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I've Removed The 'No Follow' Tag from My Blog - You Should Too!

April 25, 2007

The "No Follow" tag is an optional attribute you can include in the parameters of a link tag. It tells the search engines: Any link with this tag is not necessarily approved by this page and shouldn't be followed nor contribute weight for ranking.

To combat spamming of comments and trackback in blogs, the creators of blogging software automatically add the "No Follow" tag to links in trackbacks and comments. The "No Follow" tag was supposed to cut down on blog spam. The idea was that if spammers received no benefit from the links that they spammed on your blog, then they would stop spamming. It didn't work. Spam continues to grow at logarithmic rates.

The end result of the "No Follow" tag is to hurt the innocent: the blogger or website trying to gain some traction and get noticed. The legitimate webmaster or blogger who leaves a comment or trackback on your blog really needs the benefit of those links back to their blog or web site. Those links really help with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

So I say let's all turn off the automatic addition of the "No Follow" tag.

As far as spam goes, see my post on Stopping Spam on Your Blog for information on how to control spam.

How to Turn off "No Follow" tagging.

If you use Movable Type:
1. Go to the System Settings and then to Plugins.
2. Disable the "nofollow/nofollow.pl" plugin by clicking on the "disable" link in the right column. After the page refreshes the plugin should be grayed out and no longer have a green checkmark.
3. Find the template that generates your comments and change the commenter's link tag to have these parameters:
  - <$MTCommentAuthorLink$ new_window="1" no_redirect="1">,
  - remove the spam_protect="1" parameter if it's there,
  - Save your template.
4. Rebuild your site and the "No Follow" tags are now gone.
If you use Word Press:
- Go here: http://www.semiologic.com/software/dofollow to get a plugin to do the job.

Before you post comments and/or leave trackback on blogs, check the links (you'll have to do a "view source") and see if the links in the comments and/or trackbacks sections have this rel=nofollow or rel="external nofollow". If they do, suggest that they turn off the "No Follow" tagging and point them to this post for instructions!

Update: 4/29/2007: I found a great entry about this on Andy Beard's Blog in his post on: Blogging Productivity & Criticizing Goals,

which lead me to this post on Search Engine Journal titled: How Google, Yahoo & Ask.com Treat the No Follow Link Attribute,

which in turn lead me to this site: www.bumpzee.com/no-nofollow all about removing the no follow tag, and where I picked up the new logos you see in my comment area and below.

Update: 5/1/2007: Added the steps in the Movable Type instructions to change the MTCommentAuthorLink tag so that it's not redirected and puts the real link in the html.

Sincerely,
Fred

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Comments: 143, TrackBacks: 1.

Posted by Fred Black on April 25, 2007 | Printer-Friendly

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Ryan M. Healy...
Important Blog Updates
Over the last few months, I’ve tweaked this blog a bit and added a few pages. So I thought it would be good to let you know about them. 1. I removed the “no follow” tags from this blog. I did this on Fred Black’s recommendation....
Posted On: September 23, 2008 11:51 AM.

Comments:

From: Niall Kennedy

Hi Fred,

The nofollow link relationship was introduced in January 2005 as a way for content publishers to indicate a piece of content present on their site is not created by the original author and should therefore not receive the weight of regular page content. If I author an article on my favorite hiking spots I control the content and the links, but other authors may add their own content as a comment supplemental material.

Comment links are not an all-or-nothing maneuver in today's content management systems and blog platforms. My weblog is powered by Movable Type, which allows for three different classes of commenters.
1. User data provided in a form field. Name, e-mail, and URL are common, and on my blog I require at least a name and an e-mail address.
2. Signed-in user with a TypeKey account
3. "Trusted commenter" status granted to a user with a verified identity provider such as TypeKey.
The presence of a weighted link should not influence the dialog and commentary on my site. Removing a weighted link can align these motivations with how I would like my community to participate, meaning it's all about the content. First-time contributors are placed in a moderation queue for my own determination of relevancy, and long-term community members may optionally sign-in using a service such as TypeKey and be granted "Trusted commenter" privileges inside of the comment section of the blog. In the future OpenID may be another option.

Managing a comment queue is tricky enough without worrying about link-building behaviors. You'll receive no weighted citations on my pages by simply filling out and submitting a form.

See also: Google AdSense section targeting.
Posted by Niall Kennedy on April 25, 2007 3:43 PM
From Fred...

Niall;
I agree with most of what you say. However, I still feel we're better off without the no follow tag. Most blogs that receive any amount of traffic at all are spammed so much, and receive so many strange and/or off color comments/trackbacks that moderation of some type is required. If not full moderation, moderation in steps like you are doing on your blog.

I agree that getting a link back should not be motivation for commenting or linking back to a blog. However, I'm not going to take away that benefit from someone who has taken action and commented or linked back to my blog.

Thanks for leaving a comment!

Fred

Posted by Fred Black on April 25, 2007 4:41 PM
From: Dave

I don't think its such a bad thing if a link back serves as motivation for comments, as long as the commenter contributes something to the discussion. And as far as spam goes, the Akismet plugin really does the trick. Fred, I think you backtracked a bit in your reply to Niall. As a way of getting traction, comments on good blogs are a fairly effective way of getting new people to check you out.
Posted by Dave on April 26, 2007 2:35 PM
From Fred...

Dave;
If I sounded like I was backtracking, I was not. I don't think someone should leave a comment or trackback, just for the value of the link. That's where moderation comes in and those comments and trackbacks can be deleted.

