To check if a backlink is dofollow by hand, open the live page, view its source, find your anchor tag and read its rel attribute: no rel value, or only noopener, means dofollow, while nofollow, sponsored or ugc means it is not. Then confirm the page has no noindex directive, the link sits in the HTML rather than a script, and the page is actually indexed. The whole check takes under a minute per placement.
Most crypto media placements do not pass link equity, and most projects buying them believe they do. The gap exists because few buyers run these checks, the seller has no reason to volunteer the answer, and the difference is invisible on the page itself.
What you need before you start
Gather these before you open the first page, so every placement is checked the same way and the results go straight into one record.
- the live published URL, not a preview or the seller’s screenshot;
- a browser where you can view the page source and disable JavaScript;
- the seller’s written answers on link status, indexability and permanence;
- the agreed destination URL and anchor text;
- one record sheet for the campaign, with a row per placement.
How to check if a backlink is dofollow step by step
1. Read the rel attribute on your link
Open the published page, view its source, and find your link. If the anchor tag carries rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc", it is a nofollow link in practice: search engines are being told not to pass ranking value through it. An anchor with no rel attribute, or one carrying only noopener, is a dofollow link. Do this on the live page rather than a preview, and after the page has been up for a day, because some publishers add the attribute during a later editorial pass.
- Time: under a minute
- Check: the live page, a day after publication
2. Check the page-level robots directive
A followed link on a page carrying noindex or nofollow in its robots meta tag passes nothing, because the page itself is excluded. Some outlets apply this to their entire sponsored section while leaving individual links untouched. Search the page source for the robots meta tag. This is the check that catches the placements that look correct at link level and are worth nothing at page level.
3. Confirm the link is in the HTML, not the script
If the link only appears after JavaScript runs, or if it is a redirect through a tracking domain, what is in the source is not what you think you bought. Disable JavaScript and reload, then look again. Redirect chains through an intermediate domain are common in paid placements and are worth identifying, because the destination of the visible link is not your site.
- Check: the link is still there with scripts off
- Watch out: tracking redirects to another domain
4. Check whether the page is indexed at all
Search for the exact article title in quotation marks a week after publication. A page that does not appear has not been indexed, and an unindexed page is worth nothing regardless of the link on it. This happens more often than expected on outlets with large sponsored sections, where the volume of near-identical releases means much of it never enters the index.
5. Find out how long the page will exist
Ask, in writing, whether the placement is permanent. Some outlets remove sponsored content after a period, and a link that disappears after six months was a different product from the one you thought you bought. Where a page can be removed, that changes what it is worth and should change what you pay for it.
6. Look at where the page sits on the site
A release published under a clearly separated sponsored path, unlinked from any navigation, receives no internal links and little crawl attention. A piece that appears in the normal editorial flow, linked from a category page, is treated differently by search engines. The URL path and whether any other page on the site links to it tell you which of the two you have.
7. Ask before buying and get the answer in writing
Ask whether the link is followed, whether the page is indexable, and whether the placement is permanent. Sellers who know their inventory answer immediately. Sellers who deflect are telling you the answer. Getting it in writing is what makes the check after publication meaningful, because a placement that does not match what was promised is then a straightforward conversation rather than an argument about expectations.
8. Value the nofollow placements correctly
A nofollow link on a widely read outlet still delivers referral traffic, credibility with readers who check where a project has been covered, and a citable source that assistants and researchers can find. Those are real, they are simply not the same product as a followed link. The error is paying a followed-link price for a nofollow placement, not the placement itself.
Dofollow and nofollow rel values
| What you find | Link status | Ranking value | What it still delivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| No rel attribute | Dofollow | Passes, if the page is indexed | Ranking value, readers, a citable mention |
rel="noopener" only | Dofollow | Passes, if the page is indexed | Ranking value, readers, a citable mention |
rel="nofollow" | Nofollow | Search engines told not to pass it | Referral traffic and credibility |
rel="sponsored" | Nofollow | Search engines told not to pass it | Referral traffic and credibility |
rel="ugc" | Nofollow | Search engines told not to pass it | Referral traffic and credibility |
Robots meta noindex or nofollow | Any | Nothing passes, the page is excluded | Readers only, if they find the page |
| Link injected by JavaScript or redirected | Unclear | Not the link you bought | Depends on the final destination |
A dofollow, indexed, permanent page on a site with normal editorial structure is bought for ranking value and priced against other link placements. A nofollow page on a widely read outlet is bought for readers and for the credibility of a mention others can cite, and should be priced against other visibility, not against links.
Common mistakes
- Buying on a screenshot from the seller. It shows a page state you cannot verify.
- Accepting a preview URL as evidence. A preview is not the published page, and the attribute can be added later.
- Judging an outlet by a third-party authority score. It says nothing about whether your particular link passes anything.
- Ordering during a site migration. The page may move before it settles, and the redirect that follows is where links quietly stop working.
- Ordering a batch before checking any of it. You lose the chance to apply what the first result teaches about a new supplier.
Look at what else the page links out to as well. A piece surrounded by unrelated commercial links, or sitting in a template that carries a block of outbound links on every post, tells you what the section is for. That context does not change your rel attribute, but it does change what the placement is worth, and it is visible in the same view of the source you were already reading.
