3 Ways to add rel=”sponsored” to affiliate links as Google Wants

Do you want to add sponsored attribute automatically for all existing affiliate links on your WordPress website as Google said?

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Now let’s go through this article, to learn how to add rel=”sponsored” for a particular affiliate link when you create on your WordPress site. Further, you can also learn how to add rel=”sponsored” automatically for all existing affiliate links on your WordPress site.

• Most recommended guide: RankMath SEO Vs Yoast SEO: In depth comparison

What is an affiliate link?

An affiliate link is a unique URL attributed to a particular affiliate.

An affiliate link consists of the affiliate’s ID or username.

Advertisers usually use affiliate links in the affiliate program, to register the traffic which is forwarded to the advertiser’s website.

Affiliate agreements usually state that an affiliate is responsible to arrange its own affiliate link and make sure that it connects to the advertiser’s website.

What are Google’s new attributes to identify the nature of the links?

In 2005, nofollow attribute was introduced for aiding fight comment spam. Later, it quickly became one of the great ways as recommended by Google for flagging advertising or sponsored-related links. Then Google would not include Nofollow links attributes as hints for ranking purposes.

But this has changed now. On September 10, 2019, Google has introduced two new attributes sponsored and ugc. And Google uses these two new attributes along with the nofollow as hints to incorporate for ranking purposes.

Further, the two new link attributes provide additional ways for webmasters to identify the nature of particular links to Google Search.

rel=”sponsored”:

You can use this attribute value on your website for paid links that are related to advertisements, sponsorships, and other compensation agreements.

rel=”ugc”:

UGC stands for User Generated Content.

You can use this ‘ugc’ attribute value for links within user-generated content like comments and forum posts.

Why should I bother using any of these new attributes?

Previously, when nofollow was introduced in 2005, Google would not include the nofollow links for ranking purposes.

But this has changed now. On September 10, 2019, Google introduced the two new attributes rel=”sponsored” and rel=”ugc”.

And Google uses all the link attributes along with the other signals as hints to incorporate for ranking purposes. And for better processing the links for analysis of the web.

Further, these attributes are additional ways for you to tell Google about your relationship with the links that you use on your website.

That can include your own content if someone who links to you makes use of these two attributes.

When do these attributes and changes go into effect?

All the link attributes — sponsored, ugc, and nofollow — start working from September 10, 2019.

And Google uses all these link attributes as hints to incorporate for ranking purposes.

Further, from March 1, 2020, onwards, Google treats nofollow link attribute as a hint for crawling and indexing purposes, rather than a directive.

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Methods to add sponsored attribute to affiliate links

Previously, when nofollow was introduced in 2005, Google would not include the nofollow links for ranking purposes and count any link marked this way as a signal to use within its search algorithms. But this has changed now. On September 10, 2019, Google introduced the two new attributes sponsored and ugc. And Google uses all three link attributes along with the nofollow as hints to incorporate for ranking purposes.

Previously, you have used nofollow attribute for ads or sponsored-related links. But according to Google’s Statement on September 10, 2019, you have to use rel=”sponsored” for all advertisements or sponsored-related links on your WordPress site. So, now see methods to add rel=”sponsored” attribute for all ads, sponsored-related, and other compensation agreements on your WordPress site.

1. How to add rel=”sponsored” attribute to a single affiliate link in WordPress Gutenberg

• If you are using Gutenberg editor for your WordPress post & page editors, then you can easily add rel=”sponsored” by using Ran Math plugin.
• First, install and activate the Rank Math free plugin on your WordPress site.
• To install it, go to your WordPress site admin dashboard >> Plugins >> Add New.
• Next, search for Rank Math. Then install and activate this plugin.
• Next, go to your WordPress site admin dashboard >> Post & Page Builder >> Settings. Then select WordPress and Custom Post Types as WordPress Editor (Gutenburg).
• Now let’s follow the below steps to add rel=”sponsored” attribute in various posts of your WordPress site.

Step1: Go to your WordPress site admin dashboard >> Posts >> Add New.
Step2: Next, on this page, complete writing and select some text, and then click the Anchor/ Add Link icon.

Step3: Next, you can view a text field just below the selected text.

Step4: Next, directly paste or type your desired URL link in the box.

Step5: Next, click on the Link settings (down arrow) button. Then you can view three toggle buttons.

• Open in New Tab.
  • Opens your external link in the new tab.
• Nofollow.
  • Adds rel=”nofollow” attribute to your external link.
• Sponsored.
  • Adds rel=”sponsored” attribute to your external link.

Step6: Next, click on Sponsored toggle buttons. And then on the Apply or Enter Icon. Then your desired affiliated link adds to the text that you have selected so far. Here, it is recommended to click on Open in New Tab, because whenever someone clicks your link, then it opens in a new tab. And this way reduces the bounce rate and keeps your visitors from leaving your website. But for time being and to explain the present concept clearly, here we have clicked on the Sponsored toggle button and not on Open in New Tab toggle button.

Step7: Next, rel=”sponsored” attribute is added to your desired affiliated link. And whenever someone clicks this link then your desired affiliated link opens in the same tab.
Step8: Now to check whether rel=”sponsored” attribute is added to your desired external link, do the following:

• Click on the More options (Three Vertical Dots) button present at the top bar.
• Next, click on the Edit as HTML.

Step9: Next, you can view the HTML code of your recently added link.

In the HTML code, you can view the rel=”sponsored” attribute for your link.
Step10: Next, again click on the More options (Three Vertical Dots) button present at the top bar. And then on Edit visually.

