Nofollow, sponsored and UGC links explained

Link attributes tell search engines about the relationship behind a link.

• rel="sponsored": paid links, adverts and sponsorships.
• rel="ugc": user-generated content such as comments and forum posts.
• rel="nofollow": other links you do not want to vouch for.

On your site

• Mark paid and affiliate links as sponsored.
• Comment and forum links as ugc (most platforms do this automatically).
• Links that open in a new tab should also have rel="noopener". Site audits list unsafe target="_blank" links.

Links to your site

Nofollow links do not pass full trust, but they still bring visitors and visibility. A natural profile includes them.

Check any page with the nofollow link checker.

Examples

<a href="https://pepploweb.com/" rel="sponsored">Pepplo Web Technologies</a>
<a href="https://shop.demo.pepploweb.com/" rel="ugc">a reader's shop</a>
<a href="https://domainsrock.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DomainsRock</a>

Should internal links be nofollow?

No. Use normal links between your own pages. Nofollow on internal links wastes the value you want to pass to your important pages.

Combining values

You can combine values, such as rel="nofollow sponsored". The meanings add up.

Affiliate sites

If you earn commission from links, mark them sponsored. It is honest with readers and follows search engines' guidelines.