Are you wondering why your website traffic isn’t increasing? Are you planning a link-building campaign to strengthen your site’s backlink profile? If you’re not starting with a backlink audit, you’re making a mistake.
A weak backlink profile can contain numerous low-quality, irrelevant, or harmful links that damage your site’s SEO and lead to search engine penalties.
It’s frustrating to invest time and resources into new backlinks only to have their potential undermined by harmful backlinks you didn’t know existed.
This is where backlink auditing comes in.
In this article, you’ll learn how to identify and disavow harmful links. We at Dottechspot will share how we perform a backlink audit when we start working with a new client, guiding you through each step of conducting a thorough audit of your backlink profile.
Let’s get started!
Key Takeaways
- Use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and others to help you find your links.
- Collect a comprehensive list of all your backlinks.
- Identify spammy and harmful links.
- Check for incorrect and unnatural linking patterns.
- Evaluate the quality of your links and analyze your anchor text profile.
- Develop a strategic plan.
What Is a Backlink Audit?
A backlink audit is a systematic examination of all the inbound links pointing to your website from external sources.
Backlinks are crucial for your website’s visibility and search engine rankings.
A backlink audit involves evaluating each link to assess its quality, relevance, and impact on your site’s SEO.
At SirLinksalot, we frequently conduct backlink audits for our own sites and for clients applying for our Managed Link Building service.
Purpose of Backlink Audits
Here are some of the main purposes of backlink audits:
- Assessing the quality and relevance of existing backlinks
- Identifying toxic or spammy backlinks that may harm SEO
- Analyzing anchor text distribution and optimizing it
- Discovering broken or redirected backlinks
- Evaluating the overall health of the website’s backlink profile
- Identifying opportunities to disavow harmful backlinks
- Detecting negative SEO attacks and taking corrective actions
By conducting regular audits, you can find and address any issues with your backlink profile and avoid potential pitfalls.
We’ll dive deeper into how to find and address these issues later in the article.
Maintaining a Healthy Backlink Profile
One major issue we often encounter when auditing websites is the presence of very low-quality backlink profiles. These are often dominated by spammy-looking Web 2.0 links or duplicate articles from cheap PBN sites.
Such profiles can prevent your site from ranking at all and may even result in penalties from search engines.
They signal to Google that you might be trying to manipulate your rankings, which Google strongly disapproves of.
That’s why we always emphasize the importance of link diversity and building quality links.
The Role of Backlinks in SEO Strategy
Backlinks are a cornerstone of any effective SEO strategy.
Despite Google’s claims that they are no longer a top three ranking factor, most SEO professionals believe this is not true. Backlinks remain one of the most important ranking factors.
Google can’t disclose the full truth about ranking factors, or people would attempt to manipulate their algorithm even more.
Backlinks act as a vote of confidence from other websites, signaling that your content is valuable and trustworthy.
Search engines like Google consider these votes when determining your site’s ranking in search results.
However, many people get into trouble by building links unnaturally. Additionally, competitors can launch negative SEO attacks to harm your domain’s reputation.
Identifying Bad and Toxic Links
Bad backlinks, also known as toxic backlinks, are links that can negatively impact your website’s SEO.
These links are typically of low quality, irrelevant, or spammy in nature.
Bad links may originate from link farms, low-quality directories, unrelated websites and articles, or sites with harmful content, malware, or questionable practices.
They diminish the authority of your backlink profile and can pose risks to your website’s visitors.
Toxic links can often resemble regular backlinks to the untrained eye, making their identification trickier than one might expect.
While it’s crucial to locate these links, it’s worth noting that Google appears to disregard them in many instances nowadays.
Although we haven’t observed many penalties for unnatural link building in recent years, these links still have the potential to hinder your progress or lose value over time.
The Tools You Need for Backlink Audits
Conducting a successful backlink audit necessitates having the right set of tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
In this section, we’ll outline the essential tools you’ll need.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a valuable tool for webmasters and SEO professionals.
It displays the inbound links directing to your website and offers reliable insights into your organic traffic, including traffic to pages ranking on Google.
Within the ‘Links’ section, you can access data on external links, internal links, and the domains linking to your site.
