Backlinks are essential for SEO success. They help search engines understand the popularity and authority of a website. There are two types of backlinks – follow and nofollow. While follow backlinks pass link equity and help with rankings, nofollow links have value too.
Here’s why you should care about nofollow backlinks.
Provide Referral Traffic
Even though nofollow links don’t directly influence search engine rankings, they still send visitors to your site. For example, if an influential website links to your content using nofollow, you can still benefit from referral traffic. This helps grow awareness and can lead to more sales and conversions.
Nofollow links from high authority sites can drive significant amounts of traffic. Don’t underestimate the power of referral traffic, especially from reputable sources.
Help With Brand Awareness
Getting links from other trusted sites helps build brand awareness and credibility. When an established site links to you, it’s a third-party endorsement and vote of confidence. This lends authority and trust to a lesser-known brand.
Even if the links are nofollow, it shows you are producing quality content that influencers think is worth linking to. Over time, this can improve perception and recognition of your brand.
Demonstrate Domain Authority
The more sites that link to you, the more authority your own domain accrues. Google has made it clear that even nofollow links help send trust signals. The higher the number of referring domains, the more influential Google considers your site to be.
While nofollow links have less direct impact on rankings, they do help establish domain authority and trust. This in turn can indirectly affect SEO over the long-term.
May Convert to Follow Links
Here’s a sneaky benefit of nofollow links – they may convert to follow links down the road. For example, if you land a guest post slot with a nofollow link, that website might switch to follow links for everyone in the future.
Or if you impress an influencer with your content, they may go back and change previous nofollow links to do-follow. This gives you SEO value from links you potentially earned months or years ago.
Can Improve Anchor Text
Having natural, relevant anchor text helps pages rank for specific keywords. But over-optimization can get you penalized by Google. Nofollow links let you build a natural mix of anchor text without worrying about penalties.
For example, guest posts often require nofollow links. But you can still include strong anchor text without tripping Google’s alarm bells. This helps send relevance signals to search engines.
Nofollow Links from Forums Can be Valuable
Google has cracked down on forum profile links. But nofollow forum links within actual posts are treated differently. These contextual backlinks can provide value, even if nofollow is used.
Getting links from active forum members helps establish authority within niche communities. While the SEO value is minor, it can improve trust and perception. But focus on relevance rather than quantity with forum links.
Show Expertise and Thought Leadership
By writing guest posts for websites in your field, you demonstrate knowledge and expertise. Even with nofollow links, you are showcased as an industry thought leader. This helps strengthen your personal or brand’s authority over time.
Make sure guest post opportunities have strong domain authority and relevance. The focus should be on sharing your expertise rather than acquiring backlinks. But nofollow links are a nice added benefit.
Consider Anchor Text with Nofollow Links
Anchor text is becoming less important for SEO. But it still has some benefit, even for nofollow links. You want to avoid aggressive over-optimization. But relevant, natural anchor text helps.
For example, guest posts allow you to include phrases like “dog training tips” or “best exercise for dogs” as anchor text. This reinforces semantic signals about your site’s focus. But stay natural – Google hates overstuffed anchor text.
Build Relationships
Here’s the most valuable benefit of nofollow links – relationship building. Quality links often stem from having connections with influencers and experts in your space.
Earning nofollow links through guest posts and outreach demonstrates expertise and trustworthiness. This helps form relationships that may pay dividends down the road in other ways. Don’t view nofollow links in isolation.
Worthless? No!
At one time, nofollow links were viewed as completely worthless for SEO. But Google has indicated they hold modest value for relevance and trust signals. As part of a natural link building strategy, quality nofollow links can provide benefits.
They help drive referral traffic, boost brand awareness, demonstrate authority, and build strategic relationships. Despite not passing direct page equity, nofollow links have enough indirect SEO value to be part of your strategy. Just don’t make them your sole focus.