Backlinks are online endorsements from other websites that influence a site’s visibility and trustworthiness in search engine results.
However, like the foundation of a building, backlinks require periodic inspection and upkeep to ensure their effectiveness. So, if your website suffers from reduced search traffic, search engine penalties, or a decline in keyword rankings, a backlink audit provides a simple solution.
A backlink audit is a thorough review of your website’s backlinks, assessing their overall health and analyzing the quality, relevance, and potential associated risks. A link audit can protect your site from search engine penalties by identifying low-quality backlinks and safeguarding your online reputation.
Similarly, backlink audits can reveal growth opportunities and ways to optimize your website’s performance. Audits will help you identify areas for improvement while implementing proven link-building strategies to boost the site’s credibility, increase organic traffic, and gain a competitive advantage in the digital landscape.
In this post, we will explore the nuances of conducting a backlink review and provide resources to enhance your website’s effectiveness and help you stand out from the digital crowd.
Before we get started: The only time you should create and submit a disavow file is when you have a manual link penalty or are certain one is imminent without taking immediate action. Building new, high quality backlinks to balance out your profile is more effective than disavowing in instances not involving a manual penalty.
What is a Backlink Audit?
A backlink audit is an inspection of all backlinks pointing to a website to determine their impact on its search engine optimization. These links, also known as backlinks, are essential for establishing a website’s credibility and relevance in the eyes of search engines such as Google.
The Process
Specific key steps must be followed for every link audit. Initially, the person conducting the link audit compiles a list of all backlinks pointing to the website from various online sources. This can be done using SEO tools or by accessing data from search engine platforms.
After compiling the list of backlinks, analyze each link carefully to determine its quality and relevance. Consider factors like the linking site’s domain authority, the link’s context, and the anchor text used.
Notably, backlinks from relevant sources are considered advantageous, whereas those from low-quality or irrelevant pages are deemed harmful.
Objective
The main objective of a link audit is to identify and resolve issues that could adversely affect your website’s SEO performance. This involves detecting and disavowing spammy backlinks that may tarnish the site’s reputation with web browsers.
Moreover, conducting a comprehensive review of backlinks helps site owners gain valuable insights into building online relationships and forming partnerships to revamp their digital endeavors.
Essentially, a link audit serves as a cornerstone for verifying that the inbound links to your page positively impact its SEO value, aiding in achieving rankings and greater exposure on search engine result pages.
Why Perform a Backlink Audit?
Conducting a comprehensive link audit is necessary for upkeep and enhancing a site’s search engine optimization effectiveness. It helps identify and remove low-quality backlinks, ensuring your site’s link profile complies with search engine standards while boosting its credibility and prominence in search results.
Identify Toxic Backlinks
Typically, toxic backlinks stem from low-quality websites, which signal to search engines that the linked site might be involved in manipulative SEO tactics. If Google or other search engines notice several backlinks leading to a spammy website, they impose penalties, such as reducing the site’s rankings or even de-indexing it from the search results.
If you identify such links, it becomes easier to take corrective measures, such as contacting website owners to request the removal of potentially harmful links.
Improve SEO Rankings
Having a network of backlinks is like receiving a vote of confidence from other websites in the eyes of web browsers. When a site boasts an array of reputable links from high-quality sources, it signals to search engine algorithms that it’s reliable, relevant, and deserving of better search rankings.
Through a link audit, websites can maintain a reputable link profile and achieve higher crawl rates, leading to faster indexing of new content and improved visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Understand Backlink Profile
Comprehending the quality and origin of your site’s links is the roadmap to successful SEO efforts. Quality links from reputable sources reinforce your site’s credibility and attract more traffic, thereby increasing conversion rates.
This is where a link audit can provide insights into identifying strengths and weaknesses in your SEO approach. Consequently, you can easily manage websites linking to your page or discover new linking opportunities for collaboration and outreach.
Do You Need a Backlink Audit?
Consider conducting a link audit if you notice significant fluctuations in your page’s search rankings, receive messages from Google about unrelated links, or suspect your site has been penalized due to low-quality links.
