{
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "id": "google-rel-sponsored-for-paid-links",
  "slug": "google-rel-sponsored-for-paid-links",
  "url": "https://groundedkit.com/claims/google-rel-sponsored-for-paid-links/",
  "api_url": "https://groundedkit.com/api/claims/google-rel-sponsored-for-paid-links.json",
  "claim": "Google asks sites to mark paid or advertising links with rel=\"sponsored\" (nofollow is still accepted)",
  "commonly_cited_as": "\"Do paid links need nofollow?\"",
  "verdict": "verified",
  "verdict_definition": "Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.",
  "confidence": "high",
  "rating": {
    "value": 5,
    "best": 5,
    "worst": 1
  },
  "origin": {
    "publisher": "Google Search Central",
    "title": "Qualify your outbound links to Google",
    "year": "Current documentation"
  },
  "quote": "Mark links that are advertisements or paid placements (commonly called paid links ) with the sponsored value.",
  "method": "Official Google documentation (current version read Oct. 17, 2026).",
  "drift": [
    "nofollow remains an acceptable alternative for paid links, per the same page"
  ],
  "interest": "Google operates Google Search and documents its own systems.",
  "safe_rephrasing": "Google asks that ads and paid placements be marked rel=\"sponsored\"; rel=\"nofollow\" is still accepted for them.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Google Search Central — Qualify outbound links",
      "url": "https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links",
      "primary": true
    }
  ],
  "kind": "reference_fact",
  "as_of": "Documentation read on 2026-10-17",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-17",
  "stale": false,
  "date_reviewed": "2026-10-17",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}