Back in December we reported that Google updated their link schemes guidelines to disallow "requiring a link as part of a Terms of Service, contract, or similar arrangement" to link to you with a do-follow.
The topic came back up when SEO personality Rand Fishkin said he thinks all websites should put a clause in their TOS requiring do-follow links when being quoted.
Why?
— Rand Fishkin (@randfish) April 16, 2019
Because when other sites write about you/use your stuff, they *should* be linking, and it should be a ToS violation when they don't. Pointing an obstinate author of a piece that uses a screenshot of/quote from your site to said ToS can ease that link request conversation.
The guideline in Google's document specifically disallows this, it reads "Requiring a link as part of a Terms of Service, contract, or similar arrangement without allowing a third-party content owner the choice of using nofollow or other method of blocking PageRank, should they wish."
Danny Sullivan had to come in any clarify an early point he made in August 2018, before the link scheme document was updated, to say:
You'd asked about republishing and linking. I said the best thing is to request canonical. That's still recommended, as covered such as here: https://t.co/hblGLslpqT pic.twitter.com/xB4kh7VUFh
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) April 16, 2019
Here is what Danny said in August by the way:
If you said here's my content, but it's a copy of what I wrote over at this other place, and please link to that straight. Probably fine as well. Probably fine if you even said please link using the same headline or whatever....
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) August 6, 2018
My former colleague and friend Matt McGee got into it too with Rand:
Good counterpoint! I'd argue it's still worthwhile for site owners to use it to nudge a link when they receive coverage or when their content, images, etc get used. Publishers could certainly choose not to, just as 1000s of businesses choose not to respect Google's ToS.
— Rand Fishkin (@randfish) April 16, 2019
Former Googler Pedro Dias has some thoughts:
Anyone linking to a website should never waive the power to decide whether they endorse you, or not.
— Pedro Dias (@pedrodias) April 16, 2019
Anyone that waives this editorial decision has no respect for their own work.
Well, everyone in the SEO community have thoughts on this...
Don't you just love the SEO community.
In any event - I've said this numerous times since the nofollow attribute came out. Google keeps expanding and broadening their guidelines on how webmasters are allowed and not allowed to link out. I see both sides but it upsets me to see this stuff keep broadening and broadening. That do not cross line keeps getting pushed more and more.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
