---
title: "Nofollow"
description: "Nofollow is a link attribute or meta directive that tells search engines not to pass link equity (PageRank) through a link or not to follow any links on a page."
category: "SEO Crawling & Indexation"
date: "2026-03-05"
url: "https://getbeast.io/glossary/nofollow/"
type: "glossary"
---

# Nofollow

**Category:** SEO Crawling & Indexation | **Updated:** 2026-03-05

Nofollow is a link attribute or meta directive that tells search engines not to pass link equity (PageRank) through a link or not to follow any links on a page.

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## What Is Nofollow?
Nofollow can be applied as a link attribute (`<a href="..." rel="nofollow">`) or a meta robots directive (`<meta name="robots" content="nofollow">`). As a link attribute, it tells search engines not to pass ranking credit through that specific link. Google treats nofollow as a "hint" rather than a strict directive since 2019.

## Why Nofollow Matters for SEO
Nofollow is used for links you do not want to endorse: user-generated content, paid links, affiliate links, and login pages. Proper use prevents your site from passing link equity to low-quality destinations and helps comply with Google's link scheme guidelines.

## How to Use Nofollow
Apply `rel="nofollow"` to individual untrusted links. Use `rel="sponsored"` for paid links and `rel="ugc"` for user-generated content. Audit with [CrawlBeast](/crawler/) to ensure you are not accidentally nofollowing important internal links.

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## Related Terms

- [Noindex](/glossary/noindex/)
- [Link Equity](/glossary/link-equity/)
- [Internal Linking](/glossary/internal-linking/)
- [Anchor Text](/glossary/anchor-text/)
- [Meta Robots](/glossary/meta-robots/)


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*Part of the [GetBeast SEO Glossary](/glossary/). Visit [GetBeast.io](https://getbeast.io) for professional SEO and log analysis tools.*