Sponsored and UGC Link Attributes: When to Use rel="sponsored" and rel="ugc"
Until 2019, site owners had exactly one way to tell Google "don't treat this link as an endorsement": rel="nofollow". That one attribute was being used for paid links, affiliate links, comments, forum posts and links people simply didn't trust. In September 2019, Google split things up by introducing two more specific attributes, rel="sponsored" and rel="ugc", and announced that all three would be treated as hints rather than strict directives.
What each attribute means
| Attribute | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
rel="sponsored" | Links that are paid for, part of a sponsorship, or affiliate links | A sponsored review, an affiliate link to a product, an advertiser's banner |
rel="ugc" | Links inside user-generated content | Blog comments, forum posts, community Q&A answers, user profiles |
rel="nofollow" | Any link you don't want to endorse or pass ranking credit to | A link to a site you're criticising, or as a fallback for either case above |
You can combine them, for example rel="ugc nofollow". Google's documentation says nofollow remains acceptable for paid links, but sponsored is the preferred, more precise label.
What "treated as a hint" means
Before the change, nofollow was a directive: Google didn't use those links for ranking. Since 2019, Google says it treats all three attributes as hints and may use the links for crawling, indexing or ranking where it decides that's appropriate. Google hasn't given a detailed account of when it does this, so don't count on any benefit. For planning purposes, assume links carrying these attributes pass little or no ranking credit.
The practical difference between sponsored, ugc and nofollow in terms of ranking credit is not something Google has quantified. The value of the new attributes is mostly in the information they give Google about why a link exists.
When your site should use sponsored
If you run a blog, a news site or an affiliate site, use rel="sponsored" on:
- Links in posts you were paid to publish, or got free products for.
- Affiliate links to stores, courses or software.
- Links in ads, banners and paid directory listings.
- Links that are part of any paid exchange, including "link insertion" requests where money changes hands.
A travel blogger in Goa who gets a free stay at a resort and writes about it should mark the resort link as sponsored. An Amazon or Flipkart affiliate link in a gadget review should be sponsored too.
Google's spam policies specifically describe unmarked paid links that pass ranking credit as a link scheme. Sites that sell links without the attribute risk having Google stop trusting their outbound links in general, which hurts everyone they link to.
When your site should use ugc
Use rel="ugc" on links that your users add rather than your editorial team:
- Blog and article comments.
- Forum threads and replies.
- Links in member profiles.
- Reviews and Q&A submissions.
Most major platforms, including WordPress for comments, add nofollow or ugc to user links automatically. If you run a custom forum or community, check your templates.
If a trusted contributor has a long history on your forum, you can choose to remove the attribute from their links. Google has described this as a reasonable option.
What this means for links you receive
If you are building backlinks:
- Links in comments and forums will almost always carry ugc or nofollow. Use them to reach people, not to pass ranking credit.
- Sponsored posts on sites that follow the rules will carry rel="sponsored". They can still bring traffic, brand exposure and referral customers.
- Paid links without any attribute are the ones Google's link scheme policy targets. Sellers who promise "dofollow" paid placements are explicitly offering what the policy prohibits. Know that risk going in, keep your anchors natural and avoid pointing large numbers of them at a single money page.
Also see dofollow vs nofollow links for how followed and unfollowed links fit into a natural profile.
How to add the attributes
In plain HTML:
<a href="https://store.example/watch" rel="sponsored">this watch</a>
<a href="https://forum-user-site.example" rel="ugc">their site</a>
In WordPress, the block editor's link settings and most SEO plugins let you mark a link as sponsored or nofollow. Many affiliate link plugins can add rel="sponsored" to all affiliate links automatically. After making changes, check a sample page's source or run it through the anchor text analyzer, which lists every link on a page so you can confirm what has been tagged.
Do you need to update old links?
Google said when it launched the attributes that there was no need to change existing nofollow links. If your old paid or affiliate links already have nofollow, they're fine. If they have no attribute at all, add sponsored or nofollow.
How to begin
Search your own site for affiliate and sponsored content (a search of your posts for "affiliate", "sponsored", "partner" and common store domains is a quick start) and check that every one of those links carries rel="sponsored". It's a short job that removes a clear policy risk from your own outbound links. For more on how link value moves between pages, read link equity explained.