Lift Your SEO By Checking Your SEO Backlinks Properly
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Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- A backlink is a link from another website to yours, and checking backlinks means tracking the status and quality of those links, which shape how much authority Google gives your site.
- There are three ways to check them: Google Search Console at no cost, a no-cost backlink checker such as Ubersuggest’s, or a paid tool such as Ahrefs, Semrush or SE Ranking for full reports.
- Checking competitor backlinks reveals where rivals earn links, which is the fastest route to new link-building targets.
- Judge each link on relevance, domain authority, organic visits and toxicity score, then remove or disavow the risky ones.
- The check is only the start: the data should feed content that earns links, plus content marketing and PR to promote it.
A backlink is a core part of doing SEO, adding credibility and building authority for a website. Knowing how to check backlinks matters because it lets you track the status of the external links pointing at your site and catch risky or broken links before they harm your SEO.
This article introduces the tools used to check SEO backlinks, both the ones available at no cost and the ones that need a subscription, so your website’s SEO improves. Read on.
What Is A Backlink, And Why Keep Checking?
A backlink is a link from another website that points to yours. It works like an endorsement of your website’s credibility. From Google’s point of view, quality backlinks from trustworthy sources tell Google that your website is a reliable source too.
Backlinks are no longer the top ranking factor, but they still weigh heavily in building a website’s authority and trustworthiness. Checking backlinks regularly shows the state of the links you have, finds broken links and spam links that could hurt the site, and points to outreach opportunities for building new, quality backlinks over time.
How To Check Backlinks, 3 Easy Routes
Checking backlinks breaks down into three main routes.
Through Google Search Console
Google Search Console is Google’s own tool, available at no cost, for seeing which links point at your website and finding information on broken ones.
Through A Tool At No Cost
Beyond Search Console, no-cost tools such as Neil Patel’s backlink checker in Ubersuggest can also report the links pointing at your website, and they suit general users well.
Through A Paid Tool
If you run a technical SEO team, subscription tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush or SE Ranking are the better fit, with features that check backlinks in detail and produce complete reports.
How To Check Backlinks In Google Search Console
Checking backlinks through Google Search Console is simple for anyone who already has a website. Follow these steps.
- Verify the website in Google Search Console. Before you can see the site’s link data, add the website to your Search Console account and verify that you own it.
- Go to the “Links” menu. Once verified, open “Links” in the left-hand menu of Search Console to reach the link data.
- Read the link data. The “Links” report shows several sections that make checking and analysing the website’s backlinks easy:
- External links: the number of links pointing at your website from other sites.
- Top linking sites: the websites that link to yours most often.
- Top linked pages: the pages on your site that receive the most external links.
- Anchor text: the words used as anchor text, which show the context and meaning of the links pointing at your site.
How To Read The Backlink Report In Google Search Console
Reading the Search Console report properly matters for SEO, especially for tracking the backlinks that point at your website.
Start by understanding the link types in the report: internal links and external links (backlinks). External links affect SEO directly and build the site’s credibility. Search Console lets you track the important details, such as whether a link from an outside site is good quality and which words form its anchor text, which gives a clear picture of the links pointing at your site.
To make the backlink analysis easier, export the report as a spreadsheet and group the data by type: the domains giving backlinks, the anchor text used and the link type (dofollow or nofollow). That makes it easier to analyse and select quality backlinks, deal with poor or potentially spammy ones, and improve the website’s SEO.
How To Check Backlinks With A Tool At No Cost
- Choose the tool, such as Neil Patel’s backlink checker.
- Enter the URL of the website to check. Enter the URL in the box and the tool pulls the backlink profile for that website.
- Read the key figures in the report. The tool returns the essentials:
- Backlinks: the number of links pointing at the website.
- Referring domains: the number of domains linking to it.
- Anchor text: the words used as the link anchor.
- Dofollow or nofollow: the link type.
- Spam or toxic score: a score indicating how much risk a link poses to the website’s SEO.
Why No-Cost Tools Suit Beginners
No-cost tools suit people starting out in SEO because they are simple and need no software installed. Enter a URL and the backlink profile appears at once, which makes it easy to check the quality of the backlinks a site receives and to plan link building or adjust the SEO approach with more confidence.
How To Check Your Own Backlinks In Detail With SEO Tools
For deeper backlink data, paid SEO tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush or SE Ranking report the number of backlinks, referring domains, Domain Rating (DR), toxicity and anchor text in detail.
The Main Features You Get From An SEO Tool
- Backlink count. Paid SEO tools give accurate figures for the backlinks your website receives from other sites, which shows the overall shape of its external links.
- Referring domains. The number of domains linking to your site, an important measure of how varied the sources of your backlinks are.
- Domain Rating (DR). Measuring DR shows the quality of the sites linking in. The higher the DR, the more it adds to the website’s credibility in Google’s eyes.
- Toxicity. Toxicity scoring identifies risky backlinks that could earn a Google penalty. The tools calculate which links are a problem.
- Anchor text. Anchor text analysis shows which words linking sites use. Varied, natural anchor text helps the website score well in SEO.
- Backlink monitoring. Alerts when a new backlink appears or an existing one disappears, ideal for anyone building links seriously who wants to track results continuously.
