You built 50 backlinks. Your report shows them all as live.
But are they indexed by Google? If not, they pass zero SEO value.
Google discovers a page, indexes it, then finds links on that page. Those links pass ranking signals. If the page never gets indexed, the chain breaks. Your link exists in HTML but in a vacuum Google cannot see.
site: operator: search site:example.com/page-url for the exact page containing your link. No results = not indexed = no SEO value. For bulk checking, Backlink Checker Pro verifies whether pages have noindex tags, robots.txt blocks, or bot detection preventing indexation.
Why This Matters
Unindexed backlinks provide zero ranking value. Google cannot evaluate what it cannot find. Perfect relevance, excellent domain authority, natural anchor text - all meaningless without indexation.
Many backlinks come from unindexed pages. New pages, orphaned pages with few internal links, pages with technical issues - these slip through Google’s indexation cracks more often than you think.
You may be paying for invisible links. Some percentage of purchased link building deliverables land on pages Google has never indexed. Your “500 backlinks” might actually be 300 working ones.
How to Check Backlink Indexation
Method 1: The site: Operator
- Copy the full URL of the page containing your backlink
- Search Google:
site:example.com/exact-page-url - Page appears = indexed. “No results found” = not indexed
Example for a backlink on https://techblog.com/best-seo-tools-2024:
site:techblog.com/best-seo-tools-2024
Limitation: Works for spot-checking, but manually checking hundreds of URLs is impractical.
Method 2: Check for Technical Blockers
Before assuming Google simply has not discovered a page, check for deliberate blocks:
Noindex meta tag - Page explicitly tells search engines not to index:
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">
Robots.txt blocks - Crawling prevented entirely:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /this-page/
Bot detection - Page serves different content to crawlers or blocks them entirely.
Pages with these issues will NEVER be indexed until someone fixes them.
Check Backlink Indexation Issues
Backlink Checker Pro crawls your backlink sources and identifies indexation blockers:
page_is_noindex- Page has noindex meta tagblocked_by_robots- Page blocked by robots.txtpage_blocks_bots- Bot detection may hide your link from search engines
Upload your backlink list (CSV, Excel, PDF) and see which links have indexation problems.
Verify Your Backlinks FreeCommon Reasons Backlinks Are Not Indexed
Noindex Tag
Most common reason. The webmaster explicitly told Google to ignore the page. Happens with thank you pages, login-required content, staging pages, thin content, duplicate variations.
Your backlink will NEVER provide SEO value unless the site owner removes the tag.
Robots.txt Block
The site’s robots.txt prevents Google from crawling certain URLs. Often affects CMS-generated pages, user profiles, admin sections, archived content.
Unlike noindex (which Google must crawl to see), robots.txt prevents crawling entirely.
Page Too New
Google does not index instantly. New pages on smaller sites might take weeks or months. If you just received a backlink, wait 4-6 weeks before investigating further.
Orphaned Page
Google discovers pages by following links. A page with zero internal links is hard to find. New blog posts not linked from homepage or category pages may never get discovered.
Low Quality Content
Google crawls many pages it chooses not to index. Thin content, auto-generated content, near-duplicates - Google may see the page and reject it.
Crawl Budget Limits
Large sites have limited crawl budget. Your backlink buried on page 500 of an archive might never get crawled because Google prioritizes other pages.
What to Do About Unindexed Backlinks
Technically Blocked Pages
If noindex or robots.txt blocks the page, your backlink will never provide SEO value. Options:
- Contact the site owner - sometimes noindex tags are accidental
- Ask for link placement on a different, indexed page
- Write off the link as non-SEO (still sends referral traffic)
- Request a refund if you paid for the link
New Pages Not Yet Indexed
Be patient. If 4-6 weeks pass with no indexation, the page likely has discovery issues. Contact the site owner.
Pages Google Chose Not to Index
Not much you can do. The page has quality issues or the site has crawl budget problems. This backlink probably will not contribute value.
Integrate Indexation Checks Into Your Workflow
Before accepting links: Verify the target page is indexed or indexable. A noindexed page is a red flag.
After receiving links: Verify within 1-2 weeks. If pages are not indexed, start asking questions.
Quarterly audits: Check your full backlink profile for previously indexed pages that got deindexed, new technical blocks, or patterns of unindexed links from specific sources.
The Bottom Line
Backlinks only count if Google can find them. Before celebrating your backlink count, ask: how many are actually indexed?
How do I check if a backlink is indexed?
Search Google for site:example.com/exact-page-url with the full URL containing your backlink. If the page appears, it is indexed. If you see "No results found," the page and your backlink are not indexed.
Do unindexed backlinks pass any SEO value?
No. Google cannot evaluate links on pages it does not know exist. Unindexed backlinks may send referral traffic if users click them, but they contribute nothing to rankings.
How long until a new backlink gets indexed?
On well-established sites, days. On smaller sites, weeks or months. If not indexed after 4-6 weeks, technical issues are likely preventing indexation.
What's the difference between noindex and robots.txt blocking?
A noindex tag tells Google "crawl but don't index." Robots.txt blocking tells Google "don't crawl at all." Both prevent indexation. Either way, backlinks on these pages provide no SEO value.
What percentage of backlinks are typically unindexed?
10-30% is common. For purchased link building services targeting easier placements, the percentage can be higher.