Google Hints Useful Nofollow Links Won't Pass Much Or Any Weight

Jun 2, 2022 - 7:11 am 5 by

Google Lego Sweep

Danny Sullivan from Google hinted the other day on Twitter that links that are nofollowed, even if they are useful links, are unlikely to pass much weight or any weight at all. In short, despite Google changing how they see the nofollow attribute in 2019, links with the nofollow attribute on them are probably not worth much of anything in terms of SEO.

Danny said on Twitter "In the past, as the post explains, we just wouldn't use the links at all." "The change meant we'd consider them if there was some usefulness to be found, though the hint means aren't likely to give them as much, if any, weight," he added.

Here is the specific context:

Last we heard on this nofollow link attribute change, there was actually no change taken, no action was changed with this policy change. We've asked numerous times afterwards and still, I have not heard anything new.

Danny added this as well:

I find this nofollow SEO discussion topics fascinating, specifically around what Google says about it and what SEOs believe about it. Don't you?

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Google Search Volatility

More Details

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google

Regional Differences In Google Search Experience Documentation

Sep 8, 2026 - 11:08 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: September 8, 2026

Sep 8, 2026 - 10:00 am
Google

Google: EU DMA Changes Resulted In Largest Reduction In Search Quality

Sep 8, 2026 - 8:01 am
Google Maps

September Data In Google Business Profiles Insights Missing

Sep 8, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google Ads

Google Ads AI Dashboards Live For Some Advertisers

Sep 8, 2026 - 7:41 am
Google

Google AI Mode Tests Paginated Follow Up Responses With Skip Button

Sep 8, 2026 - 7:31 am
Previous Story: Google New York Pride Signage Now Up