How to Check Backlinks

Backlinks help your site get more incoming traffic and build your authority. Links to your content and page also create positive buzz about your brand and can boost your company’s sales. But to check what backlinks to your site exist, you need the right tools.

You could try to manually search for your backlinks. However, the process would be tedious, and you’d end up overlooking a few things. Automated tools like Ahrefs do the heavy lifting for you.
This article examines some of the more popular backlink tools out there. Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

Why Do I Need to Check My Site’s Backlinks?

Backlinks are important because they help determine your page’s authority and influence your search engine rankings. When other sites and content link back to yours, the search engines recognize this as a positive signal. Your page and content must be relevant and authoritative if others are using it. While backlinks are just one factor search engines consider, low-quality or spammy toxic backlinks can be a problem. Broken or outdated backlinks can also hurt your site’s authority and ranking.

Making sure that your backlinks are working and relevant is important. So is checking to see if those links exist on other credible and authoritative sites, such as Forbes or CNN.

What Tools Can I Use?

There’s no shortage of backlink checkers out there. Not only can these tools show you what backlinks your site currently has, but they can help you identify high-quality backlink opportunities. You can use tools to find other sites in your niche, see the site’s authority, and an overview.

Here are the details on some of the more popular backlink checkers out there.

1. Ahrefs

This tool comes with a seven-day trial. If you decide you want to keep the tool around, plans range from $99 to $999 a month. Ahrefs is a well-known and widely-used tool because it helps companies find high-quality backlinks.

With Ahrefs, you can manage the backlinks your site already has. Plus, you can gain additional high-quality backlinks to raise your site’s domain authority. You can enter a site’s web address, including your own or that of your competitor. You’ll see how many links exist, which sites those backlinks are coming from, and the authority of the sites.

2. Moz Link Explorer

The great thing about Moz Link Explorer is there’s a free option. If you want to upgrade to a full range of features, you’ll pay between $99 and $599 a month. Moz Link Explorer lets you enter the URL of a site, see its inbound links, anchor text other sites use, spam score, and authority.

Included in some of the tool’s plans and features are the ability to find and fix broken links, analyze anchor text, and create more targeted content. You can also research your competition’s links and get alerts about new backlinks.

3. Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo comes with a free trial so you can check it out. After that, plans start at $99 a month. With this tool, you can check a site’s address or the keywords you want to be known for. You’ll discover which sites rank the highest for your targeted keywords. This is a good tool if you’re looking to increase authority and rank according to specific keywords. You’ll also get an intuitive dashboard that’s easy to use.

Summary

Checking your site’s backlinks is just as important as going after inbound link opportunities. Automated tools like Moz Link Explorer streamline the process, so it only takes minutes instead of days. You’ll be on your way to fixing what’s broken and increasing your site’s rank and authority in no time.