That’s It! You have now added rel=”sponsored” attribute for your desired link in your WordPress post or page by using Rank Math plugin and Gutenberg editor.

In a similar way, you can add rel=”sponsored” for your links in various posts of WordPress site pages.

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2. How to Add rel=”sponsored” to a single affiliate link in WordPress Classic Editor

• Though the new version of WordPress Editor is available, some users still use WordPress Classic Editor for writing their posts.
• If you also use WordPress Classic Editor, then you can add rel=”sponsored” attribute for any link in your posts or pages by using the WP Better SEO Links plugin.
• Now, go to your WordPress site admin dashboard >> Plugins >> Add New.
• Next, search for WP Better SEO Links. Then install and activate this plugin.
• Now let’s go through the following steps to add rel=”sponsored” attribute in various posts of your WordPress site using WP Better SEO Links plugin.

Step1: Go to your WordPress site admin dashboard >> Posts >> Add New.
Step2: Next, on this page, complete writing and select some text, and then click the Insert/edit link icon.

Step3: Next, click on the Links options/ Gear icon.

Step4: Next, you can view the following:

• URL field:
  • Type URL in this field.
• Link Text
• Open link in a new tab
  • Opens the link in a new tab.
• Add rel=”nofollow” to link
• Add rel=”sponsored” to link
• Add rel=”ugc” to link

Step5: Next, type in URL of the external link in the URL field. And click the checkbox of Add rel=’sponsored” to link

Step6: Next, click on the Add Link button. Then your desired external link adds to the text that you have selected so far.
Step7: Now to check whether rel=”sponsored” attribute is added to your desired external link, click on the Text present on the top right bar.
Step8: Next, you can view the HTML code of your recently added link.

In the HTML code, you can view the rel=”sponsored” attribute for your link.

Step9: Next, click on the Visual present at the top right bar. Then you can view the text visually or normally.

That’s It! You have now added rel=”sponsored” attribute for your desired link in your WordPress post or page by using WP Better SEO Links plugin and Classic editor.

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3. How to Automatically add sponsored attribute For All Affiliate Links Using ThirstyAffiliates

Video Tutorial:

For the reader’s convenience, we always create a video tutorial. Either you can watch and learn or simply skip the video and continue with the steps mentioned afterward.

If you have a large website and have tons of affiliate links, Adding an attribute to every link is not possible. So you need to add the sponsored attribute automatically to all existing links.

For that, you need to use the ThirstyAffiliates plugin which is the best affiliate plugin for WordPress. The affiliate clock plugin is one of the most essential plugins to use on all WordPress websites. We are using it for some years. We feel like every affiliate marketer must use this plugin on their WordPress website.

It gives many features like affiliate link click tracking, auto-linking, geo-target, etc., It has free and Pro versions. You can read our Thirstyaffiliates review for complete details. You need to use the pro version to add rel=’sponsored’ attribute to all affiliate links.

That’s it! You have now learned how to use ThirstyAffiliates plugin to automatically add rel=”sponsored” for all ads or sponsored-related links on your WordPress site.

Offer: First-time customer will get $50 discount on all ThirstyAffiliates plans through this pricing page.

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What are the attributes you should use to qualify your outbound links to Google? (Bonus)

According to Google’s Statement on September 10, 2019, it uses all link attributes — sponsored, ugc, and nofollow — as hints to incorporate for ranking purposes. Further, you can use these attributes, to tell Google about your relationship with all the links on your website except for regular links. To use these attributes, you have to add rel attribute value in the <a> tag.

However, for regular links, which you might want Google to follow without any qualifications, you don’t need to use any rel attribute. For example: Our children holiday spot is the “<a href=”https://animals.example.com/Zoo”>zoo</a>”

For all other links, you should use any one of the following rel attribute value.

rel Value	Description
rel=”sponsored”	You can use this attribute value on your website for paid links that are related to advertisements, sponsorships, and other compensation agreements.
rel=”ugc”	UGC stands for User Generated Content. You can use this ‘ugc’ attribute value for links within user-generated content like comments and forum posts.
rel=”nofollow”	You can use this attribute when other values won’t apply. And when you don’t want Google to crawl the linked page from your site.
Multiple Values	You can also use multiple rel values on a single link each separated by a space or comma. For example: 1. <a href=”https://www.amazon.com/” rel=”nofollow sponsored“>Amazon</a></p> 2. <a href=”https://www.amazon.com/” rel=”nofollow, sponsored“>Amazon</a></p>

Therefore, a rel attribute value aids Google to identify the type of links present on your website. And Google uses all rel attributes as hints to incorporate for ranking purposes.

Final Thoughts On Methods To add rel=”sponsored” To Affiliate Links As Google Wants

You can now add rel=”sponsored” link attribute for all advertisements or sponsored-related affiliated links on your WordPress website by using ThirstyAffiliates plugin. And according to Google, everyone must do this, now or then, when it is convenient. So, soon change over to rel=”sponsored” instead of rel=”nofollow” for all advertisements or sponsored-related affiliated links on your WordPress site by using ThirstyAffiliates.

At last, you must say thanks to ThirstyAffiliates, because this is a great and easy way for you to automatically add rel=”sponsored” link attribute for all advertisements or sponsored-related links on your WordPress site.

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• What are Follow and Nofollow links? Do Nofollow Links Help SEO?

I believe that this article can definitely aid you to learn how to easily and automatically add sponsored attribute for all ads or sponsored-related affiliated links on your WordPress site using the ThirstyAffiliates plugin. If you like this article, do a favor by sharing this article and follow BlogVwant on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube.

Add sponsored attribute – FAQs