Are Nofollow Links Still Good for SEO in 2025?
Backlinks remain a foundational pillar of search engine optimization. But as the industry evolves, so do the questions. One we hear often is:
“Do profile backlinks and nofollow links still help with SEO?”
At Soogle, we build thousands of profile-based backlinks every month — and yes, they still work. Here’s a complete breakdown of why, along with supporting evidence directly from Google and leading SEO experts.
✅ What Is a Nofollow Backlink?
A nofollow backlink is a hyperlink that contains a rel="nofollow" attribute, signaling that the link shouldn’t pass PageRank to the destination page.
That used to mean Google wouldn’t consider it for rankings. But in September 2019, Google announced a major update — nofollow is no longer a strict rule but a “hint”.
“All the link attributes — sponsored, UGC, and nofollow — are treated as hints about which links to consider or exclude within Search.”
— Google Search Central
What does this mean?
It means Google can choose to crawl and count nofollow links, especially when they come from authoritative, trustworthy domains.
🌐 What Are Profile Backlinks?
Profile backlinks are links created on user profiles of well-known platforms. These might include:
Even if they’re marked as nofollow, these links provide:
- Domain Authority: You’re earning a backlink from a trusted, high-authority site
- Diversity: Natural backlink profiles need a mix of dofollow and nofollow links
- Brand trust: You build legitimacy by being visible across known directories
- Referral traffic: You may still get clicks from real users browsing those profiles
🧠 Why They Still Matter in 2025
Let’s be clear: Google values link quality over link type.
And John Mueller (Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google) has confirmed multiple times that nofollow links can still help with discovery and indexing.
In fact, Moz’s nofollow study found that pages with nofollow backlinks still ranked well — and that these links often support a healthy topical trust flow.
Even tools like Ahrefs acknowledge that nofollow links are useful, especially when they’re placed in relevant contexts or on niche-specific websites.
🔎 What About Indexing?
Some clients worry when links don’t appear in Ahrefs or SEMrush right away. Here’s what you need to know:
- Indexing can take 2–4 weeks for some directories
- Tools like Moz, Ahrefs, or SEMrush don’t crawl the entire web like Google does
- A link not appearing in your dashboard ≠ not being seen by Google
More on this from Google’s John Mueller:
“It’s not guaranteed that all links are indexed or reported by tools — but they may still be used behind the scenes.”
🧱 SEO Is a Long-Term Game
When evaluating backlinks, here’s what Google really cares about:
- Natural acquisition
- Site authority
- Relevance of the link to your niche
- Clean, non-manipulative strategies
That’s why profile backlinks, even with nofollow tags, are still part of nearly every white-hat SEO strategy.
📌 Final Thoughts
Just because a link is “nofollow” or from a profile directory doesn’t mean it’s useless. In fact, when placed correctly, it supports:
- A diverse backlink profile
- Better brand exposure
- Long-term domain trust
This is why we continue to use and recommend nofollow profile backlinks at Soogle — and why thousands of businesses trust our monthly packages.
Still Curious?
We encourage transparency. If you’re still unsure, read our full article here:
👉 Are Profile Backlinks Quality Backlinks?
Or reach out to us at support@soogle.io — we’ll happily break it down for you.
SEO doesn’t happen overnight. But it does happen — if you stay consistent.
And that’s exactly what we help you do at Soogle.io
