What backlinks are and why you should look at them
A backlink is a link from another website to yours. When someone else's site points to a page on your domain, that's a backlink to you. Search engines treat backlinks as a signal that your content is worth linking to — essentially a vote of confidence. The more backlinks you have from reputable sites, the more authority search engines assign to your domain.
Finding your own backlinks matters because it tells you which sites are already sending traffic your way, which topics are attracting outside attention, and where your competitors are getting their links from. You can then decide whether to build on those relationships, create more content like the pages people are linking to, or investigate why a competitor's content is getting more backlinks than yours.
This is different from building new backlinks — that's a separate effort. This article focuses on discovering and understanding the backlinks you already have and the ones pointing to your competitors.
Key Takeaways
- Free tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs' free backlink checker show you which sites link to yours, though paid tools reveal more detail and competitor data.
- Your own backlinks appear in Google Search Console under the Links section, showing which pages are linked to most often and which domains send the most links.
- Competitor backlink analysis reveals where similar sites are getting links from, helping you find link opportunities you may have missed.
- Not all backlinks carry equal weight — links from established, relevant sites matter far more than links from new or unrelated domains.
- Backlink data lags behind real time by weeks or months, so tools show you historical patterns rather than what happened yesterday.
Finding your own backlinks with Google Search Console
Google Search Console is free and shows you backlinks that Google has actually discovered and indexed. This is the most reliable source because it comes directly from Google's crawlers. To access this data, you must have verified ownership of your website in Search Console.
Once logged in, go to the Links section in the left menu. You'll see four reports: Top linking sites (which domains send the most links to you), Top linked pages (which of your pages receive the most backlinks), Top linking text (the anchor text used in those links), and Sites linking the most (a detailed view of individual domains). The "Top linked pages" report is often the most useful — it shows which of your own pages are attracting outside attention, which tells you what content resonates with other site owners.
Google Search Console only shows links Google has found. Some backlinks exist on the internet but haven't been discovered or indexed by Google yet, so this view is incomplete. However, it's always accurate for the links it does show, because they come from Google's own index.
Using free backlink checker tools
Free backlink checkers like Ahrefs' free tool, Ubersuggest's free version, and Moz's Link Explorer (limited free tier) show backlinks from their own databases. These tools crawl the web independently and maintain their own index of links, separate from Google's. They often find links that Google Search Console hasn't indexed yet, and they show you data about the linking domain's authority.
To use Ahrefs' free backlink checker, go to their site, enter your domain, and the tool returns a list of backlinks with information about each linking domain's Domain Rating (their authority score). Ubersuggest works similarly — enter your domain and you get a backlink report showing the number of backlinks, referring domains, and a breakdown by domain authority. These tools are genuinely free with no credit card required, though they limit how many reports you can run per day.
The trade-off is that free tools show fewer backlinks than paid versions. A paid tool might show 50,000 backlinks to your site while a free tool shows 5,000. The free version usually captures the most important ones — high-authority links and recent links — but misses smaller sites and older links. For most small to medium websites, the free version is enough to understand your backlink profile.
Analyzing competitor backlinks to find link opportunities
Competitor backlink analysis means looking at where your competitors are getting links from, then reaching out to those same sites. If a site linked to your competitor's article on the same topic, they might link to yours too — especially if your content is newer or more comprehensive.
With a paid tool like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz, enter a competitor's domain and view their backlink report. Look for links from sites in your industry or niche. Filter by domain authority if the tool allows it — focus on links from established sites, not brand-new blogs. Note which pages on your competitor's site get the most links, then create similar content on your own site. When you're ready to reach out, you have a list of sites that have already shown interest in this topic.
Free tools have limits here. Ahrefs' free checker shows some competitor backlinks but not the full picture. If competitor analysis is your main goal, you'll need a paid tool. However, you can also use Google Search Console on your own site to see which sites link to you, then manually check those sites to see if they also link to competitors. This is slower but costs nothing.
