Short definition
A link attribute that tells search engines not to pass credit through a link.
Beginner In plain English
Adding rel="nofollow" to a link is like saying "I am linking to this, but I am not vouching for it."
Professional How pros use it
Google treats nofollow, sponsored and ugc as hints. Use rel="sponsored" for paid links and rel="ugc" for user-generated content. Nofollow links can still send traffic and help discovery.
Examples
- Links in blog comments marked ugc or nofollow.
- An affiliate link marked sponsored.
More detail
A link attribute that tells search engines not to pass ranking credit through a link, often used for paid or untrusted links.
In client work, you will often need to explain this term in plain language, so practice describing it in one sentence.
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