Well, you may not want to pass SEO value to certain external links in your menu – for example, when linking to a page you don’t fully trust or one that isn’t crucial for SEO.
In this step-by-step guide, I’ll show you how to add nofollow links to your WordPress menu, and trust me, it’s easier than you think!
Step 1: Access Your WordPress Dashboard
The first thing you need to do is head over to your WordPress dashboard. Once you’re there:
- Go to Appearance in the left sidebar.
- Click on Menus.
Step 2: Select the Primary Menu
Here, you’ll see a list of your menus. Choose the Primary Menu (or the one you want to edit) and click on it.
Step 3: Add a Custom Link
Now it’s time to add a Custom Link to your menu. Here’s how:
- In the Custom Links section, enter the URL of the page you want to link to. For example, let’s link to a blog post.
- Add a label for the link, like “New Post,” or anything that fits your website’s navigation.
- Once you’ve done that, click Add to Menu.
The new post that has been been created, will be a dofollow link, since there are no attributes added, then it means it’s sending link juice to the website.
Step 4: Edit the Link Attributes
After you’ve added the custom link, it’s time to adjust the link’s attributes. To do that:
- At the top of the menu editor, click Screen Options (top-right corner).
- Tick Link Relationship (XFN) and Link Target under the advanced menu properties.
Step 5: Change Nofollow to Dofollow
Now that the advanced options are visible, click on the custom link you just added. You’ll see new fields appear:
- In the Link Relationship (XFN) field, type nofollow.
- Optionally, you can select Open link in a new window/tab if you want to open the link in a new tab.
Step 6: Save Your Changes
Don’t forget to click Save Menu to save all your changes. Once saved, you can refresh your site and check your menu.
Step 7: Verify the Change
Here’s the fun part – verifying your change! Right-click on the new link in your navigation menu and select Inspect (or Inspect Element).
You should see the nofollow attribute in the HTML code of the link.
Conclusion
And that’s it! You’ve successfully added a nofollow link to your WordPress navigation menu. This small tweak can help you manage your site’s SEO and control which external sites get your link juice. It’s an easy way to keep your SEO strategy in check, and now you know exactly how to implement it.
As you explore link attributes, it’s also important to understand how other factors, like noopener and noreferrer, can affect SEO and rankings. As well as being familiar with the differentiating factors between dofollow and nofollow links is key in optimizing your site’s link strategy for better search engine performance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the purpose of adding a nofollow link in my WordPress navigation menu?
Adding a nofollow link helps you control the SEO flow of your website. It prevents search engines from passing link juice (SEO power) to the linked page. This is useful when linking to external sites you don’t fully trust or don’t want to boost your rankings.
Will adding a nofollow link hurt my website’s SEO?
No, adding a nofollow link won’t hurt your website’s SEO. It simply tells search engines not to pass on SEO value to the linked page. It’s a way of managing where you want to distribute link juice, rather than losing it altogether.
Can I change a nofollow link back to dofollow later?
Yes, you can easily change a nofollow link back to dofollow by removing the rel=”nofollow” attribute. Simply follow the same steps, but instead of entering “nofollow” in the Link Relationship field, leave it blank to make it a dofollow link.
How do nofollow links affect SEO rankings?
Nofollow links don’t pass on SEO value, meaning they won’t directly help improve the ranking of the linked site. However, they can still bring traffic by directing visitors to useful or relevant content, which can indirectly benefit your SEO through user engagement.
Should I set all my external links to nofollow?
Not necessarily. You should only set external links to nofollow if you don’t want to pass link juice to those sites or if you don’t fully trust the content. For high-quality, authoritative sites, it’s usually better to let them remain dofollow to help improve their rankings, as they may benefit your site’s SEO in return.
