How to Check Backlinks and Audit Your Link Profile in 10 Minutes

You built the website. You published the content. Now you want to know: who is linking to me, are those links helping or hurting, and how do I stack up against competitors?

Learning how to check backlinks is one of the most practical SEO skills you can develop. A single toxic link from a spammy domain can drag down rankings you spent months earning. A single high-authority backlink from a trusted publication can push a page from position 8 to position 2 overnight.

Whether you want to check backlinks of a website you own, analyze a competitor’s link profile, or find out how to check backlinks for free without a paid subscription, this guide covers all of it. We walk through every major tool: Google Search Console, Ahrefs, Semrush, and Screaming Frog, plus the best free backlink checkers available today.

By the end, you will know how to check backlinks in Google Search Console, how to check toxic backlinks in Ahrefs and Semrush, how to check competitors’ backlinks, how to check if your backlinks are indexed, and when it makes sense to bring in a managed SEO partner.

Quick Answer: To check backlinks on your website, open Google Search Console and navigate to Links > External Links. For deeper analysis including toxic link detection, competitor comparison, and link quality scores, use Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz Link Explorer.

What Is a Backlink Audit and Why Does It Matter?

A backlink audit is a structured review of every external link pointing to your website. It answers four core questions:

• How many unique domains link to my site (referring domains)?
• Are those links from authoritative, relevant sources or from spammy, irrelevant ones?
• Are any links broken, lost, or pointing to the wrong pages?
• How does my backlink profile compare to the competitors’ ranking above me?

Search engines, particularly Google, use backlinks as votes of confidence. A link from a high-authority news outlet or industry publication tells Google your content is worth ranking. A cluster of links from link farms or unrelated directories does the opposite, and in severe cases can trigger a manual penalty.

Off-page SEO metrics like domain authority, spam score, and trust flow all flow directly from the quality of your backlink profile. Regular audits, ideally quarterly for active sites, keep you ahead of issues before they affect rankings.

Key Metrics to Understand Before You Start

Before you check any backlinks, it helps to know what you are looking at. Different tools use different scoring systems, but the underlying concepts are consistent.

Metric	What It Measures	What to Look For
Domain Rating (DR)	Ahrefs’ 0–100 authority score	Higher = stronger referring site; aim for DR 30+
Authority Score	Semrush’s composite quality score	Dofollow passes PageRank; both contribute to a natural profile
Spam Score	Moz’s toxicity indicator (0–17)	Score above 8 warrants review; above 12 consider disavow
Trust Flow (TF)	Majestic’s topical trust metric	Higher TF relative to Citation Flow = quality link
Anchor Text	Clickable text of the link	Diversity is healthy; heavy exact-match ratios are risky
Link Type	Dofollow vs. Nofollow	Dofollow passes PageRank; both contribute to natural profile
Referring Domains	Unique domains linking to you	More unique domains > many links from one domain

No single metric tells the whole story. A link from a DR 15 local blog in your exact industry can outperform a DR 60 generic directory. Context, topical relevance, placement, and anchor text matter as much as raw scores.

Tool Comparison: Which Backlink Checker Should You Use?

There is no universal best tool for checking backlinks. The right choice depends on your budget, the depth of data you need, and whether you are auditing your own site or analyzing a competitor.

Tool	Best For	Free Plan?	Link Quality Score	Competitor Analysis
Google Search Console	Owned site data, indexing	Yes (free only)	Basic	No
Ahrefs	Deep link analysis, toxic links	Limited (free trial)	DR / URL Rating	Yes
Semrush	Competitor & toxic audit	Limited (10/day)	Authority Score	Yes
Moz Link Explorer	Domain Authority checks	Limited (10/mo)	Spam Score	Yes
Screaming Frog	Technical crawl + backlinks	Up to 500 URLs	None (third-party)	Limited
Ubersuggest	Beginners, budget users	Limited	Domain Score	Basic
Majestic	Trust Flow / Citation Flow	Limited	TF / CF	Yes

For most site owners, doing a quick audit, start with Google Search Console (free, your own data only) and supplement with one premium tool for deeper link quality assessment and competitor analysis. If budget is a constraint, Ubersuggest and the free tiers of Ahrefs and Semrush cover the basics.

