How to Check If a Backlink Is Dofollow

To check if a backlink is dofollow, open the page that links to you, right-click your link, choose Inspect, and read the rel attribute on the a tag. If it contains nofollow, sponsored or ugc, the link is not followed; if there is no rel, or only values like noopener or noreferrer, it is a normal followed link. Then check two things people miss: a page-wide nofollow in the robots meta tag or the X-Robots-Tag header, and whether the link only appears after JavaScript runs.

This is a hands-on guide for founders and marketers who want to verify links themselves instead of trusting a spreadsheet or a sales page. The Google rules quoted here were read on 4 November 2026. Disclosure: Aura++, the site you are reading, makes the free checker mentioned below, and Aura++, EarlyHunt, IndieHunt, MakerHunt, SideHunt and Uno Directory are owned by Praneet Brar.

Last checked: Nov 4, 2026

What exactly are you looking for?

Google's guide to qualifying outbound links defines three values:

• rel="sponsored" for ads and paid placements.

• rel="ugc" for user-generated content like comments and forum posts.

• rel="nofollow" for anything else the site does not want to vouch for.

"Dofollow" is just the absence of those. Values like noopener, noreferrer and external are about browser behaviour and do not change how the link is treated for search.

Which method should you use?

How do you check a link with the browser?

1. Open the page that links to you in a normal window, not logged in as an admin of that site.

2. Find your link. Use Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac) for your brand name or domain.

3. Right-click the link and choose Inspect.

4. In the highlighted a tag, read href (is it really your URL?) and rel.

5. Repeat for every link to you on the page. A "Visit website" button and a link in the description are often treated differently.

How do you check with view source or curl?

View source (Ctrl+U) shows what the server sent before JavaScript ran. Search it for your domain. If your link is there, read its rel. If it is not there but you can see it on the page, the site adds it with JavaScript, so use Inspect instead.

With curl you can also see headers. Two commands cover most cases:

• curl -sL https://example.com/listing | grep -o '<a [^>]*yourdomain[^>]*>' prints every link tag that mentions your domain.

• curl -sIL https://example.com/listing prints the response headers, so you can look for X-Robots-Tag.

Some sites block automated requests or show a different page to curl. If the results look empty or odd, trust the browser.

What page-wide settings can make every link nofollow?

A link can have no rel at all and still not be followed, because the page tells crawlers not to follow anything on it. Google's robots meta tag guide lists two places to look:

• A tag in the page head like <meta name="robots" content="nofollow"> (or none, which means noindex plus nofollow).

• An HTTP header such as X-Robots-Tag: nofollow, which you only see with curl or the browser's Network tab.

Also check that the page itself can be indexed. A link on a page marked noindex or blocked by robots.txt is unlikely to help much, whatever its rel says.

How do you use the Aura++ checker?

Paste the page URL and your domain into the free dofollow link checker. It lists every link to your domain with its rel value (dofollow, nofollow, ugc or sponsored) and the anchor text. It reads the server HTML only, so for pages that build links with JavaScript, confirm with Inspect.

What traps make people misread a link?

• Redirect links. Some sites link to their own tracking URL that redirects to you. The rel on that tag still applies, but the link points at their URL, not yours.

• Two links, two answers. One followed link and one nofollow link to you on the same page is common. Record both.

• Logged-in views. Site owners and logged-in users sometimes see different markup. Check in a private window.

• Links that change later. Launch sites often upgrade or downgrade links after voting ends or when a badge check fails.

• Trusting a spreadsheet. Link lists go stale. Write the check date next to every result.

Should a paid link be dofollow?

Know the rule before you complain that a link you paid for is marked sponsored. Google's spam policies count buying links for ranking, and excessive link exchanges, as link spam, and say paid links should carry sponsored or nofollow. If a site sells you a guaranteed followed link, including launch platforms like ours, that is the risk you take on. Weigh it against what else the placement gives you. For what launch sites hand out and under which conditions, see what launch platforms actually give you.

A made-up example: Omar's link sheet

Omar kept a sheet of twelve links to his app, all marked "dofollow" from a vendor's list. He checked each with Inspect in a private window: seven had no rel, three were nofollow on the button but followed in the description, one was sponsored, and one listing was gone. He added a "checked on" column and now rechecks monthly. The details are invented; the routine is the point.

FAQ

How do I check if a link is dofollow?

Right-click the link, choose Inspect and read the rel attribute. No nofollow, sponsored or ugc means it is followed, as long as the page has no page-wide nofollow.

Can a link without rel="nofollow" still be nofollow?

Yes, if the page has a robots meta tag or X-Robots-Tag header with nofollow or none.

Why does view source not show my link?

The site probably adds it with JavaScript. Inspect the live element instead.

Is noopener the same as nofollow?

No. noopener and noreferrer control browser behaviour; they do not make a link nofollow.

Check it yourself, and write down the date

To check a dofollow link, read the rel on the live tag, rule out a page-wide nofollow, and make sure the link is in the HTML you are looking at. It takes a minute per link and saves you from paying for, or counting on, links that are not what they claim.