Nofollow and Follow Links SEO Moz Case Study

Where it changes your decision

• When deciding whether to mark a paid link. Google's link-attribute guidance requires paid links to use rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". Failing to do so risks violating spam policies. Moz's own stance is that links should be earned editorially, not bought or traded, so marking paid links appropriately aligns with both best practice and guidelines.
• When evaluating potential link-building targets. Moz's seo case study guidance emphasises researching targets before creating content so that the content matches what linkers are receptive to. A target that only offers nofollow links may still be valuable for referral traffic, but if the goal is ranking credit, follow links from authoritative, topically relevant pages are more impactful. Using a backlink checker can help identify the follow/nofollow ratio of a site's outbound links.
• When assessing the health of a link profile. Moz advises a healthy mix of follow and nofollow links. A profile with too many follow links may appear unnatural, while one dominated by nofollow links may indicate a lack of editorial endorsements. Since Google treats nofollow as a hint, a link profile that appears entirely natural – with a variety of link types and anchor text – is more likely to be trusted.

What it is not

• Treating all nofollow links as useless. Some believe nofollow links pass no value at all. In reality, they can drive referral traffic, audience growth, and discovery, as Moz notes. Google may also use them for crawling or ranking purposes as a hint. Ignoring them misses opportunities for exposure and link diversity.
• Applying nofollow to every outbound link without a clear reason. This practice is often based on a mistaken belief that it prevents leaking PageRank. However, Google's guidelines recommend using nofollow mainly for paid, untrusted, or policy-sensitive links. Overuse can harm the natural link profile and may reduce the value of legitimate editorial links.
• Assuming nofollow is a hard block. Before March 2020, Google treated nofollow as a strict directive. Now it is a hint, meaning Google may choose to use the link for crawling or ranking. Advice that says nofollow passes 'absolutely no' value is outdated.
• Building links without topical relevance or natural anchor text. Moz emphasises that links should be earned from authoritative pages that match the topic of the target page, and that anchor text should be natural. Links built solely for quantity without relevance or proper anchor text weaken the quality signals that Moz highlights.