Backlink research

Backlink research profiles the domains linking to a site so both authority and risk stay visible. Open Backlinks Analysis in the left sidebar. Unlike keyword and SERP research, it isn't a standalone lookup — the profile is generated when an audit runs with Backlinks Analysis enabled.

Profile health

The page opens with a health verdict for the whole profile — Healthy, Review needed, or Critical — computed from spam score, broken links, and referring- domain count. When something needs attention, it lists the specific issue:

• High spam score — above 25% is flagged critical; 10–25% is a warning to review low-quality links
• Broken backlinks — above 300 is critical; 50–300 suggests adding redirects to recover the lost link authority
• Thin link profile — fewer than 20 referring domains prompts a push for more quality links

Headline metrics

Six cards summarize the profile at a glance.

• Total backlinks — every inbound link found
• Referring domains — the unique domains linking in
• Domain rank — the site's global ranking position
• Spam score — the share of the profile that looks low-quality, as a percentage
• Referring pages — the individual pages linking to the site
• Broken backlinks — inbound links that no longer resolve

Referring domains

The referring-domains table is where the profile gets actionable. High-spam domains are hidden by default so a toxic tail doesn't distort the read.

• Domain — the linking site, opening in a new tab
• Rank — that domain's authority score
• Links — how many backlinks it sends
• Spam — its spam score, colored red above 40% and amber above 20%
• Type and placement — the link's kind and where on the page it sits
• First seen — when the backlink was discovered
• Status — active or lost

Sort by rank, link count, spam, or first-seen date, filter by link type, and search by domain name. The default spam filter hides domains scoring above 50 — uncheck Hide high spam to see them, and the table reports how many are hidden.