Are you looking for a way to add nofollow links to your WordPress site?
You may have heard of nofollow links but are unsure what they are or why they should be used.
We’ll show you how to easily add nofollow links to your WordPress site in this article. We’ll also talk about what nofollow links are and why they’re important.
Here’s a quick rundown of what we’ll be talking about in this article. To jump to different sections, simply click on these quick links.
- What is a Nofollow Link, and how does it work?
- What is the best way to tell if a link is NoFollow?
- When Should Nofollow Links Be Used?
- How to Use All in One SEO to Add Nofollow Links in WordPress (Recommended)
- How to Use the WordPress Block Editor to Add Nofollow Links (Gutenberg)
- How to Use the WordPress Classic Editor to Add Nofollow Links
- How to Insert Nofollow Links in WordPress Manually
- How do I make links in WordPress menus nofollow?
- How do I make all external links nofollow automatically?
What is a Nofollow Link, and how does it work?
A nofollow link instructs search engines not to pass link authority from your page to the other website to which you’re linking. By adding the rel=”nofollow” link attribute to any link, you can make it a nofollow link.
Backlinks, also known as links, are an important ranking factor in search engines.
When you link to another website, search engines consider it a ranking signal and pass some of your authority (link juice) to the other site.
Making external links nofollow, according to some SEO experts, can help your own website rank higher. This, although, has still not been proven to be the case.
Note: Google announced earlier this year that for crawling and indexing purposes, nofollow is now used as a hint rather than a directive in their search algorithm.
What is the best way to tell if a link is Nofollow?
The rel=”nofollow” HTML attribute is present in all nofollow links.
Here’s an instance of a nofollow link in HTML code:
- a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofol”>a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofol”>a href=”
To see if a link on a website has the nofollow attribute, move your mouse over it, right-click it, and then select Inspect from your browser’s menu.
Your browser window has now been divided into two sections.
The HTML source code of the link, as well as the nofollow attribute, will be visible in the Inspect pane.
You can also use a Chrome extension such as Strike Out Nofollow Links. This allows you to see which links have the nofollow attribute right away.
When Should Nofollow Links Be Used?
You should add nofollow to all external websites that you don’t trust as a general SEO best practise.
Linking to authoritative websites like Wikipedia, Yourblogmaster, the New York Times, and others without the nofollow attribute is perfectly acceptable and even recommended. Linking to authoritative websites helps your own website gain credibility.
Nofollow links to less trustworthy websites, on the other hand, are recommended.
Here are some examples of when nofollow attributes should always be used on links:
1. Sponsored and Affiliate Links
Affiliate marketing is a popular way for bloggers to make money online.
Affiliate links are links that track which products and services you recommend. If someone buys something after clicking on your link, you get a commission.
Affiliate links should always have the nofollow attribute. This is true whether you’re using a direct affiliate link or Pretty Links to cloak it.
Adding sponsored links is another popular way for bloggers to make money. Sponsored links should always be nofollowed. If you don’t, search engines might think you’re selling links or spamming. You may be penalised in search engine results as a result of this.
Tip: In the year 2019, Google added a few new link attributes. If you prefer, you can use sponsored instead of nofollow for affiliate and sponsored links. It has the same effect for our purposes.
2. External Resources
You may use external sources as references on occasion. Because you have no control over the content on those websites, you should add nofollow to them.
To put it another way, you’re telling the search engines that you’re linking to a source that you can’t vouch for.
Nofollow links to authority websites are not required.
3. Links in the Sidebar
Some bloggers include a list of external or affiliate links in their WordPress blog’s sidebar. These external links could come from authoritative websites or websites they trust.
The issue is that every time you create a new page on your site, you also create a new backlink for those websites in your sidebar.
It’s critical that these links are set to nofollow. You won’t be passing SEO juice from every page to specific links this way.
Using All in One SEO, learn how to add nofollow links to your WordPress site (Easy)
Using the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin for WordPress is the simplest way to add nofollow links to your site. This eliminates the need to edit HTML code to add the nofollow attribute.
AIOSEO plugin is available in two versions: free and premium.
To begin, download and install the All in One SEO plugin. See our step-by-step guide to installing a WordPress plugin for further information.
Note: Here is a link to the free AIOSEO version.
Create a new page or post after activation and add the anchor text for your link. After that, click on the link icon and select the anchor text.
This will bring up a box with several options that you can turn on or off for your link. We recommend that you enable both the ‘Open in a new tab’ and the ‘Add “nofollow” to link’ options.
When adding an external link, many bloggers check the box that says “Open link in new tab.” This is a fantastic way to increase engagement and keep visitors on your site.
Simply click the arrow button or press Enter on your keyboard when you’re finished. This adds the nofollowed link to your page or post right away.
Adding a Nofollow Link in the Classic Editor with All in One SEO
Although we recommend using the block editor, some users still prefer to write posts and create pages using the Classic Editor.
