A rel attribute can describe how your site relates to a linked destination. Start with why the link exists: an editorial reference, a paid placement or a contribution from a user. This guide is a markup review method, not a link acquisition offer.
Sample editorial articles, affiliate modules, sponsored placements and community comments separately. For each anchor, record the source page, destination, visible text, current rel value and relationship owner. This creates a reviewable input for a template change rather than a sitewide guess based on the destination domain.
Google recommends sponsored for advertisements and paid placements. Nofollow remains an accepted alternative for those links, although sponsored is preferred. An attribute does not disclose commercial terms to a reader on its own; visible disclosure and editorial review are separate decisions for the site owner.
Google recommends ugc for links in user-generated material such as forum posts and comments. Treat the contribution workflow as the source of the decision. A moderator-published reference and an unreviewed visitor submission may use different rules even when both point to the same external site.
A normal editorial link does not require one of these qualifying values just because it leads off-site. Nofollow is available when other relationship values do not apply and you prefer not to associate with the destination. Multiple rel values can coexist. Do not use relationship attributes as a substitute for removing an unsafe link.
A rich-text editor may save one value while a renderer or plugin emits another. Compare the stored link, initial HTML and final anchor. Test an editorial reference, a paid module and a user comment before approving a global template update. Keep opener security attributes separate from search relationship decisions.
At handoff, attach representative URLs and the policy that explains each category. Revisit the markup when a placement becomes sponsored or a contribution is promoted into staff-authored content. Completion means the agreed links carry the intended attributes; it does not establish a ranking gain or a particular treatment by a search engine.
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