While I recently carried out a Link Authority GAP analysis for several companies, I noticed a common (and disturbing) topic. The websites had earned powerful links from large news and media publishers, but the links were not following. Or worse, these websites were mentioned due to their hard work and research, but they were not connected at all.
Sure, links and mentions are important if you discuss the A in Eeat (as Google explained), but why not just the link if the website has earned this link? It was incredibly frustrating to see my customers. And when SEO drove me crazy …
It is a crazy situation and there are several reasons why this happens. Some of the reasons are the result of SEO consumption theories, speculation about how Google could show these links, try to “shape” the Pagerank and much more. Misery information has therefore meant that some publishers are simply not linked or not pending links (ie signals, including pagerank, are not handed over to pages downstream).
Or are you still giving signals? More on that soon.
To clarify, I also refer to websites that earn powerful links via legitimate ways and not on a kind of link scheme. You can Read everything about Link Spam In the documentation of Google. For example, I refer to websites on which high -quality and valuable content was published. However, the link side decided to follow the links or not at all. However, if a website delivers on the left as part of the business relationship, for advertising collar, etc., these links should not be below. Here, too, I don’t refer to it in the post.
Went wrong on the left: some examples of deserved links that will never be full Left.
For example, I recently carried out two separate link gap analyzes and came across this situation several times. In the following you can see several powerful, earned links from news or media relocations that are based on the publication of valuable, high quality content. However, the links are not following. Note that I will cover more about how Google will soon treat Nofollow. It is a bit nuanced how many things in SEO.
First, several links from this mighty news publisher were earned. But … the links are not following:
Here is the link profile of the news publisher, which does not follow the link … Yep, powerful.
Here is another example. This time it is a media publisher that is not the following links:
And here is the link profile for the media publisher, which does not follow the link. Again very powerful.
Unnecessary to mention that these links would be incredible if they were standard links (and the Nofollow -Link -Attribut would not have).
Link Madness Inception: If it happens to you! My most recent contribution earned links.
That happened to me recently on the basis of my contribution about Reddid’s KI translations! For example the Indian Express wrote an article Covering the situation based on my contribution and my research. They call me, give my tweet on the subject, etc., but not with the actual article that produced their own article. You simply link with my tweet and not with the article that contains my actual research and analysis (which would be extremely valuable for your readers to see …)
Seriously, what the hell is going on here? You wouldn’t even have a story if it weren’t for my article. Omg.
In the following you can see that you have embedded my tweet, but there is no link to my article that contains my research and analysis. Pooh.
But wait, Nofollow is now a hint for Google:
If you have persecuted over the years of the NOFOLLOW situation (word game intends), you may know that there is a turn like Google treats the Nofollow -Link -Attribut. Before 2019, Nofollow was uncomplicated for Google. If Google had come across a link with the Nofollow attribute, it would not hand over any signals, including Pagerank, to the target URL. Period, end of history.
But in 2019 Google changed his attitude towards Nofollow. It decided to use Nofollow as Notice. So Google’s systems would decide whether signals, including Pagerank, would decide downstream. And before they are too excited, no, there is no way to know when that happens.
Based on the fact that NOFOLLOW is a hint, we cannot know when Google decides to treat the link normally and to hand over signals, including Pagerank, to the downstream page. Google’s systems decide when this should do.
Well, I hope Google’s systems are smart enough to understand that an important news or media publisher should normally be linked to its sources and references. And these links should definitely pass on signals, including Pagerank, to the URLs that brought these links.
As Google explained in its announcement in 2019:
“All Linksattribute – shaped, UGC and NOFOLLOW – are treated as information on which links should be taken into account or excluded within the search. We will use these information – together with other signals – to better understand how you can analyze them appropriately and use links in our systems.”
Based on the fact that NOFOLLOW is a hint, there are some non -consequences that are actually handed over to signals (and are used as a signal in Google’s search algorithms). Note that most links that are not following are treated as much as before 2019, but not all.
Help me help you. FAQs for news and media publishers:
Based on the crazy situation of deserved links that go wrong, I decided to provide some helpful FAQs for news and media publishers. If you are a news or media publisher and are confused about when and how you can link normally, I hope that the FAQs can remove part of the confusion below.
- Q: If I support support information for an article I write, should I link to this page? And if so, shouldn’t the link be following?
- A: First, yes, please link to this page. This is how the web works. Secondly, they don’t add the Nofollow attribute. You should submit a vote for this page if you have used this content yourself to provide a better article.
- Q: If the topic of my article is based entirely on research, the article, the blog post, etc. of another, should I link to this article? That means I have no story without this content from third -party providers who produce my own article.
- A: Yes, then definitely link with the article. That’s why they have an article at all. You literally have no article without this person who published the content. And don’t use the Nofollow attribute. If you based your entire article on your work, you should not link this normally with you (the link can be used as a signal in Google’s search algorithms).
- Q: I set a list of references at the end of my article. Shouldn’t these be below?
- A: No, that should be normal links, the signals are given. If you do these articles and explore enough to use as sources for your own article, then definitely link to you. Do not use the Nofollow attribute.
- Q: If I have found a social media that mentions the article from the source (as from X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, etc.), should I only embed this social part in the article or should I also link directly to the source item that contains all information and research?
- A: It is okay to embed the social share (X Post, Linkedin-Update, etc.), but definitely also link to the source article on the third-party website. Social networks already have millions from left … they no longer need. But you need publishers and should receive these links if you earn them by publishing high -quality and valuable content. Links are voices for Google, and these signals can be used by the search ranking algorithms. So yes, please link with the source item and do not use the attribute of Nofollow.
- Q: If I usually explained how you explain how you explain what is Nofollow actually?
- A: The Nofollow attribute is a way to say Google that the link has not received the vote. It was paid as a user-generated content, etc., sponsored, in such situations it is best to use relay, relanced or relusc to signal Google that the link should not hand over any signals, including Pagerank, to the target URL. You can Read more about every attribute In the documentation of Google.
Summary – just link out, this is how the web works.
If you are a news or media publisher and have not pursued these links in the merits, I hope that my contribution has contributed to integrating a certain confusion about how to properly link third-party websites. Don’t rethink the situation. If a piece of content helped you to write your own article, then link it. And don’t follow the links. By linking, Google can usually understand which URLs and websites are valuable, and these link signals can be used by Google in its search algorithms. Here, too, Google Nofollow uses as a hint, so that it is still said goodbye for some of these links!
Link so please with third -party websites if you really earn these links. It is exactly the way the web works. You will appreciate it, Google will appreciate it, and the entire web ecosystem will appreciate it.
Gg