Akismet works great... however for whatever reason, your comment was flagged as spam! You still need to glance at what it's flagged once in a while to make sure it's not getting things that are valid.

Thanks for leaving a comment!
Fred
Posted by Fred Black on April 26, 2007 3:53 PM
From: London SEO

This is a nice initiative you've started. However, the problem wont be dealt with, unless blog software / system providers such as WordPress actually stop making the "nofollow" a default setting in all new blogs.

... most newbies dont know about Nofollow and don't care whether links on their blogs are followed or not.
Posted by London SEO on April 30, 2007 9:32 AM
From: Terry Dean

Fred;
You convinced me...and I turned off the no follow tag in my blog. I definitely agree the Akismet plug-in does a great job of eliminating most of the spam.

I also don't see the incentive of the link as a bad thing for commenters since anything not contributing to the conversation can be removed (I have no problem deleting any comment that isn't on topic).

If this does cause additional problems, I'll make whatever change is needed and let you know.
Posted by Terry Dean on May 1, 2007 9:54 AM
From: Jim

Fred,

I will check it out... it appears though Wordpress doesn't support a simple switch to turn it on or off and I hate to do hack and slash. Perhaps someone can clarify?

-Jim
Posted by Jim on May 2, 2007 1:25 AM
From Fred...

Jim;
If you use Word Press go here: http://www.semiologic.com/software/dofollow
to get a plugin to do the job.

Fred
Posted by Fred Black on May 2, 2007 8:02 AM
From: Hagerman

That's great software!
The Magician
Posted by Hagerman on May 9, 2007 4:55 AM
From: Make money online

this is too kool..fight spam..not blogs..right on
Posted by Make money online on May 12, 2007 5:56 PM
From: best bodybuilding supplements

After reading this I'm going to remove the nofollow from my blogs. Thanks
Posted by best bodybuilding supplements on June 5, 2007 8:01 PM
From: Erwin Tan

Hey Fred,

Thanks for sharing! Appreciate that alot as I know nothing about it until I read this post.

Thanks!

Erwin Tan
Posted by Erwin Tan on June 6, 2007 10:58 AM
From Fred...

Great! Keep spreading the word!
Fred
Posted by Fred Black on June 6, 2007 1:16 PM
From: football picks

This was a big decision when we started our blog. It came down to you have to pass the link love out to the guys posting. Like you said it isn't helping cut down the spam, why not pass the PR.
Posted by football picks on June 22, 2007 11:19 PM
From: Eric Graham

Hi Fred,

Too me a while to get to it on my "Action List", but I've finaly removed no-follow on my blog too.

Eric Graham
Posted by Eric Graham on June 24, 2007 10:32 PM
From Fred...

Eric;
Glad to hear from you! Thanks for taking the time to comment, and, most of all, for removing those "No Follow" tags.

Fred
Posted by Fred Black on June 27, 2007 12:00 PM
From: SmartKeting

This is great! I really hope this campaign will work! It worked for me!
Posted by SmartKeting on July 14, 2007 6:32 PM
From Fred...

Hey SmartKeting;
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I hope you make it a regular thing!
Fred
Posted by Fred Black on July 14, 2007 9:01 PM
From: Rubber Duck

I agree totally with your post. I use Drupal for my blogs, which does not automatically set the no follow attribute by default, unlike Wordpress. If someone is going to go through the hassle of leaving a comment, and therefore adding value to a blog post, then the least the author can do is allow a bit of link love in return.
Posted by Rubber Duck on September 5, 2007 5:39 AM
From: seo expert

i think this blog should be added to bumpzee do follow category
Posted by seo expert on October 8, 2007 6:32 AM
From Fred...

Hello "Seo Expert"... thanks for the prompt, I added it!
Fred
Posted by Fred Black on October 8, 2007 10:49 AM
From: Flat Stomach

Hi, I have found your blog via the "how search engines treat nofollow" article you mention. This really changed my thinking about the nofollow attribute and i have removed it from my blogs.
It has been working very well so far (four days), I will have to see if this results in more spam in the future though.
Thanks for the informative post.
Posted by Flat Stomach on October 14, 2007 5:11 PM
From: car leasing comparison

i have two blogs i dont know how to do it for blogspot i will find out a way its totally unfair as blogging is a social activity and comments too.
Posted by car leasing comparison on November 28, 2007 2:36 AM
From: The Ghillie Man

This is always the catch-22 of do follow. With do follow you get more comments = more visitors = hopefully more money. However, you get some spam within the comments, but hopefully not so many that it bogs you down.
Posted by The Ghillie Man on January 11, 2008 6:05 PM
From Fred...

Hey Ghillie Man!
Those are some wild suits you sell on your site!
Yes, I do get some comments that I don't approve, but most spam comments are caught by Akismet. Here's how to use it: http://www.pqinternet.com/39.htm.

Stop by often...
Fred

Posted by Fred Black on January 11, 2008 7:47 PM
From: Internet Business Bench

Fred,

You learn something new everyday. I was not aware that NOFOLLOW was the default for Wordpress comments. I have downloaded and installed the DOFOLLOW plugin.

Thanks for setting me straight!

- Dan Moran
Posted by Internet Business Bench on January 18, 2008 6:13 PM
From: Dave Ovenden

Hi Fred,

I just discovered your blog via the link from Dan Morans new Internet Business Bench blog and I am impressed with the content you have here.

I certainly had no idea about this 'no-follow' stuff - so thanks for this - it's great information.

