On September 10, 2019, Google link building announced an update to the NoFollow link attribute.
After the announcement, we realized that the change introduced two new attributes as new ways to identify links. And those tags had names:
“sponsored” and “ugc.”
These measures by Google aim to add value and increase understanding of link building , and mark a fundamental change in ranking algorithms.
From now on, you can provide more information about external links by adding rel=”ugc” and rel=”sponsored.” This works in conjunction with the rel=”nofollow” attribute introduced approximately fifteen years ago.
However, the changes to nofollow links, which we explain later, won’t go into effect until March 1, 2020. This means that after March 2020, they may indeed have a significant impact on Google rankings.
Until this new update , rel=”nofollow” links didn’t transfer authority. Google introduced this attribute many years ago to combat comment spam on websites and forums, which often affected the quality of search results. With this tag, you could mark these links, and search engines would ignore them.
The new rel=”ugc” (User Generated Content) tag is recommended for links in forum posts or comments
The rel = “sponsored” tag allows you to identify links on a website that have been created as part of compensation how to optimize email marketing campaigns to increase b2b lead conversion agreements, sponsorships, or advertisements.
How the rel=”nofollow” tag will change
According to the search engine giant’s latest update, nofollow links, as well as UGC and sponsored links, will be used as “hints” or recommendations.
That’s one of the bombshells Google announced: starting in March 2020, it will stop ignoring Nofollow links and will instead consider them as recommendations. That is, Google will ultimately decide whether or not to value a particular link.
This way, Google will have a better understanding and analysis of the links in the system. Additionally, they will use nofollow links for crawling and indexing when they deem it useful.
Links contain valuable information to improve search performance, which improves understanding of unnatural link patterns
By switching to the hint model , there is 6 tips for using slideshare in your business less chance of missing important information.
Do I need to change the attributes of my website’s links?
The answer is NO.
You don’t need to go through the trouble of replacing no-follow links with the new tags. If you have sponsored links or content generated by users outside your website and you’ve marked them as nofollow, they’re still fine today.
On the other hand, if, for example, you have a link tagged with rel = “nofollow,” you can also add a second rel = “sponsored” tag like this: rel = “nofollow sponsored” . Although, as we mentioned taiwan lists earlier, this isn’t necessary.
Don’t panic, using the new tags isn’t mandatory, and Google won’t penalize you for not using them. In any case, there’s no reward or punishment . Websites can continue using a no-follow link , as they have in the past, without fear of the consequences.
Impact of UGC and sponsored tags
We’ll now tell you six important reasons why you shouldn’t lose sight of UGC and sponsored attributes.
Google introduces this change to improve link building
A side effect of the introduction of the nofollow tag in 2005 was that many large websites applied this attribute to all their content.
They did this to avoid the risk of penalties. Lacking the resources to monitor all links to external sites, many companies considered it the wisest move.
The importance of those links has been lost, and the search engine is trying to regain that.
Now Google will only ignore what it deems appropriate.
Remember: Major changes begin March 1, 2020
At that point, Google will start treating these attributes as “tracks ,” meaning they can be crawled.
Meanwhile, the search engine will continue to ignore them as usual, without crawling or indexing them.
Keep in mind that sponsored tags and UGC, in the right places, can generate high-quality referral traffic for your brand.
Nofollow links are a game changer.
As it stands now, Google ignores links with the nofollow attribute. As a result, those links don’t provide authority.
However, when the new rules go into effect, that could change substantially. At that point, Google will begin treating link attributes as “suggestions” and may decide to crawl them, a decision that will likely be made on a case-by-case basis.
Current SEO analysis tools currently only recognize dofollow and nofollow attributes. It will be interesting to see how these platforms incorporate sponsored and UGC tags and calculate the value of these links in light of this upcoming change.