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Understanding Pretty Links Nofollow: Why It's Not in Your HTML and How It Works

20 threads Sep 16, 2025

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If you're using the Pretty Links plugin to manage your affiliate links, you've likely encountered the 'nofollow' option. A common point of confusion arises when users check their site's HTML code and can't find the rel="nofollow" attribute on their Pretty Links, even though they've enabled the setting. This often leads to questions about whether the feature is broken, especially when third-party SEO browser extensions or tools don't recognize the links as nofollow.

This discrepancy is not a bug. It's a fundamental design choice in how the Pretty Links plugin operates. Understanding this difference is key to correctly using and troubleshooting the feature.

Why Your Pretty Link Nofollow Isn't in the HTML

Unlike some other plugins or manual link creation, the Pretty Links – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking, Marketing and Stripe Payments Plugin team designed their nofollow functionality to work at the server level, not in the page's HTML code.

When you insert a Pretty Link into a post or page, the HTML for that link is simple. It looks like a standard link to a page on your own site (e.g., https://yoursite.com/recommends/product). It does not contain the rel="nofollow" attribute because that is not where the nofollow instruction is applied.

Instead, the nofollow directive is sent as part of the HTTP header when someone clicks on that Pretty Link. When the click is processed by your server, the plugin intercepts the request and, before redirecting the user to the final destination URL, it includes a X-Robots-Tag: noindex, nofollow header. This header is a signal directly to search engine crawlers, telling them not to pass authority ("link juice") through that link.

How to Verify Nofollow is Working Correctly

Since the nofollow signal is in the HTTP header, you cannot verify it by simply viewing your page's source code. You need to use a tool that can analyze HTTP response headers.

  1. Find a Pretty Link on your site that has the nofollow option enabled.
  2. Use an HTTP header checker tool like web-sniffer.net.
  3. Enter your Pretty Link URL into the tool and submit the request.
  4. Review the results. In the section labeled "HTTP Headers," you should see a line that reads: 
    X-Robots-Tag: noindex, nofollow
    This confirms the nofollow instruction is being sent correctly.

Why Do SEO Tools and Browser Extensions Show It as 'Dofollow'?

Most popular SEO browser extensions (like the MozBar) and online link analyzers are designed to scan the HTML content of a page. They look for the rel="nofollow" attribute within the <a> tag. Because Pretty Links does not place the attribute there, these tools will not detect it and will report the link as a "dofollow."

This does not mean the feature is broken. It simply means the tool's analysis is limited to the HTML and does not account for the HTTP headers, which is where Pretty Links applies the rule. The general consensus from discussions in the support forums is that search engines like Google do recognize and respect these HTTP header signals.

Should You Manually Add rel="nofollow" to the HTML?

For most users, relying on the built-in HTTP header method is sufficient. However, if you require the rel="nofollow" attribute to be present in the HTML for compatibility with other systems or for absolute certainty, you can manually add it when inserting the link into your post editor. You would need to edit the link in the HTML view of the WordPress block editor and add rel="nofollow" to the anchor tag.

It's important to note that doing this is redundant, as the HTTP header will also be sent. There is no harm in having both methods active on a single link.

In summary, the absence of the rel="nofollow" tag in your HTML is expected behavior for the Pretty Links plugin. The functionality is working as designed, operating through HTTP headers instead of page-level HTML attributes. You can confidently use the plugin's nofollow setting, and verify its operation using HTTP header analysis tools.

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