Key takeaways
- The best free way to find backlinks is the Links report in Google Search Console. It is a sample, not a full list.
- Bing Webmaster Tools adds a second free view and lets you compare your links with other sites.
- Free checkers from SEO tool companies show only part of their data. Use them for a quick look at competitors.
- Most weak links need no action. Act only on clear link schemes, and use the disavow tool rarely.
If you want to find backlinks free of charge, start with the tools the search engines give you. This guide shows where to click, what each tool leaves out and how to judge what you find. Checking is free. Earning good links is the work that comes after, and that is what my link building service does. If you first want the basics of what a backlink is, read what link building is.
How can I find backlinks free?
Open Google Search Console, verify your site and go to the Links report. It lists the sites that link to you, the pages they link to and the link text they use. Add Bing Webmaster Tools for a second view, and use a free checker from an SEO tool when you want a quick look at a competitor.
Search Console is the right first stop because the data comes from Google itself. If you have not set it up yet, my Google Search Console guide walks through it. Paid tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush crawl the web with their own bots, so their numbers will never match Google's exactly. That is normal, and it is one reason not to panic over a single tool's count.
How do I check website backlinks free in Search Console?
In Search Console, open Links in the left menu. Look at three tables under External links: top linked pages, top linking sites and top linking text. Click More on any table for the full list, then use Export to download the latest links as a sheet you can sort and review.
- Top linked pages. Which of your pages get the most links from other sites. Usually the home page, then a few guides or services.
- Top linking sites. The root domains that link to you most, sorted by number of links.
- Top linking text. The anchor text other sites use. A healthy profile is mostly your brand name and plain phrases.
- Export. Download the latest links to Google Sheets and add a column for your notes.
Know the limits before you draw conclusions. Google's help page for the Links report says the report is a sample, not a list of every link, that tables stop at 1,000 rows and that the export of latest links goes up to 100,000 rows. It also says the report does not tell you whether a link is nofollow, and that some links it found over time may have since been removed. So treat it as a reliable picture of your profile, not a perfect inventory.
What about Bing and free backlink checkers?
Bing Webmaster Tools has a free Backlinks tool that shows your links and lets you compare your profile with similar sites. Free checkers from SEO tool companies show a slice of their database without paying. They are useful for a quick competitor check, but none of them shows everything, and their counts will differ from Google's.
The Bing feature was covered by Search Engine Land, which notes that you can see another site's link profile without verifying that site. Commercial checkers work differently: Ahrefs describes its free backlink checker as a glimpse of its paid tool. That is a fair way to think about every free version.
| Tool | What you get free | Watch out for | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Linking sites, linked pages, anchor text, export | A sample; no nofollow flag | Your own site, monthly review |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Your backlinks plus comparison with similar sites | Bing's own index, not Google's | A second opinion and competitors |
| Free checkers from SEO tools | A partial list from the tool's own crawler | Limited rows and searches | Quick look at a competitor |
What is an example of a backlink?
Say a local chamber of commerce lists its members, and your entry includes a link to your website with your business name as the text. That link, on their site and pointing to yours, is a backlink. In the page code it is a normal anchor tag with your address in the href attribute.
Here is that backlinks example in code, as it would sit on the chamber's page:
<a href="https://www.yourbusiness.com/">Smith Plumbing</a>
The visible words, Smith Plumbing, are the anchor text. Google's link best practices explain that this text tells people and Google something about the page being linked to. A paid listing on the same directory would carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" inside the tag, and that is how you spot it when you inspect a link.
What does an example of a good backlink look like?
A good backlink comes from a real site related to your business or city, sits inside content people actually read, and was placed because the page is useful, not because someone paid for ranking. Its anchor text reads naturally, usually your brand or a plain description. One link like that is worth more than dozens of random ones.
| SEO backlinks example | How to read it |
|---|---|
| A local news story about your event links to your site | Good: relevant, editorial and seen by real readers |
| Your supplier lists you as an authorized installer | Good: a real business relationship |
| An industry association member page | Good: relevant and stable over time |
| A free profile on a general web directory | Neutral: little value, usually no action needed |
| Hundreds of links from unrelated foreign blogs with the same keyword anchor | Risky: looks like a link scheme, review it |
Which backlinks should worry me?
Very few. Worry when you see a pattern you or a former provider created: bought links, exchanges, networks of similar blogs or the same keyword anchor repeated across many sites. If Google sends a manual action for unnatural links, follow its steps. For random spammy links you did nothing to create, usually no action is needed.
Google's help page on unnatural links to your site sets the order: download your links from the Links report, ask site owners to remove the bad ones or mark them nofollow, disavow what remains and then request a review. Its page on the disavow tool says most sites will not need it and that using it wrongly can hurt your performance. In practice, these are the signals I look for:
- A sudden jump in linking sites you never contacted, all created in the last few months.
- The same commercial keyword as anchor text from many unrelated sites.
- Links from sites that sell posts openly, with a price list on the page.
- A manual action message in Search Console. That is the only case where cleanup is urgent.
What to do with the list
A backlink check is only worth the time if it leads to action. Each month I review three things. First, lost links: if a page with links now returns an error, redirect it to the closest live page so the links count again. Second, the pages that attract links: they show what kind of content other sites value. Third, the gap with competitors: real sites that link to two or three of them but not to you are your first outreach list. Turning that list into a plan is covered in the backlink strategy guide.
A link review is also part of every SEO audit I do. If you want help earning links, see the link building service, or start with the free 30-minute diagnosis from the home page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Search Console link count my real number of backlinks?
It is Google's sample of links it has found. It is the most useful count for decisions, but it will not include every link on the web.
Why do free tools show different numbers?
Each tool crawls the web with its own bot and keeps its own index, so counts never match. Compare trends within one tool, not totals across tools.
Can I see a competitor's backlinks for free?
Partly. Bing Webmaster Tools and free checkers from SEO tool companies show part of another site's links. Search Console only shows your own.
How often should I check my backlinks?
Once a month is enough for most businesses, plus a check right after a redesign or a domain change.
Do nofollow links show up in Search Console?
Google says the Links report does not tell you whether a link is nofollow. Open the linking page and inspect the link to see its rel attribute.
About the author
Juan José Giraldo is an SEO consultant in Medellín, Colombia, with 5+ years of experience. He works on technical and local SEO for 600+ US car dealerships at Reunion Marketing, an Inc. 5000 agency, and supervises the SEO of 18 US online stores with more than 3 million products at Prontomowers. Read more · LinkedIn.