What You Should Know about No Follow Links - Internet

No follow links are the subject of much debate in the SEO world. Here are the main questions:

* Is it good to use no follow links?* When using no follow links, how do Google, Yahoo, and other top search engines interpret their application? * Does using no follow links really mean they will not follow the link?* If they do follow a no follow link, do they count the link towards page rank?

Background

First, in order to get down to business, let's examine what no follow links are. A no follow link (or a link with the rel="nofollow" tag) is an HTML attributes that is used in order to let a search engine know that the link should not actually be followed and should not sway page ranking status in one way or another.

Initially, no follow attributes were designed to reduce comment spam because of the large spam problem in the blogging world. No follow links were supposed to keep spammers from adding useless and non-relevant comments for the purpose of linking to their site, but with no follow linking, they would be less likely to use such forums because their links would not follow or influence page rank.

Though the original intention for no follow links was meant for links to not be followed by the search engines, the attribute has been interpreted differently by the major search engines. Ask.com has admitted that they ignore the no follow tag altogether. But instead of interpreting them to mean "do not follow," Yahoo and Google interpret them to mean "do not regard this link for page ranking," and even the later has been subject to question because small studies have shown that no follow links have in fact counted towards page ranking in some cases. However, since search engines do not disclose their procedure for calculating page rank, the extent a no follow link counts is unknown.

When Should I Use a No Follow Link?

Though it is still unknown exactly how Google and other search engines distinguish between no follow and follow links, there are still times you will for sure want to use them. Here are times when you definitely want to use a no follow link:

* You do not trust the site* You do not want a search engine to associate you with the site* You do not want to promote the site* The site is a competitor.* The site is small (this could hurt your page ranking)* The site is too large (they will not benefit from your linking and you might rather pass your linking juice on to another site instead)

You might also want to use no follow links internally within your own site if you are linking to something of less important that you do not want to influence your page ranking, such as your about page, contact page, or site map.

When should I not use no follow links?

Denver SEO services know there are also times when you might not want to use a no follow link, such as if you have a reciprocal link trade with another site. Though, anytime you do not use a no follow link, you will want to make sure you trust that site and that it will not end up hurting your page rank.

Now learn a ton of Article Marketing Tips and Techniques