6 Signs You Need a Backlink Audit Service
1. Decreased Website Traffic
If Google Analytics or another tool flags a sudden drop in online traffic to your site, it could signal issues with other pages that link to your site. These links are pivotal in determining its authority in Google search engine results. If your site experiences a decrease in traffic, there may be a loss of visibility, mainly due to changes in search engine rankings linked to issues with the backlink profile.
Losing quality links or gaining an abundance of harmful ones can significantly impact search engine rankings and result in minimal organic traffic, not to mention fluctuations in search engine algorithms or penalties for poor quality.
Remember, Google and other search engines regularly update their algorithms to prioritize websites with quality links while penalizing those involved in manipulative linking practices.
2. Manual Actions or Penalties from Search Engines
Google often sanctions websites that exhibit spammy behavior. Generally, if a site obtains low-quality links from link farms or spammy directories, Google punishes it by decreasing its rankings or potentially removing it from all search results.
In some cases, Google might also penalize a site if it participates in linking schemes or link exchanges to manipulate rankings. In fact, it considers such practices deceptive and in violation of its guidelines.
3. Decline in Keyword Rankings
A drop in a site’s keyword rankings indicates that its backlink data isn’t effectively aligned with its SEO strategy. A legitimate network of backlinks is crucial for establishing credibility and significance in search engine results.
If a site sees a dip in keyword rankings, it implies its backlink profile lacks the quality and relevance required to support those keywords. Hence, it faces challenges in maintaining or uplifting its keyword rankings over time.
4. Unusual Backlink Growth
An abrupt surge in the number of backlinks warrants a link audit, especially when the quality of those links is compromised. While an uptick in backlinks may increase acknowledgment and exposure for your website, overlooking their origin can be disastrous.
Remember that links originating from irrelevant sources are often acquired through black-hat methods and can negatively impact your site’s reputation. These inferior links can even prompt search engine penalties or algorithmic tweaks in severe cases, reducing visibility and performance.
5. Warning Messages from SEO Tools
SEO monitoring tools promise insights into a site or page’s performance by reviewing its link profile. They can also disseminate warning messages if a link audit or other prompt action is needed.
Warning messages often appear when these tools detect a significant increase in backlinks for a monitored site over a short period, especially from unknown or low-quality sources. They also appear if the anchor text in these backlinks seems repetitive or unrelated to the site’s content.
6. Preparing for a Major SEO Overhaul
Before embarking on a major SEO overhaul, it is advisable to perform a link audit to guarantee the success and sustainability of the new SEO strategy. By assessing the backlink profile before making any significant SEO changes, site owners can pinpoint potential issues, such as harmful backlinks, that may impede the effectiveness of the new strategy.
Moreover, a thorough SEO audit provides insights into your website’s linking landscape, helping you make informed decisions and prioritize tasks during the overhaul. This proactive approach protects SEO rankings during the transition while laying a solid foundation by ensuring that trustworthy, authoritative backlinks support the new strategy.
Now, suppose you are experiencing any of these. In that case, you should contact a link-building agency experienced in link audits and Google penalty recovery services, OR keep reading to learn how to do your own link audit.
Tools Required for a Backlink Audit
When conducting a thorough link audit, using backlink analysis tools is an excellent choice. Tools such as Ahrefs, Moz Link Explorer, Google Webmaster Tools, and SEMrush offer critical insights to site owners who want to closely monitor their site’s link data, including anchor text distribution, broken links, and the authenticity of linking domains.
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Google Search Console for Basic Auditing
Google Search Console is a backlink audit tool that lets you perform backlink audits and share valuable information about backlinks identified by Google’s web crawlers.
In addition, you can view details such as the number of linking pages and domains, along with the anchor text used in those links. This data is often handy, enabling site owners to track the quality and quantity of backlinks leading to their site.
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Ahrefs for Comprehensive Analysis
Ahrefs is a free tool that gives users access to a vast database of backlinks. This database allows them to gain in-depth knowledge about their website’s link profile, including information on referring domains, backlinks, and quality ratings.
It also features functions like data tracking to help you monitor changes in backlink profiles over time and spot emerging patterns. Ahrefs’ competitor analysis feature is also worth mentioning, as it lets you compare your link profile with competitors’ and uncover new link-building opportunities.
