How to Perform a Backlink Audit in 13 Steps

Today, I’ll guide you through a 13-step backlink audit process, focusing on every detail from tool selection to identifying low-quality links. This streamlined approach is designed to help you complete your audit efficiently, typically in just 30 minutes. Over my years of experience, I’ve successfully assisted numerous businesses in improving their search rankings through effective link building and auditing.

These steps are crucial if you’re aiming to enhance the quality of traffic to your site and boost your organic rankings. By following this methodical approach, you can identify and address any issues with your backlink profile swiftly and effectively. Whether you’re new to backlink audits or looking to refine your current strategy, these steps will provide you with a clear path forward.

If you’re ready to take control of your site’s SEO health and ensure it’s optimally positioned for search engine success, this guide will equip you with the necessary tools and insights to achieve those goals. Let’s dive into the steps and empower your website with stronger backlinks and improved search visibility.

What Is a Backlink Audit?

Firstly, backlinks are simply links pointing to your website. A backlink audit involves thoroughly examining all the links directed towards your pages from other websites.

During this audit, you will:

Review the sites that link to your website
Determine which pages on your site receive the most backlinks
Identify any potentially harmful backlinks
Explore new opportunities for building links
Develop a strategy to remove or disavow undesirable backlinks

Why Perform a Backlink Audit?

A backlink audit is crucial for your off-page SEO strategy. Neglecting it could mean harmful backlinks damaging your site’s credibility, potentially nullifying your hard work on on-page SEO efforts.

Maintain a Healthy Backlink Profile

Regularly conducting a backlink analysis helps maintain a healthy backlink profile. It allows you to swiftly identify and remove any detrimental links, even those acquired unintentionally, such as through link spam, which Google penalizes severely.

Monitor Your Progress

Before embarking on a link building campaign, auditing your backlinks provides a baseline to track your progress and gauge the effectiveness of your efforts over time. It also reveals areas for improving your current strategy or creating new opportunities for link building.

When You Buy a New Site

Acquiring a new site warrants an immediate backlink audit to assess its existing profile. This ensures you’re not hindered by issues like redirect chains or spammy links, crucial for achieving competitive rankings in your niche.

Keep an Eye on Your Competitors

Regular backlink audits also allow you to monitor your competitors’ strategies. By analyzing their backlink profiles, you can identify successful content and link acquisition tactics, informing your own SEO approach to stay ahead in the rankings.

Find New Link Building Opportunities

Lastly, a thorough backlink audit reveals pages on your site lacking sufficient links, guiding your efforts to boost their linkability and overall SEO performance.

This approach maintains clarity and directness while conveying the essential aspects of conducting a backlink audit effectively.

How to Perform a Backlink Audit in 13 Steps

Starting a backlink audit might seem like a daunting task at first glance, but fear not. I’ve outlined 13 straightforward steps that are designed to be easy to follow, even for those new to SEO and link building. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your site’s backlink strategy, this guide will walk you through the process step-by-step, ensuring you can effectively manage and optimize your site’s backlink profile. Let’s dive in and get started.

Step 1: Choose a Backlink Audit Tool

Selecting the right backlink audit tool is crucial for saving time and ensuring comprehensive analysis. While manual methods through Google Search Console are possible, they can be extremely time-consuming. Paid tools like Moz, Majestic SEO, and Ahrefs offer deeper insights beyond what Google provides, such as Semrush, which I’ll use to demonstrate in this guide.

Semrush’s Backlink Audit tool stands out with features like:

Backlink profile toxicity score
Number of referring domains
Authority Score for your site and referring domains
Referring domains’ categories
Top anchor texts and types
Ratio of nofollow to dofollow backlinks
Detailed dashboard presentation

Although Semrush offers extensive data, beginners might find it overwhelming initially. However, its insights can significantly streamline your link building strategy.

Pros:

Semrush provides extensive link data, facilitating data-driven decisions for link building campaigns.

Cons:

Semrush’s pricing starts at $119.95 per month, which may be a consideration for some users.

Step 2: Check the Total Number of Backlinks Pointing to Your Domain

After choosing your tool, begin the audit by assessing the total number of backlinks to your site. This metric, while straightforward, doesn’t inherently indicate link quality. It’s essential to delve deeper into the quality and relevance of these links, especially in competitive niches.