I use WordPress for my blog and I've taken your advice and installed the dofollow plug-in.

Regards
Dave Ovenden
Posted by Dave Ovenden on January 21, 2008 3:04 PM
From: Chris

I actually got a plugin for all my blogs as soon as they were placed online. If anyone actually think Google made the nofollow rule to stop spamming they are sadly misguided... is was definitely made so they could monitor flow of PageRank of which they could not do through javascript.
Posted by Chris on February 7, 2008 3:52 AM
From: Mike D

I think if you actually moderate your blogs then the No follow is not needed at all. I do not use them.
Posted by Mike D on February 22, 2008 1:01 PM
From: Roger

have always had the no follow removed since i only started wordpress recently, problem is i'm in such a niche that and multilanguage/culture that comments, traffic analysis etc makes for a depressing fact sometimes :)
Posted by Roger on March 7, 2008 7:24 AM
From: Scott E. Lee

Fred,

I have a wordpress.com free blog site, and Akismet comes pre-installed. It is a SWEET tool.

I have taken all of the spam that Akismet catches and moved them to static pages inside the blog. But I keep the rel="nofollow" attribute on the links.

I had to turn off trackbacks because of blog scrapers. I'm still being scraped, but not nearly as bad as before.

I'm not sure if someone with a free wordpress blog can remove the "nofollow" from legit comments.

Fight the good fight!
Posted by Scott E. Lee on March 10, 2008 5:01 PM
From: Chris S.

I see a moral part here also .
When you get done laughing read on...
:)

The no follow would stop blog link spam ,sure, and if your into it would stop helping out a compatible site.

I believe helping others,or NOT helping others is what the old addage is saying from the Bible you reap whatsoever you sow.You want to steal from someones elses hard work (blog link spam) then thats what comes back around for you.Also if you want to be tight fisted and un-giving as in helping others out then thats what comes back to you also...
Posted by Chris S. on March 31, 2008 2:30 PM
From: I'm a caterer and a carpenter not an SEO expert

I'm not an SEO expert or anything but your theory doesn't make 100% sense to me only in that it's kind of like saying, "We can't stop spammers, we shouldn't try and prevent them". I know you say you can catch most spammers, but surely the no-follow tag takes away the incentive. Eventually they would realise that they are getting no benefit don't you think?
Posted by I'm a caterer and a carpenter not an SEO expert on April 5, 2008 6:57 AM
From: Quit Smoking Today

Hi, thanks for the tutorial on removing the nofollow tag. It is true, I have the nofollow tag and I still get robot spam. There are pretty good filters and our moderation skills to help us fight this.

The nofollow still only affects Google though. Yahoo still counts them as a link.

Maybe removing the nofollow could get some promotion to blog couldn't it?
Posted by Quit Smoking Today on April 5, 2008 3:08 PM
From: Pet Health Fanatic

Fred, now this is an old post and lots of people have removed and then again added the no-follow tag to their blogs due to spam.

You link to the plugin called dofollow but I believe that I have read somewhere to edit the no-follow tag right out of wordpress.

Unfortunately at this point in time I can't seem to find it. Is there anybody else that knows how to do that? (I'm against to many plugins).

Mikael
Posted by Pet Health Fanatic on April 9, 2008 3:26 PM
From: Ron Killian

I love the concept and the idea. Problem is, I've been on the other side, were I've gotten 100's, if not 1,000's of comment spams. Yes, Akismet does a great job at catching spam, but it also "catches" many of the good comments. I for one don't have the time to moderate to pull out the good ones.

We know the spammers are smart, who's to say their bots do not crawl looking for blogs that do not have nofollow?

I don't have enough time in the day to get everything done, so I have to draw the line somewhere to make the most of the time I have.

In a perfect world....
Posted by Ron Killian on April 22, 2008 8:30 AM
From: Shawn

Thanks for this - I found it from Tim Gross' Blog. I'll be implementing this right away on the blog I manage for a partner. Good stuff!

Shawn
Posted by Shawn on April 22, 2008 12:27 PM
From: Long john

I'm gonna give it a try on my 2 blogs and see how much spam I will get. :)
Posted by Long john on May 6, 2008 7:41 AM
From: Monavie

I have a few older blogs I will try to promote by removing the nofollow tags. I never had a real problem with it, as long as you read the comments and make sure you delete the spam. Besides people spam even with nofollow tags.
Posted by Monavie on May 9, 2008 6:21 PM
From: plumber plumbing electrician electrics

The no follow would stop blog link spam ,sure, and if your into it would stop helping out a compatible site.

I believe helping others,or NOT helping others is what the old addage is saying from the Bible you reap whatsoever you sow.You want to steal from someones elses hard work (blog link spam) then thats what comes back around for you.Also if you want to be tight fisted and un-giving as in helping others out then thats what comes back to you also...
Posted by plumber plumbing electrician electrics on June 3, 2008 10:59 PM
From: Ryan Healy

Hey Fred - I just installed the Semiologic plug-in and activated it.

So I'm assuming both my blogs no longer have the no-follow attribute on links in the comment section.

I just viewed my page source code and everything seems to look good. (It now says rel='external' in the outbound comment links code.)

Thanks for the encouragement to get this done!

Ryan
Posted by Ryan Healy on June 12, 2008 7:34 PM
From: hary

Thx fred to your nofollow free blog, but i'm just wondering how this nofollo free plugin affecting your PR or even your SERP in google SE?
Posted by hary on June 13, 2008 10:52 PM
From Fred...

