Nofollow links and PageRank
The average internet surfer likely does not know whether a link classifies as Dofollow or Nofollow, let alone what Dofollow and Nofollow links are, or so claims Kayle Larkin, author of this article. The main difference between Dofollow and Nofollow links is that Dofollow links pass PageRank signals while Nofollow links do not. Thus, Google trusts Dofollow links enough to use them as ranking factors. Yet the question remains of whether or not Nofollow links are ranking factors or even if they can act as ranking factors. Essentially, Nofollow links include snippets of code (rel=”Nofollow”) that let web users know that the link does not affect the PageRank score. But can such links still be used in rankings? Until Google’s 2020 update, Nofollow links did not pass PageRank, but the update came with nuance. The search engine giant clarified that they still respect Nofollow and do not associate such links with the host website. Google would simply start “using the link for discovery,” and “would consider if there was any usefulness. However, since the links are not associated with the host site, they cannot be given additional weight from said site. Thus, Nofollow links cannot be used as ranking factors as their function remains to tell search engines to not add any additional weight to their rankings. This does not mean, though, that Nofollow links do not have any weight, but simply that in the grand scheme of things, any weight they have is irrelevant.
As covered in class, the PageRank algorithm and others like it play a significant role in web page’s performance. PageRank accounts for the links linking to a certain web page as well as for the links linking from that same web page, meaning that in theory any and all links would have some influence on a page’s PageRank performance. Nofollow links, however, act as an exception to this. Thus, not all links linking to and from a web page add weight to that page’s PageRank value.
SEJ article: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ranking-factors/nofollow-links-ranking-factor/