Monitoring fluctuations in your backlink count can also reveal potential negative SEO attacks. For example, Semrush’s Backlink Audit tool can quickly provide an overview of your site’s total backlinks compared to competitors like Yoast, who may have millions more, highlighting the importance of quality over quantity.

Understanding the number of referring domains is more valuable than sheer backlink numbers. Yoast’s slightly higher backlink count may not translate to better performance without considering quality and relevance.

Toxicity Score and Authority Score

Semrush’s Overall Toxicity Score helps identify potentially harmful backlinks based on various markers like link networks and spam indicators. Meanwhile, the Authority Score assesses a domain’s link power and organic traffic, offering insights into potential backlink value.

Before pursuing backlinks, checking a domain’s Authority Score ensures you target sites that can positively impact your rankings, highlighting the importance of quality backlinks in SEO strategies.

Step 3: Identify Your Referring Domains and Unique Domains

The number of referring domains, unlike total backlinks, indicates how many different websites link to yours. For instance, if your site has multiple backlinks from one domain like Nerd Wallet or Investopedia, they count as separate backlinks but only one referring domain. Using Semrush simplifies this process by providing insights into your referring domains and their quality metrics.

By navigating to the Referring Domains tab in Semrush, you can monitor weekly changes in new and lost referring domains. Each domain listed includes its Authority Score and total backlinks to your site, offering a clear view of your site’s link profile dynamics.

Filtering out low-quality domains with metrics like Authority Score above 30 and active status helps refine your analysis. This ensures you focus on high-quality, relevant domains that contribute positively to your SEO efforts.

Step 3.5: Compare Your Link Velocity to Your Competitors

Analyzing link velocity—the rate at which your site gains new referring domains—is crucial for staying competitive. Monitoring competitors’ link velocity using tools like Semrush allows you to benchmark against industry standards and adjust your strategy accordingly. However, it’s essential to balance rapid growth with maintaining a natural link profile to avoid penalties from search engines.

Step 4: Perform a Competitor Backlink Gap Analysis

Conducting a backlink gap analysis reveals opportunities by comparing your backlink profile with competitors. Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool highlights domains linking to competitors but not to your site. This data identifies potential sites for outreach and link building, enhancing your site’s authority and relevance within your industry.

For example, analyzing domains common among competitors like Search Engine Journal, Neil Patel, and Yoast can pinpoint authoritative sites such as oracle.com, stanford.edu, and time.com. These insights guide strategic decisions on acquiring backlinks to strengthen your SEO performance.

Exporting selected domains to a spreadsheet enables systematic outreach and ensures strategic follow-up to build valuable links. While matching competitors’ overall domain authority may be challenging, focusing on specific pages or thematic clusters allows you to leverage niche advantages and compete effectively within your market segment.

Step 5: Analyze Link Quality

In our previous discussion, we emphasized the importance of matching your competitors’ backlink numbers. However, sheer quantity isn’t the only factor to consider. The quality of your backlinks is paramount.

What makes a backlink high-quality? Firstly, relevance is key. Look for links from sites that naturally align with yours in terms of content. This alignment not only enhances the credibility of your site in the eyes of search engines but also ensures that the traffic coming through those links is genuinely interested in what you offer.

Secondly, consider authority. Metrics like Semrush’s Authority Score are invaluable here. Aim for links from sites with a solid authority score, indicating trustworthiness and influence within their respective fields.

Furthermore, observe the diversity and freshness of the backlinks. A healthy backlink profile includes a variety of sources and sees a steady influx of new links over time. This diversity signals to search engines that your site is valued across different platforms and communities.

Lastly, pay attention to the balance between dofollow and nofollow links. While dofollow links pass on authority to your site, nofollow links contribute to a more natural linking profile. A mix of both types is advisable to avoid appearing overly manipulated to search algorithms.

To assess these factors, leverage tools like Semrush’s Backlink Analytics. This tool provides comprehensive insights into each backlink, helping you gauge its quality and strategic value to your SEO efforts.

Step 6: Check Your Dofollow to Nofollow Link Ratio

Dofollow links are instrumental in boosting your site’s rankings as they allow search engines to follow them and pass on link authority. Conversely, nofollow links, while not contributing directly to SEO, still drive traffic and enhance brand visibility.

