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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossarySEO & ContentNofollow Link

SEO & Content

Nofollow Link

A link with rel="nofollow" signaling search engines not to pass ranking credit, which Google treats as a hint rather than a rule.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Short answer

A nofollow link is a link with the rel="nofollow" attribute, signaling search engines not to pass ranking credit, which Google treats as a hint rather than a rule. It is commonly used for untrusted or unvetted links. Nofollow links can still drive referral traffic and visibility even when they pass little or no ranking value.