The Ultimate Guide to Viewing and Analyzing Backlinks for SEO 2023

Search Engine Optimization
Nov
3

The Ultimate Guide to Viewing and Analyzing Backlinks for SEO 2023

11/03/2023 6:40 PM by Admin in Ai tools


The Ultimate Guide to Viewing and Analyzing Your Backlinks

 

view backlinks


Backlinks remain one of the most important ranking factors for SEO in 2023. The number and quality of backlinks pointing to your website influence how high it ranks in Google search results.

That's why regularly viewing and analyzing your backlinks is essential for any website owner.


This comprehensive guide will teach you everything you need to know about viewing backlinks and analyzing them to improve your SEO.

 


What Are Backlinks and Why Are They Important?

A backlink is a link from one website to another. When Site A links to Site B, it passes authority and equity to that site. The more high-quality backlinks your site has, the more authority it accrues in Google's eyes.

Google's search algorithm uses backlinks as one of many signals to determine the ranking of pages for relevant searches. More backlinks (especially from authoritative, relevant sites) generally lead to higher rankings.

Some key benefits of backlinks include:

  • Increasing your site's domain authority - The number and quality of backlinks boost your overall domain authority, which correlates with higher rankings.
  • Earning referral traffic - Backlinks drive new visitors to your site organically without paid advertising.
  • Improving brand visibility - Backlinks help search engines and users find and recognize your brand.
  • Gaining trust and credibility - High-quality backlinks make your site appear trustworthy to search engines and users.

Clearly, backlinks are very important for SEO success. That makes having tools to view and analyze your backlinks crucial.

 


Backlink Checker Tools

view backlinks

The first step towards viewing your backlinks is using a backlink checker or backlink analysis tool. Here are some top options:


1. Ahrefs

Ahrefs offers one of the largest backlink databases you can access. It shows links pointing to your site and lets you analyze them in-depth. Helpful data provided includes:

  • Total backlinks and new backlinks over time
  • Top linking domains and pages
  • Anchor text used for links
  • Referring to domains and URL rating of links

Ahrefs isn't cheap, but it's one of the most powerful backlink analysis tools available. They offer a 7-day $7 trial so you can test it out.


2. Moz

Moz is another premium backlink analysis tool trusted by SEO professionals. Like Ahrefs, they have data on millions of backlinks and domains.

Useful Moz link analysis features include:

  • Link metrics such as mozRank and mozTrust
  • Linking root domains and pages
  • Anchor text usage breakdown
  • Spam score to identify risky links

Moz offers a 30-day free trial so you can fully evaluate their backlink checker before committing.


3. SEMrush

SEMrush is best known for its keyword research but also provides a database of over 140 million backlinks to analyze.

With SEMrush you can:

  • See total backlinks and new backlinks over time
  • Identify top linking domains and pages
  • Assess anchor text usage patterns
  • Filter links by type, location, and other factors

They offer a free version, but full backlink data requires a paid plan. SEMrush does provide a 7-day pro trial to test.


4. Linkody

Linkody specializes in backlink tracking and monitoring. Their database includes over 1 billion backlinks.

Useful backlink analysis features include:

  • Data on new, lost, and temporary backlinks
  • Pages and domains linking to your site
  • Anchor text usage metrics
  • Full backlink history and trends

They offer a free Starter plan with limited data and paid Pro plans with full access.


5. Majestic

Majestic boasts a backlink index of over 1 trillion links. This makes it one of the largest link databases available.

Key backlink analysis info provided by Majestic:

  • Total backlinks and new backlinks
  • Referring to domains and pages
  • Type of websites linking to you
  • Anchor text usage breakdown

Majestic offers a free plan but full historical data requires a paid subscription.


6. Free Backlink Checkers

There are also various free backlink checker tools with more limited capabilities:

  • OpenLinkProfiler - Provides a summary of backlinks and anchor text use.
  • Backlinko - Checks up to 10,000 backlinks with anchor text and other data.
  • SEOToolsPark - Free backlink analysis with location and type filters.
  • Monitor Backlinks - Tracks up to 500 backlinks for free with anchor text details.

While less robust, these free tools can still provide useful backlink monitoring and analysis. They work well for smaller sites.

The best backlink analysis tools combine a large, accurate link database with powerful filtering and reporting. Carefully evaluate which tool provides the right capabilities for your site at a reasonable cost.

 


How to View Your Backlinks

view backlinks

Once you select a backlink checker tool, viewing your site's backlinks takes just a few steps:

  1. Enter your domain - Input your website's root domain name (e.g. example.com).
  2. Run backlink analysis - The tool will crawl the web and pull backlink data from its database.
  3. View link metrics - The main dashboard will display total backlinks, new backlinks, referring domains, and other aggregate link metrics.
  4. Filter and sort data - Use available filters to segment your backlinks by type, location, anchor text, etc. Sort by metrics like Domain Rating to prioritize.
  5. Export reports - Export full backlink data to a CSV or Excel format for further analysis and tracking.
  6. Set link alerts - Use alert features to monitor new backlinks pointing to your domain as they are found.

Most backlink checkers make it simple to view all your links with a few clicks. But don't stop at just looking at aggregate link totals. Take advantage of filtering, sorting, and reporting to really capitalize on your link data.

 


How to Analyze Your Backlinks

Simply viewing all your backlinks isn't enough. To maximize SEO value, you need to dig deeper and analyze:

  • Backlink sources - Identify top domains and pages linking to yours. Prioritize powerful domains relevant to your industry.
  • Anchor text - Check anchor text usage to ensure a healthy mix of branded, naked, and keyword anchors.
  • Link quality - Assess the authority and relevance of linking domains. Remove or disavow low-quality links.
  • Link velocity - Track new links over time. A steady, growing pace is ideal.
  • Industries and locations - See where links come from geographically and by market.