Each of the first three feels like a check while confirming nothing, which is why they survive longest.
Before and after the order
Checking the outlet before the order
Look at the site as a publication rather than as an inventory line. Does it publish anything other than sponsored material, is there a named editorial team, and do ordinary category pages link into the section where your piece will sit. An outlet whose recent posts are near-identical releases about different projects is selling volume. Read a few pieces published in the last month and search a distinctive sentence from each. Where those pages are absent from results, your page will most likely join them, and that is worth knowing before the invoice.
What the order should say in writing
Write down the outlet, the publication window, the link status, whether the page will be indexable, whether the placement is permanent, the exact destination URL and the anchor text. Add what happens if the published page does not match: a correction, a replacement placement or a refund. Name who writes the text and what the outlet may change. Some publishers strip links from body copy during their own editing pass, so agree that link status is outside what may be changed.
Working with the writer and the draft
Decide whether you supply the text or the outlet writes it, and price the two differently. Supplied copy gives you control over where the link sits and what surrounds it, but tends to read as promotional and is more likely to be edited. A piece written by the outlet carries more weight with readers and requires a proper briefing, including the claims you can support and the ones you cannot.
Anchor text, the draft and the destination URL
Place the link where it belongs in the argument rather than in a boilerplate paragraph at the end, which is the first thing an editor strips. Agree the destination down to the exact URL, including any trailing slash and parameters, and check it resolves correctly on the live page, not in the draft. Keep anchors varied and readable: an anchor matched exactly to a target phrase and repeated across every placement is a pattern only the buyer creates.
When a placement disappears or changes
Save an archived copy of the page at publication, so a removal later is a documented fact. A replacement placement is the usual remedy, and it is much easier to obtain within a few weeks than a year later. Where the attribute changed rather than the page vanishing, decide whether the placement still earns its price as a nofollow, and stop reporting it as a followed link. When an outlet applies a directive across its whole sponsored archive, every placement you hold there changes value on the same day, so spread placements across several outlets.
Keeping a record across campaigns
One sheet per campaign, with the outlet, URL, publication date, link status, indexation status, price and vendor, replaces a year of guesswork. Record the checks with dates rather than only the outcomes, so a later change is visible as a change, and give the record an owner so it survives a handover. It shows which suppliers deliver what they describe and which outlets never index.
Re-checking is also how you value a vendor rather than a placement. A supplier whose pages hold their status over months is worth more than one whose catalogue looks identical on the day of purchase and degrades afterwards. That difference is invisible at the point of sale and obvious in a sheet covering two or three campaigns.
Get value from the placement yourself once it publishes. Cite it where a reader would look for coverage, share it in the channels your audience already reads, and keep the link in your own press listing. A nofollow placement that nobody outside the outlet ever sees delivers none of the referral traffic or credibility it was bought for.
How long it takes and what it costs
The rel check takes under a minute per placement. Knowing how to check if a backlink is dofollow once is not the same as checking it once, though. One check at publication is not enough, because the attribute can change later: check when the page goes live, again a week afterwards for indexation, and again before buying from the same vendor a second time. Sites apply new sponsorship policies across their whole archive, and a placement bought last year may now sit in a section that carries a directive it did not have then.
The ratio explains why the checks matter. In our own catalogue, 30 of the 195 outlets available for a press release pass a followed link, and 82 of the 106 available for an organic article do. That is a large difference between two products that are often sold as though they were interchangeable.
It is also the reason a release distribution package and a link-building campaign should be budgeted separately, a split covered in our crypto press release distribution guide. Where a price is far below the rest of the market for a followed placement, the checks usually explain why. Compare like with like before agreeing a figure: the same outlet often appears in several catalogues at different prices, because resellers sit between the buyer and the publisher. When a check fails after the order, ask for the difference between the two products back, or for the next placement at the nofollow rate. How to write something an editor will run is in how to write a crypto press release outlets accept, and outlet selection with link status per publication is on our crypto PR page. Where followed links fit in a wider search plan is in our crypto SEO guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check if a link is followed?
Open the live page, view its source and find your anchor tag. If it carries rel nofollow, sponsored or ugc, search engines are told not to pass ranking value. An anchor with no rel attribute, or only noopener, is a dofollow link. Check again a day after publication, since some publishers add the attribute later.
Can a followed link still pass no value?
Yes. If the page carries a noindex or nofollow robots meta tag, sits on an unlinked sponsored path, shows the link only after JavaScript runs, redirects through a tracking domain or never enters the index, the link passes nothing regardless of its rel attribute. That is why the rel check is only the first step.
What share of crypto PR outlets pass a followed link?
A minority for press releases. In our own catalogue, 30 of the 195 outlets available for a press release pass a followed link, against 82 of the 106 available for an organic article. That gap is why release distribution and link building should be budgeted as separate products.
Are nofollow placements worth buying?
Often yes, for referral traffic, credibility with readers who check where a project has been covered, and a citable source that assistants and researchers can find. The mistake is paying a followed-link price for a nofollow placement or expecting ranking movement from it, not buying the placement itself.
What should I ask a PR seller before buying a placement?
Ask whether the link is followed, whether the page is indexable and whether the placement is permanent, and get the answers in writing. Sellers who know their inventory answer immediately. A written answer turns the check after publication into a straightforward conversation rather than an argument about expectations.