Hary;
It's not host blogs PR or SERP placement that's affected, but rather the site of the person leaving the comment. It helps them not you. But, if you approved comments from bad sites (porn, gambling, illegal software, etc.) then it could bring your PR and SERP rankings down.
Posted by Fred Black on June 16, 2008 10:54 AM
From: Carol Bentley

Hi Fred,

I followed this from your main blog - just out of curiosity. I hadn't realised that Wordpress automatically adds nofollow to posts - in this case ignorance wasn't bliss because I want people to benefit if they take the time and trouble to stop by, read and comment.

I don't get huge numbers of comments and although Akisment catches some SPAM it's not excessive enough to have become unmanageable as yet (anyway I've delegated that particular job of approving comments ;) ).

Am I right in saying that URLs within the posts themselves are effectively treated as dofollows?

And - am I right in thinking that any comments that were already posted before activating the dofollow plug-in will not be updated, it will only benefit new commenters?

Thanks for the 'heads-up' Fred.

Carol
Posted by Carol Bentley on July 1, 2008 6:28 PM
From Fred...

Hey Carol - thanks for stopping by!
I'm not a Word Press user, but I believe that you are correct, if you put a url in a post, it will not get the nofollow treatment, however if a commenter places a link in a comment it will get the nofollow tag, as will their url that is entered in the comment form.

Word Press is dynamic, so if you install the plugin, it should affect all comments, even those already in the system. Movable Type users, after making the changes, will need to rebuild their blog because Movable Type is static vs. dynamic.

Posted by Fred Black on July 2, 2008 10:39 AM
From: Jonahton

Hey Man i agree the nofollow sucks!!!!
Posted by Jonahton on July 4, 2008 9:24 AM
From: Chloe

I think allowing do folliw is good, but allowing people to comment on your blog with names like "Internet Marketing" and "plumber plumbing electrician electrics" really devalues a blog.
Whenever i get comments from spammy names, i always just remove the link and change their name to Joe smith or somthing.
Posted by Chloe on July 11, 2008 4:25 AM
From: chicago wedding photographer

Fred - thanks for your post on this. I would like the option of turning on the no follow tag - I thought it was arrogant - and still is for WordPress to make it default.

All it would take is a simple explanation and toggle switch in the dashboard to turn it on or turn it off.

Spam has nothing to do with it.
Posted by chicago wedding photographer on July 20, 2008 9:21 PM
From: Website Design Seattle

Old post, but couldn't help leaving a comment to pat you on the back. This whole 'nofollow' thing has really gotten out of hand as a means of pleasing Google, which is really ironic since they preach building websites for visitors and search engines.
Posted by Website Design Seattle on August 4, 2008 8:09 PM
From: Pittsburgh SEO

Again another pat on the back. That's you removed the nofollow tag. Also I like the nofollow fight spam not blogs banner you made.
Posted by Pittsburgh SEO on August 7, 2008 1:00 PM
From: Causes of Stomach Fat

'NoFollow' can have its uses, but it seems that most websites use it just a means of pleasing Google. From what I've seen, 'nofollow' does little to discourage spam, while possibly discouraging helpful comments from known experts.
Posted by Causes of Stomach Fat on September 7, 2008 9:39 PM
From: Bill

A lot more people are going to visit your site with a DO follow as opposed to a No follow. One of the more important segments of PR is the quantity of visitors you have. So you are only hurting your rankings by having it on.
Posted by Bill on September 22, 2008 8:58 PM
From: football caricatures

Again another pat on the back. That's you removed the nofollow tag. Also I like the nofollow fight spam not blogs banner you made
Posted by football caricatures on October 26, 2008 2:03 PM
From: websites for sale

I am glad to have found other blogs mentioned here that I can post interesting and informative comments on and get some desent linking back. I don't know how much value you earn from these links but the relevance and prominence of your site and the others should help get more SEO traction and as long as we provide fresh content that is not spam we both win.
thanks for promoting this to other bloggers.
Posted by websites for sale on November 4, 2008 2:39 PM
From: George Web Designer

"NoFollow" attribute is a necessity in some cases as a prevention against the spam if there is no proper comment control on a website or a blog.
It is also a useful tool for the website designers, who design their own websites. With it they can control what gets followed and what doesn't get followed by search engines.
In all other cases it's just wrong. I fully support "No to NoFollow" initiative.
Posted by George Web Designer on November 28, 2008 8:34 AM
From: โปรโมทเวป seo

Again another pat on the back. That's you removed the nofollow tag. Also I like the nofollow fight spam not blogs banner you made
Posted by โปรโมทเวป seo on January 21, 2009 5:54 AM
From: Marble Host

Yeh thank u so much for info to remove the no follow blogs. Awesome
Posted by Marble Host on February 19, 2009 5:51 AM
From: Sports Betting Forum

I personally love the idea of getting rid of nofollow tags on blogs. This only helps generate more discussion and comments on your site, which will be beneficial to your readers.
Posted by Sports Betting Forum on February 20, 2009 9:38 AM
From: biblestudylessons

I am also considering 'dofollow' tag for my blog comments. Thanks for the info about the plugin and article on 'how to stop spam'. I have also tried in past to use recapcha wordpress plugin to stop the spam.

