You paid for 50 backlinks. The freelancer sent a PDF report with all the URLs. How do you know those links are actually dofollow?
You don’t. Not until you check.
Manual checking means hours clicking through pages. Blind trust means paying for links that pass zero SEO value.
rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", rel="ugc", or no rel attribute (dofollow). Upload your backlink report to Backlink Checker Pro to verify all links in seconds.
What Is a Dofollow Nofollow Checker?
When someone links to your website, that link carries signals for search engines:
Dofollow links (no rel attribute) pass SEO value. Google treats these as endorsements.
Nofollow links have rel="nofollow". They don’t pass ranking signals but still drive traffic.
Sponsored links (rel="sponsored") mark paid placements. Google explicitly knows these are purchased.
UGC links (rel="ugc") indicate user-generated content like comments and forum posts.
A dofollow nofollow checker reads the HTML and reports which attribute each link has.
Why Verification Matters
People lie about backlinks.
Freelancers, agencies, and link sellers know dofollow is what clients want. So that’s what they claim. Whether the links actually are dofollow? Your problem.
I’ve seen reports where half the dofollow links were nofollow. That’s not incompetence. That’s fraud.
Even honest providers don’t monitor changes. A site that gave you a dofollow link six months ago might have updated their policy. Your link could be nofollow now.
How Checkers Work
- Fetch the webpage where your link supposedly exists
- Parse the HTML for anchor tags (
<a>elements) - Locate your link pointing to the target URL
- Read the rel attribute (or note its absence)
- Report the result: dofollow, nofollow, sponsored, or UGC
Simple for one link. The problem is scale. Ten links take 5 minutes manually. A hundred? That’s an afternoon of work prone to errors.
What Makes a Good Checker
Bulk processing — Single-link tools barely beat manual checking. You need to handle 20, 50, or 100+ links at once.
Multiple input formats — PDF exports, CSV files, Excel documents. A good checker accepts whatever format you have.
Smart URL extraction — Better tools read messy PDF reports, identify URLs, and check them automatically.
All rel attributes — The tool should identify dofollow, nofollow, sponsored, and UGC, not just binary detection.
Page context — Is the page indexed? Blocking bots? Rendered via JavaScript? This context matters beyond raw attributes.
Verify Your Backlinks
Backlink Checker Pro validates whether the links in your reports actually exist.
- Link existence — is the link on the page?
- Dofollow, nofollow, sponsored, or UGC status
- Page accessibility — noindex, bot blocks, errors
Upload backlink reports in PDF, CSV, or Excel. Get verification in seconds.
Check Your BacklinksManual vs. Automated Checking
Manual process for each link:
- Open the source URL
- View page source
- Search for your target URL
- Find the
<a>tag - Check the
relattribute - Record the result
By link 15, you’re making mistakes. By link 50, you’ve wasted hours on work a tool does in seconds.
Problems Checkers Catch
Links that don’t exist — Someone reports a backlink, but the link isn’t on the page. Removed or never existed.
Nofollow sold as dofollow — Classic bait-and-switch. You paid for dofollow, got nofollow.
Pages blocking search engines — The page looks fine in your browser but is invisible to Google via robots.txt or noindex tags.
Redirect chains — Your link exists but passes through multiple redirects, potentially adding nofollow attributes.
Chrome Extension
The Backlink Checker Pro Chrome Extension validates backlink reports in your browser. Upload CSV or paste page-link pairs. Same verification engine as the web tool.
When to Check
After receiving deliverables — Check links immediately. Catch problems while you have leverage.
Monthly spot checks — Links change. Websites update policies, pages get redesigned, links disappear.
Before payments — If paying on performance, verify first.
When rankings drop — Sometimes drops correlate with lost or changed backlinks.
Understanding Results
Dofollow / OK — Link exists with no restrictive rel attribute. This is what you want.
Nofollow — Link has rel="nofollow". Won’t pass full SEO value.
Sponsored — Marked as rel="sponsored". Google knows it’s paid.
UGC — Has rel="ugc". User-generated content.
Not Found — Link doesn’t exist on the page.
Error — Page couldn’t be fetched. Down, blocking bots, or other issues.
Make Verification Automatic
Every time you receive a backlink report, check it. Don’t assume. Don’t trust claims.
With the right tools, verification takes seconds. The cost of checking is minimal. The cost of paying for worthless links month after month adds up fast.
What's the difference between dofollow and nofollow links?
Dofollow links (no rel attribute) pass SEO value and signal endorsement to search engines. Nofollow links have rel="nofollow" and don't pass ranking credit. For SEO, dofollow links are more valuable.
Can I check dofollow/nofollow status manually?
Yes. View page source, search for your URL, check the <a> tag for rel="nofollow". This works but becomes impractical at scale.
Do nofollow links have any value?
Yes. They drive referral traffic, increase brand visibility, and contribute to a natural link profile. They just don't pass direct ranking signals.
Why do some websites nofollow all external links?
Some sites apply nofollow to all outgoing links to avoid endorsing spam or to preserve link equity. Frustrating for link builders, but legitimate.