Complete Guide to “Noreferrer vs Nofollow”?

“Noreferrer vs Nofollow” are HTML attributes that can be used in links to control the behavior of the link. They are both commonly used in web development and can have important implications for security, privacy, and search engine optimization (SEO).

Noreferrer vs Nofollow

Here’s a table that summarizes the differences between “Noreferrer vs Nofollow”:

Attribute Purpose Example
noreferrer Prevents referral information from being sent <a href="https://example.com" rel="noreferrer">
  to the website being linked to  
  (Used for security and privacy reasons)  
nofollow Instructs search engine spiders not to follow a link <a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">
  and pass on search engine ranking power to the  
  linked page  
  (Used to discourage spammers and prevent the  
  manipulation of search engine rankings)  

“Noreferrer vs Nofollow” are both HTML attributes that can be used in links, but they have different purposes.

What is “noreferrer”?

The “noreferrer” attribute is used to tell browsers not to send any referral information when a user clicks on a link. This means that the website being linked to will not receive any information about where the user came from. It is often used for security and privacy reasons, especially when linking to external websites.

For example:

<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Example</a>

In this example, the “noreferrer” attribute is used to prevent the website “example.com” from receiving any information about the page that is linked to it.

What is “nofollow”?

The “nofollow” attribute is used to tell search engine spiders not to follow a link. This means that the link does not pass on any search engine ranking power to the linked page. It is often used to discourage spammers and prevent the manipulation of search engine rankings.

For example:

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Example</a>

In this example, the “nofollow” attribute is used to tell search engines not to give any weight to the link for search engine ranking purposes.

In summary, “noreferrer” is used for security and privacy reasons to prevent referral information from being sent when a user clicks on a link, while “nofollow” is used to prevent search engine ranking power from being passed on to the linked page.

Noreferrer vs Nofollow Role in SEO

In terms of SEO, the value of the “Noreferrer vs Nofollow” attributes is different.

The “nofollow” attribute is important for SEO because it tells search engines not to follow a link and pass on any search engine ranking power to the linked page.

This can help prevent spammers from manipulating search engine rankings by creating large numbers of low-quality links to their own websites. By using the “nofollow” attribute, webmasters can ensure that their website’s search engine ranking is not negatively impacted by low-quality links.

The “noreferrer” attribute does not have a direct impact on SEO because it does not affect search engine ranking power. However, it can be important for user privacy and security, which indirectly can impact SEO.

If a website is known to be privacy-focused and takes measures to protect users, it can build trust with users and potentially increase engagement and traffic. In addition, if a website links to other websites with the “noreferrer” attribute, it can protect users from being tracked by those websites and potentially increase trust in the linking website.

In summary, while “nofollow” is directly related to SEO by preventing search engine ranking power from being passed on to low-quality links, “noreferrer” is more related to user privacy and security, which can indirectly impact SEO by building trust with users.

Iftikhar Qureshi
Iftikhar Qureshi
IFTIKHAR is a Digital Blogger and SEO Specialist at F60 Host. Using his IT degree and expertise as a website operator, he hopes to share his knowledge with other IT geeks.