nofollow/sponsored/ugc Difference Lookup
Classifies nofollow, sponsored and ugc link annotations according to Google Search guidance. These annotations do not suppress browser navigation.
Description
Link relation annotations distinguish paid placements, user-generated content and links qualified with nofollow.
Link relation annotations distinguish paid placements, user-generated content and links qualified with nofollow. Google Search guidance treats sponsored and ugc as useful relationship labels.1
The tool returns nofollow, sponsored, userGenerated. The fields describe the supplied local pattern or effective state, or contain the formatted markup shown below.
When to use nofollow/sponsored/ugc Difference Lookup
Use this for the following task: Classifies nofollow, sponsored and ugc link annotations according to Google Search guidance. These annotations do not suppress browser navigation. Provide the requested local fields extracted from the relevant element or attribute.
How to use nofollow/sponsored/ugc Difference Lookup and understand its results
- Prepare the parsed element names, attribute values or direct element-child lists requested below. Keep attribute presence separate from its value.
- Enter rel according to the field table, then run the tool.
- Read nofollow, sponsored, userGenerated. Check the effective state, recognized-token flags or generated markup against the rules below.
- Correct any reported local mismatch and check the resulting markup in its intended document and browser context.
| Input field | Meaning | Value type and bounds | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| rel | Rel | string; maximum text length 100000 | Required |
Supply a rel string. Split on HTML ASCII whitespace, fold ASCII case and independently look for nofollow, sponsored and ugc.
nofollow, sponsored and userGenerated flags = corresponding rel tokens are present The symbols and boundary conditions refer to the supplied fields and the implementation described above.
| Output field | Meaning | Value type |
|---|---|---|
| nofollow | Nofollow | boolean |
| sponsored | Sponsored | boolean |
| userGenerated | User Generated | boolean |
{
"input": {
"rel": "sponsored nofollow"
},
"output": {
"nofollow": true,
"sponsored": true,
"userGenerated": false
}
}Limitations and assumptions
These annotations do not suppress browser navigation. The tool does not determine whether a link is actually paid or user generated or predict ranking effects.
The tool does not fetch a page, run a browser or validate an entire HTML document. Malformed tool requests produce input errors; valid requests can still report unrecognized values or failed local checks.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Choose Robots Meta Content Values Lookup when you need its operation: Resolves Google Search robots index and follow directives, including all/none and restrictive conflicts. Reports recognized boolean directives and unhandled tokens; parameterized directives are outside this profile. Choose target=_blank rel=opener Security Check for the complementary operation: Resolves opener behavior requested by an anchor with target=_blank under modern HTML rules. Implicit noopener applies unless opener is present; noreferrer or noopener takes precedence.
Background reference: Qualify your outbound links to Google.
References
-
Qualify your outbound links to Google — Google Search Central
Similar or alternative tools
- Robots Meta Content Values Lookup
Resolves Google Search robots index and follow directives, including all/none and restrictive conflicts. Reports recognized boolean directives and unhandled tokens; parameterized directives are outside this profile.
- target=_blank rel=opener Security Check
Resolves opener behavior requested by an anchor with target=_blank under modern HTML rules. Implicit noopener applies unless opener is present; noreferrer or noopener takes precedence.