How to check backlinks in Google Search Console

How to check backlinks using Google?

Open Google Search Console, choose the property for your website, and select Links. Under External links, start with Top linked pages for destinations on your site, Top linking sites for referring websites, or Top linking text for the words used in links. Google's Links report guide documents these views and their drill-down paths.

Use the property you intend to review and keep its name with your notes. If you cannot open it, ask its owner for appropriate access. You do not need to become an owner to read the report: Google's permissions table includes Links access for restricted users as well as full users and owners.

Start with one question, such as which sites reference a particular setup guide. This keeps the check manageable and gives you a reason to explore the detail. The report can help you find a source page to investigate; use the wider SaaS backlink channel guide when your question is where to pursue new opportunities.

Find the pages on your site that receive links

Use Top linked pages to start with a destination on your own site. Follow Links > External links > Top linked pages > MORE, select a target URL, then choose a site under Top sites linking to this page. The resulting detail shows linking pages from that site for the selected target.

This route is useful when you want to investigate references to a particular product page or resource. Note the selected target and referring site before opening a source URL. If the target you wanted is absent, leave that as a report observation rather than treating it as proof that no external page links there.

Google groups targets by its selected canonical URL, the representative URL it chooses for a page. In the detail, Target URL (if different) can reflect a redirect or Google's canonical choice. The official report documentation explains both cases.

When the report and the link you follow show different addresses, record both. Open the source page, follow its link, and note where the browser finishes. This helps you identify an old address that still leads somewhere useful, or a destination that needs correction, without guessing from the grouped report entry.

Read Top linking sites without losing the source page

Use Top linking sites when you want to begin with a referring website. Select MORE, choose a site, then select one of your linked pages to reach the page-level detail. Keep the exact linking-page URL when you find it; the website summary is only a starting point.

The Links report groups referring sites by root domain, stripping protocol, subdomains, and subdirectories while keeping the top-level domain. Duplicate links also combine after normalization of the source and target URLs. These are documented grouping rules, so raw counts should be read within that report's definitions.

For a practical review, ask what you need to learn from the site. You might want to check whether a partner resource describes your integration accurately or whether an old directory profile points to a retired product page. Read the individual source before deciding what needs attention. A high count alone does not tell you whether its pages help your audience.

Keep root-domain summaries separate from page-level observations in your notes. This makes a later handoff easier: a teammate can open the precise page you checked rather than search an entire website for the same reference.

Understand Top linking text and empty entries

Top linking text shows common text in external links. Open MORE to explore it. Google combines case-insensitive exact text matches; links without text, including image links, can appear as (empty) in the interface and blank in an export. See the link-text explanation.

Use this view to decide which descriptions deserve a closer look. If a phrase appears inaccurate or surprising, investigate the relevant source material before requesting a change. An empty entry alone is not a reason to assume the referring page is broken. A visitor may be following a linked image rather than visible words.

When you inspect the page, note how someone would recognize the link and what they would expect after selecting it. Does the surrounding explanation match your current product? Does the destination answer that expectation? Keep corrections specific, such as an obsolete product name or a retired URL, so the publisher can understand the request.

Export the right sample and understand its limits

On the Links landing page, use Export to choose Latest links or More sample links. In a single-table view, use its download button. You can export to CSV or Google Sheets. Google's export documentation gives two different limits: report tables and single-table downloads contain up to 1,000 rows; Latest links and More sample links each offer up to 100,000 rows. Latest links is ordered by discovery date.

None of these exports is a complete, current inventory. Google describes the report as a sample, with some URLs omitted, including non-indexed or deduplicated URLs. It can contain links that were removed or pages that no longer exist. A discovery date should therefore remain a report field, separate from the date you personally opened the source.

Before exporting, decide whether you are collecting candidates for inspection or saving a particular report view. Put the property, export choice, and download date in the filename or accompanying notes. Keep the original file unchanged and make a separate working copy for annotations, so a later reviewer can distinguish reported fields from your own checks.

When another tool shows different totals, compare what each count represents before calling either one wrong. Do not try to resolve the difference by adding totals together. For a missing or apparently old link, the useful next step is a focused public-page check, not a conclusion based only on the count.

Can Search Console tell you whether a link is dofollow?

The Links report does not identify nofollow status, according to Google's report notes. A row therefore cannot establish that a link is dofollow. If attributes matter to your review, inspect the current link separately.

Open the referring page and find the link to your site. Follow it to check the destination. If you are comfortable with browser developer tools, inspect the link element and record its rel value as observed. If you did not inspect the markup, write not inspected. Keep the check date beside those details.

Describe only what that check establishes. A page you opened and a link you followed are useful current observations; neither proves how Google has processed the page or what effect the link has had. Google separates crawling, indexing, and serving in its explanation of Search.

If the source no longer loads or the link is absent, record that finding alongside the report row. The mismatch is worth preserving. You can then decide whether to request a correction, revisit later, or leave the item as historical information.

Separate search performance from referral visits

Use Search Console Performance for Google Search activity and website analytics for referral visits. Google's Performance report provides clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position, with query and page dimensions. Those metrics are not sessions arriving through a directory or partner website.

A Search click is a click from a Google result; an impression records an appearance under Google's reporting rules. CTR is clicks divided by impressions, and average position describes the position of the topmost result within the selected view. Keep the selected pages, filters, and period with a comparison so your team can repeat it.

For referrals, inspect the sources and landing pages recorded by your analytics tool over a stated window. If you use campaign tags, document how those visits are classified. Choose a useful action, such as a trial start, only if that event is actually configured. No observed activity and no working measurement should remain different notes.

A change in search performance after a link appeared is a question to investigate. Consider other website or product changes during the same period. Use the review to decide what to maintain or improve rather than assigning a ranking effect to a report row.

Use a three-source check for one reported link

Combine the report, a current public-page inspection, and referral analytics to answer three different questions. This is an editorial diagnostic workflow you can use for a focused review. It is not a customer example, measured study, or quality score.

Begin with a single reported source and target. Save the report context, check what a visitor can see today, then look for audience activity within your chosen window. You may finish with incomplete information. Write unknown where a check was not possible, and keep the reason so someone else knows what remains.

• Report note to complete: property ___; view/export ___; source ___; target ___; recorded on ___.
• Public check to complete: checked on ___; page state ___; link destination ___; attributes inspected or unknown ___.
• Analytics note to complete: period ___; source classification ___; configured action ___; observation or measurement gap ___.

Turn the check into a useful next action

Choose the next action from what the three checks show. Correct an inaccurate description, repair a destination you control, or schedule a recheck when a source is temporarily unavailable. Keep the action tied to the exact page and give it an owner.

For a broader review of existing profiles, use the directory listing audit. For judging one opportunity's audience and destination fit, use the SaaS backlink evaluation worksheet. Neither requires turning Search Console's sample into an exhaustive inventory.

The reporting methodology distinguishes confirmed submissions, published listings, and dated live-link checks. Those records answer different questions from Google's Links report. Simple Backlinks' directory service remains planned and orders are closed: customers would supply their exact authorized profile, and the team would prepare directory listings, select directories, submit, and report without listing-by-listing customer approval.