Understanding backlink quality and relevance
Not all backlinks help equally. A link from a major news outlet or an established industry site carries far more weight than a link from a brand-new blog or a site unrelated to your topic. Search engines measure this through domain authority (how established and trusted a domain is) and relevance (whether the linking site is in your industry).
When reviewing your backlinks, prioritize links from sites with high domain authority and relevance to your topic. A link from a respected competitor or industry publication is worth more than ten links from random unrelated sites. If you notice you have many low-quality backlinks — links from spam sites, link farms, or completely unrelated domains — you may want to disavow them in Google Search Console to tell Google to ignore them.
Anchor text (the visible text of the link) also matters. Links using relevant keywords as anchor text signal to search engines what your page is about. A link with anchor text "best coffee makers" pointing to your coffee review page is more valuable than a link with anchor text "click here" pointing to the same page.
Paid tools for deeper backlink research
Paid backlink tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz Pro, and Semrush show significantly more backlinks than free versions, provide historical data (how your backlink count has changed over time), and let you analyze unlimited competitor domains. They also offer features like backlink gap analysis (showing which competitor backlinks you don't have) and link monitoring (alerts when you gain or lose backlinks).
Ahrefs is the most popular choice for backlink research because its database is large and updated frequently. SEMrush combines backlink data with other SEO tools like keyword research and rank tracking. Moz Pro is simpler and often preferred by smaller teams. All three offer free trials, so you can test them before committing to a subscription. Pricing ranges from roughly $100 to $400 per month depending on the tool and plan level.
For most small websites and blogs, free tools are sufficient to understand your backlink profile and find basic link opportunities. Paid tools become more valuable as your site grows and you need to track changes over time or analyze many competitors regularly.
What to do after you find your backlinks
Once you've identified your backlinks, the next step depends on what you find. If you have backlinks from high-authority relevant sites, those pages are your strongest performers — create more content on similar topics. If you notice certain pages attract many backlinks while others get none, investigate why. Is the linked content more comprehensive? More recent? Better written? Use those patterns to improve your other content.
If you find broken backlinks (links pointing to pages that no longer exist), you can reach out to the linking site and ask them to update the link to a current page on your site. This is called the broken link method and often results in new backlinks. If you discover low-quality or spam backlinks pointing to your site, disavow them in Google Search Console so they don't harm your rankings.
For competitor analysis, create a list of sites that link to competitors in your space. Reach out to those sites with your own content if it's relevant and better than what they've already linked to. This outreach is the beginning of a link-building strategy, but it starts with the research you've done here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for a new backlink to show up in Google Search Console?
Google typically discovers and indexes new backlinks within a few days to a few weeks, depending on how often Google crawls the linking site. Backlink checker tools may show new links faster or slower depending on their crawl schedule. Don't expect to see a backlink in Search Console the same day it's published.
Why does my backlink count differ between Google Search Console and other tools?
Each tool maintains its own index of the web and crawls at different frequencies. Google Search Console shows only links Google has found and indexed. Third-party tools like Ahrefs crawl independently and may find links Google hasn't discovered yet, or they may miss links Google has found. This is normal and expected.
Should I be worried if I have very few backlinks?
New websites naturally have few backlinks. Backlinks build over time as your content gets older, more visible, and more likely to be discovered by other site owners. If your site is less than six months old, few backlinks is normal. If your site is older and still has almost no backlinks, focus on creating better content and promoting it within your industry.
Can I remove backlinks I don't want?
You can't directly remove a backlink from another site unless you own that site. You can ask the site owner to remove it, and many will if you explain why. In Google Search Console, you can disavow backlinks to tell Google to ignore them, which is useful for spam links. However, disavow should be used sparingly — most backlinks don't harm your site even if they're low quality.
Do backlinks from social media count?
Links from social media posts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) are typically marked as "nofollow," which means search engines don't count them as votes for your site's authority. However, they still drive traffic and can lead to other sites linking to you, so social media links have indirect value even if they don't directly boost rankings.