How to Check Backlinks for a Website

You want to check backlinks for a website without guesswork. Good. Backlinks still help search engines discover, understand, and rank pages. Google’s documentation is clear that links are part of how they evaluate content and that unnatural link patterns can hurt you. If you run a site that depends on organic traffic, you need a clean, consistent way to track and judge your link profile.

I will walk you through exactly how I check backlinks, what I look for, the red flags I fix fast, and how I turn this into steady growth. You can do this with free tools. You will move faster with pro tools. I will show both.

First, a quick reality check on links

Google’s spam policies call out link spam and unnatural link schemes. If you build links that try to manipulate PageRank or a site links to you in a way that violates policy, you are taking risk for little reward. Keep your profile clean and useful. Start by scanning these official pages:

• Google Search Central: Link spam policies
• Google Search Console: Links report
• Google Search Central: Qualify your outbound links

This matters because how you check backlinks should match how search engines treat links. You are not just counting links. You are evaluating trust, relevance, and patterns over time.

The toolkit I use to check backlinks

You can mix and match. I prefer starting with Google for ground truth, then adding a crawler index for deeper coverage.

• Google Search Console for verified, first-party data. Free. See top linking sites, top linked pages, and anchor text samples. Links report
• Ahrefs for the largest and most responsive third-party link index I have used. Great for new, lost, broken, and historical trends. ahrefs.com and Ahrefs Blog
• Semrush for domain comparisons, toxicity scoring, and link gap analysis. Solid for competitor checks. Semrush Blog
• Majestic for Trust Flow and topical categories. Useful for judging niche relevance. majestic.com
• Moz for quick Domain Authority checks and simple link snapshots. Moz Link Building hub

Each index sees different parts of the web. Use two to three sources if you can. Then de-duplicate and look for agreement.

How to check backlinks for a website: step-by-step

1) Start with Google Search Console

If you have access to the site, verify it in Search Console.

1. Open the property. Click Links in the left sidebar.
2. Export Top linking sites, Top linked pages, and Top linking text.
3. Scan for brand mentions, homepage heavy linking, and any odd anchors.

Quick checks I do on this export:

• Does one domain account for more than 10 percent of linking domains
• Do you see exact match anchors that look commercial
• Are a lot of links to image files or parameters that are not useful

Screenshots help here. I keep a simple “before” screenshot of the Links report as a baseline in client folders. It makes month-to-month changes easy to see.

2) Cross-check with an independent link index

Use Ahrefs, Semrush, or Majestic to get more coverage and change tracking.

1. Enter your domain in the tool.
2. Open the Backlinks and Referring Domains reports.
3. Filter by Dofollow only for a clean quality view, then switch back to All to see the full picture.
4. Export new and lost links for the last 90 days.

What I look for:

• Referring domains trend line. Flat is fine. Steady growth is better. Sharp spikes or drops need a reason.
• Anchor text spread. Brand, URL, generic, and topical anchors should dominate. Exact-match money anchors should be a small minority.
• Link type. Contextual in-content links beat sidebars, footers, and sitewide widgets.

3) Merge lists and remove duplicates

Export all datasets as CSV. Combine them into one sheet. De-duplicate by source URL. Keep columns for:

• Source URL and domain
• Target URL
• Anchor text
• First seen date and last seen date
• Link attribute (nofollow, sponsored, UGC, follow)
• Tool source and any metrics (DR, DA, Trust Flow)

This unified view is your single source of truth. It also keeps you from chasing the same links twice.

4) Segment by what matters

Simple segments make analysis faster:

• Homepage links vs deep page links
• Brand anchors vs non-brand anchors
• Follow vs nofollow vs sponsored vs UGC
• Contextual vs directory vs forum vs profile
• By topic category if you use Majestic topical data

5) Judge link quality with clear signals

I avoid guessing. I score links with a short checklist:

• Is the linking page indexed and receiving organic traffic
• Is the site real, with an About page and recent posts
• Is the link inside the main content and surrounded by relevant text
• Is the anchor text natural and non-spammy
• Does the domain have reasonable authority in your niche

Third-party authority metrics help with patterns, not absolutes. I use them to sort, not to decide. If a link looks fake, it usually is. Compare this with Google’s link policies to stay safe: Link spam policies.

6) Audit anchor text the right way

Anchor text distribution fails are common. Here is a simple target I use across many sites:

• Brand and URL anchors: 50 to 80 percent
• Generic anchors like “click here”: 5 to 20 percent
• Topical partial-match anchors: 10 to 30 percent
• Exact-match commercial anchors: under 5 percent

These are not rules. They are safety rails. If you see a heavy tilt to exact match anchors, you have a risk. Fix with more brand and topical links that look natural.

7) Find and fix toxic patterns

Red flags that I address right away:

• Hundreds of links from one low-quality domain
• Sitewide footer or sidebar links with money anchors
• Directories that list anything for a fee
• Link swaps at scale
• Hacked pages and injected anchors

I contact webmasters to remove or change anchors first. If there is clear link manipulation and I cannot get removals, I consider the Disavow tool for legacy issues. Google’s guidance is to use disavow only in limited cases. Read their page before you touch it: Disavow links to your site.

