Over the past few weeks I’ve been digging in to the use of “no follow” and what effect of using the attribute has on links. Everybody seems to have their own opinion on the subject so I thought I’d spout my own.
What is “no follow”?
Back in 2005 Google adopted the no follow attribute (rel=”nofollow”) as a way to combat link spam. Basically is was a way of saying you don’t vouch for the content of a particular site.
Since then the no follow attribute has been used in pagerank sculpting to outgoing link relevance. In my opinion the whole thing is over blown.
Many people simple do not know what or how the attribute effects a sites reputation. They are either grossly misinformed (reading old post that are outdated) or simply just following the crowd because they don’t know any better.
I’ve read post that call people “scum bags for not following” a link in comments to “I’m not going to use this site because “they don’t follow my links”. Phooey! I believe these folks are just plain illogical in their thinking and are missing the bigger picture.
In my opinion “no follow” is the lowest ranking criteria. If your content is worthy of a link, people will link to it. Whether they no follow it or not is not the point. The point is when they link to your content it increases your chances of getting more visitors. That’s the whole idea right?
My partner Glen and I run a fairly large directory for Squidoo lenses and we have plenty of data that shows no follow means little when it comes to links. In a later post I will share some of this data with you.
Want more views on “no follow”?
Should You Still Use Nofollow?
The New Use (or non-use) of the “No Follow”
How Do We Plug the Nofollow Leak?
If you want up-to-date thinking on “no follow” I suggest you create a Google alert and compile your own list of information and make your own decision. The alerts will give you fresh information on the subject and not some old post from 2005-2006.
Don’t follow the crowd just because a certain group says you have to do this or that. Be wise and draw your own conclusions.
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