If you have a website, you need a well-rounded SEO strategy that propels it to the top of SERPs.
An SEO strategy that has two main components: The creation of high-quality, in-demand content, and authoritative links from other websites, aka backlinks.
In this guide, we’ll talk about the second aspect, particularly how you can use a backlink checker to:
- Analyze your existing backlinks
- Find competitors’ backlinks
- And more
Let’s dive in.
What are Backlink Checker Tools
Backlink checker tools are SEO tools that help you find and analyze links pointing to a website.
This can be your website or your competitor’s. Google Search Console is a simple example.
It gives you a list of domains linking to your website.
Then there are paid tools like Semrush backlink checker that provide more information about the links pointing to a site.
Before diving into the best backlink checker tools, let’s quickly look at why checking backlinks with a tool is important.
Why Do You Need a Backlink Checker
Monitoring Your Backlinks
In order to understand where your website stands in terms of off-page SEO, you need to know the following:
- How many links and referring domains are pointing to your site?
- Are they relevant and high-quality?
A good backlink checker will help you monitor both.
Competitor Research
Backlinks checkers also tell you which domains are linking to your competing domains.
This lets you create a backlink strategy that’s working for others.
Reverse-engineering a competitor’s link profile is probably the quickest way to build backlinks that matter.
Analyzing the Quality and Relevance
With a backlink checker, you can also analyze the quality and relevance of links pointing to your site. This lets you disavow the ones that pose a danger to your SEO standings.
Best Backlink Checker Tools for Accurate Insights
Here are the top backlink checker tools that provide reliable data, allowing you to make better SEO decisions.
Ahrefs Backlinks Checker
Ahrefs is one of the most popular all-in-one SEO platforms, with tools running from keyword research to backlink analysis.
The backlinks checker Ahrefs, particularly, offers powerful insights into the backlinks and referring domains of a website.
Ahrefs offers some powerful link-building tools.
For instance, its “Link Intersect” feature tells you about the websites that link to your competitor’s site but not to yours.
When a website links to multiple of your competitors, there’s a good chance they’ll link to yours as well.
Probably the only issue is that the pricing plans of Ahrefs can be a bit high.
But, if you’re looking for a premium backlink checker, it’s one of the best options.
Moz Link Explorer
Moz is another all-in-one SEO platform with the Link Explorer being one of its most powerful tools.
To do a website backlinks check with Moz, you just need to enter its URL and hit “Analyze”.
You can analyze the power of each backlink by looking at its:
- Domain authority
- Linking domains
- Spam score
You get 10 searches per month for free. You can access its premium features for 14 days by getting the free trial.
However, since it’s another all-in-one SEO software, the monthly subscription is on the expensive side.
Semrush Backlink Checker
Semrush is a one-stop shop for all your SEO needs, including backlink analysis.
With this powerful tool, you get to measure the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your site.
Plus, SEO pros use it to analyze backlinks and referring domains of competing websites.
Semrush backlink checker offers features like:
- Lost and new backlinks
- Authority of the backlinks pointing to a site
- The evolution of backlinks
You can get limited data by signing up for a free Semrush account with your email.
To get the most out of the tool, you can get its free 7-day trial.
The pro plans of Semrush start from around $120/month. This is only expensive if you don’t have a growing site.
Otherwise, since you get everything under one roof, it’s worth upgrading.
Sitechecker
The Backlink Checker and Tracker by Sitechecker lets you find backlinks of any site conveniently.
If you’re looking for a beginner-friendly tool and want to access all your data in one place, Sitechecker has got you covered.
With it, you can also import backlinks from:
- Ahrefs
- Google Search Console
This lets you have a zoomed-out view of the value of links pointing to a website.
Sitechecker offers a free 14-day trial to let you check its following features:
Its basic plan is way cheaper than Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz.
So, if you’re on a budget, and don’t need an all-in-one SEO tool, Sitechecker could be it.
SE Ranking
SE Ranking’s backlink checker is yet another reliable tool for backlink analysis of any website.
