Backlinks Meaning: Do Follow & No Follow Links Explained

Backlinks are an important factor in SEO which helps determine the authority of your website. Okay, but actually what do backlinks even means? What is the Difference Between Various Types of Backlinks: Do-follow No-follow and Does Each Type Affect SEO? In this ultimate guide, we will cover the meaning of backlinks, what is the difference between do follow and no follow links, and also how to check do follow links using a dofollow link checker.

What Are Backlinks?

A backlink (also known as an inbound or incoming link) is a hyperlink from one website to a page on another website. They serve as a stamp of approval, telling search engines that the site being linked to is trustworthy and deserves to be ranked. Highly relevant backlinks to your site are also a positive ranking factor in Google, when the linking to site is high quality.

Generally, there are two types of backlinks — do-follow and no-follow links. By knowing these, you can enhance your backlink plans and strengthen your website authority.

Do Follow vs. No Follow Backlinks

What is a Do Follow Backlink?

An example of a do-follow link is an SEO link; it transmits SEO value from the audio (website) to the visual aspect of another website. A do-follow link is when a website links to another and gives instructions to search engines to follow the link and provide link equity — also known as "link juice" — to the target website.

Advantages of Do Follow Backlinks:

• Enhances SEO Ratings – Quality do-follow inbound links from dependable sites can help increase your positions in search engines

• Improves Domain Authority — The more do-follow links you gather from reputable sources, the more your domain authority will improve.

• Boosts Organic Traffic – Earn some new visitors by obtaining backlinks on high-traffic websites.

What is a No Follow Backlink?

A no follow link is defined by the HTML attribute rel="nofollow" which tells search engines to not give any SEO juice to the website in the link. Such links do not help with getting a boost in the rankings, but they still drive traffic.

Advantages of No Follow Backlinks:

• Stop Link Spam — Using no-follow links helps stop spammy backlinks from being able to control rankings.

• Referral traffic generator – While they don't pass link juice, they can help you receive valuable traffic.

• Important For Natural Link Profile – Combination of dofollow and no-follow links makes a natural background profile so search engines see it as more natural.

How to determine if the link is DoFollow or NoFollow?

To see whether a link is do follow or no follow use a dofollow link checker. Here are a few ways to do it:

• Check Manually by Inspect Element:

Now, right click on the link and click on Inspect. Search for rel="nofollow" A no-follow link will have it, and the do-follow one will lack this option.

• SEO Browser Extensions:

You can download extensions like MozBar, Ahrefs SEO Toolbar, or SEO Minion to find do-follow and no-follow links quickly.

• Online Dofollow Link Checker Tools

Use tools such as the Small SEO Tools, DoFollow Checker or SEO Review Tools Backlink Checker for backlink analysis.

High-Quality Do Follow Backlinks: How to Get?!

Do follow backlinks have a direct impact on your SEO rankings, and therefore you need to be more strategic about how you approach them. Here are some proven methods:

• Guest Blogging

Getting relevant do-follow backlinks from authoritative sites in the form of high-quality guest posts.

• Broken Link Building

Find sites with broken links and offer your content as an alternative. This technique works well for both parties and gets you a do-follow link.

• Skyscraper Technique

Identify content of similar nature in your field that ranks higher, develop more comprehensive content, and connect to the websites linking to the original post asking them to link to your better version.

• HARO (Help A Reporter Out)

You can earn backlinks from news sites and blogs by responding to journalist queries on HARO (Help a Reporter Out).

• Social Media & Forums

Explaining more about social media links are mostly no-follow links, but being socially active on sites like Quora, Reddit, industry-based forums to generate some rave traffic and some do-follow links naturally.

Ratio of Do Follow and No Follow Backlinks

You should always strive to keep a natural mix of do follow and no follow links when it comes to SEO. If all the backlinks on a given website are do-follow, it may raise a red flag for the search engines. Here are some tips:

• Try to create a 70:30 link ratio of do-follow and no-follow links.

• Acquire different sources backlinks (from blogs, forums, social channels, directories).

• Do not use link farms or another spammy backlink schemes or be penalized by Google.

Conclusion: Backlinks Meaning: Do Follow & No Follow Links Explained

Before we jump onto the backlink definition, first thing, we need to clarify the importance of backlinks in SEO for ranking. Although do-follow backlinks are important for enhancing authority and gaining higher positioning, no-follow backlinks should not be neglected when implementing a diverse backlink strategy. Dofollow link checkers allow you to analyze and optimize your link strategy. A balanced ratio of do-follow and no-follow backlinks will keep your SEO effect sustainable and will consequently help you rank better on a search engine.

Niche link building is basically Build quality backlinks to Improve the credibility of your website and gradually increase the search visibility of your website without fearing spammy backlinks and google penalties. Happy link building!