While this data can aid in identifying backlink sources, we typically don’t rely on Search Console for this purpose. Instead, we primarily use it for obtaining information about your site’s health, such as traffic, clicks, impressions, and more.
Third-Party SEO Tools:
Several third-party SEO tools are tailored specifically for backlink analysis, among other functions.
These tools provide insights into the quality, quantity, and relevance of your backlinks and are essential for conducting backlink audits.
Popular options include Ahrefs, Moz, Semrush, and Majestic. Among these, we prefer Ahrefs as our tool of choice because it offers a more extensive range of backlink data compared to the others.
These tools assist you in:
- Discovering new backlinks to your site.
- Analyzing the authority and trustworthiness of linking domains.
- Checking anchor text diversity and keyword usage in backlinks.
- Identifying toxic or harmful links using proprietary algorithms.
- Utilizing third-party metrics like DR (Domain Rating), toxicity score, organic traffic, etc., to conduct your analysis.
Google Disavow Tool
In some instances, you may find it necessary to disavow harmful links to safeguard your website’s SEO.
Google’s Disavow Tool enables you to submit a list of links you wish Google to disregard when evaluating your site’s backlink profile.
We consider this tool a last-resort option for combating toxic links that cannot be manually removed.
I want to emphasize this point again: we use the disavow tool only as an absolute last resort.
As mentioned earlier, Google is adept at disregarding many bad links. We’ve witnessed instances where individuals have unintentionally harmed their SEO by disavowing numerous good backlinks, mistaking them for toxic ones.
Therefore, exercise caution when utilizing this tool to avoid inadvertently causing more harm than good!
Conducting a Backlink Audit: Step-by-Step Guide
In this section, we’ll offer a step-by-step guide on how to conduct a backlink audit. We’ll emphasize identifying and addressing bad, toxic, and harmful links, as well as evaluating your overall backlink profile.
Collecting a List of Inbound Links
The first step in conducting a backlink audit is to gather a comprehensive list of all inbound links.
You can obtain this data from various sources, including:
- Google Search Console: Access the ‘Links’ section to view external links pointing to your site.
- Third-Party SEO Tools: Utilize tools like Ahrefs, Moz, Semrush, or Majestic to retrieve a list of backlinks.
As mentioned earlier, we highly recommend using Ahrefs due to its extensive backlink database and user-friendly interface.
Once you’ve collected the data, compile it into a spreadsheet for organized analysis.
We prefer using Google Sheets for this purpose.
Identifying Spammy and Harmful Links
The next step involves identifying spammy and harmful links within your collected data.
Utilize your chosen SEO tools to evaluate the quality of each backlink.
Look out for the following indicators to assist in identifying whether a link is bad, spammy, or toxic. However, keep in mind to assess things from a broader perspective:
- Irrelevant Content
- Unnatural Anchor Text
- Low-Quality Design
- Excessive Advertisements
- Duplicate Content
- Irrelevant or Spammed-Out Comments or Links from Forums
- Automated Linking
- Link Farms
- Excessive Web 2.0 links
- Overuse of Keywords
- Unusual TLDs
- Lack of Contact Information
- Rapid Link Growth
- Irrelevant Traffic or Little to No Traffic
- Traffic Originating From Unusual Keywords
- Foreign Language Sites
- Hidden or Invisible Links
- Non-Contextual Links
- Excessive Nofollow Links
Remember, ticking just one of these boxes does not necessarily indicate a bad link!
Check for Unnatural Patterns
Examine your backlink profile for any unnatural patterns. These are actions you’ve typically taken that could indicate an unnatural backlink profile.
Here are some indicators to watch out for:
- Sudden and unnatural spikes in the number of backlinks
- Lack of link diversity
- Excessive use of exact-match anchor text
- Reciprocal link exchanges in large quantities
- Repeating the same anchor text multiple times
- Footer and sidebar links on numerous websites
- Lack of homepage link building
- Excessive link building to inner pages
Sometimes, these links may originate from reputable sources. However, you may have obtained them unnaturally, creating patterns that could potentially raise issues with Google.
Evaluating Link Quality
After identifying potentially harmful links, you can proceed to evaluate the quality of the remaining backlinks.