I will implement it on my blog.
Posted by biblestudylessons on March 4, 2009 11:57 AM
From: Ana l Retirement Plan

Hi Fred, Let me thank you for your inclination in fighting spam not blogs. I really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks for the info. I will surely check it out.
Posted by Ana l Retirement Plan on March 18, 2009 11:47 PM
From: MODx Development

Thanks for being one of the pioneers!
Posted by MODx Development on March 23, 2009 6:05 PM
From: MLM Training

Ya nofollow sucks. i heard that sometimes search engine will ignore the nofollow tag anyway.
Posted by MLM Training on March 30, 2009 1:14 PM
From: Friendship Jewelry

I had thought my blog *was* no follow before reading your post... and *gasp* it was not. Fortunately that is now remedied. :)

Thanks for letting me be a friend to other bloggers like you are.
Posted by Friendship Jewelry on April 5, 2009 7:02 PM
From: DeViLnoAnGeL InFo

Is there a way to strip nofollow/external/external nofollow tag manually in trackback/pingback in the wordpress code ? I was searching that all these whole week but it seems i don't find it anything.

Could anyone help me to do this ?
Posted by DeViLnoAnGeL InFo on April 22, 2009 2:00 AM
From: Alex

Very good idea, and thanks for the informations
Posted by Alex on April 22, 2009 6:53 AM
From: DokuWiki Hosting

Hi, its nice to see one more blog as a do follow. I can't understand why many of them still stick to no follow when there is no reason to do so except to stop spam, which can be done by many other means. Nowadays Akismet is doing best it may be an option. Further do follow not only spreads link juice but also encourages commentators to comment on the blog.
Posted by DokuWiki Hosting on April 22, 2009 8:11 AM
From: Brandon

Fred,

Just came across this post from doing some searching on NoFollow and I've removed the NoFollow tag on a few blogs I have and it's seemed to work well.

Comment moderation is just part of the job of being a blogger. My blogs are spammed with or without the NoFollow tag being there.

Posted by Brandon on April 30, 2009 1:35 PM
From: Ali Hussain

Yay. I am a "u comment, i follow" group member. My blog is also do-follow
Posted by Ali Hussain on June 13, 2009 1:04 AM
From: Surf Side Design

I too hate no follow, but i do see why some use it, who wants porn, spam and links to viagra all over there site. But in your case its great!
Posted by Surf Side Design on July 15, 2009 8:14 PM
From: St. Bellarmine's Blog

This is exactly the information I was looking for.

Thank you for the great content.
Posted by St. Bellarmine's Blog on July 23, 2009 2:30 PM
From: Gold Coins

I am a new reader here. I am glad to know that your blog is already do follow blog. Aside from helping us, you will also have the chance to receive real visitors.
Posted by Gold Coins on July 26, 2009 11:56 PM
From: I Follow

I have removed nofollow tag from my blog as well,i have also added keywordluv and commentluv plugins.I know that will increase a bit spam comments but i am pleased that i give something back to my readers.
I follow,do you?
Posted by I Follow on July 27, 2009 10:58 PM
From: lab coats

This is a good post to send to everyone I know and my standard response to people who consider doing anything online. Good one!
Posted by lab coats on August 3, 2009 6:09 AM
From: personal wedding website

its great to see do follow.

I think you need a combination of dofollow, moderation and comment caps. That way you can get good comments, rewards for commentors and short pages
Posted by personal wedding website on August 3, 2009 8:28 PM
From: Leadership Coaching

Good to see another blog joining this movement! I always put this on my blogs and get more great comments as a result too.
Posted by Leadership Coaching on August 9, 2009 5:03 PM
From: EMR

Hello,

Sir your thoughts are great, when I read your post your ideas about other blogger and spammer, I agree with you on your opinion,but finally I encourage by your good thoughts and behavior so I am posting this comment on your blog.
Posted by EMR on August 15, 2009 2:09 PM
From: Construction Rochester

Well having a do follow is not that bad, some people just want to give their opinion for a certain topic, well having intelligent commenter who value the info you gave is really rewarding.
Posted by Construction Rochester on August 24, 2009 10:17 AM
From: Portland window cleaning

I'm glad not all bloggers see the nofollow attribute as the best way to fight spam.

I confess I've left a lot of "nice post" type comments and left it at that. But after reading your post, I sincerely felt like leaving a "real" comment, something with real value and substance, a genuine thought or valuable insight.

Thanks again for the link love.
Posted by Portland window cleaning on August 24, 2009 7:13 PM
From: Nevil

Hey Fred...thanks for the great content. I for one never had a do not follow tag on my site.
Posted by Nevil on August 31, 2009 1:51 PM
From: Health Information Resource

Great article. I would also be removing all the no follow tags from my blog. Thanks for sharing such a good information.
Posted by Health Information Resource on September 11, 2009 2:13 AM
From: 1800PetMeds Blog

That's odd. I posted something here yesterday and it doesn't show yet?

