The quickest way to check backlinks is Google Search Console. Open Links → External links to see linking websites, linked pages, and link text.

For a broader audit, use a third-party tool such as Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz Link Explorer. These tools show individual linking URLs, anchor text, new and lost links, link attributes, and competitor backlinks.

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The right backlink checker depends on whether you need a free overview, individual link data, or competitor research.

What you need Best option Why
Check your own website for free Google Search Console Free, first-party data from Google
See individual linking pages Ahrefs or Semrush Shows source pages, target URLs, anchors, and link status
Check competitor backlinks Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz These tools can analyse websites you do not own
Find lost or broken backlinks Ahrefs or Semrush Provides filters for new, lost, broken, and restored links
Confirm important findings Two backlink databases Each platform crawls and reports a different link index

Google Search Console is a good starting point for most site owners. It is not a complete backlink database. Google says its Links report shows a sample of known links, may combine duplicate links, and may include links that have since been removed.

You can check backlinks in Google Search Console after verifying your website.

  1. Sign in to Google Search Console.
  2. Select the correct website property.
  3. Open Links in the left-hand menu.
  4. Go to External links.
  5. Review:
    • Top linking sites
    • Top linked pages
    • Top linking text
  6. Select More to see additional rows.
  7. Export the data as a CSV file or Google Sheet if you want to review it elsewhere.

Top linking sites shows the domains that link to your website. Top linked pages shows which pages on your website receive the most external links. Select a page to see the domains linking to that URL.

What Does Google Search Console Not Show?

Google Search Console does not show every backlink or every detail about each link.

Its main limitations are:

  • The Links report is not a complete list of backlinks.
  • Tables can be limited or truncated.
  • Google groups URLs by root domain in the report.
  • The report may include links Google found in the past but that no longer exist.
  • Search Console does not show whether a backlink uses nofollow.
  • A high backlink count does not prove that the links are valuable.

Use Search Console to understand the broad shape of your backlink profile. Use another tool when you need individual URLs, link attributes, competitor data, or link history.

Ahrefs Site Explorer can analyse a whole domain, a specific URL, a subfolder, or a competitor's website.

  1. Open Ahrefs Site Explorer.
  2. Enter a domain or page URL.
  3. Select the appropriate analysis mode:
    • Domain for the whole website
    • URL for one page
    • Prefix for a directory or URL section
  4. Open Backlinks.
  5. Review:
    • Referring page
    • Target URL
    • Anchor text
    • Link type
    • Referring domain
    • Estimated traffic
    • New and lost links
  6. Filter the results by dofollow, nofollow, new, lost, broken, language, Domain Rating, or traffic.

Ahrefs can show links pointing to a domain, URL, or subsection. Its filters cover link attributes, referring pages, target URLs, anchors, and newly discovered or lost links.

Ahrefs is useful when you want to:

  • Find competitor backlinks.
  • Find pages with broken backlinks.
  • Discover resource pages that link to competitors.
  • Find websites that recently linked to competing content.
  • See which pages attract the most links.

You can check backlinks in Semrush by using Backlink Analytics for your website or a competitor.

  1. Open Backlink Analytics.
  2. Enter the domain or URL.
  3. Review the overview report.
  4. Open the backlinks or referring domains report.
  5. Inspect:
    • Linking page title and URL
    • Anchor text
    • Target page
    • Authority Score
    • Link attribute
    • First-seen date
    • Last-seen date
    • New or lost status
  6. Export the results if you need to analyse them separately.

Semrush reports source-page details, anchor text, Authority Score, referring domains, link attributes, and new or lost link statuses. Its paid Backlink Analytics product also provides deeper filtering, comparisons, historical data, and exports.

Semrush is useful when you need to compare several competitors or combine backlink research with keyword and ranking data.

Moz Link Explorer lets you review backlink data from Moz's own link index.

  1. Open Link Explorer.
  2. Enter your domain or a competitor's domain.
  3. Review inbound links and linking domains.
  4. Filter the results by page, domain, or link characteristics.
  5. Export the data if needed.