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SEMrush for Competitive Backlink Research
If you wish to analyze your competitor’s backlinks or identify high-value keywords, then SEMrush is a powerful tool in your digital arsenal. It offers features such as competitor analysis, backlink analysis, and keyword research to help optimize your site’s content and visibility.
SEMrush is free to use; however, upgrading to the premium version can offer additional benefits and value.
Steps to Perform a Backlink Audit
To perform a comprehensive link audit, you must go through several stages. Initially, you must compile a list of backlinks directed to your site using SEO tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush. Then, you must assess the relevance of these backlinks and pinpoint any low-quality links that could negatively affect your website’s SEO.
Lastly, eliminate or disavow any unrelated links and focus on building legitimate backlinks to enhance your site’s credibility.
1. Collect Data Using a Backlink Audit Tool
When initiating a link audit, gather information on all backlinks pointing to your website from various platforms. For this purpose, use SEO tools like SEMrush or Moz, which use search engine crawlers to scour the internet and create an inventory or list of backlinks, both internal and external.
2. Use Multiple Tools for Comprehensive Data
Using a variety of SEO tools lets you obtain an accurate assessment of your backlink portfolio. Because each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses, their combined use can extensively enhance the authenticity of your link audit.
By comparing insights from different tools, you can gain a more holistic understanding of your link profile and address missing details and inconsistencies arising from each tool’s limitations.
3. Analyze the Websites Linking to Your Site
When you investigate websites that link to your site, examine the backlinks closely for unusual trends. Look for elements such as industry relevance, authority, and the geographical location of linking sites.
In addition, watch out for abrupt changes in backlink procurement or a high number of links from irrelevant sites or sources.
4. Assess the Quality of Each Backlink
Evaluate the effectiveness of each backlink by analyzing different aspects to determine how it impacts the website’s SEO. Begin by assessing the credibility and relevance of the linking domain, considering factors like domain authority, trustworthiness, and alignment with your website’s content.
Then determine how each link is integrated into the content’s context, ensuring it fits naturally rather than feeling forced or spammy.
Ultimately, review the link profile of the linking domain to identify indicators of trust and reliability.
5. Check Domain Authority
It’s essential to check the domain authority of every site that links to your website, because it gives you an idea of how trustworthy and credible that source is. Linking a domain with a high domain authority means search engines see it as a reliable source, which can significantly impact your website’s SEO rankings.
Conversely, linking to low-domain-authority domains indicates they are untrusted sources, and connecting to them can decrease your site’s ranking and reputation.
Be mindful that backlinks from high-authority domains are valuable and can help reinforce your website’s presence in search engine results.
6. Review Site Relevance
Investigate the importance of the number of websites linking to your site’s content, as it directly influences the significance and authenticity of backlinks from websites promoting content similar to yours. This signals to web browsers that your site is an asset.
This bolsters your website’s trustworthiness and authority in the eyes of search giants like Google. Know that backlinks from relevant websites are likely to attract qualified visitors, improving the user experience and potentially boosting conversion rates.
7. Identify Spammy or Irrelevant Links
Next, you should address irrelevant links to maintain a solid SEO profile and avoid penalties from Google or other browsers. To identify such links, review the quality and reputation of the website linking to yours. Website links with reduced credibility, suspicious content, or a history of unnatural patterns should be avoided.
Also, consider where the link is placed within the content—links within poorly written text are untrustworthy. Additionally, don’t overlook the use of anchor text in the link, as keyword stuffing or awkward phrases often indicate manipulative SEO strategies.
8. Create a List of Backlinks to Remove or Disavow
Make a list of backlinks you wish to remove or disavow. Start gathering all backlinks pointing to potentially irrelevant websites and sift through them based on factors such as domain authority, lack of relevance, or questionable anchor text placement. Carefully assess each link for accuracy and relevance before you decide whether to remove or disavow it.
Once you have compiled a list for each category, contact the web admins of the linking domains and request the removal of links that you wish to eliminate. Simultaneously, prepare a disavow file containing URLs of links that cannot be removed. Submit this file using Google’s Disavow Tool to inform search engines not to consider those links when evaluating your website.
