guide
Dofollow backlinks, explained
A backlink is a link from another website to yours. Search engines treat those links as votes, and the type of link decides how much of that vote gets counted. A do-follow backlink passes that signal; a nofollow one tells search engines not to count it. This page explains the difference and how to get the kind that helps.
Dofollow versus nofollow, in plain terms
When a link is do-follow, the page linking to you is passing along a small amount of trust. Crawlers follow the link, discover your site, and factor the link into how they rank you. When a link is nofollow, the HTML carries a rel="nofollow" attribute, and the search engine is told not to treat the link as an endorsement.
Nofollow links are not worthless. They still send real visitors, and a link from a well-read page brings people even when the ranking signal is switched off. But if your goal is to strengthen a new site, do-follow links from relevant pages are the ones worth chasing.
Why so many directories use nofollow
Most directories mark every outbound link as nofollow, because otherwise the site becomes a target for anyone buying links in bulk. The ones that do offer do-follow links usually put them behind a paid tier, or hand them out indiscriminately, which is exactly what makes them low value.
ShowBuild keeps it fair and clean: every listing gets a dedicated SEO and AI optimized showcase page for free, and free Community users can earn a verified do-follow backlink by adding the Featured on ShowBuild badge to their site. Or upgrade to Pro Listing ($5) or Showcase Plus ($15) for a direct permanent do-follow backlink with zero badge required.
How verification works on ShowBuild
A free Community listing starts with a nofollow link once you complete 4 upvotes and 1 comment on other builds in the new tab. To earn the verified do-follow backlink for free, put the Featured on ShowBuild badge on your own site: a small badge that carries a normal followed link back to showbuild.co. Open your profile, find the listing, and copy the badge code shown there (light or dark).
Paste it into a footer, landing page, or “featured on” strip. Then come back to your profile, click claim dofollow, and click verify backlink. ShowBuild fetches your site, checks the badge is present, and switches your listing to verified dofollow. Prefer not to add a badge? Upgrading to Pro ($5) or Showcase Plus ($15) activates your permanent do-follow backlink automatically with no badge required.
What makes a backlink actually count
- Relevance. A link from a page about your subject area is worth more than a link from an unrelated one, so submit to the category that genuinely fits.
- Placement in the content. Links near the main content carry more weight than links buried in a site-wide footer with a hundred other directories.
- A real destination. Point at the product page, not a parked domain, and make sure the page loads quickly and says what the product does.
- Patience. New links take time to be recrawled and counted. Indexing is measured in weeks, not hours.
Keeping it clean
Buying links in bulk or swapping them at scale is the fastest way to get links discounted or trigger a penalty. A verified link from a board you actually use, pointing at a product you actually built, is the version that holds up. Start with what ShowBuild is if you have not listed a project yet.