Profiles at 100% dofollow rank worse than those holding ~22% nofollow

Profiles at 100% dofollow rank worse than those holding ~22% nofollow

We binned 300 ranking URLs by their referring-domain follow ratio (n=300, top-20 positions).

— Pages averaging 78-82% dofollow: median position 4.1
— Pages at 95%+ dofollow: median position 7.8

Chart in words: position degrades almost linearly as the dofollow share climbs past 90%. A profile that is all-dofollow reads as manufactured.

This is directional — correlation, not a ranking knob you tune directly. But the pattern holds across niches.

Nofollow from real editorial, social, and forum mentions is free and arrives naturally if you do digital PR.

Stop filtering prospects for dofollow-only — a natural profile carries 15-25% nofollow.