Table of Contents
As a website owner, you may want to add nofollow links to your WordPress site for a variety of reasons. For example, you may want to prevent search engines from following certain links on your site in order to improve your search engine optimization (SEO). Alternatively, you may want to add nofollow links to help protect against spam or to indicate to users that a link is sponsored content.
In this article, we will walk you through the steps of how to add nofollow links in WordPress. We will cover two methods for adding nofollow links: one method involves manually adding the nofollow attribute to your links, and the other method involves using a WordPress plugin.
What Are Nofollow Links?
Before we dive into the steps for adding nofollow links, let’s first define what nofollow links are. Nofollow links are HTML attributes that can be added to links in order to tell search engines not to follow them.
Here is an example of a nofollow link:
<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Link text</a>
The rel
attribute in the above example specifies that the link should be treated as a nofollow link. When a search engine encounters a nofollow link, it will not follow the link or give any credit to the linked website.
Manually Adding Nofollow Links
The first method for adding nofollow links in WordPress involves manually adding the nofollow attribute to your links. This method is simple and does not require any additional plugins.
Here are the steps for manually adding nofollow links in WordPress:
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Navigate to the page or post where you want to add the nofollow link.
- Click the text tab in the WordPress editor.
- Add the nofollow attribute to your link by modifying the HTML code for the link. For example:
<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Link text</a>
- Publish or update your page or post.
That’s it! Your nofollow link has now been added to your WordPress site.
Using a WordPress Plugin
The second method for adding nofollow links in WordPress involves using a WordPress plugin. This method is ideal for those who want a more streamlined process for adding nofollow links or who want more control over their links.
There are several WordPress plugins available that can help you add nofollow links to your site. One popular plugin is the Nofollow for External Link plugin.
Here are the steps for using the Nofollow for External Link plugin to add nofollow links in WordPress:
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Navigate to the Plugins menu and click “Add New.”
- Search for the “Nofollow for External Link” plugin.
- Install and activate the plugin.
- Navigate to the Settings menu and click “External Links.”
- Configure the plugin settings to your liking. For example, you can choose to have all external links automatically set as nofollow links, or you can specify which links should be nofollow and which should not.
- Save your changes.
Your nofollow links will now be added to your WordPress site according to the settings you have specified.
How To Add rel Nofollow Links in WordPress Using Gutenberg Editor
The Gutenberg editor is the default WordPress block editor, introduced in WordPress version 5.0, which allows you to easily create and edit content using a block-based system.
Step 1: Add a Link Block
The first step in adding a rel nofollow link in WordPress using the Gutenberg editor is to add a link block to your content. To do this, follow these steps:
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Navigate to the page or post where you want to add the rel nofollow link.
- Click the “Add Block” button in the Gutenberg editor.
- In the “Common Blocks” section, click the “Link” block.
- A new link block will be added to your content.
Step 2: Add the Link URL and Link Text
Next, you’ll need to add the link URL and link text to your link block. To do this, follow these steps:
- In the link block, enter the URL of the website you want to link to in the “Link” field.
- Enter the text you want to use for the link in the “Link Text” field.
- If desired, you can also add a title attribute to your link by entering text in the “Title” field. The title attribute will appear as a tooltip when a user hovers over the link.
Step 3: Add the rel Nofollow Attribute
Now that you have added the link URL and link text to your link block, it’s time to add the rel nofollow attribute. To do this, follow these steps:
- Click the “Advanced” tab in the link block.
- In the “rel” field, enter “nofollow”.
- If desired, you can also add other attributes to your link, such as the target attribute, which specifies where the linked document should be opened.
Step 4: Publish or Update Your Page or Post
Once you have added the rel nofollow attribute to your link block, you’re ready to publish or update your page or post. To do this, follow these steps:
- Click the “Publish” or “Update” button in the Gutenberg editor.
- If you are publishing a new page or post, you will need to choose a publishing status and visibility. You can choose to publish the page or post immediately, schedule it for a later time, or save it as a draft. You can also choose whether the page or post should be visible to the public, private, or password-protected.
- Click the “Publish” or “Update” button to save your changes.
Your rel nofollow link has now been added to your WordPress site.
Tips for Using the Gutenberg Editor for rel Nofollow Links
Here are a few tips for using the Gutenberg editor to add rel nofollow links to your WordPress site:
- To quickly add a rel nofollow link, you can use the “Link” button in the toolbar of the Gutenberg editor. This will automatically add a link block to your content with the rel nofollow attribute.
- If you want to add a rel nofollow link to an existing link block, simply click the “Edit” button in the link block and add the rel nofollow attribute in the “Advanced” tab.
- If you want to add a rel nofollow link to multiple blocks of text, you can use the “Multi-Selection” feature in the Gutenberg editor. To do this, hold down the “Shift” key and click on each block of text you want to link. Then, click the “Link” button in the toolbar and add the rel nofollow attribute in the link block.
- If you want to add a rel nofollow link to an image, you can use the “Image” block in the Gutenberg editor. To do this, click the “Add Block” button and select the “Image” block. Then, click the image to edit it, and add the rel nofollow attribute in the “Link” tab.
Benefits of Using a WordPress Plugin for Nofollow Links
There are several benefits to using a WordPress plugin for adding nofollow links to your site.
First, using a plugin can save you time. Rather than manually adding the nofollow attribute to each link, you can simply specify your settings in the plugin and let the plugin handle the rest.
Second, using a plugin can give you more control over your links. With a plugin, you can specify which links should be nofollow and which should not, rather than manually adding the nofollow attribute to each link.
Finally, using a plugin can help you maintain consistency across your site. If you have a large number of links on your site, it can be time-consuming and error-prone to manually add the nofollow attribute to each link. Using a plugin can help ensure that all of your nofollow links are properly configured.
Other WordPress Plugins for Nofollow Links
In addition to the Nofollow for External Link plugin, there are several other WordPress plugins available for adding nofollow links to your site. Some popular options include:
- Nofollow Link Manager: This plugin allows you to easily add nofollow links to your site and manage your nofollow links in one place.
- Nofollow Case by Case: This plugin allows you to specify which links should be nofollow on a case-by-case basis.
- SEO Nofollow Link Checker: This plugin allows you to easily check which links on your site are nofollow and which are follow links.
Conclusion
In this article, we have walked you through the steps of how to add nofollow links in WordPress. We have covered two methods for adding nofollow links: one method involves manually adding the nofollow attribute to your links, and the other method involves using a WordPress plugin.
By adding nofollow links to your WordPress site, you can improve your SEO, protect against spam, and indicate to users that a link is sponsored content. Whether you choose to manually add nofollow links or use a plugin, following the steps outlined in this article will help you easily add nofollow links to your WordPress site.