When you are trying to improve local SEO, backlinks can play an important role, but not every link passes value in the same way. The difference between dofollow and nofollow backlinks matters because it affects how search engines interpret the relationship between your website and the page linking to it.
For website owners, bloggers, digital marketers, SEO beginners, and local business owners, understanding this difference helps you build a safer and more effective link profile. If you want a wider overview of safe link building, the backlink building guide is a helpful starting point.
What Dofollow and Nofollow Backlinks Mean
A dofollow backlink is a standard link that search engines can follow and use as a signal of trust, relevance, or authority. In simple terms, it can help search engines discover your page and understand that another site is endorsing it in some way.
A nofollow backlink usually includes a rel=”nofollow” attribute, which tells search engines not to treat the link as a direct ranking signal in the same way. That does not make it useless. It can still send visitors, build visibility, and contribute to a natural-looking backlink profile.
Think of it this way: dofollow links are more likely to influence organic rankings directly, while nofollow links are often better for referral traffic, brand exposure, and link diversity.
Why This Matters for Local SEO
Local SEO is about helping your business appear in searches from people nearby, such as “plumber in Manchester” or “family dentist near me”. Backlinks can support that goal by showing local relevance and trust, especially when they come from local organisations, publications, suppliers, chambers of commerce, or community websites.
For local businesses in the UK, a backlink from a regional blog, council page, or local news site can be more useful than a generic link from an unrelated website. Relevance matters as much as link type. A nofollow link from a respected local source may still help your visibility by bringing in real visitors and brand signals.
If you are reviewing your current site health before building links, a free website SEO audit can help identify technical issues that may limit the impact of your backlink efforts.
How Dofollow Links Help Local Visibility
Dofollow backlinks are often the links SEO professionals focus on most because they can pass authority and help a page earn stronger organic rankings over time. For local SEO, the best dofollow links usually come from relevant, real websites with local or industry connection.
Examples include:
- Local business directories that are curated and trustworthy
- Community blogs covering your area or niche
- Local suppliers, partners, or associations
- News articles mentioning your business, service, or event
What matters is not just whether the link is dofollow, but whether it is placed naturally on a page that makes sense for your business. A strong link from a relevant local page can be more valuable than several low-quality links.
When Nofollow Links Still Add Value
Nofollow links are often misunderstood. They may not pass the same direct SEO signal as dofollow links, but they still have practical value. A well-placed nofollow backlink can drive qualified traffic, create brand awareness, and make your backlink profile look more natural.
This is especially important for local businesses, because local visibility often grows through a mix of signals. A business mentioned on a local forum, event page, newspaper site, or social platform may receive a nofollow link, yet that mention can still lead to enquiries, shares, and later citations from other sites.
In other words, nofollow links are not a waste. They are part of a balanced and believable link profile, which is usually safer than trying to collect only dofollow links.
How to Judge Backlink Quality
Whether a link is dofollow or nofollow, quality should come first. Search engines and users both respond better to links that make sense in context and come from trustworthy pages. For local SEO success, focus on relevance, placement, and credibility rather than link volume alone.
Use this practical checklist when assessing backlinks:
- Is the website relevant to your industry, location, or audience?
- Is the link placed in useful content rather than a cluttered footer or unrelated list?
- Does the referring page look genuine and well maintained?
- Is the anchor text natural and not overly stuffed with keywords?
- Would a real person click the link for more information?
Tools such as Ahrefs can help you inspect backlink profiles, link relevance, and referring domains when you are comparing opportunities or checking what competitors are doing.
Anchor Text and Relevance
Anchor text is the visible wording of a link, and it should feel natural. For local SEO, branded anchors, plain website names, and descriptive phrases usually work better than repeated exact-match keywords. Over-optimised anchor text can look manipulative and may reduce trust.
Relevance is just as important. A local bakery linked from a community food blog makes sense. The same bakery linked from an unrelated international gambling page does not. Good backlink quality is about context, not just technical attributes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many local websites struggle because they treat backlinks as a numbers game. That can lead to weak or risky link building choices that do more harm than good. The goal is steady, natural growth rather than shortcuts.
- Chasing only dofollow links and ignoring nofollow mentions
- Buying irrelevant links from unrelated websites
- Using the same keyword-rich anchor text repeatedly
- Relying on automated or spammy link building methods
- Ignoring backlink indexing and assuming every link is already discovered
If you want to understand safe backlink workflows in more detail, the backlink building process explains how links are usually created and reviewed in a more natural way.
Best Practices for Local SEO Link Building
The safest approach is to build links that fit your business, your location, and your audience. This usually means mixing dofollow and nofollow links instead of chasing one type only. A healthy backlink profile often looks varied because real web activity is varied.
Follow these best practices:
- Prioritise local and industry-relevant websites
- Earn editorial links through useful content or genuine relationships
- Use branded and natural anchor text
- Check whether important links are being discovered and indexed
- Review your backlink profile regularly for quality and relevance
If you are learning what safe and natural links look like, Google-safe backlinks is a useful resource for understanding white-hat standards without relying on risky tactics.
Backlink Works can also be a practical backlink building resource if you want to explore educational material around link building and SEO without jumping straight into aggressive tactics.
Conclusion
Dofollow and nofollow backlinks both matter for local SEO success, but they serve different purposes. Dofollow links are more likely to support rankings directly, while nofollow links can still bring traffic, brand exposure, and natural diversity to your backlink profile. The strongest local SEO strategies use both sensibly.
Instead of chasing the label on every link, focus on relevance, quality, placement, and trust. For local businesses, the best results usually come from a steady pattern of useful mentions, real relationships, and credible websites that make sense for your audience and location. That approach is safer, more sustainable, and more likely to support organic visibility over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are nofollow backlinks useless for local SEO?
No. Nofollow backlinks may not pass the same direct ranking signal as dofollow links, but they can still bring referral traffic, brand awareness, and a more natural backlink profile. For local SEO, those benefits can support broader visibility and trust.
Should local businesses only build dofollow backlinks?
No. A natural backlink profile usually includes both dofollow and nofollow links. Focusing only on dofollow links can make your profile look unnatural. Local businesses should aim for relevant, genuine links from places where their audience actually spends time.
How do I know if a backlink is high quality?
Check whether the site is relevant, trustworthy, and well maintained. A quality backlink usually comes from useful content, has natural anchor text, and sits in a context that makes sense. Traffic potential and editorial placement are often just as important as link type.
Do backlinks need to be indexed to help SEO?
Search engines need to discover links before they can fully evaluate them. If a backlink is not being crawled or indexed, its value may be limited. That is why backlink discovery and indexing are worth monitoring as part of a broader SEO process.
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