There is a big buzz around the internet right now about the Nofollow attribute. It has been a big debate for some time, but considering the circumstances, this is a great time to bring the debate up. A little while ago, Google announced that Nofollow has become non-existent. Basically, Nofollow is pointless to use. It does not help your Page Rank at all or provide any other SEO benefits. If you want to learn more about this, look at this guide. (site down The really scary thing about the news is Google has been following this policy for over a year. Bloggers and webmasters who have been using Nofollow have been doped. It is vital you fully understand this issue. If you haven’t looked at this article (site down) of a similar one, do so before continuing. It is time to rethink using the Nofollow attribute. This may come across as scary and confusing at first. (I know it did to me) This is why it is important to gather all the facts before making a decision. This could be a great thing. Most blogs use the Nofollow attribute for links in comments. Now, more and more blogs are switching over to Dofollow. This means more rewards for the commentator. This could also be a bad thing. Comment spammers may redouble their efforts if a Dofollow revolution springs up. I am going to look at this issue from both perspectives. That way, you can make the right decision. Could prevent comment spam. Commentators may not even try to spam Nofollow blogs. I don’t exactly agree with this theory though.
- Could still have Seo benefits. This whole thing is pretty confusing. Some bloggers may want to just play it safe, and keep the Seo that they had. You need to remember that nothing will change if you keep the Nofollow attribute. Google’s Nofollow change has been going on for a year.
- Still might work in other search engines. There are search engines besides Google, people. At this point in time, I am not sure if they are using the same policy as Google.
There are some reasons for staying Nofollow. However, there are far more reasons for becoming Dofollow.
Reasons Why People Stay Nofollow
In my opinion, there are three reasons people keep the Nofollow attribute on their blogs. I’m sure there are more, but these are the main three.
Scream It’s the Nofollow Attribute
One of the reasons people are afraid to remove the attribute is they are scared. I am not saying this to bash anyone. I’m sure that you are probably angry at me right now, but it’s not really that far-fetched. First of all, you are probably not consciously scared. Few people shiver when thinking of removing the Nofollow attribute. Unconsciously, it is easy to see why you are scared. Frankly, webmasters and bloggers don’t want to lose their hard work. We don’t want to wake up, check our Page Rank, and see that it went from 5 to 2. This fear is completely understandable. Not many people like to lose their hard earned search engine position over something so simple. If you have this fear, maybe you should wait and see what other bloggers do before making the change. If more and more bloggers start to do it with good results, you will probably overcome your fear. What Nofollow Policy Change? Many bloggers don’t know about the change in policy. This is probably the main reason why blogger’s still use Nofollow. I’m sure that if everyone knew all about the policy change, almost all bloggers would switch to Dofollow. This is why it is important that you are reading this post.Don’t worry though. Bloggers will slowly become informed about this. Many bloggers are starting to post about the change in policy, and articles about the Nofollow attribute are being updated.
Not Gonna Make That Change
Some people just hate changing things. If you are doing well with the Nofollow attribute, then you don’t need to change it. Your Seo benefits will remain the same (there are benefits to Dofollow though). I don’t recommend this (afraid to change) policy about anything. I recommend that you people at least try changing. If your SEO falters, you can just change it back.
Dofollow Benefits
- Your blog will get more comments. Everyone loves to comment on Dofollow blogs. (or post on Dofollow forums)
- Your blog will get listed in Dofollow search engines and directories. These can provide a decent amount of traffic.
- Your blog will have a better community. More comments = better community. Having a great community is vital for a successful blog.
- Your blog will not suffer any Page Rank losses. Page Rank stays the same whether a link is Dofollow or not with the new policy.
- Get SEO benefits for linking out to related websites. If used moderately, linking out to other websites can actually improve your SEO ranking.
As you can see, becoming a Dofollow blog has many great features.
Dofollow Links
Throughout this post, I have talked about changing your blog comments to Dofollow. However, it is important to look at links too. In my opinion, there is really no reason to use the Nofollow attribute on links unless it is a website that you do not want to be associated with.
Making My Blog Dofollow
Check out next post for a list of great plug-ins to do this.
Conclusion
My blog is definitely Dofollow. I am never using the Nofollow attribute again. All the comments that you post will be followed, and Top Commentators is now Dofollow. Will you make the change?
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
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Dwippy DoFollow (3 comments) December 15, 2009 at 3:42 pm
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crazy blogger (2 comments) December 5, 2009 at 9:15 pm
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Pritush (3 comments) November 26, 2009 at 9:53 pm
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Start A Blog (1 comments) November 23, 2009 at 1:48 pm
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raphael (2 comments) September 17, 2009 at 1:35 am
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Bushe (1 comments) August 9, 2009 at 6:04 pm
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Buy PSP Go (5 comments) July 28, 2009 at 1:52 am
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Matt | Work Out Plans (6 comments) July 22, 2009 at 11:57 am
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S.Pradeep Kumar (31 comments) July 18, 2009 at 8:16 am
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Dr. Mike Wendell (1 comments) July 17, 2009 at 1:55 pm
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Jeremiah (1 comments) July 16, 2009 at 8:28 am
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phpThe last I heard although nofollow links do not get juice the juice that they would have gotten had the link been dofollow simply vanishes. That was one of Cutts blogposts.
