A do follow link is a hyperlink that tells search engines to count it as a vote of confidence in the page it points to

When someone links to your website, search engines like Google read that link in one of two ways: as a genuine endorsement (do follow) or as a neutral reference that should not influence rankings (no follow). A do follow link passes what search engines call "link juice" — the authority and credibility of the linking site — to your page. A no follow link does not.

By default, every link you create is do follow unless you explicitly add a rel="nofollow" attribute to the HTML code. This matters because search engines use do follow links as one signal among many when deciding how high to rank a page in search results. A link from a trusted, high-authority site carries more weight than a link from a brand-new site with no history.

The distinction exists because in the early days of search, people would spam links everywhere to artificially boost rankings. No follow was created as a way to let websites link to something without accidentally helping it rank — useful when you are linking to a comment, a paid advertisement, or a source you do not necessarily endorse.

Key Takeaways

  • Do follow links pass ranking authority to the page they point to, while no follow links do not.
  • Search engines treat do follow links as a signal that the linking site trusts the destination, which can improve rankings.
  • Most links across the web are do follow by default unless a site owner or content creator adds the no follow tag.
  • Getting do follow links from established, relevant sites in your industry is more valuable for rankings than getting links from new or unrelated sites.

How search engines read do follow links

When Google's crawler visits a webpage, it follows every link and notes which ones are do follow and which are no follow. For do follow links, the crawler records the relationship: "Site A links to Site B." Over time, if many reputable sites link to Site B using do follow links, Google interprets that as a signal that Site B is trustworthy and relevant.

This is not the only ranking factor — content quality, user behavior, page speed, and dozens of other signals matter too. But do follow links remain one of the most visible and measurable signals of authority. A site with 50 do follow links from established news outlets will typically rank higher than a site with 500 do follow links from brand-new, low-authority sites.

The anchor text of the link — the visible words someone clicks on — also matters. A link that says "learn more about dog training" tells search engines more than a link that just says "click here." Search engines use that context to understand what the destination page is about.

The difference between do follow and no follow in practice

Imagine you run a blog and someone leaves a comment with a link to their own site. If you leave that link as do follow, you are telling search engines "I trust this enough to pass authority to it." If you add no follow, you are saying "This is here for readers, but I am not endorsing it for ranking purposes." Most blog platforms automatically set user-submitted links to no follow for this reason.

The same applies to paid links. If a company pays you to link to their product, search engines expect you to mark it no follow — otherwise you are selling ranking authority, which violates Google's guidelines. A no follow link still drives traffic and still appears on your page; it just does not boost the destination's search rankings.

In practice, a healthy website gets a mix of both. You might have do follow links from industry partners, news mentions, and genuine editorial coverage. You might also have no follow links from social media, comments, and paid partnerships. Neither is "bad" — they serve different purposes.

Where do follow links come from

Do follow links typically come from three sources: other websites that link to you editorially (because they found your content useful), directories and resource lists that include your site, and internal links within your own site.

Editorial links are the most valuable. If a journalist writes about your business and links to your site, that is a do follow link. If an industry blog cites your research, that is a do follow link. These happen because someone genuinely found your work worth referencing, not because you asked for it.

Internal links — links from one page on your site to another page on your site — are always do follow by default. These help search engines understand the structure of your site and which pages are most important. If your homepage links to a particular product page multiple times, search engines infer that page is important to your business.

You can also earn do follow links by being listed in relevant directories, industry associations, or local business listings. A link from your chamber of commerce or a professional association carries more weight than a link from a random directory.

Why do follow links matter less than they used to

In the 1990s and early 2000s, do follow links were the primary way search engines ranked pages. Today, they are one signal among many. Google has stated that content quality, user experience, and topical relevance matter as much or more than links.

This shift happened because search engines got better at understanding what users actually want. A page with excellent, original content and good user engagement will often rank well even with few links. A page with mediocre content and many links will struggle to rank.

That said, do follow links from authoritative sites still matter, especially in competitive industries. A financial services site with links from major news outlets will have an advantage over a competitor with no such links. The difference is that links alone will not carry a weak site to the top of search results anymore.

How to earn do follow links without paying for them

The most sustainable way to earn do follow links is to create content that other sites want to reference. This might be original research, a detailed how-to guide, an industry report, or a tool that solves a real problem. When you publish something genuinely useful, other websites link to it naturally.

You can also earn links by being mentioned in the news. If your business does something newsworthy — launches a new product, wins an award, or contributes to a community project — journalists may link to your site when they cover the story. This requires no special effort beyond doing something worth covering.

Building relationships with other site owners in your industry can lead to links too. If you collaborate on a project, contribute a guest post, or are quoted in someone's article, they may link back to your site. These links are do follow by default and come from genuine professional relationships.

Avoid paying for links or using link-building services that promise to get you links quickly. Google penalizes sites that buy links, and the penalty can be severe — your site may disappear from search results entirely. The risk is not worth the short-term ranking boost.

What to do if you receive a suspicious do follow link

Sometimes spammers create do follow links to your site from low-quality or irrelevant sources. This used to hurt your rankings, but Google now largely ignores links from obvious spam sources. You do not need to panic if you see a link from a suspicious site.

If you notice a pattern of spammy links pointing to your site, you can use Google Search Console to disavow them — essentially telling Google "I do not want these links to count." This is a rare step and usually only necessary if you have been targeted by a link attack or if you bought links in the past and want to clean up your link profile.

For most sites, the best approach is to focus on earning legitimate do follow links and ignore the noise. One link from a trusted source is worth more than a hundred links from spam sites.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I turn a do follow link into a no follow link after someone has linked to me?

No. You can only control the links on your own site. If another website links to you with do follow, you cannot change that from your end. You can only disavow it in Google Search Console if it is harming your site, which is rare.

Does a do follow link help immediately, or does it take time to show up in rankings?

Do follow links take time to affect rankings — usually weeks to months. Google needs to crawl the linking page, process the link, and factor it into its ranking algorithm alongside all the other signals. A single new link rarely causes a dramatic ranking change.

Is a do follow link from a small blog worth less than a link from a major news site?

Yes. Search engines estimate the authority of the linking site and weight the link accordingly. A link from a site with high authority and relevant audience is worth significantly more than a link from a brand-new site with no traffic. Relevance matters too — a link from a site in your industry is more valuable than a link from an unrelated site.

Should I add no follow to all external links on my site?

No. Use no follow only when you have a specific reason: linking to a paid partner, a user comment you do not endorse, or a source you are citing but not recommending. Most editorial links should be do follow. Adding no follow to everything signals that you do not trust any external sources, which looks unnatural to search engines.

If I link to another site with do follow, does that hurt my own rankings?

No. Linking out to other sites does not reduce your ranking authority. You can link to competitors, sources, and partners without penalty. The only exception is if you are linking to spam or low-quality sites excessively, which might signal to search engines that your site is not trustworthy.