You paid for 50 backlinks. The freelancer sent a spreadsheet with URLs, anchor texts, and “dofollow” labels. But how do you know those links actually exist?
Inspect, (4) Look at the <a> tag for rel="nofollow". No rel attribute means dofollow. Repeat for every link.
The Manual Process
Step 1: Open the Linking Page
Copy the URL from your report and paste it into your browser. If the page loads at all. Sometimes it’s slow, sometimes it redirects, sometimes it 404s.
Step 2: Find Your Link
Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) and search for your domain—just yoursite.com, not the full URL.
Zero matches? The link might not exist, or it might be buried in JavaScript that loads after the page renders.
Step 3: Inspect the Link Element
Right-click the link and select Inspect. Find the <a> tag:
<a href="https://yoursite.com/page">Click Here</a>
Step 4: Check the Rel Attribute
The rel attribute determines SEO value:
- No rel attribute — Dofollow (passes SEO value)
rel="nofollow"— No SEO valuerel="sponsored"— Marked as paidrel="ugc"— User-generated content
If your report says “dofollow” but the HTML shows rel="nofollow", someone made a mistake—or lied.
Step 5: Document and Repeat
Note whether the link exists and its follow status. Then repeat for every link in your report.
50 backlinks = 50 pages to load, 50 searches, 50 inspect operations. Budget 1-2 hours minimum.
Why Manual Checking Fails
Time
A single check takes 1-2 minutes when everything works. For 100 links, that’s over 3 hours of clicking.
Accuracy
After 15-20 checks, your brain checks out. You click through motions without really looking. Mistakes happen.
Technical Blind Spots
JavaScript rendering — Many sites load content dynamically. Ctrl+F only searches what’s currently rendered. Your link might exist but not show up yet.
Redirects — Your report shows http://example.com/page but it redirects to https://www.example.com/page. Sometimes redirects add nofollow tags. Sometimes they break.
Different content for bots — Some sites serve different content to crawlers. Your link might “exist” for you but not for Google.
Noindex pages — You checked the link’s rel attribute. But a page with <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> doesn’t pass link equity. That dofollow link is worthless.
Robots.txt blocks — If the page is blocked from crawlers, your backlink provides zero SEO benefit.
Links disappear — You verify on Monday. Site owner removes the link on Wednesday. Manual verification is a snapshot, not monitoring.
Hidden Problems You’ll Miss
Iframe links — If your link is in an iframe, Google may not give it the same value as a direct link.
Canonical tags — A page pointing its canonical to a different URL diminishes the value of links on the non-canonical version.
Mixed content — HTTPS pages with HTTP elements can cause browsers to block content, including your link.
None of these are visible with simple inspect element. Each requires additional checks.
When Manual Makes Sense
Spot-checking high-value placements — Verifying that expensive guest post exists? Worth 2 minutes.
Investigating suspicious reports — Something feels off? Manually sample a few pages.
Learning — New to SEO? Inspecting links teaches you what to look for.
For systematic verification of any real campaign? Manual doesn’t scale.
Verify Your Backlinks
Backlink Checker Pro validates whether the links in your reports actually exist.
- Link existence — is the link on the page?
- Dofollow, nofollow, sponsored, or UGC status
- Page accessibility — noindex, bot blocks, errors
What Thorough Verification Requires
Link-Level
- Does the link physically exist?
- What’s the rel attribute?
- Does clicking it actually reach your site?
Page-Level
- Noindex tag present?
- Blocked by robots.txt?
- JavaScript required to render your link?
- Canonical pointing elsewhere?
Site-Level
- Domain blocked from search engines?
- Site penalized or deindexed?
Most people just check if the link exists and move on—missing everything that determines whether it actually helps SEO.
Bottom Line
Can you check backlinks manually? Yes. Should you? Only for a handful of links.
For real campaigns where you paid money and need to verify delivery, manual checking is:
- Too slow — Hours for what should take seconds
- Too error-prone — Fatigue leads to missed issues
- Too shallow — You’ll miss page-level problems
- Too temporary — Snapshot, not monitoring
If you can’t efficiently verify links, you can’t know if you’re getting value or getting scammed.
How long does it take to check one backlink manually?
About 1-2 minutes per link when things go smoothly. For 50 backlinks, expect 1-2 hours.
What does "dofollow" mean?
A link that passes SEO value. There's no rel="dofollow" in HTML—links are dofollow by default when they have no rel attribute or don't include nofollow.
Why might a link not appear when I Ctrl+F?
JavaScript might load it after initial page render. The link might be in an iframe. It might have been removed. Or the URL in your report is wrong.
How often should I verify backlinks?
Immediately after receiving a report, then monthly for active campaigns. Links get removed, pages go offline, policies change.