rel=”nofollow”
Since 2019 Google treats this as a hint rather than a directive. It usually passes no ranking signal, but Google can and does use the link for discovery and context.
Do Forbes links help SEO? The honest answer
Nofollow • sponsored • E-E-A-T • entity authority • AI search
Almost every press placement link is nofollow, and any agency telling you otherwise is either uninformed or selling. That does not make the placement worthless — it means the value arrives through a completely different mechanism than most people are told.
★★★★★5.0 rated · We never promise rankings
What you actually getLive
Link equityUsually none
Entity signalsStrong
Branded searchMeasurable lift
AI citationsIncreasingly common
E-E-A-TIndirect, real
Referral trafficModest, high-intent
Nofollow is not the same as no value. It is a different kind of value.
The short answer
Yes — but not the way you were told
Link equity is the least interesting thing a major placement gives you.
The classic SEO pitch for press coverage is “a dofollow link from a DR 94 domain”. It is a great pitch. It is also, for paid placements on major publications, almost never true.
Major publishers apply rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored" to links in paid and partner content as a matter of policy. That is not an agency failing to negotiate hard enough — it is the publisher complying with Google’s own guidance. An agency promising you dofollow links from Forbes is telling you they will get a global publisher to violate its own link policy for your $8,000.
The real mechanism: a major placement does not move you up the rankings by passing PageRank. It changes what Google and the AI answer engines understand about you as an entity — and in 2026, that is the more valuable of the two.
The mechanism
Five ways a placement actually affects search
None of them are link equity. All of them are real.
| Mechanism | How it works | How fast |
|---|---|---|
| Entity authority | Google builds a knowledge graph entity for your brand and founder. Coverage on recognised publications strengthens and disambiguates that entity. | Weeks to months |
| Branded search lift | People read the article, then search your name. Branded search volume is one of the strongest signals a brand is real. | Days to weeks |
| SERP real estate | The article itself ranks for your name, pushing weaker or unflattering results down page one. | Days to weeks |
| E-E-A-T evidence | Third-party coverage on established outlets is exactly the corroboration Google’s quality raters are instructed to look for. | Months, cumulative |
| AI answer citations | ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews disproportionately cite established publications when summarising a brand or person. | Weeks to months |
Definitions
Nofollow, sponsored and UGC — what they mean
Three attributes, one common misunderstanding.
rel=”sponsored”
The correct attribute for paid links. Applying it is the publisher doing the right thing — and it protects you as much as them.
rel=”ugc”
User-generated content such as comments and forums. Rarely relevant to a placement, but you will see it in link audits.
Dofollow
No attribute at all. Standard for genuinely earned editorial coverage. If a paid placement carries it, the publisher is out of step with its own policy — that is a flag, not a win.
Claims to distrust
What an agency should never promise you
Every one of these is a signal to slow down.
“Guaranteed dofollow links from Forbes”
“You will rank #1 for your keyword”
“DR 94 link juice to your money page”
“This will fix your Google penalty”
“Guaranteed traffic from the article”
“We can get the anchor text you want”
“This replaces your whole SEO strategy”
“Google will index it within 24 hours”
Doing it right
How to make a placement work for search
Four things most buyers never do.
Get the entity details right
The article should name your company and founder exactly as they appear everywhere else, ideally with the location and category. Consistency is what lets Google merge it into your entity.
Link to the article from your own site
A dofollow link from your site to the placement helps Google associate the two. Most people never do this — they only display the logo.
Spread across tiers
Four relevant mid-tier mentions usually build a stronger entity than one expensive logo. Breadth of corroboration beats a single big name.
Measure the right thing
Track branded search volume, direct traffic and AI answer mentions — not the referring domain count. If your agency reports on DR, they are measuring the wrong thing.
Straight answers
Press links and SEO FAQ
Are Forbes links dofollow or nofollow?
Links in paid and partner content on Forbes and comparable publishers are typically nofollow or sponsored, per publisher policy. Some genuinely earned editorial links are dofollow, but you cannot buy that outcome.
Will Google penalise me for buying press placements?
Not for the placement itself. Google’s link spam policy targets manipulative link schemes. A nofollow or sponsored editorial feature does not qualify. The risk appears when someone sells you volume dofollow paid links across low-quality sites — a different product entirely.
So is a nofollow link worthless?
No. Google has treated nofollow as a hint rather than a strict directive since 2019, and uses links for discovery and context regardless. More importantly, the entity, branded-search and AI-citation effects do not depend on link attributes at all.
Does press coverage help E-E-A-T?
Indirectly and genuinely. Google’s quality rater guidelines explicitly ask raters to look for independent, reputable sources discussing a site or its creators. Coverage on established publications is exactly that corroboration.
Do AI Overviews and ChatGPT cite press placements?
Increasingly, yes. Answer engines lean heavily on established mastheads when summarising a brand or person. For many businesses this is now the single strongest argument for a placement — it gives the machines a credible source to quote about you.
How long before I see anything?
The article usually ranks for your brand name within days. Branded search and entity effects build over weeks to months. Anyone promising a ranking jump in a fixed window is guessing.
Should I buy placements instead of doing SEO?
No. Placements build authority and entity signals; on-page SEO, technical health and content depth are what actually rank your own pages. They are complements, and any agency selling one as a replacement for the other is overselling.
What should I ask an agency about links?
Ask directly whether the links will be dofollow, nofollow or sponsored. The answer tells you almost everything about whether they know this industry. Anyone who says “dofollow, guaranteed” for a major publication is either uninformed or lying.
Buy coverage for the right reason.
If someone sold you a placement on the promise of a dofollow link and a ranking jump, come talk to us. We will show you what it will and will not do.