What backlinks are and why you should check them

A backlink is a link from another website that points to your site. When someone else's website links to a page on your domain, that's a backlink to you. Search engines treat backlinks as a signal that your content is worth reading — the more backlinks you have from reputable sites, the more authority search engines assign to your pages.

Checking your backlinks matters because not all links help you. Some come from spam sites, some point to pages you've deleted or renamed, and some come from competitors trying to damage your reputation. Knowing what's linking to you lets you spot problems, find partnership opportunities, and understand how your site looks to search engines.

Key Takeaways

  • Free tools like Google Search Console show you backlinks that Google has found, though they don't show every link on the internet.
  • Paid tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz crawl the web more thoroughly and show backlinks that free tools miss, but cost money monthly.
  • Check not just how many backlinks you have, but where they come from — a link from a trusted news site matters more than ten links from unrelated blogs.
  • Look for backlinks pointing to pages that no longer exist, and use redirects or contact the linking site to fix broken references.

Using Google Search Console to see your backlinks

Google Search Console is free and shows you backlinks that Google itself has discovered on your site. To access them, sign into Search Console with the Google account that manages your website, select your property, and go to Links in the left menu. You'll see a section called "Top linking sites" that lists the domains sending the most backlinks to you.

Search Console also shows you "Top linked pages" — the specific pages on your site that receive the most backlinks. This is useful because it tells you which of your content is attracting attention from other websites. You can download a full list of backlinks as a spreadsheet by clicking the download button, which is helpful if you want to analyze them in a spreadsheet program like Excel or Google Sheets.

The limitation of Search Console is that it only shows links Google has found and chosen to include. It won't show you every backlink on the internet — some links from smaller sites, newly published links, or links on sites Google hasn't crawled recently may not appear here.

Using free third-party tools to find more backlinks

Free backlink checkers like Ubersuggest, Backlink Checker by Small SEO Tools, and MozBar (a browser extension) let you enter your domain and see backlinks without paying. These tools pull from their own databases of web pages, so they sometimes find links that Google Search Console misses, especially from smaller or newer websites.

Ubersuggest is straightforward: go to ubersuggest.com, enter your domain in the search box, and click "Backlinks" in the left menu. You'll see a list of linking domains, the pages they link from, and basic information like the linking site's traffic rank. Small SEO Tools' backlink checker works similarly — paste your domain, and it returns a list of backlinks with anchor text (the clickable words in the link).

The trade-off with free tools is that they show fewer total backlinks than paid tools, and the data refreshes less often. They're useful for a quick overview, but if you need a complete picture, you'll need a paid option.

Paid tools that show the most complete backlink data

Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz are the industry standard for backlink research. These tools crawl the web continuously and maintain massive databases of backlinks, so they find far more links than free tools. Ahrefs claims to have the largest backlink index; SEMrush and Moz are close behind.

Ahrefs costs around $99 per month for the Lite plan and shows you backlinks, the authority of linking domains, anchor text, and when each link was first discovered. SEMrush's Pro plan starts around $120 per month and includes backlink data alongside keyword research and competitor analysis. Moz's Standard plan is around $99 per month. All three offer free trials or limited free versions so you can test them before paying.

If you manage multiple websites or do SEO work for clients, these tools pay for themselves quickly because they save hours of manual research. If you're checking backlinks for a single small site occasionally, the free options may be enough.

What to look for when reviewing your backlinks

Not all backlinks are equal. A link from a well-known news site or industry publication carries far more weight than a link from an obscure blog. When you review your backlinks, look at the authority of the linking domain — most tools assign a score (Ahrefs uses "Domain Rating," Moz uses "Domain Authority," SEMrush uses "Authority Score"). Links from high-authority domains are more valuable.

Also check the relevance of the linking site to your content. A backlink from a website about your industry or topic is more valuable than a random link from an unrelated site. If you run a fitness blog and a health publication links to you, that's a strong signal. If a casino or gambling site links to you, that link may actually hurt your reputation with search engines.

Look at the anchor text — the words used in the link. If the anchor text matches your target keyword (for example, a link that says "best running shoes" pointing to your shoe review page), that's a stronger signal than generic anchor text like "click here." However, if most of your backlinks use the exact same anchor text, it can look artificial and may trigger spam filters.

Finding and fixing broken backlinks

Over time, pages on your site get deleted, renamed, or moved to new URLs. When another site links to a page that no longer exists, you have a broken backlink. These waste the authority that the linking site is trying to pass to you.

To find broken backlinks, check your backlink report and look at the HTTP status codes. Most tools show whether the link points to a page that exists (status 200) or returns an error like 404 (page not found) or 301 (redirected). Filter for broken links and make a list.

For each broken backlink, you have two options. First, create a redirect from the old URL to the new one — this passes the link authority to your new page. Second, contact the website that's linking to you and ask them to update the link to point to your current page. This takes more effort but ensures the link is exactly where you want it.

Monitoring backlinks over time

Backlinks change constantly — you gain new ones, some disappear, and others change. Most paid tools let you set up monitoring so you get notified when you gain a new backlink or lose an existing one. This is useful because it helps you spot when a competitor or spammer is linking to you, or when a valuable partner has linked to your content.

Set a schedule to review your backlinks monthly or quarterly, depending on how active your site is. Look for sudden spikes in backlinks (which could indicate a viral piece of content or a spam attack), new high-authority links (which you might want to thank the site owner for), and lost links (which you might want to investigate or rebuild).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a paid tool to check my backlinks?

No. Google Search Console is free and shows you the backlinks Google has found. Free third-party tools like Ubersuggest and Small SEO Tools show additional backlinks. Paid tools find more backlinks and update more frequently, but they're optional unless you do SEO professionally or manage a large site.

What's the difference between a backlink and a referring domain?

A backlink is a single link from another site to yours. A referring domain is the website that the link comes from. One referring domain might have ten backlinks pointing to your site. When you see "top referring domains," it's showing you which websites are linking to you most, not how many individual links you have.

Can backlinks hurt my site?

Yes, but not easily. Links from spam sites or sites unrelated to your topic can hurt your credibility with search engines, but Google's algorithm is designed to ignore low-quality links rather than penalize you for them. The main risk is if someone deliberately creates thousands of fake backlinks to your site as a negative SEO attack, which is rare and usually recoverable.

How long does it take for a new backlink to show up in my reports?

Google Search Console can take weeks to show a new backlink. Paid tools update more frequently — usually within days — because they crawl the web constantly. Free tools vary, but most update weekly or monthly. If you just got a backlink, it may not appear in any tool for several days.

Should I try to get backlinks from sites with high authority scores?

Yes, but focus on relevance first. A backlink from a high-authority site in your industry is ideal. A backlink from a high-authority site completely unrelated to your topic is less valuable. The best backlinks come naturally when you create content that other people want to link to, rather than from paid link schemes, which violate search engine guidelines.