Number of Nofollow Links counts the anchor elements on a page whose rel attribute contains the token nofollow, combining internal and external links into a single tally. It reflects how often a page applies that relationship marker — not whether any individual use is appropriate.
| Factor ID | RG-LNK-014 |
|---|---|
| Family | Links on the page |
| Measurement | Anchor-element count |
| Measured zone | Rendered page body |
What it measures
This factor counts recognized anchor elements whose rel attribute contains the text nofollow. It lets you compare how frequently pages apply that relationship marker to their links. The total can include both internal and external links, and it does not explain why the attribute was used or whether it is appropriate for a given link.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear parses anchors from the rendered, script-free page body, trims and lowercases each rel value, and counts the links whose rel text contains nofollow. A rel value can include other tokens and still qualify. Links without nofollow do not contribute to the count. Separate factors classify external, internal, sponsored, UGC, and percentage-based link groups.
What RankGear looks for
<a href="https://example.com/" rel="nofollow">anchor text</a>
<a href="/page/" rel="nofollow sponsored">still counts (contains nofollow)</a>| rel value | Counted? |
|---|---|
nofollow | Yes |
nofollow sponsored | Yes — contains the token |
ugc | No |
noopener noreferrer | No |
| (no rel attribute) | No |
How to optimize it
Treat this count as an observation rather than a target. Use nofollow and other relationship values according to the nature of each link and current search-engine guidance: paid, sponsored, affiliate, and user-generated links often need transparent relationship markup, while ordinary editorial links generally should not be marked nofollow without a reason. Audit your templates and publishing workflows so relationship attributes are applied consistently, and avoid copying a competitor’s raw count or reflexively nofollowing every outbound link by default.
Important considerations
- This factor measures string presence in the
relattribute — any value containingnofollowqualifies. - Internal and external nofollow links are combined into one total.
- The correct treatment depends on the link relationship, not on hitting a target quantity.
- A high or low count is not inherently good or bad.
- Review the actual destinations and relationship reasons alongside RankGear’s other link subsets.
- This is a descriptive signal that relates to patterns within a measured result set; it does not by itself cause or guarantee any ranking.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.