Do NoFollow links really count for PageRank and rankings?

What does "treated similarly" mean in practice?

When John Mueller states that NoFollow links are treated "similarly," this intentionally vague wording needs interpretation. Google crawls these links, follows them, and records them in its link graph indexes. The bots explore the destination of a NoFollow link in exactly the same way they would explore a regular link.

The nuance lies in the calculation of PageRank. A NoFollow link does not pass "juice" in the historical ranking algorithm. However, it still helps to outline your site's topology in Google's eyes. In other words: mapping yes, authority no.

Why does Google use these links for site structure?

The distinction between discovery and ranking is critical here. Google wants to understand how your pages relate to each other, even if some links carry a rel="nofollow" attribute. This structural understanding helps the algorithm identify hubs, thematic clusters, and potential orphan pages.

A retail site that consistently applies NoFollow to its pagination filters might see Google correctly map these navigation paths without diluting PageRank across thousands of nearly identical pages. It’s a balance between exhaustive exploration and selective authority transmission.

Does this approach change the game for internal linking?

Not radically. Savvy SEO practitioners have always known that NoFollow internal links remain useful for UX and discoverability. What Mueller confirms is that Google does not entirely ignore them, as some still believed.

That said, if you want to pass PageRank to a strategic landing page, a DoFollow link is still essential. NoFollow mainly serves to handle less priority sections: comments, terms of service, login pages, third-party widgets. Don’t turn your internal linking into a NoFollow maze just because "Google treats them anyway".

• NoFollow links are crawled and registered in Google's link graph.
• They do not transmit PageRank according to the traditional ranking algorithm.
• They help Google understand the structure and architecture of the site.
• Don’t overuse NoFollow internally: prioritize DoFollow links for your strategic pages.
• Use NoFollow to isolate third-party content, non-priority sections, and UGC flows.

Is this statement consistent with field observations?

Yes, broadly speaking. For years, SEOs have noticed that pages linked solely with NoFollow internally still get indexed and crawled. Google does indeed follow these links to discover content, which is consistent with Mueller's statement.

Where it gets tricky: the actual impact on ranking. A/B tests show that changing an internal link from NoFollow to DoFollow can improve the ranking of the target page. If both types of links were "treated similarly," we wouldn't see this difference. [To verify]: Mueller remains vague about the exact extent of the influence gap between the two types.

What nuances should be made regarding authority transmission?

The notion of sculpting PageRank has been officially dead for years, but the underlying idea persists: all links on a page share its authority. A NoFollow link does not pass juice but doesn't block it either to redistribute to other links as some had hoped.

In practical terms, if you have 10 links on a page with 5 being NoFollow, the 5 DoFollow will share the available PageRank, but the 5 NoFollow will not enhance the other links' power. This is a dilution by omission, not an optimization. The only real lever remains to reduce the total number of links or prioritize by HTML hierarchy (h1, h2, top placement).

In which cases does this rule not apply?

Watch out for robots.txt and noindex meta tags. If you block a URL in robots.txt, Google will not follow any links to that page, NoFollow or not. The same goes for X-Robots-Tag directives at the server level. The "similar" treatment only applies if crawling is permitted.

Another point: NoFollow external links are still a weak signal for Google. Some patents suggest that the algorithm can detect patterns of sponsored links or UGC even with the NoFollow attribute. But for off-page SEO, a DoFollow backlink from an authoritative site is worth infinitely more than a NoFollow. Don't rely on NoFollow links to boost your link building.

What should you do specifically with NoFollow links internally?

Maintain a pragmatic and selective approach. Reserve NoFollow for areas that generate links in bulk without SEO value: internal search forms, infinite pagination, multi-faceted filters, social sharing widgets. These sections should remain accessible for UX but do not deserve to dilute your PageRank.

For your strategic pages (key product sheets, pillar articles, commercial landing pages), always use DoFollow links from your high authority pages. A coherent internal linking strategy remains the most underutilized lever for medium-sized sites. Map your thematic silos and ensure that each important page receives at least 3-5 contextualized DoFollow internal links.

What mistakes should be avoided in link attribute management?

A classic error: putting NoFollow on navigation menus or breadcrumbs. These elements structure your site and should pass juice. The same logic applies to links in the body of editorial text: if you mention a related article, link to it with DoFollow to create a dense semantic network.

Another trap: ignoring the attributes sponsored and ugc introduced by Google. A link to a business partner should carry rel="sponsored", while a user comment should carry rel="ugc". These attributes allow Google to refine its handling without penalizing your site. NoFollow becomes an outdated catch-all if you never use them.

How can I check that my site correctly utilizes these attributes?

Run a Screaming Frog or Oncrawl crawl by extracting all links with their rel attributes. Filter by type (internal/external) and analyze the distribution. If more than 30% of your internal links are NoFollow, you probably have a configuration problem or a poorly set up CMS.

Then compare with your Search Console data: do pages receiving few DoFollow internal links struggle to rank despite solid content? This is an indicator that your internal linking needs a thorough audit. Cross-check with Google Analytics to identify high commercial potential pages that are under-optimized in terms of internal linking.

• Audit all internal links via a crawler to identify the NoFollow/DoFollow distribution.
• Prioritize DoFollow links to strategic pages (key products, content pillars).
• Use NoFollow only for pagination, filters, terms of service, forms, and unmoderated comments.
• Adopt sponsored and ugc for partner external links and user-generated content.
• Ensure navigation and breadcrumbs transmit PageRank (DoFollow by default).
• Create internal hubs that concentrate DoFollow links towards coherent thematic clusters.