Should you really banish nofollow from your internal links?

Why does Google oppose internal nofollow?

The nofollow was originally designed to signal to Google that an outbound link should not pass credit — typically for comments, advertising links, or UGC. When applied to internal links, it creates an artificial blockage in the distribution of PageRank.

Google uses your internal linking as a map of editorial hierarchy. Each internal link acts as a vote: the more internal links a page receives, the more it is considered strategic. Nofollow cancels this vote and prevents the crawl from following certain logical paths.

What concrete impact does this have on crawling and indexing?

An internal link with nofollow does not guarantee that the target page will never be crawled — it may be crawled through other paths or via the sitemap. But you deprive that page of a priority signal.

Let's be honest: if you put nofollow on strategic internal links, you create blind spots in your architecture. Google may explore these pages later or assign them less weight in the ranking equation. This is counterproductive if your goal is to promote that content.

In what cases has this rule been historically circumvented?

Some practitioners have used internal nofollow to sculpt PageRank — a technique aimed at concentrating the juice on certain pages by blocking the leakage to others. Google has gradually rendered this practice ineffective by changing the behavior of nofollow: now, PageRank "lost" on a nofollow link is not redistributed elsewhere, it simply evaporates.

Another case: hiding technical pages or facet filters in e-commerce. But again, nofollow is not the optimal solution — it's better to manage crawl budget via robots.txt, Search Console parameters, or completely block indexing if the page has no SEO value.

• Internal nofollow blocks the transmission of PageRank and weakens hierarchy signals.
• Google relies on internal linking to understand which pages you consider important.
• PageRank sculpting via nofollow has become obsolete and counterproductive.
• For technical pages with no SEO value, prefer robots.txt or noindex rather than nofollow.
• An internal nofollow link may delay crawling and reduce the crawling frequency of a page.

Is this guideline consistent with real-world observations?

Yes, and it is actually one of the few points where Google has been clear and consistent for years. Real-world tests confirm that pages connected by internal links without nofollow rank better, receive more crawl, and rise faster in the index.

However, [To be verified]: Google has never published quantitative data on the exact impact of an internal nofollow link versus a dofollow link. We know that PageRank is diluted, but the extent of this loss remains unclear. Some sites with internal nofollow continue to rank — evidence that other factors (backlinks, content, UX) compensate for this.

What nuances should be considered?

Internal nofollow is not toxic in itself, it's just ineffective if your goal is to boost a page. There are edge cases where it can make sense: for example, on redundant navigation links in a footer (if you already have dofollow links in the main menu), or on links to A/B test landing pages that you don't want to index.

But be careful: if you resort to internal nofollow "just in case," it often indicates a faulty architecture. It’s better to rethink the site structure than to patch it up with nofollow. And this is where many sites struggle: nofollow becomes a bandage on a wooden leg.

In what cases does this rule not apply?

If you manage a site with thousands of low-value pages (filters, archives, tags) and you fear a crawl budget explosion, nofollow is still not the right answer — use robots.txt, canonical tags, or noindex instead.

Another exception: internal links in UGC areas (forums, internal comments) where you have no control over quality. Here, nofollow is justified, but these are rare scenarios in most corporate or e-commerce sites.

What should be done concretely on an existing site?

Start with an audit of your internal links. Crawl the site with Screaming Frog or Oncrawl and filter all links with the nofollow attribute. Identify those pointing to strategic pages — categories, key product listings, evergreen content.

Remove the nofollow from these links and observe the evolution of the crawl in Search Console ("Crawl Stats" tab). You should notice an increase in the number of pages crawled per day and a better distribution of crawl budget on the valued pages.

What mistakes should be absolutely avoided?

Do not replace one problem with another. Removing nofollow without reviewing your link architecture can create noise: too many diluted internal links, lack of thematic coherence, excessive depth. A dofollow link to a page 8 clicks from the home page will have only a marginal impact.

Another trap: confusing nofollow with noindex. Noindex prevents indexing, nofollow only blocks link tracking. If you really want to exclude a page from the index, you should use noindex, not nofollow on the links leading to it.

How to check if your site is compliant?

Use a crawler to extract all internal links and their rel attribute. Cross-reference this data with your SEO objectives: do priority pages receive dofollow links from high-authority internal pages? Also check that your templates (footer, sidebar, menu) do not generate nofollow by default.

Regularly consult Search Console to track the evolution of the number of explored pages and crawl frequency. If certain strategic pages remain under-crawled despite the removal of nofollow, dig deeper: depth issues, duplicated content, misconfigured canonicals.

• Crawl the site and list all internal links with nofollow
• Remove nofollow from links to strategic pages (categories, key products, evergreen content)
• Check that your templates (footer, menu, sidebar) do not generate nofollow by default
• Monitor crawl evolution in Search Console after modification
• Ensure that priority pages are within 3 clicks from the home page
• Cross-reference the internal link audit with your keyword strategy to prioritize actions