine whether or not a backlink is Do Follow or NoFollow, he inquired as to whether or not NoFollow backlinks have any value at all. I don't profess to be an expert, especially not an expert in SEO or how search engines do their work. However, his question did make me pause to think and to perform a bit of a quick analysis.

Basically, I thought about the rationale behind the value of Do Follow links. Most of us seek them out for two primary reasons.

1. A Do Follow backlink allows visitors to a page to follow the link back to our website (or wherever we have that link pointing). Thus it brings additional traffic from other sites/pages.

2. A Do Follow backlink is like a vote of confidence in the eyes of Google. If our Do Follow backlink is on a high authority page, then our page, the one the backlink points toward, gets some of that page rank. Thus it gives our page a boost in the eyes of Google. This boost also translates into a higher position in searches on Google, meaning that searchers are more likely to see and to click through to our website or page.

Next, I thought through the value of those less desirable NoFollow backlinks.

1. A NoFollow backlink can still drive traffic to your website or webpage, equally well as a Do Follow link. If a reader visits XYZ page and is interested in the topic, they are just as likely to click through to your page whether it is a Do Follow or NoFollow backlink. There is certainly value in that.

2. While it's true that Google places much more value on Do Follow links, I'm not sure that this is true of other search engines. I've read material to the contrary actually. Certainly Google is not the only search engine an internet marketer needs to consider. If Bing for instance doesn't care about the No Follow attribute, then those links are just as valuable when considering searchers who use that tool. In other words, it's quite possible that a NoFollow backlink serves the same purpose as a Do Follow backlink of boosting your pages in searches when those searches are performed outside of Google.

While Google is certainly a top priority, it's certainly not the only source of traffic. Therefore, while I would still prioritize Do Follow backlinks, I certainly wouldn't bypass a NoFollow backlink on a high traffic page. I would be very interested in hearing from those internet marketers, who have a better understanding of how search engines such as Bing operate in regards to backlinks.

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		adac agreed with this intel. Feb 10, 2011
		sheilamarie appreciated this intel. Feb 15, 2011

I am participating in the Challenge 2010 (formerly known as the 30 Day Challenge) and we are told that No Do Follow links have value. The instructors didn't elaborate on the reasoning, but they did say the links are worth having.

Good to know. There's so much focus on Do Follow that I often neglect the others.

Ahh June is Ed still teaching people how to steal others content or has he removed that from his curriculum?.

Google is the only search engine worth bothering about.... The 80/20 rule on its own makes that clear.

Well there's no doubt about the dominance of Google, but traffic from Yahoo, Bing and so forth is still useful isn't it?

I often choose lesser keywords/phrases due to less competition, so perhaps the philosophy of capturing traffic from lesser search engines appeals to me as well. Taking the unwanted scraps may add up? ;)

According to site called "VerticalMeasures.com", search engines look for a balance between the two types of links. The writer does not claim to know the ratio.

W@hat he says at the end of his article though is intriguing. He says that in the end, the links that you want are the ones that drive traffic to your site -- not the type of link. He says that that is what most people seem to forget in their (read: our) obsession with dofollow links.

I'm sure he has a point. It's back to that first point, that links (both Do Follow and NoFollow) can direct a reader right back to you.

"A No Follow backlink can still drive traffic to your website or webpage, equally well as a Do Follow link."

It's my gut feeling that Google DOES value No Follow backlinks - just look at the how Youtube videos pop up in the search rankings and how social media buzz can lift a site in SERPS.

Good point. We may not fully understand how Google values NoFollow links compared to Do Follow but it appears they do have some influence.

Very nice intel. Thank you for the information Christina. I use NoDoFollow tools so I can see what links are highlighted in purple. My priority is Do Follow backlinks. There's so much to learn.

Agreed, there is much to learn. And once we learn it, it will change ;)

Thank you for generating this discussion on backlinks, Christina.
I am still struggling to understand the whole process, but I know that our website is rakked higher, because of my article backlinks from this site.
Best wishes.
Frederick

Yes, Qondio is good for both types of backlinks :)

Christina, I think you've got it spot on. Google doesn't pass any link juice from "Nofollow" links, but other search engines might. Matt Cutts of Google makes that perfectly clear in his blogs. As for whether they are worth while having, yes, since if a visitor comes to your site via that link then it has to be worthwhile. And, although Google is by far the most used search engine, whether you get a visitor sent by Yahoo, Bing, or anyone else, it is still a good thing.

odls Aug 24, 2010 06:04

@odls.. All traffic is good and all links have value. except
when
1. A local business site gets tons of international traffic when they only service their local area.
2. A photographer gets 99% looky loos and 1% probable clients.
3. A SEO spends 50% of the budget to attract 10% of the traffic.

Guy Mclaren Aug 24, 2010 06:38

I agree with this article. While Google isn't the only search engine that a search engine marketer needs to consider, Google is where you get the majority of your search engine traffic. It's funny how the Google search engine can bring you more traffic than all of the other search engines combined, times 2! In that sense, I think we do need to cater to Google...

JW Aug 24, 2010 22:15

I have to admit I am still confused about the whole topic. I just try to link my pages with as many others as I can and hope for the best. Thanks for providing some information here on the topic!

lotuspetal Aug 25, 2010 17:38

Yep, pretty much that sums it up. Dofollow links may give traffic with passing a little PR (Google PR). No Follow links don't help with Google PR but probably still helps with other search engines and more importantly with traffic.

Being that bottom line you are trying to get traffic to your site, then your real decision should be is it likely that someone will click on the link? If people would just focus on that then most of the blog and other internet spam would go away. Make sure that the comment that goes with your link provides value to the conversation and maybe someone will click on the link to see who you are.

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