The Impact of Nofollow Internal Links on Your Website's SEO Strategy: 2024 Best Practices
Introduction
Are you uncertain whether using nofollow on your internal links is quietly sabotaging your website’s SEO performance? This question has generated heated debates and countless myths—especially since Google’s official stance on nofollow shifted in 2019. As modern technical SEO evolves, understanding when, why, and how (if ever) to use nofollow for internal links is critical for maximizing crawl efficiency, authority flow, and organic rankings.
In this guide, we’ll unpack the evidence behind internal nofollow, dispel common misconceptions, and provide 7 advanced, data-backed best practices to optimize your internal linking while safeguarding your site's authority.
1. Avoid Nofollow on Internal Links by Default
What/Why: Since 2019, Google treats nofollow as a “hint” rather than a directive (Google Search Central). Adding nofollow to internal links wastes link equity, risks orphaning pages, and no longer helps "PageRank sculpting."
How: Only use regular ("dofollow") internal links for site navigation, category pages, cornerstone content, etc. Do not apply rel="nofollow" to shape link equity within your site architecture.
Impact/Data: Multiple industry audits, including those by Ahrefs and SEMrush, have found no SEO benefit—and potential crawl loss—when using internal nofollow. Removing excessive nofollow links improved crawl depth, with anecdotal increases in indexation and traffic.
2. Reserve Nofollow for True Edge Cases Only
What/Why: The legitimate uses of internal nofollow are rare. Google’s John Mueller and site audit leaders (e.g., Sitebulb) concur: it should only be used for links to utility pages (login, user dashboard), faceted navigation with URL bloat, or areas with high spam/user-generated content risk.
How: During a technical audit, flag all internal nofollow links. Justify each based on business logic (e.g., link to /login, /search, or high-volume auto-generated filters).
Impact/Data: Overuse of nofollow on legitimate site pathways can result in crawl budget waste and dilute ranking signals, per SEMrush.
3. Do Not Use Nofollow for Crawl or Index Control—Use Meta Robots or Robots.txt Instead
What/Why: Many believe nofollow can keep pages out of Google’s index, but this is unreliable (Google Official Docs). Use noindex, follow in meta tags to explicitly prevent indexing while still allowing link equity to pass.
How:
- For pages you want hidden from search (e.g., filter parameters, private dashboards), add
<meta name="robots" content="noindex,follow">to the HTML head. - For full crawl blocking, rely on
robots.txt, notnofollow.
Impact: Proper use of robots meta tags and robots.txt offers deterministic control, versus the ambiguous effects of nofollow.
4. Audit and Fix Legacy Internal Nofollow Links
What/Why: Many sites still carry the remnants of outdated "PageRank sculpting" tactics—nofollow scattered internally with the hope of concentrating authority. This is obsolete and may harm SEO.
How:
- Use advanced crawlers such as Screaming Frog, Ahrefs Site Audit, or Semrush Site Audit to export all internal links marked as nofollow.
- Collaborate with your dev/SEO team to remove unnecessary
rel="nofollow"attributes unless strictly justified.
Impact: Link-Assistant notes that cleaning up legacy internal nofollow links can restore link equity flow and improve both crawl efficiency and SEO signals for deep content.
5. Visualize Link Equity Flow with Technical Tools
What/Why: Understanding your internal link equity (PageRank) distribution is essential. Technical SEO tools now visualize these flows, helping diagnose nofollow misuse and orphaned pages.
How:
- Tools like Sitebulb and WebSite Auditor map internal links and flag pages isolated by nofollow.
- Review diagrams and charts to spot where link equity is blocked by unnecessary nofollow attributes and prioritize fixes.
Impact/Data: Visual audits make it easier for both SEOs and stakeholders to grasp the risks of internal nofollow. Regular visualization reduces the chance that critical pages are cut off from SEO benefits.
6. Document Internal Nofollow Policies and Edge Cases
What/Why: Inconsistencies often arise because different teams or plugins implement nofollow without a shared policy, leading to accidental authority leakage.
How:
- Create a documented internal linking standard (what should get
nofollowinternally and what never should). - Maintain an internal list of justifiable edge cases (e.g., user profile pages, logout).
Impact: This approach ensures sustainable SEO and easier onboarding for new technical staff, minimizing the chance of regression or accidental errors.
7. Monitor, Test, and Adapt as Search Engines Evolve
What/Why: Google’s view of nofollow is a moving target, with its "hint model" still evolving and other engines (Bing, Baidu) having different approaches.
How:
- Regularly review Google Search Central for changes.
- Run controlled tests (e.g., removing nofollow from a site section and measuring crawl/index patterns).
Impact/Data: Advanced SEOs and agencies report (anecdotally) measurable improvements in index coverage and organic traffic after internal nofollow cleanups, but recommend ongoing monitoring since algorithm updates may alter best practices over time.
Conclusion: Take Control of Your Internal Link Equity
Proper internal link management is no longer about “sculpting” with nofollow. Leading SEOs and Google itself now advocate minimal use of internal nofollow, reserving it for genuine edge cases only. Regular audits, tool-driven visualization, and a written policy will future-proof your authority flow and maximize your SEO results.
Ready to take action?
- Audit your site’s internal nofollow links now using an advanced crawler.
- Document your internal linking standards.
- Stay current with Google’s official guidance.
Master your internal linking – and watch your SEO performance thrive.