In the classic editor, AIOSEO also makes it simple to add nofollow links. Simply open the post or page you want to edit and make your changes.
Then, for your link, add some anchor text, highlight it, and click the link button. Then, paste your link into the box.
Now, click the cog icon to access the link’s settings. Check the box next to Add rel=”nofollow” to link. It’s also a good idea to make your link open in a new tab. Click on The add Link button when you are finished.
Following that, your nofollowed link will be added to your WordPress post.
How to Use the WordPress Block Editor to Manually Add Nofollow Links (Gutenberg)
You’ll have to manually add nofollow links in the WordPress block editor if you don’t want to use the AIOSEO plugin.
Let’s take a look at how to use the block editor to add nofollow links to WordPress posts and pages step by step.
Select the anchor text for your link and click the link icon as before. Now is the time to enter your link. Toggle the option on if you want the link to open in a new tab.
To add the link, simply click the arrow button or press Enter on your keyboard.
To add the nofollow attribute to your link, select the block that contains it and then click the three vertical dots icon in the top bar.
This will bring up a dropdown menu, where you must select Edit as HTML.
Your link’s HTML code will now be visible. Add the rel=”nofollow” attribute to the link element anyway.
If the HTML code contains the rel=”noopener noreferrer” attribute, simply add nofollow within the quotation marks.
To return to the standard visual format, simply click on the three dots icon again and select ‘Edit visually.’
Your normal link will become a nofollow link as a result of this. To add the nofollow attribute to all other external links, repeat the process.
In the WordPress Classic Editor, how do I manually add nofollow links?
Even though AIOSEO is the most convenient way to add nofollow links, if you’re using the classic editor, you can also manually add links.
To begin, navigate to Pages » Add New and create a new page. For your link, type in some anchor text, then highlight it and click the link button. After that, paste your link into the box.
Simply click the cog icon and check the ‘Open link in a new tab’ checkbox to make your link open in a new tab. Then select Add Link from the drop-down menu.
Now, in the classic editor, select the Text tab. All you have to do now is add rel=”nofollow” to the link. If rel=”noopener” is already in place, simply replace it with nofollow.
How to Add a Large Number of Nofollow Links Manually in WordPress
You’ve already figured out how to manually add nofollow links in the Gutenberg editor. However, if you only want to add a few nofollow links, this method is best.
If your post contains a lot of external and affiliate links, you should use the Code Editor. This allows you to add the nofollow attribute more quickly.
Click the three vertical dots icon in the top-right corner of the post or page editing screen. A dropdown menu will appear. Simply choose Code Editor from the drop-down menu.
Your page’s HTML code will now be visible. Go ahead and find all of your external links and give them the nofollow attribute.
To return to the Visual Editor, click the Visual Editor option once more.
How do I include nofollow links in my WordPress menus?
It’s very easy to add a nofollow attribute to your WordPress menu links, but the option isn’t very visible. This is why many WordPress users are unaware that it exists.
Let’s look at how to include nofollow links in your WordPress navigation menus.
To begin, navigate to your WordPress admin’s Appearance » Menus page.
Then, select the menu to which you’d like to add the external link. To open it, simply click on the ‘Select’ button.
After that, go to the ‘Custom Links’ tab and enter the link text and URL for the external link. To add a new menu item, click the ‘Add to Menu’ button once you’ve finished.
The external link will now appear alongside the other menu items in the Menu Structure column.
Then, in the top-right corner of the page, click the ‘Screen Options’ button. All you have to do now is choose between Link Relationship (XFN) and Link Target.
To expand the new menu item, scroll back down and click on the downward arrow icon of the new menu item.
Simply type nofollow in the Link Relationship (XFN) textbox to add the nofollow attribute. If you want, you can also choose to open the link in a new tab.
Don’t forget to save your changes by clicking the ‘Save Menu’ button.
How do I make all external links nofollow automatically?
Some WordPress users want all external links on their site to have the nofollow attribute applied automatically.
The majority of solutions that do this rely on JavaScript. This isn’t good for Google or your website’s SEO. Instead, you should use the above methods to manually nofollow the links.
Comment links are a source of concern for some bloggers. The good news is that WordPress automatically applies the nofollow attribute to all comment links.
If you’re still looking for a way to make all external links nofollow automatically, the WP External Links plugin can help.
All external links in your posts, pages, navigation menus, and sidebar are given the nofollow attribute.
The WP External Links plugin must first be installed and activated. See our step-by-step guide to installing a WordPress plugin for further information.
Go to the new External Links page in your WordPress dashboard once it’s been activated.
You must select ‘nofollow’ from the ‘Set follow or nofollow’ dropdown.
The ‘Open external links’ dropdown above this allows you to set links to open in a new tab.
When you’re finished, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button. This plugin will now convert all external links on your site to nofollow links automatically.
We hope this tutorial on how to add nofollow links in WordPress was helpful.
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