How to Check Backlinks: A 10-Minute Step-by-Step Audit

Follow these steps in order. You do not need all the tools; pick the ones that match your setup.

Step 1: How to Check Backlinks in Google Search Console (Free, 2 Minutes)

If you want to check backlinks in Google Search Console, you already have the most authoritative free source available; the data comes directly from Google’s own index.

1. Log in to Google Search Console at search.google.com/search-console.
2. Select your property from the top dropdown (ensure it is the verified version of your site).
3. Navigate to Links in the left sidebar.
4. Review External Links: Top-linked pages show which of your pages attract the most backlinks. Top linking sites show your most active referring domains. The top linking text shows your anchor text distribution.
5. Export the data using the export button (top right) to a spreadsheet for further analysis.

Pro Tip: Google Search Console only shows data for your own verified property and does not provide link quality scores. Use it as your baseline, then cross-reference in Ahrefs or Semrush for quality assessment.

Step 2: How to Check Backlinks in Ahrefs (2 Minutes)

To check backlinks in Ahrefs, you get access to one of the largest backlink indexes in the industry, the go-to tool for link quality assessment, toxic backlink detection, and referring domain analysis.

1. Go to ahrefs.com and open Site Explorer.
2. Enter your domain in the search bar and hit enter.
3. Click Backlinks in the left sidebar to see the full link list, or Referring Domains for a domain-level view.
4. Filter by DR to isolate high-authority links, or sort by Spam Score to surface potentially toxic links.
5. To check toxic backlinks in Ahrefs: filter by low DR (under 10) + high spam indicators, and review anchor text for over-optimization.
6. To check competitors’ backlinks in Ahrefs: enter a competitor domain in Site Explorer, then use Link Intersect to find domains linking to them but not to you.

Ahrefs also shows lost and broken backlinks under the Backlinks > Lost filter. This is valuable for link reclamation, identifying links you once had that can potentially be recovered.

Pro Tip: Use Ahrefs’ Best Links filter to quickly see only the strongest, most relevant links pointing to your site. This shortcut is especially useful when you need to present a backlink quality report to a client or stakeholder in under five minutes.

Step 3: How to Check Backlinks in Semrush (2 Minutes)

When you check backlinks in Semrush, you gain access to its Backlink Audit tool, which generates a toxicity score for every link in your profile, one of the fastest ways to flag problem links. Semrush is particularly strong for competitor backlink analysis.

1. Open Semrush and navigate to Link Building > Backlink Audit, or go to Backlink Analytics.
2. Enter your domain and click Analyze.
3. Review the Backlink Profile tab for total backlinks, referring domains, and referring IPs.
4. Click Audit to run a toxicity analysis. Semrush scores each link from 0 (safe) to 100 (toxic).
5. To check competitors’ backlinks in Semrush: go to Backlink Analytics, enter the competitor domain, and use the Backlink Gap tool to compare profiles side by side.
6. To check toxic backlinks in Semrush: filter by toxicity score above 45, review each flagged link, and add confirmed toxic links to your Disavow list.

Pro Tip: Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool is one of the fastest ways to build a competitor link analysis. Enter up to five competing domains and instantly see which referring domains link to your competitors but not to you, a ready-made link prospecting list.

Step 4: How to Check Backlinks in Screaming Frog (For Technical Audits)

To check backlinks in Screaming Frog, you combine a full technical site crawl with third-party link metrics. Screaming Frog is a desktop crawler that integrates with Ahrefs, Moz, and Majestic APIs, making it uniquely powerful for blending crawl data with backlink quality scores.

1. Download and open Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
2. Enter your domain in the search bar and start the crawl.
3. Go to Configuration > API Access and connect your Ahrefs, Moz, or Majestic API key.
4. Once the crawl is complete, navigate to the Inlinks tab for internal link data, or export and cross-reference with your backlink data from external tools.
5. To check for broken backlinks: filter by Response Code > 404. Any pages returning 404 that have external links pointing to them are lost link equity; redirect them to a relevant live page.

Screaming Frog’s free version crawls up to 500 URLs, which is sufficient for small to medium sites. For larger sites, the paid license is required.

Step 5: How to Check Backlinks for Free (No Budget Option)

If you want to check backlinks for free without a paid subscription, several tools offer meaningful data at no cost. These are the best free backlink checkers available for basic referring domain analysis and link profile building.

