Backlink basics

These answers are brief. The what are backlinks guide covers the fundamentals in depth.

Backlinks are links on other websites that point to your website. Search engines use them to discover pages and as one signal of how relevant and trustworthy a page is. People also follow them, so a good backlink can bring visitors directly.

A backlink is another site mentioning your site with a clickable link. If a blog post about invoicing tools links to your invoicing app, that link is a backlink to you. To the blog, it is an outbound link; to you, it is an inbound link.

A review site listing your product with a link to your homepage, a news article linking to your announcement, a partner’s integration page linking to your docs, or a tutorial that links to your free tool. Each is a link on someone else’s page pointing to yours.

Search engines follow links to find pages and treat relevant links from trusted sites as a sign that a page is worth showing. Backlinks are one of many ranking signals, alongside content quality, relevance, and page experience; they help most when the page itself answers the search well.

When a crawler finds a link on another site, it follows it to your page and records the connection. Ranking systems weigh links by context, such as the linking page’s relevance, trustworthiness, and the link’s text. Links marked nofollow, sponsored, or ugc are treated as hints rather than endorsements.

A backlink is a single link; a referring domain is a website that links to you. Ten links from one site are ten backlinks but one referring domain. Links from many relevant, different sites are generally more valuable. See referring domains vs backlinks.

Internal links connect pages on your own site; backlinks come from other sites. You control internal links fully, and they help visitors and search engines find your important pages. The internal linking guide shows how to use them.

Yes. Links still help search engines discover and evaluate pages, and they bring referral visitors. Their weight relative to content quality has decreased over the years, so a strong page with a few relevant links usually beats a weak page with many low-quality ones.

There is no fixed number. It depends on the competition for the query and the quality of the links involved. Compare the pages that rank for your target search: if they have links from many relevant sites, you need a better page and some comparable references; for less competitive queries, very few may be needed.

Yes, a few relevant links help search engines discover a new site and begin trusting it. But a new SaaS usually benefits more first from useful pages, product directories it genuinely belongs in, and partner and community mentions. See how to get backlinks for a new SaaS.

Checking and finding backlinks

Google Search Console is the free, first-party source for your own site. Third-party tools fill in what it doesn’t show, especially for competitors.

Open Google Search Console, choose your property, and go to the Links report. It lists your top linking sites, top linked pages, and top linking text. For more detail, export the lists or use a third-party backlink tool, which crawls the web independently.

Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools both show links to sites you have verified, free. Several commercial tools, including Ahrefs and Moz, offer limited free backlink checks for any site. Free tiers show a sample, which is enough for a quick look at a competitor.

In Search Console, open Links in the left menu. Under External links you’ll see top linked pages, top linking sites, and top linking text. Click “More” on any list for the full table and use Export to download it. Data can lag behind recent changes.

Enter the domain into a third-party backlink checker such as Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or Majestic. They show referring domains, individual links, anchor text, and new or lost links from their own crawls. Only the site owner can see Google’s own data, through Search Console.

Use a third-party backlink tool on the competitor’s domain or a specific page, sort by referring domains, and look for sites relevant to you: directories, reviews, integrations, roundups, and publications. Those are opportunities to earn similar links with something better or different.

Only roughly. Searching for a brand name or URL in quotes, excluding your own site with -site:yourdomain.com, finds pages that mention you, some of which link. Google’s old link: operator no longer gives useful results. Use Search Console for reliable data on your own site.

How do you see backlinks to a specific page?

In Search Console’s Links report, open Top linked pages and click the page to see which sites link to it. Third-party tools let you enter an exact URL instead of a domain. Checking page-level links shows which content actually earns references.

Search Console’s Links report shows a total count of external links and the top linking sites. Third-party tools give their own counts, which differ because each crawls a different part of the web. Track trends over time rather than treating any single total as exact.

Each tool runs its own crawler, sees a different share of the web, refreshes at different speeds, and filters spam differently. None sees exactly what Google sees. Pick one tool for trends, and use Search Console as the reference for your own site.

Most third-party tools have new and lost link reports and email alerts. In Search Console, export the Links report regularly and compare exports. A lost link from an important page is worth checking: the page may have changed, moved, or broken.

Look for links pointing to pages on your site that return errors, using a backlink tool’s broken links report or Search Console’s indexing reports. Redirect those URLs to the most relevant live page, or restore the page. This recovers value you already earned.

