Should you stop using nofollow on About and Contact pages?

Why does Google specify that these pages are considered 'normal'?

Google is responding here to an outdated SEO practice that involved adding nofollow attributes to all links to About, Contact, Legal Notices, and other utility pages located in the footer or main navigation. The underlying idea was to avoid 'wasting' internal PageRank by diluting it to pages that add no value to rankings.

But Google's algorithms have evolved. They now integrate a contextual understanding of site architecture. When a page receives links from every page on the site but is located in the footer with a label like 'About' or 'Contact', Google recognizes this structure as a standard web convention — not as a signal that this page is central.

Does this statement really change anything on the ground?

For many modern SEOs, this confirmation doesn’t revolutionize anything. Since Google transformed nofollow into a hint rather than a strict directive, the tactical need for nofollow to sculpt PageRank has largely vanished. Most practitioners haven’t bothered to nofollow these links for several years.

But the reminder is useful for teams still following SEO guidelines from before 2019. Some agencies or developers maintain templates where these links are systematically in nofollow 'just in case.' Google is clearly stating: this is unnecessary, stop.

What does this teach us about how Google analyzes internal links?

This statement reveals that Google has developed structural recognition heuristics. Algorithms do not simply count links — they analyze their position, their semantic context, and the recurrence of the pattern across pages. A link present on 100% of the pages but found in the footer with an anchor 'Legal Notices' will be treated differently than a contextual link in the editorial content.

This also confirms that Google applies a variable weighting to internal links based on their nature. An editorial link in an article to another content page will have a different weight than a structural navigation link. This nuance is crucial for strategic internal linking.

• Google automatically detects structural pages (About, Contact, Terms and Conditions) based on their position and link patterns
• Nofollow on these links is no longer tactically useful since Google treats this attribute as a hint
• The site architecture plays a role in how internal link value is interpreted
• Contextual links in the content maintain a different weight than global navigation links
• The position on the page (header, footer, sidebar, body text) influences link analysis

Is this statement consistent with real-world observations?

Yes, and it's even one of the rare Google statements that perfectly aligns with empirical observations. Internal linking tests have long shown that a footer link to an About page does not have the same effect as a contextual editorial link. Sites that have stopped using nofollow on their utility pages have noticed no drop in performance on their strategic pages.

But be cautious: this consistency applies to truly structural pages. If you create an 'About' page that is actually a disguised commercial page with dense content and targeted keywords, the treatment might be different. Google analyzes content as much as the link’s position.

In what cases might this rule not apply?

First case: a site with an abnormal architecture. If your About page receives not only footer links but also dozens of contextual links from your articles, Google might treat it differently. The algorithm detects patterns, but it remains sensitive to statistical anomalies.

Second case: sites with hybrid structures. Imagine an 'About' page that also serves as a hub for category pages or resources. It then accumulates both a structural and an editorial role. Its treatment becomes less predictable. [To be verified]: Google has never specified how it handles edge cases where a page serves multiple functions.

Should we conclude that PageRank Sculpting is definitively dead?

Yes and no. The crude version of PageRank Sculpting — the one that involved massively using nofollow on 'useless' links — is indeed obsolete. Google killed this practice by transforming nofollow into a hint, and then confirming it detects structural patterns.

However, strategic internal linking remains crucial. Having contextual links from strong pages pointing to pages you want to boost is still effective. What no longer works is believing that by removing links you are 'magically' concentrating juice. The game is no longer about restriction but about optimizing natural flow.

What should you do concretely on your site?

If you still have nofollow attributes on your footer links to About, Contact, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy — remove them. It’s unnecessary code that adds no value and can cause confusion during audits. A clean footer with standard links is easier to maintain and perfectly understood by Google.

Next, take the opportunity to audit your internal link architecture. If you had implemented a complex nofollow system 'just in case', it’s time to simplify. Focus your optimization efforts on contextual editorial links that truly impact crawling and ranking.

How to check if your internal linking is optimal?

Use a crawler (Screaming Frog, Oncrawl, Botify) to map your internal link profile. Identify which pages receive the most links and ensure they are indeed your strategic pages — not just your About or Legal Notices pages. If the latter appear in the top 10 most linked pages but your commercial pages are far behind, your editorial linking is too weak.

Also calculate the click depth of your important pages. A strategic page accessible in 1-2 clicks from the homepage is more likely to be crawled and valued than a page buried 5-6 clicks deep. It’s this structural proximity that matters, not whether the footer links use nofollow or not.

What mistakes should you avoid after this statement?

Don’t fall into the extreme opposite: removing all your nofollows without consideration. Some links still deserve a nofollow — for example, user links (comments, forums), sponsored links, links to non-indexable member areas. The nofollow remains useful in these cases; Google has confirmed this.

Another mistake: believing that this statement means that internal links no longer matter. On the contrary. Google is simply saying it does not consider About pages important just because they are linked everywhere. But contextual links to your key pages remain a major lever for indexing and ranking. Don’t confuse the two.

• Remove unnecessary nofollow attributes on structural page footer links
• Audit your internal link profile to identify imbalances
• Ensure your strategic pages receive contextual links from the content
• Reduce the click depth of your important pages
• Retain nofollow only for UGC, sponsored links, and non-indexable spaces
• Simplify your architecture: less complex rules, more structural efficiency
  This Google statement simplifies the management of internal linking. No need to complicate your code with 'defensive' nofollows on structural pages. Focus your efforts on building a coherent editorial linking structure that guides users and crawlers to your strategic pages. If your current architecture is complex or if you've never audited your internal link profile, support from a specialized SEO agency can help you start fresh and quickly identify priority optimizations.