What is a DoFollow link?
For many businesses, having a strong online presence is a necessity in today’s market. Likewise, if you have anything to market, it is important that you use all the tools available to you to give the website as much exposure as possible.
If you’ve started your own blog or have a presence on social media and you want to increase your seo (Search Engine Optimization) ranking, you’ve probably done some research on link building and have run into the terms “DoFollow” and “NoFollow”. Both terms refer to a form of backlinks, which are external links from other websites which point back to your website. Backlinks are important as they are one of the factors which Google and inferior search engines use in considering the ranking of your website. That’s right, DoFollow and NoFollow have an affect on your site’s PageRank. The quickest way to determine a site has DoFollow links is to look for the little icons, usually at the top or bottom of a page which you can click on to share the website’s content on social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus. DoFollow links can come from sources such as websites, social media platforms, blogs and forums. You can recognize DoFollow links in HTML coding which is encrypted in hyperlinks.
To determine if a site’s links are DoFollow or NoFollow, simply right click on the site and view the source code. Check out the HTML and look for the following code after the link’s website reference.
rel="dofollow" or rel+"external
Search engines track DoFollow links and their value (also referred to as juice) also gets transferred to the search engine. Okay, so what does that mean? It means that Google bots will follow the link and enter your site. This will help Google in indexing your page and getting credit for the backlink as opposed to the site using “NoFollow” which means that Google bots would not follow the link to your site. In that case, the link may as well not even exist. Verifying whether a link which appears in the search engine results pages, or SERPs is a DoFollow link can easily be done with a couple of clicks. Simply right click on the link you want to check in Mozilla or Chrome and select the “Inspect element” option from the drop-down menu. A window will open at the bottom of your browser with a highlighted link including the complete html code. We will go over one real-world example together so that you fully understand this concept if you havent mastered it already.
Can You Get a DoFollow From Facebook?
For example, if you wanted to find out if Facebook allows DoFollow links, you would perform the following steps:
1.) Visit Facebook.
2.) Right click on a post with a link in it.
3.) Click on “Inspect Element”.
4.) Look for the HTML code containing either “DoFollow” or “NoFollow” right next to the URL being shared.
If you performed this little 4-step experiment, depending on what link you checked, you most likely found out that Facebook does NOT allow DoFollow links. This is a terrible waste of potential as Facebook is a PageRank 9 (PR9) site and could give your site a nice boost with that kind of backlink juice. No worries! If you want a backlink from a PR9 such as Facebook then it is my duty to deliver information to you on how you can achieve this. However, now is not the time for this so I will save it for the next article as we have bigger fish to fry first.
I do promise you that it is possible and I am not just making it up!
What are the Advantages of DoFollow Links?
One of the most obvious advantages of DoFollow links is that they give your site backlink juice. Especially if you bait some good ones. Ultimately, you want a nice mix of all types of PR backlinks (PR0-PR9), but that is a discussion for another day.
Backlinks tend to help attract more visitors to your site, increasing the amount of traffic and the overall PageRank (PR) of your site.
DoFollow links also encourage comments from other bloggers and users seeking backlinks and the more people comment on your blog or website, the better it is for your seo. DoFollow links can have advantages and disadvantages depending on what your goals are and whether you are the webmaster or just a user of a site that honors DoFollow. Enabling Dofollow links on your site or blog can help you as a webmaster due to the fact that you will attract users that will be leaving comments on it. This also increases seo and the ranking of a blog in the SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages).
How Do I Stop Spammers?
The main disadvantage to Dofollow enabled websites is that they are an opportunity for spammers to post irrelevant links on your site which will take time to moderate and delete. It can get annoying quick, but there is good news. WordPress blogs come with the Akismet plugin preinstalled now-a-days. Akismet is a plugin that will stop spammers dead in their tracks. Even though it is pre-installed, you will still have to activate it and provide your API for it to work. Fortunately for you, doing so is no big deal and only takes a few minutes.
What are the Best Sites to Use for Getting DoFollow Backlinks?
Let’s look at a few websites which allow dofollow links ordered in relation to their Google PageRank.
Google Plus
Because the social network is owned by Google, Google Plus is the perfect place to interact by integrating all of the tools available to users including Gmail, Google Drive and Blogger. Users can link to content placed on other websites with each backlink enhancing the seo ranking. Since Google is the most widely used search engine, it is likely that they will give preference to links on one of their platforms compared to other media. Google Plus allows users to email contacts in their circles, another important feature for content creators and marketers. It also features Hangouts which are a place for people to interact using live video streaming enabled by YouTube.
Although Google Plus may not currently have the large following that other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have, it has shown significant growth since its release and is expected to grow even further. This makes it vital for marketers who want to make the greatest impact and get in early to catch new users.
YouTube
YouTube was purchased by Google in 2006, which is why it continues to have a high page rank. The video sharing platform has more videos uploaded daily than any one person can watch in their entire lifetime. Backlinking from the website has become increasingly popular due to users’ awareness of the power of the network.
The best way to use YouTube to promote your products, services or brand is to post interesting content and point backlinks to your other websites and social networks. A method of increasing the number of views is by posting the link to your video on related videos. Do not spam people with irrelevant material and ads. These comments will likely end up being deleted. You can also post your video as a video response to someone else’s video in order to increase your chances of exposure.
The image sharing website works like an online pin board on which users can pin images with accompanying details of ideas and things they like and sort them into various folders according to categories. Pinterest draws content from online sources and allows users to also post new content. The site allows backlinks to other websites and social media platforms.
