Backlink checker: see who links to a domain.

Enter a domain and get a backlink summary from DataForSEO's link index: counts of backlinks and referring domains, and a sample of the pages that link to it. These are a third-party crawler's findings, not Google's link data, and no index sees every link.

By · Updated September 25, 2026

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Backlink checker

Runs on our server using DataForSEO search data. We count runs and never save what you enter; an identical request may be answered from memory for up to five minutes.

What you can do with it

  • Get a quick read on how much of the web links to a site
  • See which sites link to a competitor, as a list of outreach ideas
  • Check whether a new article or mention has been picked up as a link
  • Spot links from unrelated or low-quality sites before they become a question

How it works, step by step

  1. 1

    Look at referring domains before total links

    One site that links from every page of its footer can add thousands of links and still count as one referring domain. The number of distinct sites linking to you says more than the raw link count.

  2. 2

    Read the sample for relevance

    Open a few of the linking pages. A link from a page about your subject, that a reader might actually click, is worth more than a link from an unrelated directory or a page full of other links.

  3. 3

    Compare with a competitor

    Run a competitor that outranks you. The gap in referring domains, and the kinds of sites that link to them, shows what it takes to compete and where their links come from.

  4. 4

    Check your own site in Search Console

    For your own domain, the Links report in Google Search Console lists the top linking sites Google has recorded. Use it alongside this tool, not instead of it.

  5. 5

    Earn the next links, do not buy them

    Make something worth citing: original data, a useful tool, a clear guide. Then tell the people who write about the subject. Paid links that pass ranking credit break Google's spam policies.

A backlink is a link from another site to yours. Search engines have long used links as one signal of which pages people find worth referring to. They also help AI assistants and readers find you: a page that is linked from the places people read about a subject is a page more of those people see.

A backlink checker shows you the links a crawler has found. It is a way to see how a site is referenced across the web, what kind of sites mention it, and how that compares with a competitor.

Why every count is partial

No third-party index sees the whole web. Each provider crawls its own share, on its own schedule, and drops links it cannot find again. Google does not publish the links it knows about or which ones it counts. So any backlink number, from any tool, is an estimate of a larger total.

That is fine as long as you use it the right way:

  • Compare within one tool. Your site against a competitor, or this month against last month.
  • Watch referring domains more than links. They are harder to inflate and closer to what matters.
  • Use Search Console for your own site. Its Links report is Google’s own list of top linking sites and pages. It is not complete either, but it is first-party.

Quality beats quantity

A handful of links from respected sites about your subject is worth more than hundreds from directories, comment sections or link networks. When you read the sample of linking pages, ask three plain questions for each: is the site about something related, would a reader on that page plausibly click through, and did someone choose to link, or was the link placed?

If you find links you did not ask for from spammy sites, you usually do not need to do anything. Google’s guidance is that it ignores most of them on its own.

Google’s spam policies treat buying or selling links that pass ranking credit as link spam, along with large-scale link exchanges and automated link building. Paid placements are allowed only when the link is marked rel="sponsored" or nofollow, which means it passes no ranking credit. The risk of a manual action is not worth the shortcut.

The links that last come from pages people want to cite: original data, clear explanations, useful tools. Check where a page’s own outbound links go with the link extractor, and keep your internal links tidy with the internal link checker.

Where AltoRank fits

Pages worth linking to start with content that answers real questions well. AltoRank plans and drafts that content every week, and a person approves each piece before it publishes.

Frequently asked questions

Where do the numbers come from?

From DataForSEO's backlink index, a third-party crawl of the web. Our server sends the domain to DataForSEO and shows the summary it returns. Google does not publish its link graph, so no tool can show you exactly the links Google counts.

Why do different backlink tools give different numbers?

Each provider runs its own crawler, visits different parts of the web, and drops dead or duplicate links on its own schedule. The counts are all real findings, but each is a partial view. Compare numbers within one tool, not across tools.

What is the difference between backlinks and referring domains?

A backlink is one link from one page. A referring domain is one website that links to you at least once. A single site can give you thousands of backlinks and still be one referring domain, which is why referring domains are usually the better number to watch.

Is a link I can see here definitely counted by Google?

Not necessarily. Google may ignore links it judges unnatural or low quality, and links marked nofollow, sponsored or ugc are treated as hints rather than votes. The closest first-party view for your own site is the Links report in Google Search Console.

Does it store the domain I check?

No. The query goes through our server to DataForSEO for the link data, the result comes back to your browser, and we keep only a count of how many times the tool ran that day. There is a daily usage limit so it can stay free without a signup.

Should I disavow the bad links I find?

Usually not. Google says most sites do not need the disavow tool and that it mostly ignores spammy links on its own. It is meant for cases where you have a manual action for unnatural links, or know you built paid or manipulative links in the past.

More free tools

Free Google Rank Checker: Live Position for a Keyword Enter a domain, a keyword and a country to see whether the domain appears in a live Google search result, at what position, and which URL ranks. Free Link Extractor: Every Link on a Page Enter a URL and get every link in the page's raw HTML, with anchor text, split into internal and external, and any nofollow, sponsored or ugc attributes. Free Internal Link Checker: Audit Anchors on Any Page Paste a page's HTML and get every internal link with its anchor text, flagged for generic anchors, repeated targets, image links with no alt and links to itself. Free Website Worth Calculator: Traffic Value Estimate Estimate what a domain's organic search traffic would cost as ads each month: modelled traffic times keyword cost per click. Not a business valuation.
Free growth plan for any domain Compare AltoRank against the alternatives More on SEO and GEO on the blog

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