Dwippy DoFollow´s last blog ..Finding DoFollow Blogs
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I am happy that I have made my blog dofollow. As Jeremiah said after I made my blog dofollow spam comment is on rise but Akimet has blocked every one of them. So, very happy with its work.
crazy blogger´s last blog ..Amazing Google trick
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I have been using nofollow as wordpress default, i tried to change it to dofollow but it is not working.
Even having nofollow i am getting lots of SPAM ,
Now i am also thinking of going to do follow,
does PR decrease if i make my blog dofollow ?
Pritush´s last blog ..New Google Search Interface
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Jake O'Callaghan (105 comments) Reply:
November 29th, 2009 at 9:51 am
What exactly did you do to make it Dofollow? Did you install a plug-in?
If you are getting a lot of spam, try installing a plug-in to prevent spam.
And no, page rank will not be affected.
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I have been considering losing the nofollow for a while…think I’m just going to drop it…now gotta find a way to change bloggers nofollow on all comments…Thanks
Start A Blog´s last blog ..Free Ways To Promote Your blog
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Jake O'Callaghan (105 comments) Reply:
November 29th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Great, to change your blog comments to Dofollow install a plug-in (assuming you’re using Wordpress) such as No-Follow Free.
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Google said they don’t count the nofollow links but I tend to believe they do count nofollow links, but only in a small percentage. And not to mention that there are also other search engines out there, who consider nofollow links in their ranking algorithms..
raphael´s last blog ..The Hypnosis Protocol and Its 4 Stages
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Jake O'Callaghan (105 comments) Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Google does count nofollow links, they just don’t follow them. However, they know the link is there. And yes, as I said, other search engines have different algorithms.
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Would you be interested in writing for The Neave Online Publication? I love your writing style and I feel like you would fit in perfectly with the other writers.
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Jake O'Callaghan (105 comments) Reply:
August 11th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Maybe… Please contact me via email with more info.
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@Matt: I also see this as well, I feel that if the owner of the blog is going to be good enough to reward me with a link then I should make my posts relevant and hopefully add value (not in monetary terms).
You’re right about many people thinking they are safe with nofollow, however there has been speculation about the effectiveness of it. It appears that while it stops the flow of PR it may still hold SEO benefits. This was highlighted by a tool used by spammers that targeted a specific nofollow-using script – they were still able to rank highly despite this attribute.
Buy PSP Go´s last blog ..Sony Considered Second Analog Stick for PSP Go
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admin (284 comments) Reply:
July 28th, 2009 at 7:23 am
Yea, Nofollow is not completely worthless SEO wise. Scammers still want Nofollow links.
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I love DoFollow sites, but the problem seems to be all the people that post comments that aren’t even related to the article! I have seen some that post a few random words and that is it. I wish people would actually read the article and post a comment that makes sense. Thanks for having a dofollow blog that isn’t full of spam
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admin (284 comments) Reply:
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:29 am
Your welcome! I make sure to monitor all the comments.
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Do Follow blog owners love their commentators…. people who are afraid of spam comments are not converting their blog into Do Follow !
Hope they realize the value of Do Follow blog !
Nice article ! ^_^
S.Pradeep Kumar´s last blog ..List Of Cool Blogs To Write Guest Articles
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admin (284 comments) Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Yea me too. Think about how cool it would be if almost every blog was Dofollow!
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Dwippy DoFollow (3 comments) Reply:
December 17th, 2009 at 1:59 am
Actually I’m of the opinion if more blogs were dofollow the spammers would get spread around and be less noticable for each blog. I’m sure that’s a silly idea but I’m sticking with it.
Dwippy DoFollow´s last blog ..Blog Comments
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Thanks for this but a quick check of your page source shows that the website link within the comments is still marked with the nofollow tag.
Dr. Mike Wendell´s last blog ..The US Raises Some Cash the Old Fashion Way
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admin (284 comments) Reply:
July 17th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
You need to comment 5 times to get the Nofollow tag removed. I decided to do this so only my best commentators get rewarded.
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NoFollow isn’t completely pointless, it basically causes your “link juice” to be halfed. In the case where a DoFollow link would get 2 points, a NoFollow link would only gain 1 point. At least, that’s what I’ve been reading lately, I could be wrong!
I DoFollow-ed my comment links, but only to increase comment activity, which has worked in a way. It has also greatly increased the amount of comment spam I receive.
Jeremiah´s last blog ..7 Astonishing Wordpress Themes for Your Blog
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admin (284 comments) Reply:
July 16th, 2009 at 8:55 am
From what I have been reading, that is not true. Nofollow links don’t get any link juice at all. They do not get halved.
Cool. Doesn’t Akimet basically catch all your scam comments?
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