Not directly, but Google Analytics shows referral traffic: visits that arrived by clicking a link on another site. Check the traffic acquisition report filtered to referral sources. It reveals which links actually bring visitors, which a backlink count can’t tell you.

Backlink tools and metrics

Third-party metrics are useful for comparison, but none of them is a Google ranking factor. The link-building metrics guide explains what to report.

Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, and Majestic are the most widely used. Each has its own index and metrics, and their strengths vary by market and freshness. For your own site, Google Search Console is free and first-party; for competitors, try the free tiers and pick one tool you’ll use consistently.

Ahrefs offers a free backlink checker that shows a limited sample of links and summary metrics for any site, and a free Webmaster Tools account for sites you verify. Full reports, filters, and history require a paid plan. Check current limits on its site.

What is domain authority?

Domain Authority is Moz’s score from 1 to 100 predicting how well a site might rank, based mainly on its link profile. Ahrefs’ Domain Rating and Semrush’s Authority Score are similar. They are useful for comparing sites, but they are third-party estimates, not Google metrics.

Does Google use domain authority?

No. Domain Authority, Domain Rating, and similar scores are created by SEO tool companies. Google has said it doesn’t use these third-party scores. They correlate with ranking because they are built from link data, but improving a score is not itself a goal.

What is a good domain authority score?

It is relative. Compare against the sites ranking for your target searches, not against an absolute number. A new SaaS starts near the bottom, and that is normal. Earning relevant links raises the score over time as a side effect, not as an aim.

A backlink audit reviews the links pointing to your site: who links, to which pages, with what anchor text, and whether any look manipulative. For most small sites, the useful outcome is finding which content earns links and which important pages have none, rather than hunting for “toxic” links.

What is anchor text?

Anchor text is the clickable text of a link. Descriptive, natural anchor text helps people and search engines understand the linked page. A profile full of exact-match keyword anchors can look manipulative. See the anchor text guide for examples.

Link velocity is how quickly a site gains or loses backlinks over time. A sudden spike is normal after a launch or news coverage. Concerns arise only when a spike comes from obviously manipulative sources. Focus on earning links steadily rather than managing the rate.

Relevance of the linking site and page to your topic, whether real people read it, whether the link sits in useful content, whether it brings referral visits, and whether it is editorially given. Third-party authority scores are a secondary filter, not the deciding factor.

Monthly is enough for most small sites: review new links, lost links from important pages, and referral traffic. Check more often after a launch or outreach campaign. Avoid reacting to every fluctuation in a tool’s counts.

Link quality: dofollow, nofollow, and relevance

Quality matters more than count. The backlink quality guide has a checklist for judging a specific link.

A high-quality backlink comes from a real, relevant site with readers, sits inside content that gives it context, was given editorially rather than paid for or traded, and could plausibly send visitors. One such link from an industry publication is worth more than dozens from unrelated directories.

“Dofollow” is informal shorthand for a normal link without a nofollow, sponsored, or ugc attribute. It can pass ranking signals to the linked page. There is no actual “dofollow” attribute in HTML; it is simply the default.

A nofollow link has rel="nofollow", telling search engines the site doesn’t vouch for the link. Google treats nofollow as a hint and may still use it for discovery. Nofollow links can still bring visitors and visibility. See nofollow vs dofollow links.

rel="sponsored" marks links that are paid for or part of an advertising arrangement. rel="ugc" marks links in user-generated content such as comments and forum posts. Google introduced them alongside nofollow to describe links more precisely, and treats all three as hints.

Yes. They can bring referral traffic, brand visibility, and sign-ups, and Google may use them as hints. Links from popular forums, news sites, and social platforms are often nofollow and still valuable. Don’t dismiss a relevant opportunity because the link is nofollow.

Relevance matters a lot. A link from a site your customers read, about a related topic, is more useful for rankings and traffic than a link from an unrelated site with a high authority score. Irrelevant links in bulk can also look manipulative.

Relevant, curated directories where buyers actually browse, such as software directories and review sites in your category, can help with visibility and referral visits. Mass-submission directories with no real audience add little. See directory backlinks for options worth considering.

Are guest post backlinks good?

Guest posts on relevant sites with real readers can build reputation and bring visitors. Guest posts written mainly to insert keyword-rich links, especially at scale, fall under Google’s link spam policies. Write for the audience and expect links in guest posts to be nofollow or sponsored.