It generates an in-depth backlink report containing the following information:
- Domain authority
- Anchor text
- Alexa rank
- Social Popularity
- Follow/nofollow attribute
- Index/noindex tag
You can even generate disavow files with it and upload them to your GSC directly.
Based on how many websites and backlinks you want to check, SE Ranking has different pricing plans.
SEO SpyGlass
SEO SpyGlass is a relatively new tool in the SEO market.
This one is unique because you can install it on your Windows, Mac, or Linux device.
Start by entering your email address and clicking Download for Free.
Install the SEO Powersuite on your computer and test its basic features for free.
The professional license comes at $299/year.
Importantly, the platform has one of the biggest link databases out there.
You can confidently check your site for potentially harmful backlinks to avoid getting penalized by Google.
SEO SpyGlass lets you create disavow files in a few clicks. You can then upload these files to your GSC for action.
Overall, it’s one of the most cost-effective backlink checkers if you consider the long-term return on investment.
Majestic
Majestic is another reliable SEO tool for an in-depth backlink analysis.
You can install its Chrome extension and get the data on any domain quickly.
Its free plan gives you a limited amount of data to make your SEO decisions.
Majestic’s Trust Flow and Citation Flow metrics make it stand out from other tools on our list.
The TF and CF scores are a reliable way to measure the strength of any web page.
Like most SEO tools, you can only access its advanced features by subscribing to a paid plan.
Spyfu
Spyfu is another popular SEO tool that you can rely on for all your backlink needs.
Like any good backlink checker, it tells you about the quality and quantity of backlinks.
You can use it to analyze your own off-page SEO standings or do a comprehensive competitor analysis.
Unlike some SEO tools, Spyfu offers unlimited data and downloads at affordable plans starting from $39/month.
Neil Patel Backlink Checker
The Neil Patel backlink checker probably has the most generous free plan.
Enter any URL and it’ll give you a list of backlinks pointing to it.
Notice that it gives you everything you need to analyze the quality of a linking web page:
- Page Authority
- Domain Authority
- Spam Score
- Anchor Text
- First Seen
- Last Seen
You get 3 free searches every day, which can be enough for some use cases.
However, the good thing is this backlink tool is not as expensive as the competitors.
Plus, you can get everything for a lifetime with a one-time purchase.
Picking a Backlink Tool
Now that you have a list of the top backlink checker tools, it should be easier for you to develop a strong off-page SEO strategy.
All tools covered in this guide offer more than enough features for effectively checking backlinks.
Plus, almost all of them offer a free trial. So, try the ones you like and pick the one tool you think can help you grow fast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about backlink checker tools.
How to get Free Backlink Checker by Ahrefs?
You can get the free backlink checker by Ahrefs by going to this link. To use the free tool, just enter the URL of the domain you want to check the backlinks of. It gives you the referring domains, their DR scores, anchor text, and target URLs.
Free Backlink Checker and Analysis Tool Are They Good?
Some backlink checker tools have generous free plans. They provide good insights into the backlink profile of a website. However, you don’t get a clear enough picture with most free tools.
What's The BEST Backlink Checker?
Based on the backlinks database size, Ahrefs would be the top contender as it’s only second to Google. But, no backlink checker tool can offer 100% accuracy. Semrush, Ubersuggest, and Moz are a few other reliable backlink checkers.
What is Backlink Checker & Tracker?
A backlink checker and tracker monitors and analyzes the links pointing to your website. It notifies you whenever a low-quality, spammy website links to yours. A backlink checker also helps you reserve-engine competing websites to inform your SEO strategy.
Conclusion
If you want your website to get enough, high-quality traffic on autopilot, you need a wholesome SEO strategy.
A strategy that involves creating high-quality, in-demand content and gaining relevant backlinks from authoritative websites.
The right way to analyze and track any website’s backlinks is by using a reliable backlink checker.
We’ve discussed some of the most popular tools that can help you propel your site to the top of SERPs with effective off-page SEO.
Pick any tool of your liking and make sure your website’s link profile is safe and strong. Plus, use the tool to reverse-engineer your top competitors and outrank them with more powerful backlinks.
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