How and When to Add Nofollow Links in WordPress

Adding nofollow links in WordPress is important for controlling how search engines like Google treat certain links on your website. A "nofollow" link tells search engines not to pass any ranking authority (or "link juice") to the linked page, which can be useful for managing SEO and avoiding penalties for linking to low-quality or untrusted sites.

Here’s a guide on how and when to add nofollow links in WordPress:

How to Add Nofollow Links in WordPress

You can add nofollow links in WordPress both manually and using plugins.

1. Manually Adding Nofollow Links in WordPress

The manual method requires you to edit the HTML of the link. This can be done from both the Visual Editor and the HTML Editor (Text tab) in WordPress.

Steps:

Create a Link:

In the WordPress editor, highlight the text or click on the image you want to turn into a link.

Click on the Link icon and add the URL.

Press the Enter key or click the "Apply" button to insert the link.

Edit the Link in HTML:

Switch to the Text (HTML) editor in WordPress by clicking on the "Text" tab at the top of the editor.

Locate the link code that looks something like this:

Example Link

Add the Nofollow Attribute:

To add the nofollow attribute, simply modify the link code like this:

Example Link

The rel="nofollow" attribute tells search engines not to follow the link.

Switch Back to the Visual Editor:

After adding the nofollow attribute, you can switch back to the Visual Editor if needed.

2. Using Plugins to Add Nofollow Links in WordPress

If you prefer a more convenient option or aren’t comfortable editing HTML, you can use wordpress plugins to automatically add nofollow links.

Popular Plugins:

All in One SEO:

Install the All in One SEO plugin, a comprehensive SEO tool that allows you to easily manage nofollow links.

When adding a link in the WordPress editor, you'll have an option to check a box that says “Add Nofollow to This Link.”

Rel Nofollow Checkbox:

This plugin adds a simple checkbox to the WordPress link editor popup, allowing you to add the rel="nofollow" attribute without switching to the Text/HTML editor.

Ultimate Nofollow:

Install and activate the Ultimate Nofollow plugin.

Once activated, when you add a link, you will see an additional option to add the nofollow attribute in the link popup editor.

Yoast SEO:

Another popular SEO plugin, Yoast SEO, gives you the ability to add nofollow attributes to links directly in its advanced SEO settings for specific posts or pages.

When to Add Nofollow Links in WordPress

It’s important to know when to use the nofollow attribute to optimize your SEO strategy and protect your site from potential penalties.

1. Sponsored or Affiliate Links

According to Google’s guidelines, any sponsored links or affiliate links should be marked as nofollow (or sponsored using rel="sponsored"). This helps prevent manipulation of search rankings through paid or affiliate links.

Example:

Buy Now

2. Links to Untrusted or Low-Quality Websites

If you are linking to a site you don’t fully trust or that has low-quality content, you should add the nofollow attribute. This prevents your site from potentially losing credibility by associating with low-quality domains.

Example:

Read More

3. User-Generated Content (UGC)

If you allow users to submit content, such as in forums, blog comments, or guest posts, you should mark any external links as nofollow to avoid linking to potentially harmful or spammy sites.

For comments, WordPress automatically adds nofollow to links by default to prevent SEO manipulation through comment spam.

For guest posts or content submitted by others, you can also consider using the rel="ugc" attribute to indicate that the link is user-generated content (UGC).

User Site

4. Links That Do Not Add Value to SEO

If the external link doesn’t provide any real value in terms of SEO or is irrelevant to your audience, it’s a good idea to use the nofollow attribute. This can help preserve your link equity and prevent your site from passing authority to unrelated or low-value pages.

Example:

Click Here

5. Social Media Profiles

Links to social media profiles (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) are often set as nofollow because they don’t need to pass SEO value to these high-authority platforms.

Conclusion

Adding nofollow links in WordPress is an important SEO practice for managing your site’s external links and ensuring that you’re not inadvertently giving away SEO value to untrusted or low-quality websites. You can either manually add the nofollow attribute in the HTML editor or use plugins to simplify the process. Use nofollow for sponsored links, affiliate links, user-generated content, or when linking to low-quality sites to protect your site’s SEO health.