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Magdalena Szypulska
Quick answers
How many links should you include in a sponsored article?
Google doesn't set a rule for the number of paid links in an article. As an editorial rule of thumb, one or two links to the advertiser works for a typical sponsored piece. Paid links should use rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" under Google's guidelines.
What attributes should paid links use?
Paid links should use rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" under Google's guidelines.
Does every link need to be dofollow?
No. Use the attribute that matches the type of link instead of trying to hit a specific ratio.
Table of contents
- Dofollow vs. sponsored: what's the difference?
- How many links should you use in a sponsored article?
- Which link attributes to use
- Picking anchor text
- Common mistakes in sponsored articles
- What matters when choosing a sponsored placement
- Where to find sponsored article placements
Dofollow vs. sponsored: what's the difference?
"Dofollow" isn't a real HTML attribute. It's just the term people use for a plain link with nothing in the rel field — no nofollow, sponsored, or ugc. That plain link can pass ranking signals, which is why advertisers and SEOs often ask publishers to run their sponsored placement as a regular link instead of a marked one.
Google recommends using rel="sponsored" for links that are part of ads or paid placements, even if the advertiser or publisher would prefer a plain link.
Leaving out that tag goes against Google's link scheme guidelines.
Why paid links should not be left unqualified
Paid links without the appropriate rel attribute can be a sign of manipulative link building.
Use the attribute that matches the type of link: a plain link when a publisher is linking to a source they independently recommend, sponsored when money changed hands, nofollow when none of the other values apply and the publisher doesn't want Google to associate the site with the destination, ugc when a user posted the link.
How many links should you use in a sponsored article?
There is no fixed number of links or words that guarantees better rankings, and Google doesn't set a rule for how many links a sponsored article should contain. What matters is whether each link is useful to the reader and fits naturally into the content.
Too many links pointing to the same promoted page can make the article look spammy. As a house guideline, one or two advertiser links per article is a reasonable starting point — not a rule, just a way to keep the placement from looking like it was built around the links instead of the story.
Reviewing your links and content over time helps you find links that now point to dead, low-quality, or outdated pages and replace them, rather than only thinking about links on publication day.
How to split up your links
Links in a sponsored article usually fall into three categories:
- Links to the advertiser: one or two, pointing to the most relevant page on the advertiser's site. This is a house guideline, not a Google rule — the right number depends on how long and how detailed the piece is, and whether each link provides useful information for the reader. A third link can work in a longer, more detailed piece if it fits.
- Links to outside sources: add these when they genuinely help the reader — a study, an official document, a relevant page. Choose these links based on what is useful to the reader, rather than trying to make the article appear more authoritative to Google.
- Internal links: tying a sponsored article to related articles already on the publisher's site is standard practice, the same as it would be for any other article.
Can you link to more than one site?
Yes, when those other sites provide something useful. An article that only links to the advertiser's site can feel more like an advertisement than an editorial piece. Add links when they provide useful information, rather than simply to create variety.
Local newspapers and industry publications can also be useful sources. If the topic is tied to a specific city, region, or industry, a link to a local or trade outlet can be more useful to the reader than a link to a large general-interest site — and it can be more valuable for a business that only serves that area.
If a link doesn't help the reader, there's no reason to add it. That includes competitors: link to one if a comparison calls for it, skip it otherwise.
Which link attributes to use
Link attributes are markup that tells search engines how to treat a link. Google's treatment of these attributes has changed over time.
- Plain link ("dofollow"): no rel value at all. Google says ordinary links don't need any markup. Use one when a publisher or writer is linking to a source they independently recommend.
- Sponsored: for ads and paid placements. Google recommends rel="sponsored" for paid links; rel="nofollow" is also acceptable. Either one, but not a plain link with nothing in the rel field.
- UGC: Google's recommendation for links inside user content, such as comments and forum posts.
- Nofollow: use it when none of the other values apply and you don't want Google to associate your site with the linked page.
How nofollow actually works
Nofollow was originally treated as a directive not to follow the link or pass ranking credit through it. Since 2019, Google has treated nofollow, sponsored, and ugc as hints rather than absolute directives — it may still use information from these links when deciding how to crawl and rank content.
