# How to Check Backlinks for Free: Search Console, Bing and More > Check backlinks for free with Google Search Console's Links report, see a competitor's links in Bing, and learn exactly where the free method stops. _Source: https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/how-to-check-backlinks — The Professional's Toolkit · updated October 2026_ --- To check backlinks for free, start with Google Search Console: verify your site, open the Links report, and read the top linking sites, the pages they point to, and the link text they use. For a site you don't own, Bing Webmaster Tools and the free previews of SEO tools show a slice of any domain's links. The method is the same everywhere. Export the list, compare it with last month, and look into anything new, lost or odd. Free tools show **a sample, not every link**, and that is fine until you need competitor data or alerts. **1,000 rows** — the cap on each table in the Search Console Links report - **4 tables** — in the free Search Console Links report - **Any site** — Bing's backlink report covers competitors too - **Owner only** — who can upload a Google disavow file ## What a backlink check should tell you A backlink is a link on another website that points to yours. If you need the basics first, our guide on [what backlinks are and why they matter](/articles/what-are-backlinks) covers them. Checking them is a narrower job. You want answers to four questions: who links to you, which of your pages earn those links, what words the links use, and what changed since the last time you looked. Each answer leads to an action. A strong site linking to an old page tells you which page to keep updated. A sudden batch of links from unknown domains tells you to look closer. A lost link from a partner is worth an email. A check that ends with a long list and no action is just reading. The goal is a short list of things to do. ## How to check backlinks in Google Search Console Search Console is Google's free tool for site owners, and its Links report is the only free view of the links Google itself has found. It works only for sites you have verified as yours. The report has four tables: top linked pages, top linking sites, top linking text, and top internally linked pages. 1. Sign in to Search Console and add your site as a property, then verify ownership. 2. Pick the property and open the **Links report** from the left menu. 3. Under External links, open Top linking sites and click MORE at the bottom of the table for the full list [1]. 4. Click any site in that list to see which of your pages it links to. 5. Go back and open Top linked pages, then Top linking text, and read each with the same questions. 6. Use the Export button to save the data as a CSV file or a Google Sheet. Google groups data by root domain. Links from www, m. and other subdomains of one site all appear under a single name. Duplicates from the same source page to the same target page count once. Our walkthrough of [checking backlinks in Google Search Console](/articles/google-search-console-backlinks) goes report by report if you want every screen. > 💡 **Export before you judge:** Save the Links report as a Google Sheet each month. Trends across two files tell you far more than one screen of totals. ## How to check my backlinks: reading the Links report Start with Top linking sites. Read the domain names and ask a simple question: do you recognize them? Google's own advice is to confirm that you recognize them. Then check whether the sites that matter to you link at all. A restaurant should find food blogs or review sites in that list. If they are missing, that gap is your link-building to-do list. Then open Top linked pages. Your most linked pages should be the ones you expect, usually the home page and your best guides or tools. A thin page with many links may deserve an upgrade. A strong page with almost none may need internal links or outreach. Last, read Top linking text. Anchor text should describe your site accurately. Odd anchors in other languages or keyword-stuffed phrases you never chose are the usual sign of spam pointing at you. Note them; don't panic yet. ### Two limits to keep in mind while reading The report is not a full list. Google says it shows a sample of internal and external links, and some URLs drop out because pages aren't indexed or were deduplicated. Links found over time stay listed even after they disappear, and the report does not say whether a link is nofollow. Each table also stops at 1,000 rows, so larger sites see a truncated view. ## How to find backlinks of a website you don't own Search Console can't show a competitor's links. Bing Webmaster Tools can. Microsoft says its backlink report displays inbound links data not only for your site but for any website [2]. The other free route is the preview built into SEO tools. Ahrefs' free Backlink Checker shows the top 20 links to any site, and its Website Authority Checker gives any domain's Domain Rating. Our tutorial on [checking backlinks in Ahrefs](/articles/ahrefs-backlink-checker) shows how the free checker and Site Explorer differ. SE Ranking offers a backlink checker preview on its site without an account. Ubersuggest's free plan shows 100 backlinks per site. Serpstat's free tier allows 10 searches a day with 10 results per report. These previews answer one useful question fast: *who are the strongest sites linking to this competitor?* That short list is often enough to start outreach. What they won't give you is the long tail, the history or a tidy export. ## A monthly backlink check in 20 minutes A check is worth more as a habit than as a one-off. Here is a routine that fits a small site. 1. On the first of the month, export Latest links from the Search Console Links report. 2. Open last month's file next to it and compare the linking sites in both files. 3. Mark domains that are new, and any that dropped out. 4. Visit each new domain. Keep the good ones in a list of partners worth thanking or pitching. 5. For partners that matter, open their linking page and confirm the link is still there. Search Console can keep listing a link after it is removed, so a domain that is still in the export is not proof the link is live. A redesign or a broken URL on your side is a fixable cause. 