Checking Backlinks In Google Directly
Beyond the three routes above, there was once a quicker method: typing “link:yourdomain.com” into Google’s search box to see the backlinks Google had recorded. Google retired that operator in 2017, and it now returns only a small, filtered sample or nothing at all, so treat it as history rather than a working method.
What still works is a search for brand mentions. If you want to see where your brand is discussed online, even without a link, search for “brand name” -site:yourdomain.com. That surfaces mentions on other channels where the writer did not link to your website, a fast way to find articles and content about the brand online.
How To Check Competitor Backlinks For A Map Of Link Opportunities
Checking competitor backlinks shows where your rivals get their links from, which gives useful input for planning link building, such as guest posts, web directories or related blogs.
The tools suited to checking competitor backlinks are Ahrefs, Semrush and Ubersuggest. They show which websites link to a competitor, and which of those sites you should build links from too.
Checking Competitor Backlinks Step By Step
Start by choosing a relevant competitor. Then use a backlink checker such as Ahrefs or Semrush to pull the competitor’s backlinks and referring domains. Run the backlink analysis, filter for quality links and look for new link opportunities to reach out to.
Using an in-depth SEO tool this way shows both the good links and the bad ones, and makes link-building plans more effective.
How To Tell A Good Backlink From A Bad One
Judging backlink quality is essential in SEO, because good links can lift rankings in Google’s results while poor or broken ones can earn a Google penalty that sends rankings down fast.
Assess backlinks on these factors.
- Content relevance. Links from websites in a related field or industry add far more credibility. A healthcare website earning a link from a medical site is a good link.
- Domain authority. Links from websites with high Domain Authority (DA) or Page Authority (PA) count as quality links. Examples of high-authority sites include university websites, well-known news organisations and sites that rank highly in Google’s results.
- Organic visits. Links from websites with real visitors and strong organic search visits count as quality links, because those visits show the site is trusted and engaged with.
- Toxicity or spam score. Use an SEO tool such as Ahrefs, Semrush or SEO SpyGlass to check a link’s toxicity or spam score. A high score marks a bad link that could harm your website.
Checking backlink quality regularly lets you filter out the bad links and build new quality ones, which improves the website’s SEO and its ranking in Google’s results.
How To Handle Low-Quality And Spam Backlinks
Dealing with bad or spammy backlinks is an important part of SEO. Contact the site owner to ask for the link to be removed, or use Google’s Disavow tool to tell Google those links should not count towards your website.
Handling unhelpful backlinks regularly keeps the website clear of damage from unsuitable links and keeps its SEO performing.
What To Do After The Check So SEO Really Grows
After checking backlinks, the next step is to put the data to work so the website’s SEO keeps growing. Checking links is only the beginning. Knowing how to make the most of backlinks is the key to pushing the website higher in Google’s results.
See Which Pages Earn The Most Links
Start by checking which of your pages receive the most links and from which sources. A high link count is about more than volume: it shows the credibility quality sites are giving you, and reveals which kinds of content are popular and relevant to yours.
Find Content Pages With Room For More Links
Look for pages on your website with the potential to earn more backlinks. Guides, checklists and in-depth data that offer real value and serve as references are the content types most likely to attract links from related sources.
Connect The Work To Content Marketing And PR
Using content marketing and PR to promote your content is a strong way to build quality links, through channels such as social media, influencer blogs or high-authority websites.
Build Links From Content That Is Easy To Cite
Make your content the easiest reference for people to cite: research, statistics or case studies that serve as key references in the industry, and that earn links from related sources.
Checking backlinks and building on the results with content marketing and PR brings not only more links but high-quality SEO backlinks, the key to SEO that holds and to a website that ranks higher for the long term.
Take Your SEO Further With Better Backlinks
Checking backlinks and understanding why quality links matter is the key to lifting your website’s ranking on Google. If you want an effective SEO approach tied to quality backlink building, Primal is a leading digital marketing agency in Thailand offering an SEO service that strengthens your website, from analysing the links on your site and your competitors’ to refining link-building plans and using the latest SEO tools. Our team is ready to help your website grow and rank higher in Google’s results for the long term.
Contact our SEO agency specialists for a working session on your link profile today.
References
- Semrush, “How to Find Backlinks to Your Site + Tips for More Backlinks”, retrieved 14 September 2026, https://www.semrush.com/blog/find-backlinks/
- Semrush, “How to Use the Google Search Console Links Report”, retrieved 14 September 2026, https://www.semrush.com/blog/google-search-console-links/
Frequently Asked Questions About Checking Backlinks (FAQs)
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Q: What is a backlink? | A: A backlink is a link from another website that points to yours. It is one of Google’s ranking signals, because it acts as a vote of confidence from that site, and it shapes how strongly your pages appear in Google’s results. |
| Q: Why is checking backlinks important for SEO? | A: Checking backlinks shows the quality and quantity of the links pointing at your website, which affect your ranking in Google’s results. If you find broken or spammy links, dealing with them helps your website’s ranking recover. |
| Q: What makes a good backlink? | A: A good backlink comes from a credible website with high domain authority, is relevant to your content, and uses natural anchor text. Links from quality websites give your site the best chance of ranking higher. |
| Q: How often should I check my backlinks? | A: Monthly is enough for most websites, with a closer look after any link-building campaign, a Google update or a sudden drop in rankings. Paid tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush can alert you when links appear or disappear, so the check runs continuously in the background. |
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