# Google will be treating nofollow links differently
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [September 11, 2019, 10:01am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258 "2019-09-11T10:01:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 10:01am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/1 "2019-09-11T10:01:04Z")
Google announced that it will not be treating the `rel="nofollow"` attribute as a signal any more, but as a hint. The background is that so many CMS’es are designating every link as nofollow.
They’re introducing two new hints: `ugc` for user generated content and `sponsored` for paid links.
For the UGC, they’re explicitly mentioning forums.
My opinion is that this is a big step forward, since the vast use of nofollow was killing the idea behind PageRank.
Full announcement here: [https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2019/09/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identify.html](https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2019/09/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identify.html)
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### Author:  [@riking](https://meta.discourse.org/u/riking)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/2 "2019-09-19T15:41:41Z")
Changing the code to use “nofollow ugc” seems like a fairly straightforward and safe thing for Discourse to do.
The above is my personal opinion and not necessarily that of Google, LLC
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/3 "2019-09-20T04:20:46Z")
It it valid to use both? Should it just be “ugc” now? I am unclear.
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### Author:  [@Dannii](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dannii)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2019, 4:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/4 "2019-09-20T04:42:22Z")
From that blog’s FAQ:
> **Can I use more than one rel value on a link?**
> Yes, you can use more than one rel value on a link. For example, rel=“ugc sponsored” is a perfectly valid attribute which hints that the link came from user-generated content and is sponsored. It’s also valid to use nofollow with the new attributes – such as rel=“nofollow ugc” – if you wish to be backwards-compatible with services that don’t support the new attributes.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/5 "2019-09-20T04:46:12Z")
What “services” support nofollow other than Google?
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### Author:  [@Stranik](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Stranik)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/6 "2019-09-20T05:42:34Z")
Baidu, Yandex supports nofollow
> **[Links |](https://yandex.com/support/webmaster/en/recommendations/links.html)**
>
> Links are an essential part of the internet. They connect pages of the World Wide Web and serve as paths for users. Therefore, it is very important to pay atten
Bing, as a hint
[https://twitter.com/facan/status/1171477716673032192](https://twitter.com/facan/status/1171477716673032192)
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/7 "2019-10-13T03:07:31Z")
> [@riking](#):
>
> Changing the code to use “nofollow ugc” seems like a fairly straightforward and safe thing for Discourse to do.
Can you assign this @eviltrout? I assume it is a very very simple change, almost a copyedit?
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### Author:  [@eviltrout](https://meta.discourse.org/u/eviltrout)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/8 "2019-10-14T13:48:18Z")
Hey @Roman this is probably an easy one, please take a look!
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### Author:  [@Roman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Roman)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/10 "2019-10-14T18:28:07Z")
We’re now using `nofollow ugc`:
[https://review.discourse.org/t/feature-use-the-ugc-rel-attribute-alongside-nofollow/6173](https://review.discourse.org/t/feature-use-the-ugc-rel-attribute-alongside-nofollow/6173)
Latest Onebox version is using it too:
[https://review.discourse.org/t/feature-use-the-ugc-rel-attribute/6170](https://review.discourse.org/t/feature-use-the-ugc-rel-attribute/6170)
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### Author:  [@markersocial](https://meta.discourse.org/u/markersocial)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2020, 5:59am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/11 "2020-09-07T05:59:58Z")
On 2.6.0.beta2 I’m getting `rel="nofollow noopener"` with no ugc attribute for external links. Anyone else?
Edit: Looked for a recent link posted on meta. Seems that it’s also the case here: [What is this line for in a Discourse forum's RSS feed? - #4 by Terrapop](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-is-this-line-for-in-a-discourse-forums-rss-feed/163191/4)
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### Author:  [@Roman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Roman)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/12 "2020-09-07T15:56:41Z")
Not seeing the `ugc` attribute either, will take a look.
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### Author:  [@Roman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Roman)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/google-will-be-treating-nofollow-links-differently/128258/14 "2020-09-10T18:57:45Z")
Fixed here:
[https://review.discourse.org/t/fix-make-sure-rel-attributes-are-correctly-set-10645/15145](https://review.discourse.org/t/fix-make-sure-rel-attributes-are-correctly-set-10645/15145)
Links will correctly use `nofollow ugc` now.