Anyways, I am also seriously considering returning to the nofollow policy as I get a lot of spam on one of my blogs. If only I have the time to monitor and moderate each visitor's comment - which I don't. And I think that is the best solution for my dilemma.
Posted by 1800PetMeds Blog on September 13, 2009 7:42 AM
From: Wool area rugs

I will be frank here. I am here purely for the backlink but I can't help reading your article. Now that you have removed no-follow and there are quite a number of people like myself trying to 'spam' your comment, what is your reaction?
Posted by Wool area rugs on October 6, 2009 12:05 PM
From: brass faucets

Good article. I started a blog on randomness, but its good to hear what real bloggers have to say on the subject.
Posted by brass faucets on October 21, 2009 10:11 AM
From: Simple keep fit exercises

The nofollow attribute, in my opinion, is for blog owners who want to spend as little time as possible moderating links.
Posted by Simple keep fit exercises on October 21, 2009 12:53 PM
From: Dave Ashworth

I'm all for making blogs dofollow - I'd do the same with my company's Blog though the MD isn't as free with the link love as I'd like - but with anti spam widgets such as akismet and a degree of blog moderating, I don't see why more blogs don't adopt your stance - fair play to you.
Posted by Dave Ashworth on October 22, 2009 11:43 AM
From: Jose

This was a big decision when we started our blog. It came down to you have to pass the link love out to the guys posting.
Posted by Jose on November 6, 2009 4:23 PM
From: PSD Guy

Thanks for the link love. I would like to understand how you reduce spam. I want to implement the same at our company, but I am afraid there would be too much moderation to be done. Do you use Akismet?
Posted by PSD Guy on November 9, 2009 3:05 PM
From Fred...

Yes, I use Akismet: http://www.pqinternet.com/39.htm
Posted by Fred Black on November 10, 2009 8:15 AM
From: Interested

Before reading this post, I was for using "no follow". I was always under the impression that it would just attract anyone and everyone to my site, thus leading to spam. It seems like in order to get some good comments, you almost have to give something back to the commenter (a link in this case).
Posted by Interested on November 11, 2009 12:47 PM
From: Photographick

Great article, after reading I tend to agree and will use the no follow filter as well. Thank you for the great advice.
Posted by Photographick on November 11, 2009 6:40 PM
From: joel

I agree with you Fred. I tested one of my blog with dofollow enabled and I got very good traffic and backlinks to my site in a very few days. My readers started liking it and they visited it frequently. Dofollow blogging is beneficial both to the bloggers and also readers. To avoid spamming, may be we could enable the comment moderation.
Thanks for sharing nice information.
Posted by joel on November 18, 2009 2:25 AM
From: Mary Nicole Hicks

I try to encourage good comments as only helful comments are dofollow on my site.
Posted by Mary Nicole Hicks on December 4, 2009 8:03 PM
From: Ed Hardy

your article is excellent,i really love it. hoping to read your following post
Posted by Ed Hardy on December 11, 2009 3:40 AM
From: Arcnerva

I have seen a few blogs like this. It always seems like the comment communities are richer. More comments and talking about the topic. I wonder what nofollow has done to the community a blog is supposed to bring. Interesting idea for sure. I wonder how well it will be adopted.

Have you noticed this Fred? The before and after.
Posted by Arcnerva on December 15, 2009 2:42 AM
From: madseason

Excellent, I now have a different idea about no follow. Follow my link and leave a comment on my blog. THXs for the link love.
Posted by madseason on December 31, 2009 11:39 AM
From: Josh Brisbane

I am working on a new blog and according to my research the nofollow and dofollow tag for comments are important for certain post. For some post I want the community to provide comments to but I don't want to pass page rank to keep my silo properly structured. For other post that are not keyword related for ranking on Google I want comments that do pass page rank. I'll have to look into this a little more.
Posted by Josh Brisbane on January 5, 2010 9:38 AM
From: Jim Lancer

Hi, and thanks for the great post. I just installed the wordpress plugin for no-no-follow on my blog!
Posted by Jim Lancer on January 22, 2010 2:24 PM
From: ed hardy

i really love it. hoping to read your following post
Posted by ed hardy on January 25, 2010 3:14 AM
From: Boundless Photos | Wedding Photography

Great article and nice to see lots of people doing this and since I did the same on my useful blog my comments have definitely increased but the spam hasn't.
Posted by Boundless Photos | Wedding Photography on February 2, 2010 5:02 PM
From: Eddie Case

Great trick man! Who would have thunk-it would be this simple to increase SEO efforts for bloggers!

Thanks for the additional hits:)

Eddie
Posted by Eddie Case on February 27, 2010 8:48 AM
From: jack

I am still planning to have my own blog and reading articles like these make me expand my learning on seo tips and linking strategy. Thanks!
Posted by jack on April 14, 2010 7:13 AM
From: My Biznez Inc. | Business Websites

I totally agree with you that people should help each other out when it comes to allowing the following of URLs from search engines. You should have access to either allow or deny a comment on your blog anyways. I personally will be allowing the following of URL's on my site, however will deny the following of comments that are not related to the post at all an just attempting to get a quick backlink. The thing is even if you use the "nofollow" tag, you will still find yourself deleting comments. That is if you want to keep a professional looking website with quality reading material for your users.
Posted by My Biznez Inc. | Business Websites on April 27, 2010 4:57 PM
From: George

Hey Fred, I highly appreciate that you're bloq is dofollow. I believe that the most people that visit a bloq really want to read the valuable content on it, like me, but aswel want to help there site ore bloq in the search engines. And i don't think that there is something wrong with that. I know, that a comment which is just a url to another site wich is not related, doesn't look that nice on my bloq, but i don't care because it doesn't hurt me infact it actualy helps me because it kind of regulary updates my bloq..lol..And to be honest most so called spammers are actualy intelligent enough to add value to the bloq by contuining the conversation adding experience ore just awnsering questions. So who cares if I put my Url in the WEBSITE field that's why it is there and spammers are no enemies we have to build an abundance mindset there is enough fish in the see no need to worry !.
That's just my thoughts
Posted by George on May 17, 2010 6:54 AM
From: Luke loves guitar

There are also a lot of thoughts regarding nofollow and the blogroll. I have heard from a lot of people that they have been penalized as it looks to Google like they are selling links so they have added nofollow to the blogroll. Although it doesn't hold any SEO benefits for the people on the other side of the link, People can still click through and might be getting something for nothing.

