Nofollow, sponsored and ugc
Google supports three link labels. Use sponsored for paid or affiliate links, ugc for links in comments and forum posts, and nofollow for other links you don't want to endorse.
When to use them
Paid placements, affiliate links and sponsored posts should carry sponsored or nofollow, as Google's guidelines ask. Links you add to trusted, relevant sources in your own content can stay normal.
Do nofollow links have value?
They usually pass little or no ranking value, but they can still send real visitors, build awareness and lead to other people linking to you naturally.
Why Nofollow matters
Labeling paid links correctly keeps you within Google's guidelines. Knowing the difference also helps you judge which links in your link building work are likely to help rankings.
Labeling paid placements
A home decor blog earned money from affiliate links and sponsored posts but left them all as normal links. It updated its templates to add the sponsored label automatically, which kept the site in line with Google's link guidelines.
Common mistakes
Nofollowing every outbound link
Linking normally to helpful, trusted sources is fine. Blanket nofollow isn't needed.
Buying links without labels
Paid links without sponsored or nofollow break Google's spam policies and can hurt rankings.
Ignoring nofollow links completely
A nofollow link from a busy site can still bring visitors and customers.
Where we work on this