How to Check Backlinks to Your Website (Without Paying for a Tool)

October 17, 2026 • NOFYI Editorial Team

Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. They are one of the most talked-about topics in search engine optimisation, and also one of the most misunderstood. A backlink can bring visitors, it can signal that another site found your content useful, and it can help search engines discover your pages. But not all backlinks are equal, and a large number of low-quality links is not a sign of success.

This guide explains how to check backlinks to your website without paying for a tool, using Google Search Console. It walks through a worked example, explains how to judge quality over quantity, and explains why disavow is rarely needed. It also explains why you should not buy links, even when an offer promises fast results.

What a Backlink Is

A backlink is simply a link on another website that points to a page on your site. If a blogger writes about your guide and links to it, that is a backlink. If a directory lists your site, that is also a backlink, although it may be a much weaker one. If you link from one of your own pages to another page on the same site, that is an internal link, not a backlink. The distinction matters, because external links and internal links play different roles.

Search engines use links to discover pages and to understand relationships between sites. A link can be thought of as a vote of confidence, but the vote is stronger when it comes from a relevant, trustworthy site that links to you because your content is useful. A link from an unrelated site, a site created only to sell links, or a site with little real content carries far less weight, and it can create risk if it is part of a scheme.

It is also useful to know the difference between a linking domain and a single link. One domain may link to you many times, from many pages. The number of linking domains is often more informative than the total number of links, because ten links from ten different relevant sites usually tell a stronger story than one hundred links from a single low-quality site. Keep that distinction in mind when you review your reports.

How to Check Backlinks Without Paying for a Tool

Google Search Console is a free tool from Google for site owners. It shows which sites link to yours, which pages on your site receive the most links, and what anchor text is used. To use it, you need to verify that you own or manage the site. Verification usually involves adding a small file or tag to your site, or connecting through a domain provider, following the instructions in Search Console.

Once your site is verified, open Search Console, choose your property, and look for the Links section in the left-hand menu. The Links report has two main views. The external links view shows the top linking sites, the top linked pages on your site, and the top linking text. The internal links view shows how your own pages link to each other. For this guide, the external links view is the one that matters.

Start with the top linking sites. That list shows the domains that link to you most often. Click a domain to see which of your pages it links to. Next, look at the top linked pages. That list shows which of your pages attract the most links. A page that attracts many links is often a page that people found useful, and it may deserve an update or a follow-up. Finally, look at the top linking text, also called anchor text. Anchor text is the clickable text of a link. It should usually be natural, such as your brand name, a page title, or a short description. A pattern of exact-match commercial keywords in anchor text can be a sign of artificial links.

Search Console also lets you export the links report. Exporting is a good habit, because it gives you a snapshot you can compare later. Save the export with the date in the file name, and keep it in a folder with your other site records. Over time, those snapshots will show whether your link profile is growing naturally, whether a particular page is gaining links, and whether any sudden changes need attention.

Worked Example: Checking a Small Site

Imagine you run a small website with a dozen guides. You open Search Console and check the Links report. The report shows 45 linking domains and 120 total external links. At first, the numbers look modest, but the details are more useful than the totals.

First, you look at the top linking sites. The top three are a local community blog, a forum where you answered a question, and a small industry site that referenced one of your guides. All three are relevant to your topic, and their links look natural. You note their names and the pages they link to. Next, you look at the top linked pages. Your most linked page is a guide to a common task, followed by your home page and a second guide. That pattern makes sense, because the guide is the page most likely to be shared.

Next, you look at the anchor text. Most links use your site name, the guide title, or a phrase such as read this guide. A few links use generic text such as click here. That mix is natural. You do not see a large number of links with the same commercial keyword, which is reassuring. Finally, you export the report and write a short note: the date, the number of linking domains, the top three linking sites, and the top linked page. That note becomes your baseline.

A month later, you check again. The number of linking domains has risen to 52, and a new site has linked to your guide. You check the new site. It is a real blog with relevant content, and it links to your guide in a paragraph that explains why the guide is useful. That is a good link. You also notice a new link from a directory you have never heard of. You check that site and find that it lists many sites with little original content. You decide to watch it, but you do not panic, because a single low-quality link is not usually a problem on its own.

Quality Over Quantity

When you review backlinks, focus on quality, not on the total count. A useful way to judge a link is to ask five questions. First, is the linking site real? Does it publish original content, have an audience, and look like a site a person would actually read? Second, is it relevant? A link from a site about your topic is more meaningful than a link from an unrelated site. Third, is the link editorial? Was it placed because the author chose to reference your page, rather than because you paid for it or placed it yourself in a comment or forum signature?