Technically yes, but links on major social platforms are usually nofollow and are treated differently from editorial links. Their value is in reaching people, who may then write about and link to you from their own sites.

Links you drop in comments and forums for SEO are typically nofollow or ugc and can count as spam. Participating genuinely, and linking to your work when it answers a question and the rules allow, can bring relevant visitors. Treat it as community participation, not link building.

Not always. A link from a famous site in an unrelated section, a paid placement, or a page nobody reads may carry little weight. Context, relevance, and editorial intent matter more than the site’s overall reputation.

Reciprocal links are two sites linking to each other. Natural ones, such as integration partners referencing each other, are fine. Excessive link exchanges arranged purely to pass ranking credit are listed as link spam in Google’s policies.

Getting backlinks for a SaaS

The safest way to get links is to make something worth referencing and make sure the right people see it.

Create pages worth citing, such as original data, free tools, templates, and clear guides, then tell people who would find them useful: journalists, bloggers, communities, and partners. Add your product to relevant directories and review sites, and fix broken links to your own pages.

Start with links you can legitimately earn quickly: relevant software directories, launch sites, integration partner pages, your founders’ profiles and talks, and communities you participate in. Then publish one or two genuinely useful resources and promote them. The new SaaS backlinks plan lays out steps.

Earn them with useful content, free tools, and original research; get listed on free, relevant directories; join podcasts and communities; ask partners and customers to reference you where it genuinely fits; and reclaim unlinked mentions of your brand. Free links take time, but they carry the least risk.

Publish something better or different than what exists, such as original data, a definitive guide, or a free tool, and pitch it to relevant sites that already cover the topic. Personalized outreach to a short list works better than mass emails. See the outreach guide.

Link building is the work of getting other websites to link to yours, through content creation, outreach, partnerships, digital PR, and listings. Done well, it is really about earning attention from relevant audiences; links follow as a result.

Broken link building means finding links on other sites that point to dead pages, creating a useful replacement on your site, and suggesting it to the site owner. It works because it helps the editor fix a problem. The broken link building guide walks through it.

Writers and journalists need data to support their points, and they link to the source. A survey, benchmark, or analysis of your own data with a clear method gives them something to cite. See original research for SaaS content.

Yes. A simple free tool that solves a common task, such as a calculator, generator, or checker, attracts links from guides and resource pages because it is useful to their readers. Keep it free, fast, and maintained, and link it to your product where it fits.

What is digital PR for SaaS?

Digital PR means getting coverage on news sites, industry publications, and blogs through stories they want to publish: data, expert commentary, product news, or timely analysis. It earns high-quality links and brand awareness, but works only when the story is genuinely interesting to that publication’s readers.

Appear as a guest on podcasts your audience listens to. Most show notes link to guests’ websites. Pitch a specific topic you can speak about with authority, rather than a product pitch. It builds reputation as well as links.

Search for your brand or product name to find articles that mention you without linking. Contact the author politely, thank them, and suggest adding a link if it would help their readers. Many will agree, because a link makes their article more useful.

Often. Many platforms list integrations or partners on their sites, with links to the partner’s product or documentation. Building integrations with tools your customers use can earn those links and, more importantly, put you in front of users looking for compatible tools.

Yes. A reviewed ShowMeYourSaaS profile links to your website, and paid packages include written articles about your product. Listing is paid and every product is reviewed by hand. See preparing a directory listing for what to gather before submitting.

Search engines need to crawl the linking page and reassess your page, which can take days to months. Rankings usually move gradually as relevant links accumulate alongside content improvements. Referral visits from a good link can start immediately.

Buying, paid, and risky links

Google’s spam policies are the reference for what counts as manipulative linking. Read them before paying anyone for links.

You can, but buying links that pass ranking credit violates Google’s spam policies. Paid links are allowed only when marked rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow", which means they don’t pass ranking credit. If you pay for placement, judge it by the audience and traffic it brings.

Usually not for SEO. Paid links that pass ranking credit risk being ignored or causing a manual action, and cheap link packages tend to come from low-quality sites. Paying for genuine sponsorships, ads, or listings is fine when the audience is relevant, and they should be marked as sponsored.

No. Packages offering hundreds of links for a low price typically use networks of low-quality or spam sites, comment spam, or automatically generated pages. At best Google ignores them; at worst they lead to a manual action. The money is better spent on content or genuine promotion.