In a lot of ways, one shouldn't suffer for the promotion of someone else!! What I am getting at is that nofollow is not a bad thing, it just needs to be used in the right places.
Posted by Luke loves guitar on June 2, 2010 11:12 AM
From: Doc's Football Picks

When we start up our new blog we will allow comments and will not be using the no follow tag. The bottom line is that if someone is helping us by adding to the content then they deserve some SEO benefits for the effort.
Posted by Doc's Football Picks on June 24, 2010 5:23 PM
From: Steve

It's interesting that blogs first started out as a way for people to express their opinions on their chosen subjects (at least that's what I thought), but now it has turned into a link building tool with this dofollow and nofollow debate.
But I guess business is business.
Posted by Steve on July 29, 2010 5:52 PM
From: Fred

I love the u comment i follow movement, bloggers need to make communities by interacting and getting their pages to support each other
Posted by Fred on August 19, 2010 5:20 PM
From: our health

I love "U COMMENT I FOLLOW". I tried a lot then found.
Posted by our health on September 2, 2010 5:36 AM
From: Jay

I removed the 'Nofollow' tag on my blog a couple months ago, and boy did I get an influx of spam comments!

I've now installed a wordpress plugin called 'nofollow case-by-case' which allows me to selectively remove the tag from regular commentors links.

But I have to say, I'm considering going back to being a 'nofollow' blog. The more traffic I get, the more spam I get. Its becoming a burden having to moderate all those comments.
Posted by Jay on October 1, 2010 8:17 PM
From: George @ Staircases

Its great that you've added this, Fred. What do you think of the KeywordLuv plugin/movement?
Posted by George @ Staircases on October 4, 2010 1:01 PM
From: LED Track Lighting

I completely agree with removing the "nofollow" attribute as like you said it is a plague for other bloggers who can do with the link juice. I own several wp blogs and have made it a religion to include "dofollow" for blog comments. Obviously spam can be dealt with however the owner desires, I personally find some spam to be good for content.
Posted by LED Track Lighting on October 26, 2010 10:07 AM
From: jim@Contract Hire

It is a nice initiative and very encouraging for people who want to leave genuine comment and are not spammers.Just a suggestion,why don't you use commentluv plugin to combat spam.
Posted by jim@Contract Hire on October 28, 2010 4:07 AM
From: John

Thanks for sharing informative article.I'm using both Movable Type and Wordpress...
Posted by John on November 17, 2010 4:29 AM
From: Bollards

Good to see another member of the dofollow community. Have you seen an increase in blog comments since implementing dofollow comments, Fred?
Posted by Bollards on November 28, 2010 9:04 AM
From: Certified Life Coach,

Thanks to share great information, i will do this on my blogs!
Posted by Certified Life Coach, on December 1, 2010 8:33 AM
From: Kitchens review

Excellent idea to do away with the no follow tag. I wish more sites would do it
Posted by Kitchens review on December 7, 2010 6:47 AM
From: Vancouver SEO - Andy Kuiper

I agree with the 'following' of links on blogs. It isn't harming the blog "except" when spammers take over a thread... then I hate the fact 'follow' exists on said blog. So, if one is actively involved in their blog and monitors for crap and posts that have no place on the page, then i believe 'follow' is the route to go. If one is not paying attention though, 'no-follow' is the way to go.
I hope this works out for you - I have friends who blog (I don't) and several have taken the same stand as you - with success I should add :-)
Posted by Vancouver SEO - Andy Kuiper on January 2, 2011 4:08 PM
From: Sunfood

Good to see another member of the do follow community. Have you seen an increase in blog comments since implementing do follow comments,
Posted by Sunfood on January 22, 2011 6:34 AM
From: Jason - Kitchen Appliances

I personally agree, you will gain more traffic and visitors to your site by not using the no follow. Especially if you want to get some paid advertisers.
Posted by Jason - Kitchen Appliances on February 7, 2011 4:31 PM
From: Joey

I'm going to recommend this blog to all my friends it's smart not to use the no follow attribute you will get more traffic and comments.
Posted by Joey on March 17, 2011 10:38 PM
From: Rid Silverfish

Good move. I'm considering removing the no follow attribute from most of my blogs. Hopefully this will have a positive effect on my blog comments.
Posted by Rid Silverfish on April 4, 2011 11:38 AM
From: Guy McLaren @ Pretoria web design

THe biggest problem with followed links is the proportional increase in spammy comments. Thank cyberspace for Aksimet and Lucias Linky love. I am busy designing a new theme for my new blog which will incorporate all the spam fighting goodies that keep the spammers out. The success I have had on my personal blog is almost 100%
Posted by Guy McLaren @ Pretoria web design on April 19, 2011 5:33 PM
From: Jonathan poll

I am going to finalize my skills in the field of do follow comment. Can someone help me with the new updates about do follow comment?
Posted by Jonathan poll on April 28, 2011 11:50 AM
From: Tim Lyon