Fourth, is the link in a natural place? A link inside a paragraph that discusses your topic is usually more valuable than a link hidden in a footer, a sidebar, or a list of unrelated sites. Fifth, does the link bring value to the reader? If a reader who clicks the link will find your page useful, the link is doing its job. If the link exists only to pass a signal to a search engine, it is less likely to be valuable in the long term.

Using those questions helps you avoid the trap of celebrating a large link count. A site can have thousands of links from low-quality directories, comment spam, or link networks, and still struggle in search. Another site can have far fewer links, but from relevant, trusted sites, and perform better. The second site has the stronger profile, even though its total is smaller.

Quality also applies to the pages that receive links. A page that is accurate, clear, and genuinely helpful is more likely to earn links than a thin page that repeats what many other sites say. If you want more links, the most reliable path is to create pages that deserve them, and then to let people know about those pages through honest outreach.

What to Do With Low-Quality or Spammy Links

Most sites will, over time, attract some low-quality links. That is normal. A link from a scraper site, a low-quality directory, or a spammy comment does not automatically harm your site. Google is generally good at ignoring links that are clearly not editorial, and it does not expect site owners to control every link that points to them.

When you find a low-quality link, start by asking whether it is part of a pattern. A single odd link is usually not worth worrying about. A large number of links from the same network, with the same anchor text, or from sites that exist only to sell links, is a different situation. In that case, you should first try to remove the links by contacting the site owner, if that is practical. Keep a record of your attempts, including the date and the site you contacted.

Do not rush to disavow links. Disavow is a tool in Search Console that tells Google to ignore certain links. It is powerful, and it can cause harm if it is used incorrectly, because disavowing good links can reduce the value of links that were helping your site. Disavow is rarely needed, and it is mainly for sites that have a manual action for unnatural links, or that have a large pattern of manipulative links they cannot remove. If you are not in one of those situations, the safest choice is usually to leave the links alone and to focus on earning better ones.

If you do need to consider disavow, seek advice from a reputable professional, and follow the official Search Console guidance carefully. Create the disavow file with only the domains or URLs you have reviewed, keep a copy, and monitor your site after you submit it. Do not use disavow as a routine clean-up tool, and do not disavow links simply because a third-party tool labelled them as toxic.

Do Not Buy Links

Offers to sell backlinks are common, and they should be avoided. Sellers promise fast rankings, a large number of links, or a high authority score. In practice, bought links are often placed on low-quality sites, on sites that sell links to many buyers, or on sites that are unrelated to your topic. Those links may give a short-term bump, but they create risk, and they rarely provide lasting value.

Buying links also violates Google guidelines on link schemes. Sites that buy links can lose rankings, receive a manual action, or find that the links are simply ignored. Even if a penalty does not happen, the money spent on bought links could have been spent on better content, on improving existing pages, or on genuine outreach to sites that might link to you because your work is useful.

The honest alternative is slower but safer. Publish helpful content, keep it up to date, answer questions in your community, and reach out to sites that write about your topic. When you contact another site, be specific about why your page would be useful to its readers, and do not offer payment for a link. A single genuine link earned this way is worth more than a package of bought links.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I check my backlinks?

For most small sites, checking once a month is enough. More frequent checks can be useful after a major launch, after a press mention, or if you notice a sudden change in traffic. The goal is to notice patterns, not to react to every single new link. Keep a short monthly note, so you can compare over time.

How many backlinks do I need?

There is no fixed number that guarantees success. The right number depends on your niche, your competitors, and the quality of the links. A small, focused site can perform well with a modest number of relevant links, while a site in a competitive niche may need more. Focus on earning relevant links to pages that deserve them, rather than on reaching a target count.

Do nofollow links count?

A nofollow link is a link that includes a signal telling search engines not to pass ranking credit in the usual way. Nofollow links can still bring visitors, raise awareness, and lead to other links, so they can be valuable even if they do not pass the same signal as a followed link. A natural link profile includes a mix of followed and nofollow links, and you should not dismiss nofollow links as worthless.

Should I disavow links from a site I do not like?

Usually no. Disavow is not a tool for removing links you simply dislike, and it is not needed for a few low-quality links. Use it only when you have a clear pattern of manipulative links, a manual action, or advice from a reputable professional after a careful review. In most cases, leaving the links alone and focusing on better content is the safer choice.

Conclusion

Checking backlinks without paying for a tool is straightforward once you know where to look. Use Search Console, review the linking sites, the linked pages, and the anchor text, and export a snapshot for your records. Judge links by quality, relevance, and whether they help readers, not by the total count. Leave disavow alone unless you have a clear reason to use it, and do not buy links. With that approach, your link profile will grow slowly, naturally, and in a way that supports your site for the long term.