Why Check Domain Backlinks?
Competitive Intelligence
Your competitor ranks #1. You’ve got better content. Why are they winning?
Often, the answer is backlinks. A domain backlink checker shows exactly who’s linking to them. That guest post they landed? Pitch the same site. That directory listing? Submit your site too.
Due Diligence
Buying a website? Check its backlink profile first. Half the “natural backlinks” might be PBN links one Google update away from oblivion.
Diagnosing Your Own Site
Rankings dropped? Check your backlinks for toxic links from hacked sites, duplicated links from scrapers, or an unnatural dofollow/nofollow ratio.
Metrics That Matter
Referring Domains
The metric that correlates most strongly with rankings. 100 links from 100 different websites beats 100 links from one website.
Dofollow vs Nofollow Ratio
Healthy profiles have mostly dofollow, but some nofollow is natural. Watch out for 90%+ nofollow—might indicate link schemes or reliance on profile links that don’t carry SEO weight.
Anchor Text Distribution
Natural anchor text is messy and varied:
- Brand name (“Nike”, “Apple”)
- URL anchors (“example.com”)
- Generic (“click here”, “learn more”)
- Keyword variations (“running shoes guide”)
A domain with 60% exact-match keyword anchors screams “bought links.”
Link Velocity
Steady growth looks natural. Sudden spikes without viral content look manipulated.
Discovery vs Verification Problem
Backlink tools show what they’ve found, not what’s live now.
- Links get removed after the tool’s last crawl
- Sites go offline
- Dofollow links quietly become nofollow
When Ahrefs shows you a link from last month’s crawl, that link might not exist anymore. Discovery tools answer “what links has this domain had?” Verification answers “what links exist right now?”
Verify What Discovery Tools Report
Backlink Checker Pro bridges the gap between discovery and verification. Upload discovered backlinks (CSV, Excel, PDF), specify your target domain, and check each link in real-time.
See which links exist, which are gone, which are dofollow vs nofollow, and which pages have SEO-blocking issues.
Verify Your Backlinks FreePractical Workflow
Step 1: Overview
Enter the domain into your backlink checker. Note:
- How many referring domains?
- Domain authority/rating?
- Dofollow vs nofollow split?
Step 2: Top Referring Domains
Sort by most authoritative links. For competitors, these are your best opportunities. Pay attention to relevance—a fitness site with top links from casinos is a red flag.
Step 3: Anchor Text Distribution
Does it look natural? Heavy on brand terms and generic anchors with keyword variations mixed in = good. Heavy on exact-match commercial keywords = risky.
Step 4: Link Velocity
Check historical graphs. Steady growth = good. Erratic spikes without obvious cause = investigate.
Step 5: Verify Important Links
Export high-authority links and recent links. Verify they’re actually live before making decisions.
Red Flags
- Irrelevant linking domains — Tech blog with thousands of gambling links = hacked or sold links
- Unnatural anchors — “best cheap lawyer New York” across dozens of links
- PBN patterns — Similar domains, thin content, interlinking between them
- Massive links from few domains — 10,000 links from one domain = sitewide footer links
What is a domain backlink checker?
A tool that reveals all websites linking to a specific domain—referring domains, individual backlinks, anchor text, link attributes, and historical trends. Used for competitive analysis, site audits, and link building strategy.
Can I check domain backlinks for free?
Yes. Ahrefs' free checker shows top 100 links. Moz offers 10 free queries monthly. Google Search Console shows backlinks to sites you own. Free tools provide incomplete data—paid tools are necessary for comprehensive analysis.
How accurate are domain backlink checkers?
Reasonably accurate for discovery but they show what crawlers found at some past point—not necessarily what exists now. Links get removed between crawls. For critical decisions, verify important backlinks are actually live.
What's the difference between backlinks and referring domains?
Backlinks are individual links—one page can have multiple. Referring domains are unique websites. If Site A has 5 pages linking to you, that's 5 backlinks but 1 referring domain. Referring domains is typically the more valuable metric.