Dofollow Link
A standard hyperlink that passes PageRank from the linking site to yours.
Definition
A dofollow link is any standard HTML hyperlink that does not have a `rel="nofollow"`, `rel="sponsored"`, or `rel="ugc"` attribute. When a page links to your site with a dofollow link, Google follows that link and passes PageRank (link equity) to your domain. This directly contributes to your website's authority and search rankings.
For startup directory submissions, dofollow status is one of the most important attributes to check. All other factors being equal, a dofollow link from a directory is strictly more valuable for SEO than a nofollow link from the same directory. Directories that offer dofollow links are prioritized in the backlinks.fyi database.
Example
If ProductHunt.com links to your startup's homepage with a standard <a href> tag, that's a dofollow link. Your domain rating rises because Product Hunt's authority is partially transferred to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
The easiest way is to find an existing listing on the directory, right-click the link to your startup's URL, and inspect the HTML. If the anchor tag has rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc", the link is nofollow. If there's no rel attribute (or rel="dofollow"), it's a dofollow link. backlinks.fyi has already done this check for every directory in the database.
No — nofollow links still have value for referral traffic, brand visibility, and link profile diversity. Google has also indicated that nofollow links are treated as "hints" rather than hard blocks, meaning some PageRank may still flow through them in certain contexts. But for maximizing SEO return on submission effort, always prioritize dofollow links first.
Yes, this happens. Directories sometimes change their link policies, particularly when they move to paid models or experience spam issues. It's worth periodically verifying the link type of your most important directory listings, especially if you notice changes in referring domains in your backlink monitoring tool.
Put it into practice
Browse startup directories with DR scores, dofollow status, and submission tips — everything you need to build your backlink profile.
Browse all directories →