Maintaining a balanced ratio of these links is crucial. A natural backlink profile typically consists of approximately 70% to 75% dofollow links, with the remainder being nofollow. This distribution not only supports your SEO strategy but also aligns with search engine guidelines, avoiding penalties associated with artificial link-building practices.

It’s important to exercise caution when acquiring dofollow links rapidly. Google and other search engines are vigilant against manipulative SEO tactics. Therefore, integrating a mix of dofollow and nofollow links in your strategy not only diversifies your backlink profile but also mitigates the risk of penalties.

Utilize Semrush’s Link Attributes widget to monitor and adjust your link profile accordingly. This tool offers a visual breakdown of your backlink types, facilitating informed decisions in your SEO journey.

Step 7: Compare the Types of Backlinks Your Site Has

Diversifying your backlink portfolio enhances your site’s authority and resilience in search engine rankings. Understanding the various types of backlinks and their respective benefits is crucial for maintaining a balanced and effective SEO strategy.

Consider acquiring different types of backlinks such as press releases, social media links, guest posts, and editorial mentions. Each type serves a unique purpose, from improving SEO performance to enhancing brand visibility and credibility.

Text links, in particular, carry significant SEO weight due to their direct impact on search engine crawlers. They convey relevance and authority more effectively compared to image or other forms of backlinks.

By analyzing your backlink types using Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool, you can identify areas for improvement and diversification. This tool provides detailed insights into your backlink profile, helping you prioritize efforts towards acquiring high-quality links that align with your SEO objectives.

Step 8: Identify Spammy and Toxic Backlinks

Spammy or toxic backlinks pose a significant threat to your site’s SEO health. These links are typically low-quality and may come from sources that violate search engine guidelines. Identifying and removing such links is essential to safeguard your site’s reputation and ranking.

Common examples of spammy backlinks include links from non-indexed sites, link farms, and sites with irrelevant content or low authority. These links can trigger penalties from search engines, negatively impacting your site’s visibility and credibility.

Semrush’s Backlink Audit tool offers a comprehensive solution for detecting and managing toxic backlinks. By assessing your backlink profile through the tool’s Toxicity Score, you can pinpoint harmful links and take corrective action promptly.

Consider disavowing toxic links using Google’s Disavow Tool, accessible through Google Search Console. This process involves compiling a list of harmful URLs identified by Semrush and submitting it to Google for exclusion from your site’s link profile.

By maintaining a clean and reputable backlink profile, you uphold your site’s integrity and enhance its SEO performance over time. Focus on acquiring natural, high-quality backlinks from relevant sources to support sustainable growth and mitigate risks associated with manipulative link-building practices.

Step 9: Analyze Most Linked Content

The next step in your audit is to identify which pages on your site attract the most backlinks. Understanding what content earns these links is crucial for refining your SEO strategy.

Similarly, analyze your competitors’ top pages. If they have high link counts on topics you haven’t covered, consider creating relevant content quickly to fill these gaps on your site.

Pages with few backlinks may indicate issues like weak content, lack of visual appeal, or insufficient uniqueness. Use this opportunity to refresh or enhance your content during your link profile assessment.

Semrush’s Backlink Analytics offers detailed insights into your site’s top-performing pages. Navigate to the Top Pages widget to view backlink counts and referring domains for each page. This data helps you prioritize content updates and new content creation to strengthen your backlink profile.

Step 10: Manage 404 Errors

404 errors occur when links lead to non-existent pages on your site, disappointing users and wasting potential link equity.

To resolve this, implement a 301 redirect from deleted pages to either a relevant new URL or your homepage. This ensures that most of the link authority from those backlinks is transferred appropriately.

Consider leveraging broken link building with competitors. Identify dead links pointing to their sites and propose replacing them with links to your relevant content. This strategy offers webmasters value by fixing broken links, potentially earning you valuable backlinks in return.

Semrush’s Backlink Audit tool aids in identifying and managing these issues. Navigate to the Target Pages tab and select the Target URL error box to locate 404 error pages. Address these promptly by setting up redirects or contacting referring sites to update links.

Step 11: Evaluate ccTLD Distribution

Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) reveal a website’s country of origin (e.g., .co.uk for the UK, .com.au for Australia). Maintaining a balanced distribution of backlinks from relevant countries is crucial for SEO credibility.

