UGC link attribute
rel="ugc" marks a link as user-generated content, like a link in a comment or forum post, so search engines treat it with care.
The UGC link attribute, written rel="ugc", marks a link as user-generated content: a link someone other than the site owner added, in a comment, a forum post, a review or a profile. It tells search engines that the site isn't vouching for the link. Google introduced it in 2019 alongside rel="sponsored" for paid links, and explains both in its guide to qualifying outbound links.
For a marketer, it matters in two ways. If you run a forum or allow comments, you should use it. And if you're hoping links from forums and comments will lift your rankings, they mostly won't.
How to use it
Add it to links your visitors can post:
<a href="https://example.com" rel="ugc">their link</a>You can combine it with nofollow, as rel="ugc nofollow". Most forum and blog software adds one or both on its own. Google treats these as hints, so it may still follow the link to find a page, but it won't count the link as your recommendation.
For example, Fernhill Coffee runs a brewing forum on its site. Marking member links as UGC protects Fernhill if a spammer posts links to a dodgy site, since Google won't read them as Fernhill vouching for it.
Forums in AI search
The links may not count for much in Google, but the words in forum threads count for a lot in AI search. AI platforms often read Reddit threads and community forums when people ask for honest recommendations, and they repeat what members say there. A thread where real customers recommend you can do more for an AI answer than any link in it.
In AnswerOrbit
Sources groups the pages the answers use by type, including community and social sites. Recommendations can suggest you answer a forum thread that the platforms read, and we never recommend posts that hide who you are. See Recommendations.