rel Attributes
Qualifying Your Outbound Links to Google
When you link to other websites from your own, you're creating a connection that Google considers as part of its ranking algorithms. It's like vouching for the content you link to. However, there are situations where you might want to clarify your relationship with the linked page, telling Google to treat these links differently. This is where the rel
attribute within your <a>
tags becomes important.
For standard links that you want Google to follow and index, you don't need to add a rel
attribute.
Example:
In this example, we simply want users (and Google) to follow the link to a relevant blog post. No special attributes are needed.
However, for other scenarios, use one or more of the following rel
attribute values:
1. rel="sponsored"
rel="sponsored"
Use this value to mark links that are advertisements, sponsored content, or paid placements. Transparency is key! By using this attribute, you're clearly indicating to Google (and your users) that this link is a result of a commercial agreement.
Example:
Note: While rel="nofollow"
was previously used for paid links, rel="sponsored"
is now the preferred method.
2. rel="ugc"
rel="ugc"
Mark links within user-generated content (UGC), like comments, forum posts, and reviews, with the ugc
value. This helps Google understand that these links are not editorially endorsed by your site.
Example:
Rewarding Trustworthy Contributors: If you have a system for identifying trustworthy users who consistently contribute high-quality content, you might choose to remove the rel="ugc"
attribute from their links.
3. rel="nofollow"
rel="nofollow"
This value tells search engines not to pass any link equity to the linked page. Use it when you don't want Google to associate your site with the target website or crawl the linked page from your site.
Examples:
Links you don't fully endorse:
Links in comment sections:
Important: For links within your own website that you want Google to ignore, use the robots.txt
file with the disallow
directive.
Using Multiple Values
You can use multiple rel
values within a single <a>
tag, separating them with a space or a comma.
Example:
This tells Google that the link is both sponsored and that you don't want to pass link equity.
Key Points to Remember:
Crawling Still Possible: Even with these
rel
attributes, Google might still find and index the linked pages through other means, like sitemaps or links from other websites.Robots Meta Tag: While most
rel
values only work within<a>
tags,nofollow
can also be used as a robots meta tag to control indexing.Blocking Internal Links: To prevent Google from crawling specific pages within your own website, use the
robots.txt
file and thedisallow
directive.Preventing Indexing: To stop Google from indexing a specific page on your site while still allowing it to be crawled, use the
noindex
robots meta tag.
By understanding and correctly implementing these rel
attribute values, you provide valuable signals to Google about your links, enhancing transparency and contributing to a healthier web ecosystem.
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