Especially for people in industries involving design and art, this is a good place for sharing ideas with others and benefiting from their shared ideas. Pinterest is also linked to other websites which display icons representing backlinks to to Pinterest, on which a displayed image can be shared. The website works as a form of bookmarking system for users enabling them to later look back at liked and saved images.
LinkedIn is a professional network focused on connecting people for employment and business opportunities. Users create profiles on which they can display an online resume detailing their skills, credentials, education, experience and job history. This makes it simpler for companies to hire people and allows users to search for opportunities related to their information and skills.
The website is primarily focused on career building and opportunities which makes it a good resource for employers and employees alike. Content can be backlinked to other social media websites such as Facebook and twitter in order to increase the exposure of a user’s profile or share existing opportunities. Users can also join groups of people in their related field and industry in order to share information, events and opportunities.
Reddit is an online message board on which users can share links. It differs from social networks such as twitter in that each link can be upvoted or downvoted by users. This results in the highest quality links having the highest ratings making it simpler for users to judge the value of the content posted. Reddit is not as simple to use as sites such as Facebook which usually deters people from becoming involved in it, however given a good amount of time working around the site, it can be an invaluable tool for marketers. Like any other social media site, good and interesting content is key in gaining more votes and comments which boost the ranking of posts.
StumbleUpon
True to the website’s name, StumbleUpon provides a platform on which users can stumble upon interesting websites. The website introduces users to new websites which they otherwise might not have found by looking at the users previous likes and searches in order to customize their profiles.
In this way, users are continually exposed to new information and resources relevant to their needs and interests which provide a personalized web experience. Users can also connect to each other based on preferences and share content with other users. StumbleUpon also allows users to search for content. The website relates the content to the users specifications and provides only quality images, making the search quicker and more relevant than one performed on a regular search engine.
Digg
Digg was one of the first websites to make it popular to vote content up or down. The social news websites allows users to search for and organize category specific news such as current events, science, technology and politics. Digg was founded in 2004 and prompted the establishment of similar sites such as Reddit. The website was redesigned in 2012 to support sharing content with other social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The website also released a news reading app called Digg Reader in 2012, in response to public complaints about the shutting down of Google Reader.
Diigo
Diigo describes itself as a “multi-tool for knowledge management”. The social-bookmarking website enables users to tag and bookmark pages as well as highlight content and attaches sticky notes to webpages with highlighted content. Diigo is a simple research and sharing tool which allows users to organize information in a manner which is effective for referencing and note-making. Diigo stands for “Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other Stuff” and is ideal for anybody who wants to search and take the most out of any information which they read. Backlinking allows for sharing on other websites so it is a great tool for cross-referencing and sharing interesting information which is relevant to your niche.
Slashdot
Slashdot was originally started as a blog in 1997 and is now a media website featuring science and technology news. The website’s tagline is “News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters.” The website features user-submitted and evaluated stories with comments sections for users to interact and share their views on stories. If you have a blog or offer a product or service in the technology industry, this will be a useful tool to gain followers by backlinking to relevant information on your website and sharing stories on other websites or social networks which you use.
Mister-Wong
The comically named website is the most popular social bookmarking website in Europe. It may have attracted users due to the controversial image of a wise Asian cartoon. Users refer to the site to get useful and personalized information and searches. Much like Diigo, the site allows users to search for, save and share websites. It is the most popular bookmarking site in Europe and is available in six different languages.
If your target market is primarily in Europe, Mister Wong is probably an ideal platform to use and promote your offering or content.
Squidoo
Squidoo is a type of search engine which allows users to create single webpages (referred to as lenses) for topics which interest them. These pages can be used to make money for companies, individuals or users by selling products. Squidoo is particularly popular because of its potential income-earning feature. Squidoo awards 50% of revenue to users, called lensmasters, for created content and relies on advertising and affiliate marketing for revenues. Lenses or pages can be shared on other social media to increase exposure and income-earning potential. If you are selling something unique which can be offered on the platform, this is probably an option you want to explore.
Hubpages
Hubpages simplifies blogging and content sharing for users who want the opportunity to earn money from writing content. Users post content on any selected topic and are encouraged to make articles, which are referred to as hubs on the website, as engaging, content and media rich as possible. Hubpages works on its page ranking and optimizing the seo for content posted on their website. Users can link their accounts to a Hubpages Earning Program which gives them a share of the money Hubpages receives from Google AdSense for their content as well as edit hubs to feature additional links to Google ads linking back to user individual AdSense accounts which they can subsequently earn from. Users can also earn by posting Amazon and eBay listings on content, which maximizes their earning potential for earning as the online stores pay certain amounts per click and per referred purchase. Hubpages also has affiliate systems which enable users to earn by referring new people to the website.
Dofollow enabled links also give users the opportunity to market their own content. Hubpages is a good platform for writers to gain experience and exposure in content writing, whilst earning a little money on the side for their efforts.
Why these websites?
Websites with high PageRank have been included as theoretically it is believed they will provide the most exposure to your site and the most backlink juice through DoFollow backlinks. As this may have some truth to it, as I mentioned earlier, ideally you want an evenly distributed mix of low and high PR backlinks as that is what appears to be most natural to the search engines.
Although many DoFollow enabled sites exist, there are too many for us to get them all. Nonetheless, we will sure try as we will continue to provide you with similar articles in the very near future. I believe that there is only one issue left for me to address and that is the issue of enabling DoFollow links in Facebook links. I will begin working on an article that describes the process and will update this article with a link as soon as the other article is published.
AUTOPOST by BEDEWY VISIT GAHZLY
