How to Check Backlinks in Google Search Console

Backlinks are a great indicator of a valuable website. So, how do you know if you have any backlinks? 

This article will help explain what backlinks are, how to check your backlinks in Google Search Console, and what the Google Search Console Links Report is.

What Are Backlinks?

So what are backlinks and why should you care about them? Backlinks are essentially recommendations from other websites that shows search engines that your site is reliable and trustworthy. This is usually referred to as off-page SEO as it's SEO that takes place off your website. Earning backlinks can help make your website more relevant and boost your SERP ranking. The more backlinks you get for your page, especially from more reputable sites, the better your site looks to Google. 

Can I See Backlinks in Google Search Console?

Yes! Among its plethora of great features, Google Search Console offers a great tool to check for backlinks. To access your backlinks, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Google Search Console
2. Click on the desired property
3. Select 'Links' from the sidebar
4. Select the 'Top Linking Sites' option

The 'Top Linking Sites' tab is where you'll be able to find out what sites are backlinking to your site the most.

What is The Google Search Console Links Report?

The links report in Google Search Console is a dashboard that has data on all of your internal/external links, including backlinks. This is where you can get a better look at how links are affecting your website performance, and by extension, SERP ranking. The links report contains a lot of valuable information which includes the following:

Top Linking Sites

Your top-linked sites are the sites that link to you the most out of all of your backlinks. 

Top Linked Pages

Your top-linked pages are the pages that get the most backlinks. This can be a good place to see what content is working well and what content needs to be adjusted or changed. The data here gives you a peek at what is most interesting to your viewers and what types of content will get backlinked compared to others. The more reputable sites that you get backlinks from, the better it is for your website and its SERP ranking. 

Top Internally Linked Pages

This is where you'll be able to see what pages have the most internal links compared to others.

Top Linking Text

This refers to the most common anchor text that is used in hyperlinks to your website

The Link Report in Google Search Console can be a great tool in your SEO toolbox that can guide your strategies based on data within the report. 

Level up Your SEO Strategy With Our Complete SEO Strategy Guide

Backlinks are just one piece of a well-constructed SEO strategy designed to rank your traffic and convert visitors into leads. To do that, you need to think strategically about your content, the questions you are trying to answer, and what parts of your website bring results. 

Not sure where to start? Download our free SEO Strategy Guide for a complete walkthrough of our process to bring your SEO to the next level.