Run a backlink audit on any domain or URL: total backlinks, referring domains and an authority rank, then the linking pages themselves with anchor text and dofollow or nofollow. Filter for new, lost, broken, low-spam or high-authority links to analyze a backlink profile in minutes.
In the AI Rank Lab dashboard · 150 credits per scan
fieldnote.app4,571 creditsFN
Backlink Checker
example.com · preset: Dofollow only
Illustrative data
Backlinks
18,420
Referring domains
1,206
Rank
312
New links
+86
Linking pagesone per domain
news.example.org/tools-roundupdofollow
blog.example.net/seo-guidedofollow
forum.example.io/thread/4412nofollow
old-partner.example/resourceslost
What is a backlink checker?
A backlink checker is an SEO tool that lists the links pointing to a website from other sites. The AI Rank Lab Backlink Checker shows any domain's total backlinks, referring domains and an authority rank from 0 to 1,000, then up to 100 linking pages per scan with anchor text and dofollow or nofollow status. Presets filter new, lost, broken and low-spam links. Each scan uses 150 credits.
What the backlink analyzer shows
Each scan returns a summary of the profile and up to 100 linking pages, filtered the way you choose.
Profile summary
Total backlinks, referring domains and the target's rank on a 0 to 1,000 authority scale.
Linking pages
Up to 100 backlinks per scan, each with the source URL, anchor text and link type.
Dofollow and nofollow
Show only links that pass SEO value, or only rel="nofollow" links.
New, lost and broken links
Links found in the latest crawl, links that disappeared since the previous one, and links pointing at pages that error.
Spam score and authority
Keep links with a spam score of 10 or less, or only links from domains ranked 300 or higher.
One per domain or per anchor
Collapse the list to one link per referring domain, or one per anchor text, to read the profile's spread.
Custom filters
Combine your own conditions on top of the presets for a focused backlink profile audit.
Every scan is saved with its summary, so you can reopen it and compare later.
How to check your backlink profile
Four steps in the dashboard, from a domain to a filtered list of links.
Open the Backlink Checker
Sign in and go to SEO Tools, Backlink Checker in your AI Rank Lab dashboard.
Enter a domain or URL
Type your own site or a competitor's. Check a whole domain or a single page.
Choose presets and a mode
Pick filters such as Dofollow only, Lost links or Low spam score, and whether to show one link per domain or per anchor.
Review the links
Read the summary, then work through the linking pages. Each scan uses 150 credits and is saved to your history.
How to read a backlink report
Read the summary for scale, then the linking pages for quality. A few strong, relevant links outweigh many weak ones.
Backlinks vs referring domains
Backlinks counts every link; referring domains counts the sites they come from. 1,000 links from 5 domains is a much thinner profile than 200 links from 150 domains.
Rank (0 to 1,000)
The authority score of the target or linking domain, based on the links pointing to it. Compare it between sites; it is not a Google metric.
Anchor text
The clickable words of each link. Mostly brand names, URLs and natural phrases is healthy; lots of identical keyword anchors looks built.
Dofollow and nofollow
Dofollow links can pass ranking signals; nofollow, sponsored and UGC links usually don't. A natural profile has both.
New and lost links
Links that appeared or disappeared between crawls. A sudden loss can explain a ranking drop; a sudden burst from unrelated sites can be spam.
Spam score
How spammy a linking site looks. The Low spam score preset keeps links scoring 10 or less, so the difference shows what to review.
Why Backlink Auditing is Crucial for SEO & AI Search Visibility
Backlinks have always been the foundational pillar of off-page SEO. However, with the rise of AI Search Engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini, backlink quality plays an even more vital role. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) relies on entity authority — and high-quality backlinks signal to AI crawlers that your content is a trusted, authoritative source worth citing.
Protect Against Negative SEO Attacks
Spammy link farms, automated PBNs, and low-quality scraper sites can point toxic backlinks at your site without your knowledge. Regular backlink checking lets you spot toxic velocity spikes and submit disavow files before Google penalties occur.
Optimize Anchor Text Diversity
Over-optimizing exact-match commercial anchors (e.g. "cheap loans") triggers Google Penguin filters. A healthy backlink profile maintains a balanced mix of branded, URL, and generic anchor text.
