You’ve Been Fooled: 90% of SEO Professionals Misunderstand Do‑follow and No‑follow

“This directory is no‑follow, it’s useless, skip it.” — If you’re still using this logic to filter directories, you may be missing the most valuable backlinks.

📅 September 23 2026 · ⏱️ ≈ 7 minutes read · 📂 SEO · External Links · Cognitive Bias Correction

I saw a conversation in an SEO Slack group:

A: “This directory is no‑follow, no need to submit, right?”
B: “Right, no‑follow doesn’t pass link equity, it’s a waste of time.”
C: “+1, only do‑follow.”

Three people, three incorrect statements.

It’s not that “no‑follow is better than do‑follow” — that’s also wrong. Their understanding of no‑follow is stuck in 2015. Google in 2026 is no longer the Google of that era.

This article corrects three common misconceptions and then gives you a more practical filtering framework.

Misconception 1: No‑follow links “have no SEO value”

Wrong.

In September 2019, Google made a major change: it turned no‑follow from a “directive” into a “hint”.

What does that mean?

• Before 2019: no‑follow = “Google, ignore this link, don’t count it toward ranking factors.” Google obeyed 100 % of the time.
  
• After 2019: no‑follow = “Google, this link is no‑follow, do what you think is best.” Google may obey, or may not.

Google’s official statement: “We treat no‑follow as a hint for ranking, not a directive.”

Plain English: Google may count a no‑follow link in its ranking algorithm, or it may ignore it, depending on its own judgment.

What’s the actual impact?

Ahrefs conducted a large‑scale study in 2024, analyzing ranking factors for 118 k keywords. The result: the correlation between do‑follow backlinks and rankings is 0.244, while the correlation for no‑follow backlinks is 0.195.

There is a gap, but not as huge as you might think. A no‑follow link isn’t zero; it’s 0.195.

💡 Translation: 1 do‑follow link ≈ 1.25 no‑follow links. It’s not a “has vs. has‑not” difference, but a “100 % vs. 80 %” difference.

Misconception 2: Looking at link type alone is enough

Not enough.

Many SEO professionals filter directories solely by “is it do‑follow?” and discard every no‑follow directory.

That’s a classic “single‑dimension” error.

The real value of a backlink depends on at least four dimensions:

Example:

• Link A: DR 25 spam directory, do‑follow, link placed in the “submitters list” at the bottom of the page
  
• Link B: DR 88 G2, no‑follow, link embedded in the body of your product detail page

Which is more valuable?

Link B—undoubtedly.

Link A’s do‑follow can pass a little SEO equity, but a DR 25 site has almost no authority to pass. Moreover, Google may not trust that directory at all.

Link B’s no‑follow doesn’t directly pass equity, but G2 is a trusted, authoritative platform. Your brand appearing on G2 influences Google’s perception of your brand. Plus, G2 listings appear in Google search results, bringing real referral traffic.

💡 Correct logic: It isn’t “do‑follow works, no‑follow doesn’t.” It’s “high DR + high relevance + do‑follow > high DR + high relevance + no‑follow > low DR + do‑follow”.

Misconception 3: No‑follow links can’t bring traffic

Wrong.

Many SEO professionals focus only on rankings, overlooking another important value of backlinks: referral traffic.

A no‑follow link, even if it doesn’t pass SEO equity, can still:

• Get users to click and visit your site
  
• Prompt users to search for your brand name
  
• Be cited by AI search engines (Perplexity, Google AI Overview)

Real data:

A SaaS founder I know has a Crunchbase listing (no‑follow). That listing generates about 300 clicks per month. Not a huge number, but they’re high‑quality—people actively searched for his product on Crunchbase.

If he skipped it because “Crunchbase is no‑follow,” those 300 clicks per month would be gone.

Even more critical: AI search.

In 2026, more users discover products via AI search engines (Perplexity, Google AI Overview, ChatGPT Search). These AI engines cite sources they deem “trustworthy” when generating answers.

What makes a source “trustworthy”? Brand presence on high‑DR platforms.

Even if the link is no‑follow, having your brand on Crunchbase, G2, Trustpilot, etc., increases the probability that AI engines consider you trustworthy.

💡 2026 perspective: Backlink value isn’t just “passing SEO equity.” It also affects brand search, referral traffic, and AI citations—none of which depend on do‑follow/no‑follow status.

A More Practical Filtering Framework

Drop the “only do‑follow” mindset. Use this 4‑dimensional framework to evaluate directories:

Step 1: Filter by DR first

• DR 50+ → prioritize
  
• DR 30‑49 → do if you have capacity
  
• DR < 30 → skip (unless it’s a niche industry directory)

Step 2: Check relevance

• Highly relevant to your industry → prioritize
  
• General directories → secondary priority
  
• Irrelevant → skip

Step 3: Look at link type

• do‑follow → bonus points
  
• no‑follow → no penalty (as long as DR and relevance are high)
  
• UGC / sponsored → evaluate per platform

Step 4: Look at page placement

• In‑content link → best
  
• Sidebar / footer list → second best
  
• Comment section / user‑generated → third

Scoring example:

See? No‑follow G2 and Hacker News score five times higher than a do‑follow spam directory.

Practical Recommendations

If you’re short on time (only 10 directories):

Pick 10 platforms with DR 50+. Whether they’re do‑follow or no‑follow doesn’t matter as long as they’re relevant to your industry. Ten high‑quality no‑follow backlinks are far more valuable than 100 low‑quality do‑follow backlinks.

If you have more time (20‑30 directories):

• First 10: core platforms with DR 50+ (mix of do‑follow and no‑follow).
  
• Next 10‑20: industry‑vertical directories with DR 30+. Prioritize do‑follow, but don’t skip high‑DR no‑follow sites.

If you want maximum efficiency:

Use the AI matching feature of BackLinkSubmit. It evaluates DR, relevance, link type, etc., and filters for you, so you don’t have to check each manually. Or use the AI Backlink Ranking database, which contains complete data for 1,900+ platforms, including link‑type annotations.

Summary

Back to the opening dialogue:

A: “This directory is no‑follow, it’s useless, skip it.”

The correct response should be: “What’s the DR of this directory? Is it relevant to our industry?”

If the answer is “DR 60, highly relevant” — submit, even if it’s no‑follow.

If the answer is “DR 15, unrelated” — skip, even if it’s do‑follow.

Link type is just one of four dimensions. Don’t let it alone dictate your actions.

Google changed its stance on no‑follow in 2019. Your filtering logic should be updated accordingly.

BackLinkSubmit Team — AI matching + manual submission. Evaluates DR, relevance, link type, and helps you select the most valuable directories. Learn more →