Check a backlink
A partner says they placed a link to you. This page tells you whether it is really there, what it shows, and whether it passes anything on.
How to read this result
Three lines decide what a link is worth, and they do not carry the same weight.
The rel attribute
With no attribute, the link is called dofollow: that is the normal case, and the one that counts. With rel="nofollow", the link stays clickable but tells engines to disregard it for ranking.
Two other values are common and say the same thing differently: sponsored for a paid link, ugc for a link left by a user, in a comment or on a forum. A nofollow link is not a failure: it brings real visitors, and a link profile made only of dofollow links looks nothing like a natural one.
The anchor text
This is what the link says about you. A descriptive anchor beats a “click here”, and an empty anchor, the sign of a link placed on an image, tells the engine nothing at all. If the anchor changed since the link was placed, that often means the partner site was redesigned, and it is better to know.
The address actually pointed at
The link may point at your home page when you expected a link to a specific article. It still counts, but not for the same page.
When we cannot conclude
Some sites refuse us access, as they would refuse any robot. We retry differently, and we say so when it happened. Likewise, a link inserted by JavaScript after the page renders will not be seen: we read the HTML as served, exactly as an engine does on its first pass.
What this tool does not do
- It does not find your backlinks. It checks the ones whose address you already know: discovering links you are unaware of takes a link index, which this tool is not.
- It does not judge the quality of the site citing you. Presence, anchor and attribute are facts; a domain authority is an estimate, and we would rather not assert one.
- It does not see links added by JavaScript after loading, nor links behind a login.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the link show in my browser but not here?
Three likely causes, in order of frequency: the link is inserted by JavaScript, the page serves us a different version because it takes us for a robot, or the link sits behind a login. In all three cases, a search engine stands a good chance of not seeing it either.
Is a nofollow link worth anything?
Yes, in two ways. It brings real visitors, which is what a link is for. And a profile made only of dofollow links does not look natural. What matters is that you know which is which.
Do I need the partner site to agree?
No. We only read the public page, exactly as a search engine or any visitor would. Nothing is installed on the other domain and no access is requested.
Going further
Why backlinks disappear (and how to catch it) Backlinks vanish, turn nofollow or point to a dead page without warning. Why it happens, and how to spot it before it costs you rankings.The other tools
Check a domain name
Expiry date, registrar and status of a domain name.
Check an SSL certificate
Certificate expiry date, issuer, and the names it actually covers.
Check redirects
The whole redirect chain, hop by hop, with the type of each one.
A hundred links, every day, without thinking about it
Expansel re-reads your source pages on a schedule and writes to you as soon as a link disappears or turns nofollow.