Take into account the following factors when assessing link quality:
- Relevance of the website/article
- Anchor text usage
- Domain/Page Authority
- Traffic
- Presence of Dofollow Links
This assessment will provide you with a clear understanding of which links are likely to be most beneficial to your website.
Analyzing Anchor Text
Anchor text plays a crucial role in how search engines interpret the content of the linked page.
Maintaining a diverse and natural anchor text profile is essential for a healthy backlink profile.
While we’ve touched on anchor text earlier, here are some guidelines to ensure your anchor text aligns with best practices:
- Diversify Anchor Text: Avoid overly optimized anchor text and instead utilize a variety of anchor text types, including branded, naked URLs, and generic phrases.
- Watch for Exact-Match Keywords: Excessive use of exact-match keywords (and even partial-match keywords) in anchor text can raise concerns with search engines.
- Natural Language: Anchor text should reflect natural language and context. It should enhance the user experience and not appear as a deliberate SEO tactic.
Develop a Plan
After completing the audit of your entire backlink profile, it’s crucial to develop an action plan.
While some SEOs advocate for regular disavowal of links, we rarely do so, except in cases of extreme, blatant poor link building likely impacting the website’s SEO performance.
In most instances, SirLinksalot’s approach involves moving forward by constructing quality backlinks to counterbalance our audit findings.
Here are some examples:
- Excessive use of exact match anchors? Focus on building more branded, URL, and miscellaneous anchors.
- Overabundance of links to inner pages? Prioritize building more homepage links.
- Presence of numerous low-authority link spam? Concentrate on building high authority links.
By essentially reversing previous practices, you can guide your website back to good standing with Google.
The Consequences of Neglecting Backlink Audits
Here are some issues that commonly arise from neglecting regular audits and management of your backlink profile.
Decreased Organic Traffic
One of the most immediate and noticeable consequences of neglecting backlink audits is a significant decrease in organic traffic to your website.
When your backlink profile contains many bad, toxic, or irrelevant links, search engines may devalue those links, leading to a drop in your site’s search rankings.
Consequently, you’ll receive fewer visitors to your website.
Penalization by Search Engines
Search engines uphold strict standards regarding the quality of websites featured in their search results.
Neglecting your backlink profile can lead to penalties from search engines, particularly if their algorithms identify manipulative link-building tactics, spammy links, or other violations of guidelines.
Recovering from these penalties can be challenging and may demand significant effort to restore your site’s ranking.
Negative Impact on Domain Authority
Domain authority is a crucial metric that reflects your website’s overall credibility and trustworthiness.
Neglected backlink profiles often feature numerous low-quality or irrelevant links, which can diminish your domain authority.
A lower domain authority can adversely affect your site’s ranking in search results and hinder your ability to establish authority within your niche.
Implications for Your Link Building Strategy
If your existing backlink profile is plagued with low-quality or harmful links, any new high-quality links you acquire may not yield the same positive impact they would on a clean slate.
In simple terms, the presence of bad and toxic links can hinder your efforts to build a strong backlink profile.
Loss of Online Credibility
Neglecting your backlink profile can harm your website’s online credibility and reputation.
Encountering your site through spammy or harmful links can diminish trust among users and discourage them from interacting with your content.
The quality of your backlinks mirrors the overall quality and credibility of your website.
Tips for Building a Healthy Backlink Profile
A robust backlink profile is fundamental to successful search engine optimization (SEO) and establishing a robust online presence.
In this section, we offer valuable tips and strategies for actively constructing and upholding a healthy backlink profile.
Prioritize Quality Over Quantity
Quality should consistently be prioritized over quantity when acquiring backlinks. While some experts argue that every link holds value, our approach emphasizes obtaining links from reputable, authoritative, and relevant sources within your niche.
A single high-quality, contextually relevant backlink frequently carries more SEO significance than multiple low-quality links.
Develop High-Quality Content
Crafting compelling and informative content is essential for naturally attracting high-quality backlinks. When your content delivers value to your target audience, other websites are inclined to link to it.
With this in mind, it’s crucial to invest in creating content that distinguishes itself and offers unique insights or solutions.
Guest Blogging and Contributor Opportunities
Consider engaging in guest blogging and contributing to authoritative websites within your industry.
