How to Add nofollow Links in WordPress w/without Plugin (3 Methods)

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Learn how to Add nofollow Links in WordPress with/without plugin. The following methods will help you to make nofollow links in WordPress posts, pages, widgets, custom post types, etc.

In this article, I will answer the following questions:

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  • What are nofollow links?
  • Why and when you should make links nofollow?
  • Should all external links be nofollow? and
  • How to add nofollow links in WordPress properly?
  • Plus, there is a BONUS TIP for you.
How to Add Nofollow Links in WordPress with/without Plugin
How to Add Nofollow Links in WordPress with/without Plugin

Let’s begin with the answer to the 1st question.

What are nofollow Links?

Nofollow links are links that have rel="nofollow" HTML tag with them. The nofollow tag helps search engines understand that the targeted link is to be ignored and PageRank of the webpage (on which nofollow links are placed) is not to be passed to such links.

Why and When Make Links nofollow

There could be several situations where you want to use a nofollow link instead of a dofollow link.

Type of links that are popularly used with nofollow tag:

  • Affiliate Links
  • Sponsored Links
  • Ads Links
  • Social Media Links
  • Unreliable Content

In these cases, you won’t be interested in passing PageRank juice to such links. Let’s discuss each of them one by one.

Affiliate/Sponsored/Ads Links

The affiliate/sponsored/ads links are supposed to bring monetary benefit in exchange for product/service promotion. But that does not necessarily mean that you need to pass SEO benefits to such a product/service.

Social Media Links

These days, social media has become an integral part of websites and blogs. Social share links and social media profile links are very common on websites.

But, should these social media links be nofollow or dofollow?

There is no need to make Social Media Share links dofollow. As these share links are intermediate links. Therefore, it hardly matters to make such links dofollow.

Also, if you want to pass PageRank to your social media profiles then only they need to be dofollow, otherwise a nofollow attribute is good for them as well.

Unreliable/untrusted Content

Sometimes you use others’ content on your website but you do not trust their links completely, it’s a good idea to make such links nofollow.

Just like, we do in blog commenting: we use others’ content but make their URLs nofollow.

Do you know? How to

How to Make Links Nofollow in WordPress

There are two popular methods to make links nofollow in WordPress:

  1. Manually adding the rel nofollow tag with the HTML link
    • Using Classic Editor
    • Using Gutenberg/Block Editor
  2. Adding the rel nofollow tag with the HTML link using a WordPress Plugin

#1 Add nofollow Links in WordPress without plugin (Manually)

Adding rel nofollow tag

You can make a link nofollow by adding rel="nofollow" tag to the link.

For example, the following link is dofollow link.

<a href="https:// technumero.com/">TechNumero</a>

Whereas this one is a nofollow link.

<a href="https:// technumero.com/" rel="nofollow">TechNumero</a>

1.1 For Classic Editor

Step-by-step instructions to make a link nofollow in WordPress:

  1. Switch to Text editor in WordPress Classic Editor.
  2. Scroll to the link you want to make nofollow.
  3. Add rel="nofollow" in the opening anchor tag <a> as shown below.
  4. If you want the nofollow link to open in a new tab use rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" attribute in the opening anchor tag of the link.
  5. Once you hit Update/Publish, the link will be nofollow.
Switch to Text Editor to make a link nofollow in Classic WordPress Editor
Switch to Text Editor to make a link nofollow in Classic WordPress Editor
Add rel="Nofollow" in the Opening Anchor Tag in WordPress Classic Editor
Add rel=”Nofollow” in the Opening Anchor Tag in WordPress Classic Editor

1.2 For Gutenberg/Block Editor

Followings are the simple steps to make a link nofollow in WordPress Gutenberg/Block Editor:

  1. Navigate to block where you want to make the link nofollow.
  2. Click three vertical dots (menu for More Options) > Edit as HTML.
  3. Now you can use/paste rel="nofollow" attribute in opening <a> tag as shown below.
  4. Or you can use rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" attribute to make the link nofollow and to open it in a new tab as well.
  5. Click Update/Publish to the changes.
Switch to Edit as HTML to make a link nofollow in Gutenberg/Block Editor
Switch to Edit as HTML to make a link nofollow in Gutenberg/Block Editor
Add rel="Nofollow" in the Opening Anchor Tag in WordPress Gutenberg/Block Editor
Add rel=”Nofollow” in the Opening Anchor Tag in WordPress Gutenberg/Block Editor

#2 Add nofollow Links in WordPress using a Plugin

Yes, there are WordPress plugins that enable you to add nofollow links in WordPress.

Generally, Nofollow Link plugins add a checkbox to WordPress’s native link editor window.

Let’s see, a few Nofollow Links WordPress plugins in action.

