Follow vs No-Follow Links

What is the difference between follow and no-follow links? Knowing the difference between follow and no-follow links for websites is a big factor in having successful search engine optimization for your website. A follow link is one that will lead back to your website and give you a boost in the search engine rankings. A no-follow link also leads back to a website, but gives no boost to that website’s search engine ranking. Ensuring that the links to your website generate boosts in your search ranking is a crucial part of successful search engine optimization.

follow and no-follow links

What is SEO?

So first off, what exactly is search engine optimization? Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of tailoring your website to generate the most possible web traffic to the website. This process involves a variety of things, such as choosing specific keywords and having the correct word count for articles. It is important to learn how search engine optimization works to increase web traffic to your website. This article will highlight an important part of search engine optimization, which is links.

What is a Link?

Next, we can discuss what exactly a link is, and why you should use links. A link is simply text that takes you to a new location when you click on it. It can bring you to a video, website, photo, or pretty much anything on the internet. Using links on your website is a great way to quickly explain something or give a visual of a topic, instead of spending a paragraph attempting to explain or define a subject.

Links from other websites leading back to yours also bring you more page views and can increase your site’s standing in the search browser rankings. Links are an important part of successful web pages, and should be utilized accordingly. Link building is an important step in the SEO process

Difference Between Follow and No-Follow Links

The main difference between follow and no-follow links is that links are generally reserved for more respected websites, and no-follow links will mostly lead to spam-type websites. Follow links are the base state for links. When a link is added to a website, it is the default type of link. Therefore, a link needs to be edited to become a no-follow link. It does not happen automatically. A website does need both types of links to lead back to it to be successful, as both bring in page views from different demographics. Knowing the difference between follow and no-follow links is important for knowing when to use both of them. 

seo backlinks

No-Follow Links

This is the link that must be altered, as the original HTML text is a standard follow link. The HTML link is the text that appears in the search bar when you go to a web page. To change the HTML link type, simply go to the text and the attribute rel=”nofollow”. This will alter the type of HTML link, and ensure that it is changed to a no-follow one. Depending on what plugins are running on your website, there are ones that automatically keep track of links that are no follow, making them a lot easier to manage. 

No-follow links are primarily advertisements or anything that is sponsored by your website. They can also be links that come from the comment section or social media style links. No-follow links were initially created to deal with all the spam websites that were being linked. These websites were throwing off the search engine algorithms, and leading to spam websites being near the top results of a search. You are also unable to change a link to your website that is located on another website from a no-follow to a follow.

Now, you may be asking why a no-follow type link is important to have for a website. While no-follow links may not count towards boosting a website’s search engine rank, they can still result in page views. Page views are incredibly important for gaining more web traffic, which can increase your website’s visibility. They are also important for having a natural search engine optimization backlink profile. It can be suspicious just having links that are no-follow both on and coming back to your website. And even though no-follow links may not boost your site’s ranking, page views can, and this type of link still can result in page views. Once again, the main difference between follow and no-follow links is the search engine rankings. Just keep in mind links that are no-follow are still important.

follow link

Follow Links

Links of this type are simply standard links. Nothing about their HTML text is altered, and they simply lead to another location on the internet. Now although links that are no follow are important, links that are of the follow type are the ones you want to be focusing on. These are the links that increase the ranking of your website in the search engine rankings. What this means is the higher your website’s ranking, the higher up it will appear in a search conducted for it. If your website is ranked high, then it will appear on the first couple of pages of the search engine results page. This is important in getting the most web traffic possible to your site. This is the main difference between follow and no-follow links. 

Another key difference between follow and no follow links are that the latter links generally lead to reputable websites. This means that if your website is a follow link on another website, you gain a boost in your search engine rankings. It also shows your website is a respected one, and is not spam. This is important in building up your website’s credibility, and showing users that your website contains quality information. Nothing can hurt your website more than people marking it as spam or thinking that it is spam. This is a difference between follow and no-follow links. Follow links show that your website is not spam. 

Why are Follow Links Important?

Follow links are crucial for successful search engine optimization. If a respected website has a link to your website, it will lead more people to your website. It will also boost your website’s search engine rankings, making it more visible. Website visibility is a key factor in gaining the most web traffic possible for your site. 

A successful website should be focused on both its content and marketing strategies. Part of that marketing strategy should be trying to get links on various respected websites. This will both lead more people to your site, and a boost to your site’s credibility. Because of the massive amount of websites out there that have similar content, successful marketing can be the difference between a large or little amount of web traffic.

no-follow link 

SEO Backlinks

A search engine optimization backlink is simply a link to another website off of your website. The search engine optimization part comes from a website giving your website a seal of approval by linking it on their own website. This boosts your site’s reputation and visibility, two important things for search engine optimization. It can be difficult and time-consuming to earn search engine optimized backlinks. This means they should be a primary focus for your website, as it may take awhile to achieve links from other websites. This is an important step in marketing your website. 

How Do I Build Backlinks?

A great way of building search engine optimized backlinks is to use the broken link method. This simply involves reporting links that do not work on other websites to the supervisor of those websites. You can then recommend links to replace the broken ones, mainly ones that lead back to your website. It both helps you and the other website, so both of you come out winners.

Another great way to build search engine optimized backlinks to your website is to guest blog on another website. You can then link your website in your blog, thus directing people to your website. This may be a no-follow link, as it’s in a blog, but it will still bring web traffic to your site. As we have previously discussed, the main difference between follow and no-follow links is the boost in search engine rankings, but both do result in page views. 

difference between follow and no-follow links

So What is the Difference Between Follow and No-Follow Links?

Hopefully, this article explained to you the difference between follow and no-follow links for websites. We also showed the benefits of having both types of links on your website. Having your website be as visible as possible is the best way to garner the most web traffic possible. One of the best ways of accomplishing this is to have as many links back to your website as possible. This shows both the validity and content of your website. Building quality links from other websites can be a difficult process, especially when starting off. It is important to focus resources on your website’s SEO and link building. For help with your SEO and link building services, contact SEO Design Chicago today!

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