• Ubersuggest: Offers limited free backlink data. Good for beginners checking backlinks of a website for the first time.
• Moz Link Explorer: Free plan includes up to 10 link queries per month. Shows Domain Authority and Spam Score.
• Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker: Enter any domain and see the top 100 backlinks for free. Useful for quick competitor snapshots.
• Google Search: Type ‘link:yourdomain.com’ into Google. Note: This method is severely limited and no longer reliably returns backlink data. Use it only as a rough indicator.
• Bing Webmaster Tools: Often overlooked, Bing provides its own backlink data for verified sites and is entirely free.

Pro Tip: Run the same domain through two or three free backlink checkers and compare. Each tool indexes different parts of the web, so cross-referencing free tools gives you a more complete picture without paying for a premium subscription.

How to Check If Your Backlinks Are Indexed

A backlink that is not indexed by Google passes no value. Knowing how to check if your backlinks are indexed, and whether the pages linking to you are actually visible in search, is an important but often overlooked step in a complete backlink audit.

To check if a backlink is indexed:

1. Copy the exact URL of the page linking to you.
2. Go to Google and search: site:exactpageurlhere.com/page
3. If the page appears in results, it is indexed. If nothing shows, the page is not indexed, and the link is currently passing no SEO value.

A page can be deindexed for several reasons: it may have a noindex tag, it may be blocked in robots.txt, it may be a low-quality page that Google chose not to crawl, or it may simply be new and not yet discovered.

If you find that a significant portion of your backlinks are on unindexed pages, this is a signal that your link-building strategy may be targeting low-quality or inaccessible sources. Redirect your efforts toward earning links from well-indexed, frequently crawled publications.

How to Check Competitors’ Backlinks

One of the most powerful things you can do after learning how to check backlinks is turning that skill toward your competitors. Knowing how to check competitors’ backlinks reveals content gaps, outreach targets, and industry relationships you may not have considered. Competitor backlink analysis is consistently one of the highest-ROI activities in off-page SEO.

Using Ahrefs for Competitor Backlink Analysis

1. Enter the competitor domain in Ahrefs Site Explorer.
2. Click Referring Domains to see every domain linking to them.
3. Sort by DR to identify their highest-authority links.
4. Use Link Intersect: Enter your domain and up to 10 competitors. The tool shows domains linking to competitors but not to you, your most actionable outreach list.

Using Semrush for Competitor Backlink Analysis

1. Go to Backlink Analytics and enter the competitor domain.
2. Open the Backlink Gap tool: Enter your domain and competitor domains side by side.
3. Filter by Unique to see domains linking to competitors but not to you.
4. Export the list and prioritize outreach by domain authority and topical relevance.

Pro Tip: Do not chase every competitor link. Prioritize topically relevant domains in your industry. A link from a website that covers your exact niche will outperform a generic high-DA link in almost every case.

How to Identify and Handle Toxic Backlinks

Not all backlinks are good backlinks. Toxic links, those from spammy domains, link farms, irrelevant directories, or sites with manipulative link patterns, can suppress your rankings or trigger a manual action from Google.

Signs of a Toxic Backlink

• Linking domain has a very low Domain Rating or Authority Score (under 5)
• The site is irrelevant to your industry, with no logical reason to link to you
• Exact-match anchor text used repeatedly across many low-quality sites
• The linking page contains only links with no real content
• The linking site is flagged for malware, adult content, or gambling in an unrelated niche
• Sudden spike in backlinks from domains in foreign languages with no audience overlap

What to Do With Toxic Backlinks

1. Try manual outreach first. Identify the site owner and request removal. Keep a log.
2. Use Google’s Disavow Tool for links you cannot get removed. Upload a disavow file through Google Search Console, telling Google to ignore those links.
3. Prioritize carefully. Over-disavowing is a real risk. Only disavow links you are confident are genuinely toxic.

Important: Google’s John Mueller has stated that the disavow tool is largely unnecessary for most sites, as Google’s algorithms are good at ignoring low-quality links. Use it primarily when you have received a manual action notice or have strong evidence of a negative SEO attack.