How to Add nofollow Links in WordPress using WordPress Plugin

Step-by-step instructions to add nofollow links in WordPress Post/Page with Screenshots:

Nofollow links in Classic Editor using a plugin

  1. Install and activate the plugin called Title and Nofollow For Links by WPKube.
  2. Once the plugin is activated, it will enable a nofollow checkbox in WordPress Link Options.
  3. To make a link nofollow, you need to click the link > Edit > Links Options.
  4. Check the box for Add rel="nofollow" to link. Then click Update.
  5. Also, you may check the other tab to open link in a new tab.
  6. And you can add title text to the link as well.
Install and activate Title and Nofollow For Links WordPress Plugin
Install and activate Title and Nofollow For Links WordPress Plugin
Head Over to the Link then Click Edit
Head Over to the Link then Click ‘Edit’
Click WordPress Links Options
Click WordPress ‘Links Options’
Check the box for Add rel=“nofollow” to link
Check the box for Add rel=“nofollow” to link

Nofollow links in Block/Gutenberg Editor using a plugin

As of now, above mentioned plugin “Title and Nofollow For Links” does not support block/Gutenberg editor. So you can use other plugins like RankMath that will enable nofollow and sponsored tag options in advance link options.

  • Install and activate RankMath (free version).
  • It will enable nofollow and sponsored tag options in link options.
nofollow sponsored tag rank math
nofollow sponsored tag rank math

RankMath Pro enables even more advanced link options like “about” and “mentions” schema that will help improve your SEO game.

Advanced link tag options enabled by Rank Math Pro
Advanced link tag options enabled by Rank Math Pro

Bonus Tip:

How to Check nofollow Links in Your Browser

Now you have already learned how to make a link nofollow in WordPress.

It would be a good idea if you could check whether the method you have implemented to make links nofollow is working or not.

There are two easy ways to check the nofollow links on a webpage:

#1 Check nofollow link using the ‘Inspect Element’ feature of the browser

  • Open a webpage in any modern browser (Chrome, Firefox or Opera) and head over to the link you want to check.
  • Right-click on the link and,
  • Select the ‘Inspect’ option (in case of Chrome).
  • A dock will open in the bottom/right-side of your browser.
  • And you will find the HTML view of that link with rel nofollow tag, that’s it. Screenshots of the same are given below.
Checking Nofollow Link in Chrome Inspect Element Feature
Checking Nofollow Link in Chrome Inspect Element Feature
Nofollow Link in Chrome Inspect Element
Nofollow Link in Chrome Inspect Element

#2 Check All nofollow links on a Webpage using Google Chrome extension

  • There is a Google Chrome extension called NoFollow [visit here].
  • Install this extension and reload the webpage.
  • All the nofollow links on that webpage will get highlighted with a dotted-red-box around the link. The screenshot below is for your reference.
Checking Nofollow Links in Webpage using Chrome Extension
Checking Nofollow Links in Webpage using Chrome Extension

Like this Chrome Extension?

Here is a Complete List of Useful Google Chrome Extensions for Bloggers and Developers.

Conclusion

Both the methods (manual & plugin method) to add nofollow links in WordPress have their own importance.

The manual method, which involves the use of rel="nofollow" attribute/tag is useful to make links nofollow in posts, pages, widgets, etc.

On the flip side, Nofollow Links WordPress Plugin is an easy and time-saver method to add nofollow links in posts, pages, and text-based custom post types.

Hopefully, you find this article useful to make nofollow links in WordPress with/without a plugin.

Which method do you prefer to make links nofollow in WordPress and Why?

Have questions? Shot them via comments, I will be happy to help.

Cheers!

Further, you might like reading…

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Shashank Singh
Shashank is a web addict and amateur blogger. His current interests include blogging, SEO, and WordPress. See his social profiles to know him even better.
Disclaimer: Affiliate links of some product(s) are being used on this page, if you follow the link and make a purchase, we may receive compensation from respective companies. This compensation comes at no additional cost to you.

19 thoughts on “How to Add nofollow Links in WordPress w/without Plugin (3 Methods)”

  1. Avatar of Roslia Santamaria

    Thanks for sharing step by step process of making nofollow links in the WP Block editor.
    Saved my time.

    Reply
  2. Avatar of Vishwajeet S Baghel

    Hi Shashank,
    I must say these tips for nofollow links with plugin looks quite practical and effective and I appreciate your efforts in writing this article and sharing it with us. Thank you, keep sharing. 🙂

    Reply
    • Avatar of Shashank Singh

      Hey Vishwajeet,
      Glad that you find it useful.
      Thanks for dropping by!

      Reply
  3. Avatar of Varun Sharma

    Thank you so much for sharing this post. Saved my time.
    Thanks again!

    Reply
    • Avatar of Shashank Singh

      Hey Varun,

      I’m glad that I could help.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  4. Avatar of Matt Calik

    Great – simple and useful guide! Gonna recommend it to my interns 🙂

    Reply
    • Avatar of Shashank Singh

      Hey Matt
      Glad you liked it.
      Thanks for dropping by.
      Cheers!

      Reply
  5. Avatar of Neamat

    Thanks for sharing. Good explanation.

    Reply

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