8) Monitor new and lost links

New quality links often correlate with ranking lifts. Lost links can explain dips. I track:

• New referring domains each month
• Lost referring domains each month
• Links that changed from follow to nofollow
• Broken pages that had links and now 404

Run monthly exports. Keep a simple chart. It pays for itself during audits and post-mortems.

9) Check competitor backlinks for gaps

This is where you find targets that already link to content like yours.

1. Pick three to five real competitors.
2. Use Ahrefs or Semrush to export their referring domains.
3. Subtract domains that already link to you. The remainder is your opportunity list.
4. Sort by relevance and authority, not just authority.

Now you have a vetted outreach list shaped by proof. Backlinks that exist for competitors can exist for you if your content deserves it.

10) Turn findings into actions

Here is my simple weekly rhythm:

• Reclaim: Fix 404s with backlinks. Redirect to the closest match.
• Refresh: Upgrade top linkable assets that already attract links. Add new data, examples, or visuals.
• Replace: Find outdated resources that linkers rely on. Publish a stronger, current version and pitch it.
• Reach out: Use your competitor gap list. Personalize 10 emails per day. Stay consistent.

For outreach process help and link building education, these hubs are useful:

• Backlinko
• Search Engine Journal

What a “good” backlink profile looks like

There is no perfect number. I use these practical targets for most sites:

• Steady gain in referring domains each quarter
• Most links coming from unique domains, not sitewide repeats
• Brand-led anchor text, with topical partial matches supporting priority pages
• Contextual placements on real sites in your niche
• Healthy mix of follow and nofollow. Remember that nofollow is a hint and can help with discovery and referral traffic

Keep it natural. Links should make sense to a real reader, not just an algorithm.

Common questions I get

How often should I check backlinks

Monthly for most sites. Weekly if you run active campaigns or if you are in a competitive niche with fast changes.

Do nofollow links help

They can. Google treats nofollow as a hint. They also bring referral traffic and social proof. You want a natural mix. See Google’s guidance on link attributes here: Qualify outbound links.

Should I disavow

Only if you have a manual action risk or a known history of paid or manipulative links you cannot remove. Read Google’s disavow page first. If you are not sure, do nothing and focus on earning better links.

Is Domain Authority or Domain Rating a ranking factor

No. These are third-party metrics. Helpful for sorting, not used by Google. Use them as a proxy, not a target.

Reporting that keeps you honest

Keep a simple, repeatable report. One page is enough:

• Total referring domains and month-over-month change
• New vs lost referring domains with top wins and losses
• Anchor text spread for the month
• Top 10 links acquired with why they linked
• Broken pages with links and fixes applied

Add screenshots from Search Console and your main link index. Make it visual. I include one chart for link growth and one for anchor spread. That is it.

Where this gets heavy and how to make it easier

If you manage more than one site, the admin work grows fast. Exporting, cleaning, de-duplicating, tracking lost links, and watching anchors across many projects eats hours you could spend on content or outreach.

That is why I recommend Rankifyer to handle the busywork and surface what matters. Rankifyer pulls your link data together, tracks gains and losses, tags anchors, and flags risky trends.

I know recommending ourselves is bold, but here’s why.

• You see one clean link ledger that merges Google and third-party indexes.
• You get alerts for lost links and anchor shifts before they become a problem.
• You can tag links by campaign and measure which pages and pitches win the most links.
• You spend less time in spreadsheets and more time shipping assets that earn links.

Use whatever stack you prefer. If you want a simple place to run this process without juggling five exports, give Rankifyer a look.

A quick checklist you can copy

1. Verify your site in Google Search Console and export Links.
2. Pull backlinks and referring domains from one to two crawler tools.
3. Merge into one sheet. De-duplicate by source URL and domain.
4. Segment by anchor type, link attribute, link placement, and page type.
5. Score quality. Remove or fix links that look manipulative.
6. Fix 404s with links. Redirect to the closest relevant page.
7. Update your top linkable assets. Add new data and visuals.
8. Run a competitor link gap. Build a focused outreach list.
9. Send 10 personalized pitches per weekday. Track replies and wins.
10. Report monthly with new vs lost domains, anchor spread, and top wins.

Final notes on mindset

Checking backlinks is not about hitting a number. It is about proving that real sites find your content worth referencing. That means your content has to carry its weight. Each month ask two things:

• What did we publish that deserved links
• Who did we help with that content

If you publish useful work and stay consistent on outreach, your link profile will look healthier each quarter. Combine that with smart internal linking and technical basics, and you will see search improve.

Further learning

• Ahrefs Blog for in-depth link research and case studies
• Semrush Blog for competitor research and link building ideas
• Moz Link Building hub for foundations and frameworks
• Google Search Central Blog for official updates

YouTube: see it in action

If you prefer to watch the workflow, check out the video below. I walk through live exports, how I spot link gaps, and how I set up a simple monthly report. It pairs well with the steps above.