That does not mean these links are treated the same as ordinary editorial links. They are still intended to disclose the relationship honestly and keep the site within Google's guidelines.
What nofollow and sponsored links are actually worth
Google treats these attributes as hints rather than directives, so a nofollow or sponsored link may still be considered by its ranking systems. There's no guarantee either way, and no official source promises a specific ranking effect from either tag.
What these placements can reliably do is put your brand in front of readers, independent of how Google treats the link:
- Traffic: people click it and land on your site.
- Brand exposure: your name shows up in front of an audience that wasn't looking for you.
- Secondary exposure: readers who discover the article may later reference or share it elsewhere.
A sponsored link on a busy site, in an article that fits the audience, can bring in more visitors and leads than a plain link on a page few people visit. The publishing site matters as much as the attribute — arguably more if your goal is traffic and exposure, since those benefits don't depend on how Google treats the tag.
Can sponsored content trigger a site reputation abuse action?
Publishing content someone else wrote isn't a violation by itself.
The site reputation policy applies when third-party content is published on a site mainly because of that site's already-established ranking signals, with the goal of ranking better than the content could on its own.
Google is explicit that having third-party content isn't inconsistent with the policy on its own. Advertorial and native advertising content is specifically listed as fine, as long as the point is to reach readers directly rather than to borrow the host site's ranking signals. A properly disclosed, on-topic sponsored article is a different thing entirely from the pattern this policy targets.
For example, a local news site might let an outside marketing firm publish a block of "best personal injury lawyers" or "best moving companies" content under the paper's own domain, mainly to use the site's search rankings. That's the kind of practice the policy is designed to address.
Google updated how this policy is enforced at the end of August 2026. Outside the European Economic Area, a violation can still lead to a manual action that directly affects how the relevant pages rank. Within the EEA, affected pages aren't subject to that manual action — instead, Google may rank them separately from the rest of the domain, on their own merits.
Picking anchor text
Anchor text — the part someone actually clicks — should tell the reader what's on the other end of the link.
In sponsored articles, avoid cramming anchor text with exact-match keywords, as this can make the link look like an attempt to manipulate rankings.
More natural options include:
- Brand names: "according to Acme Corp," "in Acme's lineup."
- Partial matches: "you can read more about safe hiking trails here," "check out the family vacation deals."
- The URL itself: https://www.example.com.
Avoid repeating the same exact-match anchor across multiple sponsored placements. Using varied, natural anchor text makes the links look less deliberately optimized.
Common mistakes in sponsored articles
- Too many links to your own site: can make the article look overly promotional and raise concerns about manipulation.
- No rel="sponsored" or "nofollow": paid links that are not properly qualified can violate Google's spam policies and may lead to manual action, regardless of how small the placement is.
- Publishing on weak or unrelated sites: check the site's quality, subject matter, traffic, and track record with sponsored content before you commit.
- Forced anchor text: linking to competitors without a clear editorial reason can make the article feel unnatural.
- Weak content: a sponsored article still has to be worth reading. Thin content is unlikely to deliver much value to readers or justify the cost of the placement.
What matters when choosing a sponsored placement
Link attributes are only part of the picture. A few other factors decide whether a sponsored placement is actually worth running:
- Topical relevance: the site's usual subject matter should have something to do with what you're promoting. A random placement on an unrelated site is easy to spot as pure advertising.
- Quality of the publishing site: traffic, domain history, and how the site has handled sponsored content in the past all affect whether the placement is worth the cost.
- A real audience: a site with genuine, engaged readers is worth more than one that mainly exists to sell placements.
- Placement and context: where the article sits on the site, and how well it fits alongside the site's other content, affects both how readers see it and how Google evaluates it.
- The right link attribute: sponsored where money changed hands, plain where it's an editorial choice, nofollow or ugc where they apply.
- Article value: the article should be worth reading on its own, not just serve as a vehicle for a link.
Where to find sponsored article placements
Once you've decided to use sponsored placements, focus on publishers and platforms that give you control over relevance, placement, and link attributes.
Ads4Media gives you access to thousands of outlets, with options to filter by topic and check metrics such as Ahrefs Domain Rating and Majestic Trust Flow before you buy. Links placed through the platform can be tagged sponsored or nofollow, depending on what you agree with the publisher.