A high proportion of backlinks from unrelated countries can signal spammy link-building practices to search engines, potentially harming your site’s ranking and reputation.

While it’s natural to acquire links from English-speaking countries, excessive links from unrelated countries should be monitored. Use Semrush’s Backlink Analytics to review TLD Distribution and Top Countries widgets for insights into your backlink sources.

Ensure your backlink profile reflects natural link acquisition patterns to avoid penalties. Consider disavowing irrelevant ccTLDs using Google’s Disavow Tool if necessary, to maintain a clean and effective SEO strategy.

Step 12: Detecting Negative SEO

Negative SEO aims to harm your site’s rankings through malicious tactics, contrary to ethical SEO practices.

Detecting signs of negative SEO early can prevent its impact on your site. Here’s how to spot potential attacks during your backlink audits:

Sudden Backlink Spikes: Unnatural increases in backlinks may indicate someone is building spammy links to your site.
Backlink Drops: Abrupt decreases in backlinks could suggest fake removal requests, where someone attempts to discredit your link profile.
Spammy Anchor Texts: Watch for irrelevant anchor texts like “buy cheap viagra” or “lose 10 pounds in a week”. Such anchors can harm your site’s credibility.
Toxicity Score Increase: Monitor Semrush’s toxicity score during audits. A sudden rise could signal spammy backlinks affecting your site’s health.

Step 13: Anchor Text Analysis

Anchor texts, the words used to link to your site, play a crucial role in SEO. Here’s how to manage them effectively:

Relevance: Ensure anchor texts reflect the linked page’s content to maintain SEO integrity.
Natural Integration: Embed links contextually within surrounding text to enhance user experience and SEO value.
Diversity: Avoid overusing exact-match anchors. Instead, maintain a balanced mix of branded and blended anchors.

During audits, focus on these types of anchor texts:

Exact Match: Matches the target keyword exactly.
Branded: Uses your brand name or URL.
Blended: Combines specific and generic terms.

For homepage links, aim for:

80%-95% branded anchors
10% blended anchors
Just 5% exact match anchors

Inner pages can be more varied:

35%-45% branded anchors
50%-60% blended anchors
Around 10% exact match anchors

Use Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool to review anchor text distribution. Click on the Anchors tab to assess which anchors are most commonly used to link to your site and their pages.

Ensure your anchor text strategy aligns with SEO best practices to maintain a natural and effective backlink profile.

How Often Should You Conduct a Backlink Audit?

Determining the frequency of your backlink audits depends on several factors:

Volume and Frequency of Backlinks: Sites with frequent new backlinks or a large existing volume should audit more often.
Site Size and Content Complexity: Larger sites with extensive content should consider monthly or quarterly audits to maintain a clean backlink profile.
Site Age and Competitiveness: Competitive niches benefit from more frequent audits to stay ahead in rankings and maintain link quality.
SEO Strategy and Performance: Monitor for dips in rankings which may indicate the need for immediate audit and link profile adjustments.
Time Since Last Audit: Regular audits reduce the workload compared to infrequent deep dives, preventing accumulation of toxic backlinks.

Consider a balance that fits your site’s needs: frequent quick audits (e.g., monthly) supplemented by deeper reviews (quarterly or semi-annually).

FAQs

Which Factors Matter Most in a Backlink Audit?

Focus on:

– Quantity and quality of backlinks

– Ratio of dofollow to nofollow links

– Referring domains

– Competitors’ backlink strategies

– Domain authority and relevance of linking sites

Can Backlinks Harm Your Site?

While beneficial backlinks boost SEO, toxic ones from low-quality sites can harm rankings. Google identifies and disregards many spammy links, but excessive toxic links should prompt action.

What Constitutes Bad Backlinks?

Avoid:

– Unnatural or forced links

– Links from spammy sites, PBNs, or link farms

– Links from your other sites

– Poor-quality press release links

How Do You Measure Backlink Success?

Assess through:

– Referral traffic growth

– Search ranking improvements

– Increased brand mentions

– Social media shares

– Enhanced domain authority

– Visitor metrics (total, new, unique)

How Many Backlinks Are Too Many?

Focus on quality over quantity. Building numerous high-quality backlinks benefits SEO. Avoid rapid, unnatural link building, especially for new sites.