1/3rd said they will follow the links (not add any nofollow or rel sponsored attribute to the link. The other 1/3rd said they will simply use rel nofollow. The final 1/3rd said they would likely switch to using rel sponsored on those sponsored links.
Keep in mind, while Google's guidelines say you have to use a nofollow or sponsored attribute, you don't have to use one over the other.
What’s a nofollow link?
A nofollow link is a hyperlink with a rel=“nofollow” tag.
What does this mean? To put it as simply as possible, the nofollow tag signals search engines to ignore a link. The destination URL doesn’t get a boost in search engine rankings, as nofollow links don’t pass PageRank (an algorithm that helps Google rank web pages on SERPs).
When it comes to link building, receiving a nofollow backlink can be a bummer, as your rankings are left in a state of limbo. While web users are redirected to your website, the domain that offers you the link simultaneously informs Google to not send any “link juice” your way.
However, nofollow links still have hidden perks. They drive traffic (despite leaving rankings untouched), increase brand awareness, and help leads discover and familiarize themselves with your business.
But wait, why are nofollow links used in the first place?
Google originally announced the concept of nofollow links in 2005 to fight comment spam. They were quickly embraced by the SEO world and are frequently used to avoid breaking SEO rules set by Google.
Nofollow vs. follow links
Followed and nofollowed links look identical to the average web user.
The blue text in this sentence is a followed link. The blue text in this sentence is a nofollowed link. The difference between the two is apparent only when you dig into the HTML code.
Followed:
Code: Select all
1|<a href="https://ahrefs.com">blue text</a>Code: Select all
1|<a href="https://ahrefs.com" rel="nofollow">blue text</a>It’s possible to nofollow all links on a webpage by placing a robots meta tag with the value “nofollow” in the header. However, the nofollow tag is more commonly used as it allows one to nofollow some links on the page while leaving others followed.
Not sure why you’d want to do that? It’s time for a quick history lesson.
The history of rel=”nofollow”
Google originally introduced the nofollow tag in 2005 to combat comment spam.
If you’re a blogger (or a blog reader), you’re painfully familiar with people who try to raise their own websites’ search engine rankings by submitting linked blog comments like “Visit my discount pharmaceuticals site.” This is called comment spam, we don’t like it either, and we’ve been testing a new tag that blocks it. From now on, when Google sees the attribute (rel=“nofollow”) on hyperlinks, those links won’t get any credit when we rank websites in our search results. This isn’t a negative vote for the site where the comment was posted; it’s just a way to make sure that spammers get no benefit from abusing public areas like blog comments, trackbacks, and referrer lists.
