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Should Pretty Links Actually Say NoFollow in HTML?

by Builder154
13 replies
I'm using Pretty Links on a wordpress blog. I have the default set to No Follow the links. Yet when I look at the source code of my pages, none of the links say rel="nofollow" on them.

Does this mean it's not working? Or is this normal that the code doesn't actually say no follow and the plugin does its work at some other level, like when a spider actually tries to follow the link it gets notified behind the scenes?
#html #links #nofollow #pretty
  • Profile picture of the author phpg
    Yes, it's not working, rel="nofollow" is the only way and there are no "hidden" ways to do nofollow.

    The only similar thing is a meta tag like <meta name="robots" content="nofollow"> but it's generally believed to function differently - it should prevent spiders from actually following the link, while rel="nofollow" should only affect rankings.
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  • Profile picture of the author Builder154
    Thanks. I wonder why it isn't working. Within Pretty Links it even says that the links are nofollow next to them. But in the code it isn't showing that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben Holmes
    Originally Posted by Builder154 View Post

    I'm using Pretty Links on a wordpress blog. I have the default set to No Follow the links. Yet when I look at the source code of my pages, none of the links say rel="nofollow" on them.

    Does this mean it's not working? Or is this normal that the code doesn't actually say no follow and the plugin does its work at some other level, like when a spider actually tries to follow the link it gets notified behind the scenes?
    I generally do an affiliate link like this:

    <a href="http ://mywebsite/prettylinkURL rel="no-follow">anchor text</a>

    And my Prettylinks are 301's, with the no-follow attribute.

    But I'm really being somewhat duplicative in my efforts... since you can verify that Pretty Link does provide the no-follow... you have to actually view what happens when Pretty Link does it's magic on the Prettylink Url...

    The best way to determine this is to pick an URL that's running through Pretty link... and paste that link here:

    Check Server Headers Tool - HTTP Status Codes Checker - Advanced Version CSH Bot V3S

    If you were to look at the HTML of my pages, you'd see the no-follow - simply because I manually put them in out of habit - BUT THEY AREN'T NEEDED - as far as I can understand this - since the Pretty Link will output a no-follow tag when that link is requested.

    Try it and see...
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    • Profile picture of the author Builder154
      Originally Posted by Khadaji View Post

      The best way to determine this is to pick an URL that's running through Pretty link... and paste that link here:

      Check Server Headers Tool - HTTP Status Codes Checker - Advanced Version CSH Bot V3S
      Thank you so much Khadaji! I was looking all day to figure this out.

      So I do see in the server header tool that the links ARE nofollow.

      Just one more queestion: what method is Pretty Link using to make them nofollow? Do you know? It's not adding rel="nofollow". I looked through those 10 ways mentioned on the link you posted. Can't figure out which of those it would be doing.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ben Holmes
        Originally Posted by Builder154 View Post

        Just one more queestion: what method is Pretty Link using to make them nofollow? Do you know? It's not adding rel="nofollow". I looked through those 10 ways mentioned on the link you posted. Can't figure out which of those it would be doing.
        I think it's the same as a meta tag. At least, it appears to me to be that in the header. You can see the no-follow, no-index in the header - and I'm quite sure that the bots see the same thing.

        But I'm not a 'server' guy, or knowledgeable about HTML headers... it's just my 2 cents worth.
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        • Profile picture of the author Builder154
          When you say the header, you mean the header of the "virtual" page that Pretty Link creates? So when you create a Pretty Link, that URL you create, to the search engine, looks like an actual existing page which then redirects. And it's as if, on that virtual page, in the <head></head> section, it has put noindex and nofollow. Correct?
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          • Profile picture of the author Ben Holmes
            Originally Posted by Builder154 View Post

            When you say the header, you mean the header of the "virtual" page that Pretty Link creates? So when you create a Pretty Link, that URL you create, to the search engine, looks like an actual existing page which then redirects. And it's as if, on that virtual page, in the <head></head> section, it has put noindex and nofollow. Correct?
            Not exactly... the 'header' is basically the entire redirection instructions that the server sends... just go to:
            Check Server Headers Tool - HTTP Status Codes Checker - Advanced Version CSH Bot V3S
            and type in the URL to any of your Pretty Links... see the results.

            It's not an entire HTML page, just take a look at it, and see for yourself. I'm not knowledgeable about the server output, but it clearly indicates no-follow - so Pretty Links is doing what it says it's doing.
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            • Profile picture of the author Builder154
              Yeah I see that it gives the right header, that's how I knew that it was working as you said. I'm just confused where that header is tied to. Is there just a database on the server and when that pretty link gets hit, the server says "Oh this page is in my database and it says to send this header since there is no actual page"?

              I'm just curious the mechanism of where this header info comes from exactly.
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  • Profile picture of the author msu
    Pretty Link sends out the header info via WordPress just before it redirects the user to the destination URL. It's a bit like saying, "I'm about to transfer you to another page but when I do, don't follow it".

    Not sure if that makes it any clearer
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    • Profile picture of the author Builder154
      Originally Posted by msu View Post

      Pretty Link sends out the header info via WordPress just before it redirects the user to the destination URL. It's a bit like saying, "I'm about to transfer you to another page but when I do, don't follow it".

      Not sure if that makes it any clearer
      Thanks. But the words "via Wordpress" are where I'm hoping for more detail. By what mechanism? Just curious.
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  • Profile picture of the author msu
    As far as I remember it sets the redirect in the header before the page is generated.
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    • Profile picture of the author Builder154
      Originally Posted by msu View Post

      As far as I remember it sets the redirect in the header before the page is generated.
      But that page is never generated because it isn't a page that exists. It's just a redirect. So somehow when that pretty link is hit, WP sends the header without an actual page. And I just wondered where the mechanism for this is. Is it stored in a database somewhere? Where does Pretty Link store the table saying "When this page is his, 301 redirect to here and send a nofollow header"?
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