How to Build a Stronger Backlink Profile After Your Audit

An audit without action is just data. Once you know the current state of your backlink profile, use these strategies to improve it.

• Reclaim lost links. Use Ahrefs or Semrush to find backlinks that point to your site but are now broken or redirected incorrectly. Fix the destination URLs and reach out to notify the linking site.
• Replicate competitors’ best links. The domains linking to your top-ranking competitors are already interested in your topic. Use this as your primary outreach list.
• Create linkable assets. Original data, research, tools, calculators, and comprehensive guides attract natural backlinks over time without active outreach.
• Pursue unlinked brand mentions. Search for mentions of your brand name that do not include a link. These are warm outreach targets; the site already knows you exist.
• Guest post strategically. Contribute to high-authority, topically relevant publications. Avoid link exchanges or paid link schemes, which violate Google’s guidelines.
• Diversify anchor text. A healthy profile uses branded anchors, naked URLs, partial-match phrases, and generic terms (click here, read more). Heavy exact-match anchor ratios are a red flag to Google.

How Often Should You Audit Your Backlinks?

The right frequency depends on the size of your site, how actively you are building links, and how competitive your industry is.

• Monthly: Recommended for sites actively running link-building campaigns, publishing high volumes of content, or operating in competitive niches (finance, legal, health, SaaS).
• Quarterly: Sufficient for most established small and medium-sized business websites with moderate link velocity.
• After every campaign: Always audit after a significant link-building push, a site migration, or a core algorithm update.
• Immediately: If you notice an unexplained drop in organic traffic, rankings, or receive a Google Search Console manual action notification.

From Audit to Action: When to Bring in a Managed SEO Partner

Running a backlink audit and learning how to check backlinks yourself is absolutely possible with the tools and steps outlined here. But interpreting the data, building a sustainable link acquisition strategy, and managing outreach at scale is a different challenge entirely.

If your audit reveals significant toxic link clusters, a weak referring domain profile compared to competitors, or a pattern of lost and broken links you do not have the bandwidth to address, it may be time to partner with an SEO agency that specializes in off-page strategy.

At Writeous Ideas, we run full backlink profile audits, manage link reclamation campaigns, and develop link-building strategies aligned with your content and business goals, without black-hat shortcuts. Whether you are a startup building domain authority from scratch or an established brand cleaning up a legacy link profile, we bring the same rigor to every project.

Ready to go beyond the DIY audit? Contact Writeous Ideas for a free backlink profile review. We will show you exactly where your link profile stands, how it compares to your top competitors, and what it will take to close the gap.

Frequently Asked Questions About Checking Backlinks

What is a backlink audit?

A backlink audit is a structured review of all external links pointing to your website. It helps you evaluate link quality, detect toxic backlinks, and compare your link profile against competitors.

Why is checking backlinks important for SEO?

Backlinks act as trust signals for search engines. High-quality links can boost your rankings, while spammy or irrelevant links can harm your performance and visibility.

How can I check backlinks for free?

You can use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker, Moz Link Explorer, and Ubersuggest to view your backlinks without paying for a subscription.

What is the best tool to check backlinks?

Google Search Console is the best free option for your own website. For deeper analysis like toxicity scores and competitor insights, tools like Ahrefs and Semrush are more powerful.

What are toxic backlinks?

Toxic backlinks come from spammy, low-quality, or irrelevant websites. These links can negatively affect your rankings and should be reviewed, removed, or disavowed if necessary.

How do I know if my backlinks are indexed?

Search the linking page URL in Google using the “site:” operator. If it appears in results, it is indexed and can pass SEO value to your site.

How often should I audit my backlinks?

Monthly audits are ideal for active SEO campaigns, while quarterly audits are sufficient for most websites. You should also audit after major updates or ranking drops.

Can I remove bad backlinks?

Yes. You can contact site owners to request removal or use Google’s Disavow Tool to tell search engines to ignore harmful backlinks.

What are the key metrics to evaluate backlinks?

Important metrics include Domain Authority or Domain Rating, spam score, trust flow, anchor text diversity, referring domains, and whether links are dofollow or nofollow.

How can I improve my backlink profile?

You can improve your backlink profile by reclaiming lost links, creating high-quality content, doing outreach, and earning backlinks from authoritative and relevant websites.