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Backlink Checker

Analyze the backlink profile of any website. See referring domains, anchor text, and link quality.

Total Backlinks

See the total number of links pointing to any website from external domains.

Referring Domains

Count unique domains linking to a site — a key factor in search engine authority.

Anchor Text

Analyze anchor text distribution to understand how other sites describe your content.

Link Quality

Differentiate between follow and nofollow links, and identify potentially toxic backlinks.

Why Backlinks Matter for SEO

Backlinks are one of Google's top 3 ranking factors. Here's what you need to know.

Fundamentals

What Are Backlinks?

Backlinks are links from one website to another. Search engines use them as "votes of confidence" — the more quality sites that link to you, the more authoritative you appear.

  • Each link is a trust signal for search engines
  • Quality matters more than quantity
  • Links from relevant sites carry more weight
Analysis

What to Look For

Not all backlinks are equal. When analyzing a backlink profile, focus on the metrics that actually correlate with rankings.

  • Referring domain diversity
  • Follow vs. nofollow ratio
  • Anchor text relevance
  • Linking page authority
Strategy

Building Quality Backlinks

Earning backlinks organically through great content and outreach is the most sustainable SEO strategy.

  • Create linkable assets (studies, tools, guides)
  • Guest posting on relevant sites
  • Fix broken links on other sites
  • Earn press and PR mentions

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the backlink data come from?
Backlink data is powered by a third-party link index provider. This feature requires a premium data subscription and is not currently active. We're working on enabling it — check back soon! In the meantime, our other SEO tools (SEO Checker, Speed Test, Authority Checker, Keyword Checker) are fully available.
What is Domain Rank?
Domain Rank is DataForSEO's proprietary metric (0–1000) that measures a domain's authority based on its backlink profile. Higher values indicate stronger backlink authority. It's comparable to (but not the same as) Moz DA or Ahrefs DR.
Follow vs. Nofollow — what's the difference?
Follow links (dofollow) pass link equity ("link juice") to the target site and help improve its search rankings. Nofollow links include a rel="nofollow" attribute that tells search engines not to pass authority. A healthy backlink profile has a mix of both, with a majority being follow links.