9. Prioritize by Toxicity and Irrelevance
When deciding which links to remove, evaluate how harmful and irrelevant each link is. Look for links from low-authority, low-relevance websites that don’t match your website’s content. Also, consider where the link is placed within the content and the words used.
Website owners can effectively manage their digital resources by prioritizing links based on their harm and relevance.
How to Remove Toxic Backlinks?
If you need to remove toxic backlinks, here are some ways to do it.
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Contact Website Owners
When dealing with toxic backlinks, the first step is to contact the site owners linking to your page. This usually means sending a formal email explaining the problem and providing all the details about the links, including the URLs and anchor text used.
Clearly state why some of those links are causing issues and request that they be removed from their site as soon as possible.
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Draft a Polite Link Removal Request
Composing a request for link removal can be tricky, as you should maintain a respectful and professional tone throughout the message. For starters, address the owner by name and show gratitude for their time and attention. Specify the links you want removed and provide context on their detrimental impact on your website’s standing.
Avoid blaming or accusing. Instead, emphasize the mutual advantages of removing these links and offer assistance if necessary, such as indicating the location of the links or suggesting alternative methods for linking to your site.
Finally, express optimism to the recipient for a desired outcome.
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Use Google’s Disavow Tool
Google’s Disavow Tool is an asset for managing the impact of backlinks that are difficult to remove manually. To make the most of this tool, compile a list of URLs for backlinks you want to disavow while adhering to Google’s formatting guidelines. Next, create a .txt file containing these URLs and submit it via the Disavow Tool on Google Search Console.
Disavowing these links prompts Google to ignore them when gauging your website’s SEO performance, safeguarding your search engine rankings from any adverse effects. Don’t forget to update the file as necessary to maintain a healthy link profile.
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Dealing with Unresponsive or Anonymous Site Owners
Don’t panic if the website owner you’re trying to contact for backlink removal is unresponsive. Instead, exhaust all possible ways to contact them, whether by sending emails, filling out contact forms, or using social media.
If you still don’t hear back after multiple attempts, keep a record of your attempts for reference. As an alternative, consider using Google’s Disavow Tool and adding those links to the disavowed list.
Monitoring and Maintaining Your Backlink Profile
Managing your link profile requires thoroughly evaluating your current backlinks to ensure they match your website’s SEO strategy. This involves tracking changes in backlink metrics, promptly pinpointing and addressing unrelated backlinks, and actively searching for opportunities to secure superior backlinks.
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Regular Audits Every 3 to 6 Months
Regular link audits every 3 to 6 months are crucial to keeping your website on track and maintaining a network of high-quality backlinks. Over time, the links leading to your site may evolve, with new ones appearing on your site while old ones may become irrelevant.
This is where periodic audits can be beneficial for spotting and addressing issues in your backlink network. They can help identify poor-quality links, track competitors’ backlinks, and update you on new link-building trends.
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Monitor New Backlinks Monthly
Remember, you should monitor new backlinks monthly to proactively address harmful links and prevent them from hurting your online reputation.
By monitoring new backlinks, you can easily spot unusual or suspicious activity and take immediate action to minimize its impact.
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Set Alerts in SEO Tools for New Links
Setting up alerts in SEO tools to automate backlink tracking offers several advantages for website owners. First, it enables real-time monitoring of backlink activity, allowing you to detect any changes or irregularities in your link profile. With timely notifications, you can swiftly evaluate the relevance and quality of links and take prompt measures, such as contacting site owners to request removal or disavowing harmful links.
Moreover, automating the monitoring process saves time and resources and allows you to focus on multiple aspects of your website.
Check Out Your Link Profile Today
The success of any website is closely linked to its link profile. By continuously reviewing and tracking your backlinks through a link audit, you can ensure your website maintains its credibility, relevance, and visibility in search engine results pages.
Whether recognizing and eliminating irrelevant links, obtaining high-quality backlinks, or using SEO tools, staying vigilant and adopting timely measures are crucial to upholding the legitimacy and impact of your online endeavors.
