What backlinks are and why they matter
A backlink is a link from another website pointing to yours. Search engines treat backlinks as votes of confidence — the more backlinks you have, especially from sites that are themselves trusted, the higher your site tends to rank in search results. Finding out which sites link to you tells you where your traffic might come from and whether other websites consider your content worth referencing.
You do not need to manually find every backlink to your site. Free and paid tools do this work for you by crawling the web and recording which sites link where. The tools differ in how many backlinks they find and how often they update their data, but they all show you the same basic information: the URL linking to you, the page it links from, and sometimes the text of the link itself.
Key Takeaways
- Google Search Console shows backlinks that Google itself has found, updated regularly, and filtered by your own site — it is the most reliable source for your own links.
- Free tools like Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker, Ubersuggest, and Moz Link Explorer show backlinks from their own databases, which may include links Google has not yet found.
- Backlinks from high-traffic or well-established sites carry more weight than links from new or low-traffic sites, though all backlinks can drive referral traffic.
- You can find new backlink opportunities by looking at which sites link to your competitors, then reaching out to those sites with your own content.
Using Google Search Console to see backlinks Google has found
Google Search Console is free and shows you the backlinks that Google's own crawlers have discovered. To access this data, you must first own a Google Search Console account and verify that you own the website. If you have not done this yet, go to search.google.com/search-console, sign in with your Google account, and follow the steps to add your site.
Once verified, click "Links" in the left menu. You will see a section called "Top linking sites" showing which domains link to you most often, and below that, "Top linked pages" showing which of your own pages receive the most backlinks. Click "More details" under either section to see the full list. This data updates regularly as Google crawls the web, though there is usually a delay of days or weeks before new backlinks appear here.
Google Search Console is the most reliable source because it shows only links Google has actually found and indexed. The downside is that it may not show every backlink that exists — some links on very new sites or sites Google crawls infrequently may not appear for weeks or months, if at all.
Finding backlinks with free third-party tools
Third-party tools maintain their own databases of backlinks by crawling websites independently of Google. These tools often find backlinks that Google has not yet discovered, and they update more frequently than Google Search Console. The most widely used free options are Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker, Ubersuggest, and Moz Link Explorer.
Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker (ahrefs.com/backlink-checker) lets you enter your domain and see the top backlinks without creating an account. It shows the linking domain, the specific page linking to you, and the anchor text (the clickable words of the link). Ahrefs crawls the web continuously and typically finds more backlinks than Google Search Console, though its free version limits how many results you can see.
Ubersuggest (ubersuggest.com) requires a free account but shows backlinks, the authority score of the linking site, and traffic estimates. Moz Link Explorer (moz.com/link-explorer) also requires an account and displays backlinks alongside spam score, which estimates how likely the link is to come from a low-quality source.
These tools disagree with each other and with Google because they crawl different parts of the web at different times. If one tool shows a backlink that another does not, the link probably exists — it just has not been found by all crawlers yet. Check multiple tools to get a fuller picture.
Understanding which backlinks matter most
Not all backlinks carry equal weight. A link from a site with high traffic and a strong reputation in your industry is worth far more than a link from a brand-new, low-traffic site. Search engines estimate a site's authority using metrics like domain authority (a score from 1 to 100 estimating how likely a site is to rank well) or domain rating (a similar metric used by Ahrefs). Tools like Ubersuggest and Moz Link Explorer show these scores alongside each backlink.
The anchor text — the words someone clicks to follow the link — also matters. A link with anchor text like "best web hosting" tells search engines that your page is about web hosting. A link with generic text like "click here" or the bare URL carries less signal about what your page is about.
Backlinks from sites in your industry or niche are weighted more heavily than links from unrelated sites. A link to a plumbing website from a local news site matters more than a link from a random blog about cooking. If you see backlinks from sites that have nothing to do with your content, they may be low-quality links that do not help your rankings.
Finding backlink opportunities by looking at competitors
One way to find sites that might link to you is to see which sites already link to your competitors. If a site links to a competitor in your industry, they may be willing to link to you too if your content is relevant and useful.
Use the same tools mentioned above — Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, or Moz — but enter a competitor's domain instead of your own. Look at their top backlinks and note which sites link to them. Then visit those sites and see whether they accept guest posts, have a resources page, or mention similar topics. If they do, you can reach out with a pitch explaining why your content would be valuable to their audience.
This approach works best when you target sites that are already in your space. If a local business directory links to your competitor's plumbing business, that same directory probably accepts listings from other plumbers. If a tech news site links to a competitor's software review, they may be interested in your own review if it is thorough and original.
Monitoring new backlinks over time
Finding your current backlinks is useful, but tracking new ones as they appear is more valuable. Most paid versions of backlink tools include monitoring features that alert you when new backlinks are discovered. Google Search Console also sends notifications when you receive backlinks from high-authority sites, though you have to enable this in your settings.
Set up monitoring in at least one tool — Google Search Console is free and sufficient for most sites. Check it monthly to see which new sites are linking to you and whether any of those links come from spam or low-quality sources. If you notice a sudden spike in backlinks from unrelated sites, that can be a sign of negative SEO (someone trying to harm your rankings by creating bad links to your site). You can disavow these links in Google Search Console to tell Google to ignore them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for a new backlink to show up in Google Search Console?
Google Search Console usually shows new backlinks within a few days to a few weeks, depending on how often Google crawls the linking site. Very new sites or sites Google crawls infrequently may take longer. Third-party tools sometimes find backlinks faster because they crawl more frequently, but their data is not always as accurate as Google's.
Does the number of backlinks matter more than their quality?
Quality matters far more than quantity. One backlink from a high-authority site in your industry is worth more than dozens of links from low-quality or unrelated sites. Focus on earning links from relevant, trusted sources rather than trying to accumulate as many links as possible.
Can I remove a backlink if I do not want it?
You cannot force another site to remove a link to yours, but you can ask. Contact the site owner and explain why you want the link removed. If they refuse or do not respond, you can disavow the link in Google Search Console, which tells Google to ignore it when calculating your rankings. Use disavow only for links you believe are harmful — disavowing good links can hurt your rankings.
What is the difference between a dofollow and nofollow backlink?
A dofollow link passes authority to your site and helps your rankings. A nofollow link tells search engines not to count it as a vote for your site. Most backlink tools show which links are nofollow, but both types can still drive referral traffic to your site. Nofollow links are not worthless — they just do not directly improve your search rankings.
Should I buy backlinks to improve my rankings?
No. Buying backlinks violates Google's guidelines and can result in your site being penalized or removed from search results entirely. Focus on creating content worth linking to and earning links naturally through outreach and relationships with other site owners.