Checks
Nofollow on internal links
Flags internal links carrying rel="nofollow", which tells search engines not to pass link authority to your own pages, undermining your site's internal linking strategy.
What this check looks for
For a page with extracted outgoing links, this check filters for internal links whose rel attribute includes nofollow. Any found triggers a warn, listing each flagged link and its rel value. A page with no internal nofollow links passes; a page whose outgoing links weren't extracted reports "na".
Why it matters
rel="nofollow" was designed to tell search engines not to pass ranking signal through a link — appropriate for untrusted user-generated content or paid placements, but counterproductive on your own internal navigation, where you want link equity flowing between your own pages. When internal links carry nofollow (often left over from a plugin default, or copied from an external-link template without realizing it applies internally too), you're effectively asking search engines to ignore the very links you built to help distribute authority across your site. This isn't a signal AI answer engines typically parse directly, but it's a technical-SEO footgun worth catching since it silently weakens the site's overall internal link structure.
How to fix it
Remove nofollow from internal links unless you specifically want to exclude that link from passing authority:
<!-- Internal link incorrectly carrying nofollow -->
<a href="/products/wireless-nc" rel="nofollow">Shop wireless headphones</a>
<!-- Fixed -->
<a href="/products/wireless-nc">Shop wireless headphones</a>Check whether a CMS plugin or link-insertion tool is applying nofollow by default to every outbound-looking link, including ones that point back at your own domain.
See how your site scores on this check