What Is a Dofollow Backlink? What Works and What's a Scam

A dofollow backlink is any ordinary link, one without a nofollow,sponsored, or ugc attribute, that search engine crawlers follow and that passes ranking authority from the linking page to yours. It is the type of link that actually moves rankings, which is why it's also the type most often faked, resold, and misrepresented.

This guide explains how these links work, how to verify them, which tactics still earn them, and why most "free dofollow list" offers waste your time.

Key Takeaways

• Dofollow is the default state of a link; there is no rel="dofollow" attribute in HTML.
• Only followed links pass link equity. Nofollow, sponsored, and UGC links mostly don't.
• Industry research cited by link-building agencies suggests only about 5% of all websites have any backlinks pointing to them, earning even a handful of good ones is a real advantage.
• Cheap bulk links (sellers on Fiverr will offer 500 backlinks for $100) are the fastest route to a link-spam problem, not to rankings.
• Verify every link you build or earn: many sites promising a followed link actually deliver a nofollow one.

What a Dofollow Backlink Is (and How to Spot One)

In HTML, every standard hyperlink is followed by default. A dofollow backlink looks like this in the page source:

<a href="https://yoursite.com">your anchor text</a>

No special attribute, no conditions. The linking site is telling Google, in effect, "I vouch for this page." Google's crawlers follow the link, discover your content, and count the link as a signal when evaluating your page. Ahrefs prefers the term "followed links" for exactly this reason, "dofollow" describes the absence of a tag, not the presence of one.

How to check any link in under a minute

1. Right-click the link and choose Inspect. If the <a> element has no rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc" attribute, it's followed.
2. View the page source (Ctrl+U) and search for your URL to see the full tag.
3. Use a browser extension that highlights nofollow links on any page, so you can scan an article at a glance.

One catch: a page-level nofollow meta directive makes every link on that page nofollow, even if the individual tags look clean. Always check both.

Dofollow vs. Nofollow, Sponsored, and UGC

Link type	rel attribute	Passes ranking value	Where you'll typically see it
Dofollow (followed)	None	Yes, full link equity	Editorial links in articles, resource pages, citations
Nofollow	rel="nofollow"	Generally no; Google treats it as a hint	Reddit, many news sites, comment sections
Sponsored	rel="sponsored"	No, required for paid placements	Advertorials, affiliate links, paid partnerships
UGC	rel="ugc"	Generally no	Forum posts, blog comments, user profiles

Nofollow links aren't worthless. A nofollow mention from a high-traffic publication can drive real referral visitors and brand awareness. But when the goal is ranking movement, followed links do the heavy lifting, and research cited by link-building agencies suggests nofollow links make up only around 10.6% of backlinks on top-ranking sites, meaning the pages that win are winning largely on followed, editorial links.

Why Followed Links Still Move Rankings

Google's ranking systems treat editorial links as votes of confidence, a principle that dates back to the original PageRank algorithm. The practical effects stack up:

• Discovery and indexing. Crawlers follow links to find new pages. A brand-new page with a followed link from an established site can be indexed far faster than one with none.
• Authority. Link equity from reputable, topically relevant sites raises your page's ranking potential. One widely cited study found the top-ranking result on Google typically has around 3.8 times more backlinks than pages in positions two through ten.
• Competitive gap. In competitive niches, a stronger backlink profile is often the difference between page one and page three, assuming on-page quality is comparable.

Links alone won't rescue a weak page, though. Before you invest in outreach, make sure the target page deserves the link, a quick pass through a free on-page SEO scorer will flag the basics worth fixing first.

How to Earn Dofollow Backlinks That Actually Count

Guest posting on relevant sites

Surveys of link builders report that over 64% use guest blogging as a core strategy, and for good reason: you control the content quality and usually earn a followed, contextual link. Pitch sites in your niche with real traffic, confirm their link policy before writing, and vary your anchor text. Before you pitch, check that your target page's title and headings actually match the topic you're linking to, a meta tag checker makes that a two-minute job.

Create assets people cite without being asked

Original data, calculators, templates, and genuinely thorough guides attract links passively. This is slower than outreach but compounds: one strong asset can keep earning followed links for years.

Reclaim unlinked mentions

Set up Google Alerts for your brand name. When someone mentions you without linking, or links with a nofollow, a polite email asking for a followed link converts surprisingly often. Editorial policy sometimes says no, but the yeses are free wins.

Verify everything

Links change. Editors add nofollow attributes, pages get deleted, sites go offline. Re-check your earned links periodically rather than assuming they still count.

The Cheap Link Schemes to Avoid

The market around followed links is full of traps. A few patterns worth recognizing:

• Bulk link packages. The classic Fiverr pitch, 500 backlinks for $100, blasts identical info across spammy directories. That's link spam under Google's spam policies, and it risks doing damage rather than good.
• "Free dofollow site" lists. One Medium writer who manually audited a 3,000+ site list reported finding only 48 that actually delivered a working followlink, the rest were expired domains, nofollow, or spam. These lists get copied from list to list with no verification.
• Ultra-cheap manual services. Even honest small services in this space (one launched at $49, scaling to $75) mainly build profile links, foundational at best for a brand-new local site, not a growth strategy.

Our position, which you can read more about on the SearchBlueprint about page, is simple: a small number of relevant, editorial, followed links beats hundreds of manufactured ones every time.

FAQs

What is a dofollow backlink in simple terms?

It's a normal link with no restricting attribute. Search engines follow it to your page and count it as a vote of confidence, which can improve your rankings.

Is there a rel="dofollow" tag I should add?

No. Dofollow is the default state of every HTML link. You only add attributes (nofollow, sponsored, ugc) to restrict a link, never to enable it.

Are nofollow links useless?

No. They rarely pass ranking value, but they drive referral traffic, build brand awareness, and make your link profile look natural. A profile with zero nofollow links would itself look odd.

How many dofollow links do I need to rank?

There's no fixed number, it depends on your niche and competitors. Study the pages currently ranking for your target keyword and aim to match or beat their relevant, followed links with better content.

Can buying dofollow links get my site penalized?

Yes. Paid links that pass ranking value violate Google's spam policies unless marked sponsored. Bulk purchased links are among the riskiest tactics in SEO.

Audit Your Link Profile This Week

Pull your current backlinks, flag which ones are actually followed, and list three sites in your niche worth pitching, that single afternoon of work beats any $100 link package. If you'd rather see how professionals track dofollow backlink growth alongside rankings, browse a sample SEO report from SearchBlueprint and talk to the team about what your profile needs next.

Resources / References

1. Google treats it as a hint
2. PageRank algorithm
3. Google's spam policies

Sources

• Dofollow Backlinks: What They Are and How to Get Them
• A Growing List of Free Do-follow Backlinks | by Nick Nolan
• Dofollow Free Backlink Sites
• What is a Dofollow Link?
• Your Complete Guide To Dofollow Backlinks (And How To ...

Disclaimer: This article is general information about rules and figures that applied when it was written, not personalised financial, tax or investment advice. It does not take account of your income, obligations, risk tolerance or goals, and rates and thresholds change. Verify the current position with the relevant authority, and speak to a licensed adviser or a qualified accountant before acting.