Moz defines inbound links as links from another website to your website. Its Link Explorer database is built by crawling and indexing links.

A valuable backlink is relevant, placed in useful content, and likely to help visitors reach a live page. A high authority score alone is not enough.

Criterion What to check
Relevance Does the linking website or page cover a topic related to your business?
Editorial context Is the link included naturally in useful content?
Destination page Does it point to a relevant, live page rather than an error page?
Referring domain Is the website legitimate, established, and useful to its audience?
Traffic and visibility Does the linking page appear to receive visitors or search visibility?
Anchor text Does the anchor describe the destination naturally?
Link placement Is the link in the main content rather than a footer, sitewide template, or comment?
Link attribute Is it a standard link, nofollow, sponsored, or ugc link?
Indexability Can search engines access and index the linking page?
Domain diversity Do your links come from several relevant websites rather than one site producing many similar links?

Ahrefs Domain Rating and Semrush Authority Score are proprietary measurements. Use them to compare prospects within the same tool. They are not Google metrics or final quality ratings.

Google recommends rel="sponsored" for paid placements and rel="ugc" for user-generated links. Google also supports rel="nofollow".

You can find broken and lost backlinks in Ahrefs or Semrush by filtering for broken pages, lost links, or destination pages that return a 4xx status.

Use this process:

  1. Open the backlink report in Ahrefs or Semrush.
  2. Filter for broken pages, lost backlinks, or pages returning a 4xx status.
  3. Check whether the referring page is relevant and still active.
  4. Restore the original page if it was valuable.
  5. Redirect the old URL to the closest relevant replacement when one exists.
  6. Contact the linking website when a manual link update would give visitors a better destination.

A broken page with valuable backlinks can waste links that once pointed to your website.

Do not redirect every deleted page to the homepage. Send visitors to a closely related page. If no suitable replacement exists, leaving the old page unavailable may be the better option.

You can check competitor backlinks with Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz.

  1. Enter a competing domain into the tool.
  2. Open the referring domains report.
  3. Filter for relevant topics, industries, or countries.
  4. Review the exact page where each backlink appears.
  5. Work out why the competitor received the link.
  6. Create a stronger or more useful page if the opportunity fits your site.
  7. Contact the website only when your content gives its audience a better resource.

Common competitor backlink opportunities include:

  • Industry resource pages
  • Supplier and partner pages
  • Expert interviews
  • Podcasts
  • Original research citations
  • Product comparisons
  • Local business directories
  • Broken links that can be replaced with a better resource

A competitor backlink is an opportunity, not a guaranteed prospect. The linking website may have chosen that competitor because of a study, product, relationship, or experience that your website does not offer.

Usually, you should not remove or disavow a backlink simply because it comes from a low-authority website or a tool labels it as toxic.

Google says most websites do not need the disavow tool because Google can generally assess which links to trust. Disavowal is intended for cases involving a large number of artificial or spammy links, especially when they have caused or may cause a manual action.

If you suspect a serious link spam problem:

  1. Check the Manual actions report in Google Search Console.
  2. Identify links created through paid schemes, automated campaigns, or other manipulative practices.
  3. Ask the linking website to remove them.
  4. Use the disavow tool only for links that cannot be removed and meet Google's criteria.

Google classifies buying links for ranking purposes, automated link creation, excessive link exchanges, and other low-quality link schemes as link spam. Paid or sponsored links should use an appropriate attribute such as sponsored or nofollow.

A practical backlink audit combines Search Console with at least one third-party backlink database.

  1. Export external links from Google Search Console.
  2. Run the domain through Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz.
  3. Combine the exports and remove duplicate records.
  4. Group links by referring domain and target page.
  5. Label each link as:
    • Keep
    • Repair
    • Reclaim
    • Investigate
  6. Fix broken destination pages and important lost links.
  7. Review unnatural links only when there is evidence of manipulation or a manual action.
  8. Compare your referring domains and linked pages with two or three direct competitors.

The useful question is not how many backlinks a website has. It is which links send relevant visitors, point to useful pages, and fit the site's link history.