Search Engine Optimisation
rel=”nofollow”
The nofollow attribute is used to stop search engines using links to affect the ranking of pages in an index. The idea was originally developed by Google as a way to stop links being use to artificially inflating the ranking of a specific page.
1 | <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.spamsite.com/">discount drugs</a> |
Most search engines will follow the links but exclude them from their ranking calculations (Goole, Yahoo). Others leave the link without following it or using the links (MSN). Some search engines still don’t recognise the attribute (Ask) and use the link like any other.
The most common use of nofollow is on blogs where spammers can often post comments which contain links to various websites. Nofollow should be used when a link is unknown, when the editor cannot vouch for its authenticity. This is the case when a third party leaves a comment on a website.
A fairly unknown feature of Twitter is that each tweet atcually recieves its own page which in turn is indexed by Google, and other search engines.
A major downside is that Twitter applies the rel="nofollow" attribute to external links in tweets. This means that links are unlikely to be used to calculate your sites value in terms of search indexing. The good news is that this isn’t all Twitter is good for. Adding your business to twitter isn’t about search engines, it’s about people.
Twitter is a fantastic tool for social marketing. Sending out information and receiving feedback from a group of people. The best Twitterers not only have a bunch of followers, they also follow back to hear what the community is saying. Use it to promote products, provide special deals and communicate with your followers.