Analyzing these factors provides the context to interpret what your backlink profile means and how to improve it going forward.

Ideally, your backlinks will come from a diverse mix of relevant, authoritative sites in your topic industry. Anchor text will include your brand name along with naked and optimized anchor text. New links will accumulate steadily over time from quality sources.

Compare your actual backlink profile to this ideal to identify strengths and weaknesses. Then you can work to build more high-quality links and remove problematic ones.


Backlink Audit

A backlink audit involves a thorough analysis of all links to uncover issues. Here's the general process:

  1. Run backlink analysis using a tool like Ahrefs to export full data.
  2. Review top linking domains and pages. Flag any suspicious or manipulative links.
  3. Check anchor text ratios for over-optimization. Too much keyword-rich anchor text can raise flags.
  4. Scan for toxic links from spammy or shady websites. Use Moz's Spam Score to help identify risky domains.
  5. For large link profiles, use filters to isolate high-risk links for deeper analysis. Location, link type, and other filters can help drill down.
  6. Carefully evaluate any questionable backlinks and consider disavowing toxic ones. Don't just blindly disavow in bulk.
  7. Build a proper 301 redirect for any removed pages linking to you to pass link equity.
  8. Set up alerts to monitor for any new toxic links pointing to your site.

Regular backlink audits encourage link best practices and help avoid Google penalties. Even if you don't have many links, an occasional audit can identify any bad links slipping through.

 


Backlink Tracking and Monitoring

The backlink analysis process doesn't stop after an initial check. You need to continually track backlinks over time to:

  • Watch new links as they occur
  • Notice any lost/dropped links
  • Identify unnatural link spikes
  • Catch questionable links early

Regular backlink tracking provides insight into your link-building efforts and site health.

Many backlink checkers include link-tracking features:

  • LinkONY - Tracks all new backlinks, lost links, and temporary links.
  • Ahrefs - Alerts for new links. Lost link tracking requires saved snapshots for comparison.
  • Moz - Shows new links and lost links compared to a past snapshot.
  • Majestic - Identifies new and lost backlinks compared to historic data.

Schedule time every 1-2 months to run a link check and analyze trends. Tracking sources of new quality links can reveal link-building opportunities. Noticing a big uptick in shady links signals issues to address.

 


Tips for Viewing and Analyzing Links

Here are some top tips for getting the most value from viewing and assessing your backlinks:

  • Use multiple tools - Each backlink analysis tool has slightly different data. Using several provides a more complete picture.
  • Learn anchor text patterns - Get familiar with the typical anchor text makeup in your industry to identify outliers.
  • Set link alerts - Alerts let you monitor new links in real time and address issues faster.
  • Check global links - Change the link view from only top-level domains to all links for full analysis.
  • Regularly review new links - Stay on top of new links to rapidly identify and mitigate bad ones.
  • Disavow with care - Don't disavow links unless you fully confirm they are toxic or manipulative.
  • 301 lost links - When removing toxic links, set up redirects to pass equity to other pages.
  • Export for offline analysis - Export backlink data to CSV or Excel for further filtering and analysis.

Following these best practices will boost the value you get from viewing and assessing backlinks.

 


Frequently Asked Questions About Viewing Backlinks

Q1: What is the easiest way to check my backlinks?

A: The quickest way is to use a free backlink analysis tool like OpenLinkProfiler or Backlinko. Enter your domain to see a summary of your backlinks, referring domains, and anchor text in just a few seconds.

For more robust backlink data, free trials from Ahrefs, Moz, or Majestic provide full access for 7-30 days. SEMrush also offers strong backlink reporting in its free version.


Q2: How often should I check my backlinks?

A: Ideally, you should check your backlinks about once a month. This lets you monitor your link profile for new links from outreach efforts along with any toxic links needing removal.
If aggressively building links, checking every 2 weeks can help spot any sketchy patterns early. Use link tracking alerts as well to monitor new links in real time.


Q3: Can I check competitors' backlinks?

A: Yes, most backlink analysis tools let you enter any domain or URL to view linked pages and anchor text details. Just use caution in how you utilize competitor link data.

Check their anchor text ratios and top linking domains for useful benchmarking. But never copy or mimic competitors' manipulative link-building tactics.


Q4: How do I know if a backlink is good or bad?

A: The main indicators of a quality backlink are:

  • Comes from a relevant, authoritative site
  • Uses branded or natural anchor text
  • Directs to a useful, informative page
  • Acquired organically, not bought or swapped

Be suspicious of links with over-optimized anchors, irrelevant sites, paid posts, article networks, and other shady tactics.


Q5: Can I check backlinks without a paid tool?

A: Yes, Google's site operator can view any pages linking to a domain. This only reveals a sample of links but can provide free insight into top pages and anchor text.
Open Site Explorer offers some free backlink data as well. For full details though, a paid tool is recommended.

 


View Backlinks With Confidence

Viewing and analyzing backlinks is vital for monitoring SEO success and identifying issues. Now you have a complete guide to checking links with the best tools and optimizing your overall link profile.


Ahrefs, Moz, Majestic, and other paid tools provide the most robust backlink data. Take advantage of free trials to test them out. Schedule time every month to audit new links and remove any toxic ones.


Remember - it's quality over quantity when building links. Focus on acquiring authoritative, relevant backlinks organically. Avoid manipulative tactics that could trigger penalties.


Use this guide's tips and best practices for backlink analysis. Soon you'll have the knowledge to view backlinks like an SEO expert!

 

 


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