If you've dealt with SEO and link-building, you’ve likely encountered terms like nofollow, dofollow, noopener sponsored, and others. These are link attributes for search engines. You don’t see them visually, but they exist in the code. Let’s break down the differences and benefits of each.
So, a link in the code looks like this:
<a href="https://link_address" rel="attribute_value">link text</a>
Within each link, there is a rel="attribute_value" attribute, which describes the link for search engines. The value of this attribute can vary depending on the purpose and origin of the link. Let’s go through the types of rel attributes for links:
- nofollow - this status prevents search engine bots from following the link, effectively disallowing its indexation.
- dofollow - this status is not usually specified, but it gives permission for bots to follow the link and allow it to be indexed.
- noopener sponsored - this indicates that the link is paid. While Google’s documentation does not explicitly state whether bots will follow this link, based on the experience of many SEO experts, these links are typically not indexed.
- ugc - stands for user-generated content. This status applies to links left by users in comments or on forums. These links also do not get indexed.
- noopener - this status applies to links that open in a new window using target=”_blank” and ensures security at the JavaScript level when opening the link. These links are indexed.
- noreferrer - this status prevents the transfer of information about the referring source. Users who click such links are counted as direct traffic in analytics.
These are the most relevant link statuses, and they are continuously updated. The newest among them is “noopener sponsored.” With its introduction, Google clarified how to correctly place links in sponsored articles, enhancing security for the donor site and preventing it from being marked as part of a link farm.
We hope this short material has been helpful for you, and we look forward to seeing you again on our internet marketing blog.
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