GlossaryLinks
Dofollow
Also called: Follow link
A dofollow link is an ordinary link with no rel attribute telling search engines to ignore it, so it can pass ranking signals.
Dofollow isn't an official HTML attribute. It's the informal name for a normal link that has no nofollow, sponsored or ugc tag. Search engines can follow it and may treat it as a vote of confidence for the page it points to.
People want dofollow links because they're the type most likely to pass ranking signals. That said, Google has said it treats nofollow, sponsored and ugc as hints, not strict rules. A nofollow link from a strong site can still bring traffic and help people discover you, so don't dismiss them.
Practical point: when a link goes live, view the page source or use a checker and confirm the link has no rel attribute that says otherwise. Also check that it sits in the main content and not in a footer or a comment. A dofollow link on a page that isn't indexable gives you very little.
LinkHatch's free link check at /link-check tests whether a link is still live and dofollow, and whether the page is indexable.
Links you can check.
Every link we place comes with a receipt. The free link plan shows the pages worth pushing and what the links would cost.