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What is Noindex and Nofollow? Correct Usage and SEO Effect

·8 dk min read·Technical SEO Editor

Meta Robots Tags: Telling Google "What to Index, What to Track"

In the SEO world, noindex and nofollow are meta robots directives that give Google and other search engines clear instructions about your pages. Used correctly, you save your crawling budget, prevent duplicate content issues, and strategically direct your ranking power. If used incorrectly, your most valuable pages may disappear completely from Google.

What is Noindex? What is it used for?

The noindex directive commands Google to "Do not include this page in search results." The page is crawled (crawled) but is not indexed and never appears in the SERP.

3 Ways to Implement Noindex

  • HTML Meta Tag: <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> — Page's <head> It is placed in the section.
  • X-Robots-Tag HTTP Header: X-Robots-Tag: noindex — Implemented by server configuration. Ideal for PDF, images and non-HTML files.
  • With robots.txt: ⚠️ CANNOT be noindexed from robots.txt file. Robots.txt only blocks crawling. If you block a page with robots.txt, the bot cannot even read the noindex directive and the page can still be indexed due to external links.

When Should Noindex Be Used?

  • Internal search results pages: These are pages that generally create thin content and waste crawling budget.
  • Thank you/Confirmation pages: Pages shown after form submission should not be indexed.
  • Staging/Test pages: Test environments containing the same content as the live site create duplicate content.
  • Admin and login pages: Should not be indexed for security and usability.
  • Tag and filter pages: Thousands of filter combinations create fine content on e-commerce sites.

What is Nofollow? What is it used for?

The nofollow directive gives the signal to Google, "Follow this link, but do not transfer link equity." It was originally invented to block spam comments.

Ways to Implement Nofollow

  • On a single link basis: <a href="..." rel="nofollow">
  • For all links on the page: <meta name="robots" content="nofollow">

Situations When Nofollow Should Be Used

  • Unreliable sources: External links in user comments or forum posts.
  • Paid/Sponsored links: This is the rule required by Google. Sponsored links are marked with "nofollow" or "sponsored"\n\nshould.
  • User-generated content (UGC): Links from wikis, comments and social platforms.

UGC and Sponsored: Modern Alternatives to Nofollow

Google added two new rel features next to nofollow in 2019:

  • rel="ugc": For links in user-generated content (comments, forum posts).
  • rel="sponsored": For paid or sponsored links (advertising, affiliate programs).

These tags convey the context of the link more clearly to Google and enable it to make more accurate decisions in spam evaluation.

Noindex vs Nofollow: Together or Separate?

These two directives serve different purposes and are independent of each other:

  • "noindex": The page is not indexed, but the links on the page are followed (by default).
  • "noindex, nofollow": The page is not indexed AND no power is transferred to any links on the page.
  • "nofollow" (alone): The page is indexed, but no power is transferred to the links on the page.

Most Common Mistakes

  • Accidentally adding noindex to important pages: This is the most common disaster in CMS updates or template changes. Regularly monitor your number of indexed pages in GSC.
  • Conflict between noindex and canonical: Giving both noindex to a page and canonical to another page updates Google. Choose either one.
  • Confusing noindex with robots.txt: A page blocked with robots.txt cannot read the noindex directive. This causes the page to be indexed unintentionally.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Nofollow completely stop PageRank flow?

Google considers nofollow a "hint" as of 2020; Not as a definitive directive. This means that Google can decide whether or not to follow nofollow links based on its context.

Should I use nofollow for internal links?

Usually no. Using nofollow on the links within your own site means blocking the PageRank flow within your own site; This is often a disadvantage. Exception: links to internal pages that should not be indexed, such as login pages or carts.

Are the backlinks of Noindex pages wasted?

To a large extent, yes. Since noindex pages are not indexed, the ranking contribution of backlinks to that page is limited. Evaluate this situation before noindexing pages with high backlinks.

Use our Single Page Technical Audit tool to check the noindex and nofollow status of your pages!