How do I mark links in comments with rel=ugc?

Definition: The ugc value of the HTML rel attribute identifies a link in user-generated content, such as a comment or forum post. As of 17 October 2026, Google recommends this value for those links.

Key facts

• Google's outbound link qualification documentation recommends ugc for comment and forum links, with an exception for consistently trustworthy contributors.
• Google's link best practices also accept nofollow for links inserted by users, including links on forums and question-and-answer sites.
• Google's spam prevention guidance recommends manual approval for suspicious user interactions to reduce spam before publication.

Where does rel=ugc go?

The rel attribute goes on the individual <a> element that contains the link. Google's qualification documentation gives this example:

<a rel="ugc" href="https://cheese.example.com/Appenzeller_cheese">Appenzeller</a>

The same documentation allows multiple relationship values separated by spaces or commas. Its combined example includes both ugc and nofollow:

<p>I love <a rel="ugc nofollow" href="https://cheese.example.com/Appenzeller_cheese">Appenzeller</a> cheese.</p>

Google's link best practices explain that a crawlable link generally requires an <a> element with an href attribute. Links inserted dynamically with JavaScript are also crawlable when they use that markup. Google cannot reliably extract URLs from an anchor without href, or from other elements that act as links through script events.

When can the attribute be removed or changed?

Google's qualification documentation allows site owners to remove ugc from links posted by users who consistently make high quality contributions over time. The exception concerns a contributor's established record.

For advertisements and paid placements, the same documentation prefers sponsored; nofollow remains acceptable. Its rule for multiple values also permits a link's user-submitted origin and paid relationship to be represented together, for example with rel="ugc sponsored".

Google's spam prevention guidance recommends adding nofollow or ugc to all links in untrusted content. It describes user reputation systems informed by signup and interaction signals, including form completion time and requests from the same IP address range.

What moderation accompanies link qualification?

Google's spam prevention guidance recommends publishing an abuse policy and allowing trusted users to report suspected spam. Manual approval can prevent suspicious submissions from appearing immediately, although moderation adds work.

The same guidance suggests considering a noindex robots meta tag for posts from new users without an established reputation, then allowing indexing when the user gains reputation. Here, noindex is a page indexing control; the link relationship values appear on individual links.

Related terms

• nofollow
• noindex
• How do I mark paid links with rel=sponsored?

FAQ

Can I keep nofollow on comment links?

Yes. Google's link best practices accept either ugc or nofollow for user-inserted links, including forum links.

Does ugc prevent the destination page from appearing in Google?

Google's qualification documentation says qualified links generally are not followed, but Google can still crawl their destinations through other links or sitemaps. To prevent indexing of a page you control, the same documentation specifies allowing crawling and applying noindex.

Sources

1. Google Search Central, "Qualify your outbound links to Google", 10 December 2025
2. Google Search Central, "Link best practices for Google", 10 December 2025
3. Google Search Central, "Prevent user-generated spam on your site and platform", 10 December 2025

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