I think it's becoming academic in the blog community to remove the no follow attribute for a variety of reasons--mainly to increase visitors and traffic. However, with that said; I'm not convinced that leaving comments (relevant legit comments)is any longer a viable way of creating link juice and increasing SEO value--but, I hope I'm wrong. Either way I'm grateful for bloggers like you who are providing valuable advice in giving bloggers a fighters chance in the SEO arena.
Posted by Tim Lyon on June 2, 2011 6:10 PM
From: ivana @ wedding garters

i am wanting to do this, but am scared of spammers, and if they link to harmful sites can this affect my standing with google?
Posted by ivana @ wedding garters on June 18, 2011 4:41 AM
From: Dan Claybor

I have definitely seen an increase in traffic due to no-follow comments. However, it also depends on several other factors such as link quality, and whether you employ due diligence. SERP has become a complicated matrix that requires one to be steadfast in their resolve to try many different strategies. I also agree with Tim in regards to being grateful to other bloggers contributing to the cause. Thanks
Posted by Dan Claybor on June 21, 2011 2:09 PM
From Fred...

Ivana;
Good question! You don't want to turn on automatic approval of comments. Check the url before approving your comments (I do)...

Posted by Fred Black on July 1, 2011 9:19 PM
From: Great D Dilla

"be the change you want to see in the world" -- this is also the motto i live by. and it is nice to see you starting this movement.

i definitely will pay it forward. kudos!
Posted by Great D Dilla on July 11, 2011 8:37 AM
From: Ezra - Online Jobs For Teenagers

Thank you so much! I am one of those small time webmasters who needs a leg up, so I greatly appreciate people like you who give us a chance. =)
Posted by Ezra - Online Jobs For Teenagers on August 4, 2011 6:00 PM
From: RK

You are right. Small time webmasters who don't have the SEO dollars of big companies have to build links organically, and so this would definitely be a good thing. But no getting away from the fact that spam is a real problem.
Posted by RK on August 29, 2011 11:31 PM
From: Machines

However, with that said; I'm not convinced that leaving comments (relevant legit comments)is any longer a viable way of creating link juice and increasing SEO value--but, I hope I'm wrong. Either way I'm grateful for bloggers like you who are providing valuable advice in giving bloggers a fighters chance in the SEO arena.
Posted by Machines on October 11, 2011 1:14 AM
From: Johny

I've read about this before, currently have no-follow turned on. What does it give the owner of he blog?
Posted by Johny on October 18, 2011 12:11 PM
From: Lindz

Why should blogs have follow comments? No Follow doesn't just stop spam it stops SEO people commenting random things like "Well done, great post". When they haven't even read the post. They are simply trying to gain Link Juice, and have no interest in posting a comment of any value or discussion.

You should select comments that add value to the discussion and only have them as follow links. Rewarding people who take the time to read your post and deserve a follow link.

Although one advantage is that you are gaining further traffic and comments as people will find this blog though the follow links that you provide to others (as I did).

I think the real problem is website like Wikipedia they really should be follow links.

Posted by Lindz on February 9, 2012 10:44 PM
From: Jeeshma

Great post.Can you please help me to put some restrictions in the FBML form.for example,multiple sending of emails from the same fan page user??
Posted by Jeeshma on February 18, 2012 3:05 AM
From: Ryan Jacques

I agree 100%. If someone takes the time to read an article and post a thoughtful comment on it they should receive the benefit of a follow link. All we need is for people to start doing it, and everyone would make comments worth posting.
Posted by Ryan Jacques on March 19, 2012 7:09 PM
From: petra jordan

However, with that said; I'm not convinced that leaving comments (relevant legit comments)is any longer a viable way of creating link juice and increasing SEO value--but, I hope I'm wrong. Either way I'm grateful for bloggers like you who are providing valuable advice in giving bloggers a fighters chance in the SEO arena.
Posted by petra jordan on July 6, 2012 11:59 PM
From: Ben M

Hi there Fred,

Thanks a lot for this information - I will be adding dofollow to my blog page right away.

Please feel free to comment on my blog (just follow the link on my name) and I will be sure to approve any comment you care to add! I am running a business called Michelsen Computer Services Whangarei, and I figured adding a blog will help me with traffic and SEO.

As I mentioned in a previous comment, I still have a lot to learn in this confusing realm that is SEO, but with sites like yours I can get my head around some of the many issues. Your articles are much appreciated.
Posted by Ben M on July 24, 2012 6:33 PM
From: Keval

Nice post, Fred!

I totally agree with you, especially if you own a blog that's niche is internet marketing or general blogging. It's a good way to encourage conversation, and bloggers would be even more tempted to do so knowing that they get some Link Juice out of it.

Posted by Keval on August 20, 2012 10:20 PM
From: john @Body Detox

Great Post,Fred !
Thanks Use No Nofollow .
I agree your option .
Posted by john @Body Detox on September 24, 2012 9:56 PM
From: Luka Paunovic

I removed it from my site too which was nofollow, you are right...
All of us should do that!
Posted by Luka Paunovic on November 9, 2012 6:00 PM
From: Eric

I wish! I would to but Disqus is choking here. They do not allow this option. I don't have a fancy wordpress site. Just a hand coded one. So my options here are limited. Do you know of anyway to get commentluv or rel dofollow links on my hand coded site?
Posted by Eric on April 7, 2013 8:25 AM
From: Michelle Druner

Hi Fred,

I agree with you and I've finally removed no-follow on my blog too.
Posted by Michelle Druner on April 11, 2013 11:04 AM
From: Cathie Dunklee-Donnell

This is great. I love no no follow and am going to put it on my blog.
Posted by Cathie Dunklee-Donnell on April 16, 2013 9:03 AM