When was the last time you looked closely at the websites linking to yours?

Not just the total number of backlinks or your Domain Rating.

The actual websites.

It's easy to focus on earning new links while overlooking the ones you already have.

Some might come from relevant industry publications. Others might point to pages that no longer exist. You may also discover that your most useful content attracts links you didn't actively pursue.

A backlink audit helps you understand that bigger picture.

Here's how to approach one without turning it into an unnecessarily complicated project.

A backlink audit is a review of the external websites and pages linking to your website.

Its purpose is to understand your backlink profile, identify meaningful issues, and find opportunities for improvement.

A good audit should answer questions such as:

  • Which websites link to us?
  • Which pages attract the most backlinks?
  • Are the linking websites relevant?
  • Have important backlinks disappeared?
  • Are there unusual link patterns that deserve investigation?
  • What should we do differently in future campaigns?

An audit isn't simply about labeling every backlink as good or bad.

It's about understanding the context behind your links.

Start with Google Search Console.

Open your property and navigate to the Links report.

There, you can review information about external links, including the pages receiving links and some of the websites linking to you.

You can also export the available data for further analysis.

For a broader view, consider comparing this information with an established third-party backlink index.

Different tools may discover different links, so you shouldn't expect every report to contain identical data.

Combine your exports carefully and remove obvious duplicates.

Step 2: Look at your referring domains

A referring domain is a website that links to yours.

This distinction matters because one website can generate many individual backlinks.

For example, a website that includes your business in its footer on hundreds of pages might create a large number of links from one domain.

That is a different situation from receiving relevant mentions across multiple independent industry websites.

Review the websites in your backlink profile.

Pay particular attention to:

  • Their relevance to your industry.
  • The subject matter of their linking pages.
  • Their apparent legitimacy and editorial purpose.
  • Whether they link to you within meaningful content.

Don't assume that a website is good or bad based entirely on its authority score. The same checks apply here as when you choose a new link: see how to check backlink quality.

Next, look at which pages on your website attract links.

You might discover that one detailed guide receives most of your editorial mentions.

Or that an old blog post continues to attract references even though the information is outdated.

These findings can inform your content strategy.

If one resource regularly attracts relevant links, ask what makes it useful.

Does it contain original information? A helpful explanation? A practical tool?

Understanding why people link to a page can help you create more useful resources in the future.

Step 4: Check your anchor text

Anchor text provides additional context about how other websites describe your content.

Review the text associated with your inbound links.

Natural backlink profiles can contain brand names, page titles, descriptive phrases, and other variations.

Investigate unusual patterns, particularly when many links use the same commercial keyword and appear to come from coordinated placements.

That pattern alone isn't enough to prove a problem.

But it can be a reason to investigate how those links were acquired.

Some backlinks disappear because publishers remove them.

Others stop working because pages move or get deleted.

Check whether important pages on your website have changed URLs.

If a useful external link points to a page that no longer exists, consider whether a relevant replacement page is available.

A suitable permanent redirect can sometimes preserve the visitor's path to the information they expected.

Avoid redirecting unrelated pages simply to keep a link.

The destination should make sense to someone following the original reference.

You may encounter backlinks from strange domains, unrelated pages, or websites containing very little useful content.

Don't automatically panic.

Many websites receive unsolicited links that they never requested.

Google states that most sites do not need to use its Disavow Links tool, because it can usually assess which links to trust.

The disavow process is mainly intended for situations involving considerable artificial or low-quality linking and an existing or likely manual action.

Using the tool incorrectly can harm your site's search performance.

If you believe your site has a serious unnatural-link problem, review Google's official disavow guidance before taking action.

Don't upload a list of every unfamiliar domain simply because an SEO tool marked it as suspicious.

Step 7: Turn your findings into actions

An audit is most useful when it produces a clear next step.

For example:

Finding Possible action
Relevant links point to a deleted page Investigate a suitable redirect
A popular resource is outdated Update the content
Several new editorial mentions appeared Review what attracted them
A relevant article mentions your brand without a link Consider a polite request
An unusual link pattern appears Investigate its origin

You don't need to act on every observation.

Prioritize issues that affect real visitors, important pages, or your ability to understand how links were acquired.

There isn't one perfect schedule.

A smaller website with limited backlink activity might only need occasional reviews.

A large website with frequent campaigns may benefit from more regular monitoring.

You should also consider reviewing your profile after a significant website migration, a major change to your link-building strategy, or a Search Console notification about unnatural links.

The frequency matters less than having a consistent process.

Final thoughts

A backlink audit gives you a clearer understanding of the links you've earned, the pages attracting attention, and the areas that deserve investigation.

The objective isn't to remove anything that looks unfamiliar or chase a higher score at all costs.

It's to make better decisions about your website's backlink profile.

Interested in a closer look at your backlinks? Email us and we will tell you what a review of your profile would involve.