Guest posts frequently enable you to include a backlink to your website in your author bio or within the content itself.
These backlinks can hold considerable value, particularly if the hosting websites are respected and relevant within your industry.
Reach Out to Influencers and Industry Leaders
Engage with influencers and industry leaders in your niche. Offer them value and volunteer to contribute in meaningful ways. Building relationships with these figures may open opportunities for co-authoring and collaboration. You may also participate in joint ventures, which can lead to high-quality backlinks and increased exposure for your website.
Build a Resourceful Resource Page
Develop a resourceful and comprehensive page on your website that provides valuable information, tools, or guides related to your industry.
Other websites may naturally link to your resource page as a reference for their readers, thereby enhancing your backlink profile.
Broken Link Building
Identify broken links on other websites within your niche and offer your content or resources as a replacement.
This strategy not only assists other websites in maintaining their user experience but also enables you to secure a new backlink.
Utilize Social Media Platforms
Utilize your presence on social media platforms to share your content. While social signals may not directly impact SEO, sharing your content increases its visibility and likelihood of being linked to.
This is why we incorporate building social signals for all clients’ websites in our Managed Link Building program.
Monitor Your Backlink Profile Continuously
Regularly monitor your backlink profile using tools such as Google Search Console and third-party SEO tools. This allows you to stay informed about new backlinks and any changes in your profile, ensuring that it remains healthy.
Focus on Diversity of Anchor Text
Anchor text profile evaluation is a cornerstone of our off-page SEO audit checklist.
We advocate for maintaining a diverse anchor text profile on every website to appear natural to search engines. It’s crucial to avoid over-optimized anchor text, which can raise red flags.
We recommend utilizing a variety of anchor text types, including branded, naked URLs, and generic phrases.
Stay Compliant With Search Engine Guidelines
Adhering to search engine guidelines when constructing your backlink profile is essential. Avoid participating in link schemes, excessive link exchanges, or other manipulative practices.
While we don’t believe that link exchanges between relevant sites can harm them, it’s important to avoid overusing this link-building technique.
Remaining compliant with best practices can help protect your website from penalties.
Perform Regular Backlink Audit
Regular audits will assist you in identifying and addressing any new bad or toxic links that may have emerged over time. This ensures the ongoing health of your backlink profile.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, maintaining a healthy backlink profile is crucial for the success of your website’s SEO efforts. By conducting regular audits, focusing on quality over quantity, and adhering to search engine guidelines, you can build a robust backlink profile that enhances your online visibility and credibility.
Remember to prioritize creating valuable and informative content, engaging with influencers and industry leaders, and leveraging social media platforms to amplify your content’s reach. Additionally, stay vigilant in monitoring your backlink profile and promptly address any issues that may arise.
By following these strategies and best practices, you can ensure that your website maintains a strong backlink profile, ultimately leading to improved search engine rankings and increased organic traffic.
FAQs:
A backlink audit is a systematic examination of all the inbound links pointing to your website from external sources. Its purpose is to assess the quality, relevance, and impact of these links on your site’s SEO performance.
Backlink auditing is important because it helps identify and address any harmful or toxic links that may negatively impact your website’s search engine rankings. It also ensures the overall health and credibility of your backlink profile.
It’s recommended to conduct a backlink audit regularly, at least once every few months or whenever significant changes occur in your website’s backlink profile. This helps you stay proactive in identifying and addressing any issues promptly.
There are several tools available for conducting backlink audits, including Google Search Console, Ahrefs, Moz, Semrush, and Majestic. These tools provide valuable insights into your backlink profile, such as the number of backlinks, their quality, and their impact on your SEO.
During a backlink audit, you should look for several factors, including the relevance and authority of linking domains, the diversity of anchor text, the presence of spammy or toxic links, and any unnatural patterns in your backlink profile.
To improve your backlink profile, focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks from reputable and relevant sources within your industry. Create valuable and informative content that others would naturally want to link to, engage with influencers and industry leaders, and leverage social media platforms to amplify your content’s reach.
If you find harmful links during a backlink audit, you can take several actions, including reaching out to the website owners to request removal, disavowing the links using Google’s Disavow Tool, or focusing on building new, high-quality backlinks to counterbalance the negative impact.