What is a private blog network (PBN)?

A PBN is a group of websites created or bought to link to a target site and manipulate rankings. Google’s policies treat this as link spam, and networks are often detected and devalued. Links from PBNs carry high risk and no real audience.

Link schemes are attempts to manipulate rankings with links, including buying or selling links that pass ranking credit, excessive link exchanges, large-scale article marketing with keyword links, automated link creation, and requiring links as part of a contract. Google lists them under link spam.

Yes, Google can apply a manual action for unnatural links, usually when there is a clear pattern of buying or scheming. More often, its systems simply ignore spammy links. Manual actions appear in Search Console’s Manual actions report with an explanation.

Negative SEO is possible in theory, but Google says its systems are designed to ignore spammy links pointing to a site, and most sites never need to act. If you see a sudden flood of spam links, monitor rankings and Search Console; act only if there is a manual action.

Are paid directory listings bad for SEO?

Not if the directory is genuinely useful to readers and the listing is judged on its audience. The risk comes from directories that exist only to sell links. Google’s guidance asks that paid links be qualified with sponsored or nofollow; evaluate a paid listing by the visitors and visibility it brings.

Occasional, natural cross-references between related sites are fine. Systematic “link to me and I’ll link to you” exchanges done to boost rankings count as excessive link exchanges under Google’s spam policies. Link where it helps your readers, and nowhere else.

Writing for other sites isn’t against the rules. Large-scale guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich links inserted to manipulate rankings are. Google advises that links in such content be qualified with nofollow or sponsored. Focus guest writing on reaching readers.

Toxic links, disavow, and penalties

“Toxic” is a label from SEO tools, not from Google. Google’s own guidance is that most sites don’t need to disavow anything.

“Toxic backlinks” is a term SEO tools use for links they flag as spammy or manipulative, using their own scoring. Google doesn’t use that term or those scores. Its systems try to ignore spammy links automatically, so a toxic score alone isn’t a reason to act.

Review your linking sites in Search Console or a backlink tool, looking for patterns: unrelated foreign-language sites, pages with hundreds of outbound links, auto-generated content, or exact-match anchor text you didn’t create. Most such links are harmless noise Google already ignores.

Only if you or someone you hired created them as part of a link scheme, or you have a manual action. In that case, ask site owners to remove them, and disavow what you can’t remove. Random spam links you didn’t build usually need no action.

Create a text file listing the domains or URLs to disavow, one per line, then upload it through Google’s disavow links tool for your Search Console property. Google calls this an advanced feature that can harm performance if misused, so use it only for clear cases.

When should you use the disavow tool?

Google’s guidance is to use it when you have many spammy, artificial, or low-quality links that have caused a manual action, or likely will, and you can’t get them removed. In most cases Google can assess links without help, so most sites never need the tool.

It is a penalty applied by a Google reviewer when a site has a pattern of links that violate spam policies. It appears in Search Console’s Manual actions report. To recover, remove or disavow the offending links and submit a reconsideration request explaining what you did.

What was Google Penguin?

Penguin was a Google algorithm update first released in 2012 that targeted manipulative link building. It later became part of Google’s core ranking systems, devaluing spammy links in real time rather than demoting entire sites, which is why ignoring bad links is now the usual outcome.

Backlinks, AI search, and the future

AI answers draw on the same web that links describe. Being referenced by trusted sources still matters, even when the click doesn’t happen.

Indirectly. AI search features draw on pages that are indexed and trusted, and links contribute to discovery and trust. Mentions of your product on reputable, relevant sites also shape how AI systems describe it. See the AI search optimization guide.

They can be. Unlinked mentions on reputable sites build awareness, may influence how search engines and AI systems understand your brand, and can be turned into links by asking politely. Track them alongside backlinks.

Nothing has fully replaced them. Search engines rely more on content quality, user satisfaction, and entity understanding than in the past, but links remain a signal. The durable approach is the same: be worth referencing, and get referenced by the sources your audience trusts.

Should a small SaaS focus on backlinks or content first?

Content first, for most. Useful pages give people something to link to and convert visitors who arrive. Add basic listings and partner links early, then promote your best pages. Links pointing to thin pages rarely help much.

Track referring domains to important pages, rankings and impressions for the queries those pages target, referral visits from linking sites, and sign-ups from those visits. The link-building metrics guide suggests a simple monthly report.