The sponsored link attribute (rel=”sponsored”) is an HTML tag used to identify links that were created as part of paid advertising, sponsorships, or other compensated arrangements, distinguishing them from genuine, editorially earned backlinks.
Google introduced this attribute to give site owners a more precise way to label paid or sponsored links, replacing the previous practice of using a generic nofollow attribute for all non-editorial link types.
Properly labeling sponsored content with this attribute helps maintain transparency and compliance with Google’s guidelines around paid links, reducing the risk of a manual action related to unnatural link schemes.
Proper link attribute usage is reviewed as part of our Link Building service.