Dofollow vs nofollow backlinks: what the difference means for directory submissions

Sooner or later every founder who submits a product to directories meets two words: dofollow and nofollow. Directory lists are sorted by them, sellers promise them, and forums argue about them. This guide explains what they actually mean, how search engines use them, and how to think about them when you decide where to list your startup. It stays general on purpose: link policies change, so we do not quote rules for specific directories here.

What a link attribute is

A link in a web page is written with an anchor tag. The tag can carry a rel attribute that tells crawlers something about the relationship between the page that links and the page that is linked to. A normal link has no such attribute. Search engines call it a followed link, and people shorten that to "dofollow", even though there is no attribute with that name. The word describes the default behaviour: nothing is stopping a crawler from following the link and treating it as an endorsement signal.

When a site owner wants to say "I am linking here, but I do not vouch for this page", they add rel="nofollow". Two more values exist for specific situations: rel="sponsored" for paid or advertising links and rel="ugc" for links inside user-generated content such as comments and forum posts. Several values can be combined in one attribute.

How search engines treat each type

Historically, a nofollow link was a strict instruction: do not pass any ranking credit through this link. Search engines later described these attributes as hints rather than commands. That means a search engine may still use a nofollow link as one signal among many, for example to discover a page. What you should take from this is that you cannot know exactly how much weight a given link carries, and nobody outside the search engine can promise it. If you want the original wording, the official explanation lives in Google's documentation on qualifying outbound links.

A followed link from a relevant, trusted page can help a search engine understand that your site exists and what it is about. That is the reason people like dofollow links. It is also the reason that the label alone tells you very little: a followed link from an irrelevant or low-quality page is worth far less than most sellers imply, and it can even be a liability if it looks manipulative.

Why a healthy link profile contains both

Think about how links appear naturally. Some people link to a product from a blog post with a plain link. Some platforms add nofollow to every outbound link by policy, because they cannot review what their users post. Newspapers, social networks, forums and many large directories behave like this. If every link pointing at your site were followed and came from a list site, that pattern would look odd. A natural profile is mixed: followed links, nofollow links, mentions without links at all.

So a nofollow directory listing is not a failure. It can still do real work for you:

• Discovery. People browse directories to find tools. A visitor who clicks your listing does not care what the rel attribute says.
• Referral traffic. A relevant listing can send visitors who are looking for exactly what you build.
• Brand presence. A consistent name, description and logo across the web makes your product easier to find and easier to trust.
• Search signals. Even where a link is nofollow, the listing page can rank for your brand name and show up for people who search for you.

How to judge a directory beyond the label

Rather than sorting only by link type, look at the listing as a whole. These questions help:

1. Is the directory about your kind of product? A listing among tools like yours is relevant. A listing in an unrelated catalogue is noise.
2. Does the directory have real visitors? Look for signs of life: recent listings, a working search, an editorial team, visible curation.
3. Does the page look like something you would be happy to show a customer? If the surrounding page is cluttered with thin or spammy listings, the association is not helping you.
4. Is the link attribute stated or visible? You can check it yourself: open the listing, view the page source or use your browser's developer tools, and look at the anchor tag that points to your site.
5. Is it free, or does it ask for payment? A paid listing is not automatically bad, but a link bought for money should carry the sponsored attribute if it is an advertisement, and you should expect that.

Common misunderstandings

"Only dofollow links are worth getting"

This is the most common mistake. A followed link on a poor page can be worth little. A nofollow link on a page that real people read can be valuable for traffic and brand. Treat the attribute as one input, not a score.

"More links always means better rankings"

No. Search engines look at the quality and relevance of the pages that link to you, and at whether the pattern looks natural. A sudden pile of low-quality links does not build a reputation. Directory listings are a foundation, a way to be present where people look for tools, not a substitute for a product that people want to mention and link to on their own.

"A directory can guarantee a specific outcome"

No honest provider can promise a ranking, a traffic number or a change in a third-party metric. Metrics such as Domain Rating come from a tool that estimates link strength; they are useful for comparing, but they are not something a search engine uses, and they move for reasons nobody controls. See our glossary entry on Domain Rating for what it measures.

What this means when you submit to directories

If you submit by hand, keep a simple record: directory name, date, the listing URL, and the link attribute you saw when the listing went live. After a few weeks you will know which listings send people and which do nothing, and you can focus your effort. If you want to see how a complete record looks, our sample report shows the kind of table you should end up with.

If you would rather not spend the hours, a done-for-you service can handle the repetitive part. At SubmitRocket every directory in the catalogue shows its link type, so you can filter for followed links, for free listings, or for a mix. You can browse the directory catalogue and filter by link type before you decide, and the pricing page shows what the plans include. We do not promise rankings, and where a link type is not known we say so instead of guessing.

Frequently asked questions

Is nofollow bad for SEO?

No. Nofollow is a signal from the site that links to you. It does not harm your site. It only means the linking site is not vouching for you, and a search engine may treat the link as a weaker hint. A normal, healthy profile includes links with different attributes.

Can a nofollow link ever help me rank?

Search engines describe the attribute as a hint, so they may use such links in some ways, for example to discover pages. Nobody outside the search engine can tell you how much a particular link contributes, so do not plan around it. Plan around being visible where people look.

How can I check whether a link is dofollow?

Open the live listing, then inspect the link to your site with your browser's developer tools or view the page source. If the anchor tag has rel with nofollow, sponsored or ugc, it is not a plain followed link. If it has no rel attribute, it is followed by default.

Should I only submit to dofollow directories?

No. Choose directories where your audience actually looks, then use the link type as a tie-breaker. A mix is normal and healthier than a single type.

Are paid directory links allowed?

A paid listing is common and legitimate when it is presented as a listing. Search engines ask that advertising links carry the sponsored attribute. Be careful about any offer that sells followed links purely to influence rankings.

Does SubmitRocket guarantee dofollow links?

We show the link type of each directory when we know it and mark it as unknown when we do not. We do not guarantee that any listing will be approved, indexed or ranked. Our refund policy explains what happens to a credit when a directory rejects a submission.