How to spot toxic backlinks
There is no single toxic score that Google uses. A backlink is risky when it looks paid, automated or irrelevant: links from scraper or directory sites with no audience, sitewide footer links, many links with the same exact-match commercial anchor, or sudden bursts of links from unrelated sites.
To review a profile for bad backlinks, scan the domain, compare it with the Low spam score preset, then look at one link per domain so a single noisy site doesn't hide the rest. Read the anchors: a natural profile is mostly brand names, URLs and plain phrases.
Google says it ignores most spammy links on its own. Use the disavow file in Search Console only for links you built or bought, or when you have a manual action for unnatural links.
A backlink audit is a review of every site that links to you. Run one before you start link building, after a site migration, and after any sudden ranking drop.
Scan your domain and note total backlinks, referring domains and rank.
Switch to one link per domain to see how many distinct sites really link to you.
Check the Lost and Broken presets: reclaim valuable links by fixing or redirecting the pages they point to.
Compare the full list with the Low spam score preset and review what drops out.
Read the anchors for repeated exact-match keywords.
Scan two or three competitors and list the sites that link to them but not to you.
What the Backlink Checker doesn't do
It runs in the AI Rank Lab dashboard, not on this page, and each scan uses 150 credits.
Each scan returns up to 100 linking pages. Use presets and the one-per-domain mode to see the most useful 100.
Link data comes from a third-party crawler's index, so it won't match Google Search Console's Links report exactly. No tool sees every link.
It shows spam scores but doesn't label links toxic for you or build a disavow file. You decide what to remove or disavow.
Rank is a third-party authority score, not Google's PageRank.
It is the backlink tool inside the AI Rank Lab dashboard. Enter a domain or URL and it returns total backlinks, referring domains and an authority rank, plus up to 100 linking pages per scan with anchor text and link type, filtered by presets such as dofollow, new, lost or broken links.
Why are backlinks important for traditional SEO and AI Search (GEO)?
Google still uses links to discover pages and to judge how much other sites trust them; PageRank, the link-based signal Google started with, is still part of its ranking systems. AI answer engines build on search indexes and crawled pages, so pages that are well linked and widely referenced tend to be easier for them to find. No AI company publishes how links affect its citations.
How does toxic link detection work?
The checker's Low spam score preset keeps only links with a spam score of 10 or less, so comparing the full list with the filtered one shows which links look spammy. It doesn't decide for you: review the high-spam, irrelevant or exact-match-anchor links yourself, and disavow only links you built or bought.
Can I analyze my competitors' backlink profiles?
Yes. Enter any competitor domain or URL into the Backlink Checker to see their linking pages, anchors and referring domains, and to find sites that link to others in your niche.
How do I access the Backlink Checker?
The Backlink Checker is accessible directly inside the AI Rank Lab workspace dashboard under /dashboard/backlink-checker.
What is a backlink checker?
A backlink checker is an SEO tool that reports the hyperlinks pointing to a domain or page from other sites. It shows where each link comes from, its anchor text, whether it is dofollow or nofollow, and how authoritative the linking site is.
How do I identify and fix toxic backlinks?
Scan your domain, compare the full list with the Low spam score preset, look at links from irrelevant sites, or with repeated exact-match anchors, and ask the site owner to remove links you placed. Disavow through Google Search Console only for links you built or bought, or after a manual action.
What is the ideal dofollow vs nofollow backlink ratio?
There is no ideal ratio. Natural profiles mix both, because forums, comments and many publishers add nofollow by default. A profile where almost every link is dofollow with a commercial anchor is more likely to look built than earned.
Is there a free backlink checker?
The Backlink Checker runs in the AI Rank Lab dashboard and uses 150 credits per scan, so it needs a plan with credits. The free toxic link checklist and anchor text analyzer need no account.
What is a backlink audit?
A review of every site linking to yours: how many links and referring domains you have, how authoritative they are, which anchors they use, and which links look spammy, were lost or now point at broken pages. Run one before link building and after any sudden ranking drop.
Free link and on-page tools
Check anchors and on-page links for free, then audit the page those links point to.
AI Rank Lab is a marketing suite for search and AI answers: site audits, keyword research, Core Web Vitals and backlinks in the SEO workspace, next to AI visibility tracking.
SEO, AEO and GEO audit
Paste a URL. The free audit scores the page for SEO, answer-engine and generative-engine readiness, checks robots.txt, sitemap.xml and llms.txt, and lists fixes ordered by impact.
