Dofollow, sponsored and nofollow: what to order and why

Every link on a web page can carry a rel attribute that tells search engines how the site owner relates to the page being linked. For anyone buying guest posts, this attribute decides what kind of placement you actually receive.

The three types you will see

• Dofollow is not a real attribute value. It simply means the link has no rel value that limits it, so it is treated as a normal editorial link.
• rel="sponsored" marks a link that was paid for or is part of an advertising arrangement.
• rel="nofollow" tells search engines not to associate the two pages. It is used when the site owner does not want to vouch for the target.

Search engines also recognise rel="ugc" for links inside user-generated content such as comments and forum posts.

What search engines ask for

Google's public guidelines ask that links which were paid for are qualified, preferably with rel="sponsored". Publishers who follow these guidelines will label paid links accordingly, and some only accept orders on that basis. Before you order, decide which approach fits your own risk tolerance and the guidelines you want to follow. This article explains the options; it is not legal or compliance advice.

When each type makes sense

Sponsored links are the transparent choice for paid placements. They still send referral traffic, put your brand in front of a relevant audience and can lead to natural mentions later.

Nofollow placements are often cheaper and can be useful for brand visibility and referral traffic in a niche where the audience matters more than the link itself.

Dofollow placements are what many buyers ask for. If you order them, be aware of the guidelines above and judge the site with extra care: relevance, real traffic and editorial quality matter even more.

Labelling inside the article

Separate from the rel attribute, some publishers add a visible "Sponsored" or "Partner content" label to the post. Each listing on our marketplace shows whether posts are labelled, so you know before you buy how the article will appear to readers.

How to check what you received

After publication, open the article, find your link and inspect it in the browser developer tools. Look for the rel attribute on the anchor element:

• No rel, or only values such as noopener or noreferrer: the link is followed.
• rel contains sponsored, nofollow or ugc: the link is qualified.

Also check that the page itself is not marked noindex, because a noindex page will not appear in search results at all.

How we handle it

Every order stores the link type you chose. When the publisher delivers, our checker downloads the page and verifies that your link exists, points to your exact URL, uses your anchor text and carries the rel value you ordered, and that the page is indexable. A delivery that does not match goes back to the publisher, and the same checks run weekly during the guarantee period.