Yes, nofollow links can help SEO indirectly by supporting a natural backlink profile and driving referral traffic.
Firstly, the nofollow attribute tells search engines not to pass authority or link juice directly; however, nofollow links may still influence search engine rankings through visibility and broader exposure. Additionally, these links can still drive traffic, especially from high-traffic platforms and authoritative websites. Consequently, referral traffic from nofollow backlinks often increases engagement, which impacts your rankings positively.
Google explains that nofollow and dofollow links together create a balanced and natural backlink profile. A diverse link profile with mixed link types appears less spammy to modern search engine algorithms. Although nofollow links do not pass PageRank traditionally, Google now treats them as hints occasionally; therefore, some nofollow backlinks may pass authority signals depending on context and relevance. Also, using nofollow links for paid links or user-generated content follows Google’s guidelines strictly.
Similarly, a strong SEO strategy includes both follow links and nofollow links for stability. These link types help maintain a trustworthy backlink profile while avoiding penalties from search engines; overall, nofollow links support SEO value indirectly, especially when combined with strong dofollow backlinks.