6. Note any odd anchor text and watch whether it grows. Picture a local bakery's site. The March export shows three new domains: a city food blog, a wedding directory, and an unknown site in another language. The bakery also checks its partners. A visit to a local caterer's page shows its link to the bakery is gone, although Search Console still lists it. The owner thanks the blogger, asks the directory to fix a typo in the anchor, emails the caterer about the missing link, and leaves the foreign site alone for now. That is the whole check, done in one sitting. > 💡 **Keep a partner list:** Add every good new linking site to a simple list. It becomes your outreach list when you publish something new. ## Spam links and disavow: the mistakes that cost the most The most common mistake is treating every odd link as a threat. Google says that in most cases it can assess which links to trust without help, so most sites will not need the disavow tool [3]. It recommends disavowing only when you have many spammy or artificial links and they have caused, or are likely to cause, a manual action. If you do reach that point, the order matters. Ask the linking sites to remove the links first. Then build a plain text file with one URL or domain per line, using the domain: prefix for whole sites. Only a property owner can upload it, and each property keeps one list. A new upload replaces the old one. Disavowed links still appear in the Links report, which confuses many owners into thinking the file failed. > ⚠ **Disavow is not a cleanup tool:** Google advises it only for many spammy links tied to a manual action. Used wrongly, it can hurt your rankings. Other mistakes are quieter. Comparing counts between tools is one: each tool crawls differently, so totals never match. Checking once a year is another, because by then you have little chance to ask a partner why a link went missing. The last is chasing raw link totals instead of the sites that actually matter to your audience. ## Where the free way stops The free method holds up well for one site with a modest link profile. It breaks in four specific places. **Competitor depth.** Search Console has no competitor data at all. Bing and the free previews show a top slice. Once you want a rival's full list, the pages that earn their links, or the sites linking to two rivals but not to you, free tools run out. **Size.** Each table in the report stops at 1,000 rows, so a site with more linking domains than that can't read its full list of linking sites on screen. The Latest links export lists recently found links one by one, not domains, so the monthly comparison turns into spreadsheet work. A larger store or publisher feels this first. **Alerts.** Nothing free tells you when a link disappears. Search Console can keep listing a removed link, so you find out only when you open the linking page yourself. **Link quality signals.** Search Console doesn't flag nofollow links and gives no authority score. Judging a link means opening the page yourself. Paid tools fill these gaps in different ways. Ahrefs reports new and lost links with the reason they were lost and can email alerts. SE Ranking monitors the links you add every week and compares your domain with up to five competitors. Mangools' LinkMiner previews each link on the referring page, which suits vetting prospects one by one. Our guide to [backlink checker tools](/articles/backlink-checker-tools) compares the full options by situation. ### Ahrefs — solves this Site Explorer lists a domain's referring domains and backlinks with Domain Rating, shows new and lost links with the reason each was lost, and emails alerts when links change. - Where it stops: The free Backlink Checker shows the top 20 links; Ahrefs Free covers only sites you verify as yours. - Plan: Full Broken backlinks and Link Intersect reports start on Standard - How Ahrefs does it: [Check backlinks in Ahrefs](https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/ahrefs-backlink-checker) - More: [Ahrefs](https://professionalstoolkit.com/tools/ahrefs) ### SE Ranking — solves this Backlink Checker shows referring domains, anchors and a toxicity score per link, and Backlink Monitoring rechecks the links you add every week. Backlink Gap Analyzer compares you with up to five competitors. - Where it stops: Tables show a capped sample of a large profile; the full list needs the Data API. - Plan: Backlink Checker and Monitor are unlimited on Core and Growth - How SE Ranking does it: [Use SE Ranking's backlink checker](https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/se-ranking-backlink-checker) - More: [SE Ranking](https://professionalstoolkit.com/tools/se-ranking) ### Mangools — solves this LinkMiner lists a domain's or URL's backlinks with Link Strength, flags dofollow, nofollow and deleted links, and previews each link on the referring page so you can vet prospects fast. - Where it stops: Monthly backlink-row allowance by plan; link data is licensed from Majestic, not its own crawler. - Plan: LinkMiner is in Basic, Premium and Agency - How Mangools does it: [LinkMiner and SiteProfiler tutorial](https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/mangools-linkminer) - More: [Mangools](https://professionalstoolkit.com/tools/mangools) ## FAQ **Can I check backlinks of any website for free?** Partly. Bing Webmaster Tools' backlink report shows inbound links for any website, not only yours, and free checkers such as Ahrefs' show the top 20 links. Full lists need a paid tool. **Do disavowed links disappear from the Search Console links report?** No. Google says disavowed links continue to be shown in the Links report, and the disavow tool does not support Domain properties. **Why do backlink counts differ between tools?** Each tool crawls the web on its own schedule and none sees every link. Compare trends within one tool rather than totals across tools. **How often should I be checking backlinks?** Once a month suits most small sites. A longer gap makes it harder to ask a partner why a link went missing. ## The bottom line Checking backlinks starts free and stays free longer than most owners expect. Verify your site in Google Search Console, read the Links report's four tables, and export Latest links every month to spot new and odd domains, then confirm key partner links by hand. Add Bing Webmaster Tools or a free checker preview when you want a look at a competitor. Leave the disavow tool alone unless spam links have earned you a manual action. Move to a paid tool when you need full competitor lists, link alerts or more than a sample. ## Sources [1] Google Help — https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9049606?hl=en (Oct 2026) [2] blogs.bing.com — https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/september-2023/Bing-Webmaster-Tools-to-Remove-Disavow-Links-Feature-in-October-2023 (Oct 2026) [3] Google Help — https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2648487?hl=en (Oct 2026)