# rel="sponsored"

Category: [Link Building & Off-Page](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/link-building-off-page/) › [Link attributes](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/link-building-off-page/link-attributes/)

**`rel="sponsored"`** is a value of the `rel` attribute on links. It marks links that are advertisements or paid placements. Google introduced it in September 2019, together with `ugc`.

## When to use it

Google asks site owners to mark advertising and paid placements with `sponsored`. `nofollow` remains an acceptable value for these links, though Google lists `sponsored` as preferred. The spam policies state that buying or selling links for ranking purposes is link spam, and that such links are not a violation when qualified with `rel="nofollow"` or `rel="sponsored"`. Affiliate links usually fall under this value as well, since they involve compensation.

## A hint, not a command

Google treats `sponsored`, `ugc` and `nofollow` as hints for ranking and crawling. For `nofollow` that applies since March 1, 2020. Multiple values can be combined in one attribute, separated by a space or a comma.

## Example

```html
<a href="https://partner.example/" rel="sponsored">Partner</a>
<a href="https://partner.example/" rel="sponsored nofollow">Partner</a>
```

## Link attributes compared

| Value | Purpose according to Google | Required? | How Google treats it |
|---|---|---|---|
| no rel value (often called "dofollow") | regular link that Google is expected to fetch and parse without qualification | –; Google has no dofollow value | Google can follow and parse the link |
| rel="sponsored" | advertisements and paid placements | for paid links, sponsored (preferred) or nofollow; otherwise link spam under the spam policies | hint; links with this value are generally not followed |
| rel="ugc" | links in user-generated content such as comments and forum posts | recommended; can be removed for members with a consistent record of high-quality contributions | hint; links with this value are generally not followed |
| rel="nofollow" | when no other value applies and you'd rather Google not associate your site with the target or crawl it from your site | no; still acceptable for paid links | hint, for ranking since 10 Sept 2019 and for crawling and indexing since 1 March 2020 |
| nofollow as a robots meta rule | don't follow the links on this page | no | applies to every link on the page |

Sources: [Google Search Central: Qualify your outbound links to Google (last updated 2025-12-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links); [Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search, link spam (last updated 2026-08-28)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam); [Google Search Central Blog: Evolving "nofollow" – new ways to identify the nature of links (2019-09-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/09/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identify); [Google Search Central: Robots meta tag specifications, nofollow](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag). Last checked: October 8, 2026

## Not to be confused with

- [nofollow](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/nofollow/index.md): is the general value for links the site would rather not be associated with. sponsored states specifically that a link is an advertisement or a paid placement.

## Related terms

- [rel="ugc"](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/rel-ugc/index.md)
- [nofollow](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/nofollow/index.md)
- [Link attributes](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/link-attributes/index.md)
- [Dofollow link](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/dofollow-link/index.md)
- [Link spam](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/link-spam/index.md)
- [Buying links](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/buying-links/index.md)
- [Link scheme](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/link-scheme/index.md)

## Sources

- [Qualify your outbound links to Google – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links)
- [Evolving 'nofollow' – new ways to identify the nature of links – Google Search Central Blog (September 2019)](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/09/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identify)
- [Spam policies for Google web search – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies)
- [Ahrefs: Sponsored link attribute (secondary)](https://ahrefs.com/seo/glossary/sponsored-link-attribute)

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Last updated: October 8, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/rel-sponsored/