Oct 07, 2024
Casey Bjorkdahl is one of the pioneering thought leaders in the SEO community. In 2010, Casey co-founded Vazoola after working for a Digital Marketing Agency for five years in New York City. Vazoola is now one of the fastest growing and most widely recognized SEO marketing firms in the country.
Want to boost your marketing efforts? Take our word for it. You have to understand the role of inbound links.
Don’t underestimate the value of backlinks.
They influence search rankings and drive traffic to your site.
For success, you have to recognize the links’ origins and identify which are high-quality backlinks and beneficial to your site. For that, you have to check inbound links.
You can analyze your backlinks’ strengths and spot opportunities for improvement with the right online tools. Then you can develop strategies to build even stronger links.
By using the right tools, you can analyze the strength of your backlinks, spot opportunities for improvement, and develop strategies to build even stronger links.
What’s the best tool to check backlinks? It all depends on your business model and approach to SEO. However, a few top contenders stand out in any industry.
You don’t actually have to take our word for it. Just keep reading as we take a deep dive into the best tools for tracking inbound links.
Use tools to analyze the anchor text of your backlinks and ensure a healthy diversity. Over-optimization with certain keywords can trigger penalties from search engines, so aim for a natural, varied anchor text profile.
Key Takeaways:
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Understanding and tracking your inbound links is crucial for improving SEO and driving traffic to your site.
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Ahrefs provides real-time data and competitor insights, making it a top choice for overall backlink tracking.
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Majestic SEO delivers essential backlink data at no cost, with advanced features available through a paid subscription.
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GSC offers accurate backlink data directly from Google, making it a must-have tool, especially since it's free.
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Employing a combination of these tools allows you to monitor, analyze, and enhance your backlink profile effectively.
Table of Contents:
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Best Tool for Tracking Inbound Link Quality: Link Explorer (Moz)
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Best Tool for Dofollow vs. Nofollow Link Data: Backlink Watch
1. Best Inbound Link Tracker Overall
What’s the all-around best inbound backlink checker?
Ahrefs is a powerhouse to track backlinks to your site. It boasts a database with trillions of links indexed across billions of pages. The massive resource gives you access to the real-time data of your backlink profile. The information helps you fine-tune your SEO strategy with precision.
Ahrefs provides detailed insights into each backlink. Some of that information includes referring domains, anchor text, and link strength. You can track new backlinks as they appear. You even can set up alerts to stay informed of any changes.
Ahrefs also offers comprehensive tools for analyzing competitors' organic search performance. With that data, you can better target keywords and understand your market position.
Is there free link tracking?
Ahrefs provides limited free features, including backlink checking and SEO analysis. The full suite of tools requires a premium subscription, starting at $129 per month.
2. Best Free Inbound Link Tracker
Majestic SEO is our top tracker link free tool for tracking inbound links. Its web crawlers offer reliable and useful data.
Majestic users access essential features like backlink history, referring domains, anchor text distribution, and link strength metrics – all at no cost. The insights obtained help marketers assess the quality and impact of backlink profiles.
While the free link tracker version provides substantial value, upgrading to a paid subscription unlocks advanced tools like competitor analysis and deeper link data. The premium version starts at $49.99 per month, so you can scale up when you’re ready to leverage its full capabilities.
Beyond just tracking competitor backlinks with tools like Semrush, focus on link velocity—how quickly they are gaining links. This insight can help you gauge their SEO momentum and adjust your strategies to stay competitive.
3. Must-use Inbound Link Tool
Google Search Console analyzes inbound links and provides data directly from Google. It shows exactly which sites link to your pages and how Google indexes them – insights other tools can't provide.
GSC also highlights your most valuable links and any issues affecting your site’s SEO. While it only monitors your own site, its accuracy makes it an indispensable tool.
Even better, it's free if you use Google Analytics. That makes it a must-have for refining your backlink strategy.
4. Best Tool for Tracking Competitors’ Inbound Links
Semrush offers in-depth insights into competitor backlinks. With this tool, you can see where they’re gaining links, the quality of those links, and how they’re performing overall.
You also can analyze details like the source of each backlink and the anchor text used. This data helps identify opportunities to capture greater market share.
While Semrush provides a few free searches, full access to its powerful features requires a subscription, starting at $139.95 monthly. The investment gives you the data you need to refine your SEO strategy and outpace competitors.
5. Best Tool for Tracking Inbound Link Quality
Link Explorer from Moz provides powerful insights into the quality of your inbound links. The free version offers useful data like backlinks, page authority, and spam score. The information gives a basic understanding of your site’s performance.
However, you’ll need a paid subscription to Moz Pro to fully leverage the tool’s capabilities. With a $49 monthly subscription, you gain access to advanced features like tracking your backlink profile over time and comparing your site’s link quality with competitors. You’ll also uncover even more insights to guide your link-building strategy.
6. Best Tool for Dofollow vs Nofollow Link Data
Backlink Watch is a reliable tool that sorts backlinks by their dofollow and nofollow status. It offers marketers powerful insights. The tool labels each link, so you can understand which pass SEO value and which don’t.
Thanks to its straightforward sorting and filtering options, Backlink Watch makes it easy to assess your backlink profile’s quality. That way, you can focus on the links that contribute most to your SEO efforts. The starter pack is offered at just $1 per website, a larger suite of features can be accessed for $49 per month.
7. Best Tool for Tracking Social Shares
BuzzSumo is an excellent tool for tracking backlinks, particularly social shares. It identifies what content is getting shared the most, and it tracks the backlinks associated with those shares.
By showing you how your content performs across social platforms, BuzzSumo helps you understand which backlinks are driving social engagement. That insight lets marketers focus on creating content that resonates with audiences and attracts high-quality backlinks. You can subscribe to the tool starting at $199 a month.
8. Best Tool for Mention Alerts
Muck Rack is one of the best tools for tracking backlinks through mention alerts. Designed with PR professionals in mind, the tool monitors online mentions of your brand or content across various media outlets.
When your brand is mentioned, Muck Rack notifies you and tracks any backlinks associated with those mentions. That way, you can quickly identify new backlinks, assess their quality, and respond to media coverage. The valuable tool starts at $5,000 annually.
Configure automated alerts in tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console to notify you immediately when you gain or lose significant backlinks. This real-time information allows you to react quickly, whether it’s capitalizing on new opportunities or addressing potential issues.
Employ Online Tools to Track Inbound Links
If you were wondering, “How do I check backlinks to my site?” we hope you’ve gained some valuable insight.
If you want an optimized SEO strategy, you can’t avoid tracking your inbound links. That way, you stay ahead of the competition.
The right tools grant you access to a host of valuable insights. Some of the best paid and free online tools for tracking links offer valuable insights into backlink quality and impact. You’ll also identify opportunities for improvement while strengthening your overall online presence.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your existing link building strategy, the right tools – like the eight described here – will help you achieve your goals.
Don’t leave your backlink strategy to chance—start using these tools to monitor, analyze, and enhance your inbound links today. Vazoola offers a variety of resources to further elevate your SEO efforts.
Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz Link Explorer to track the historical performance of your backlinks. Analyzing trends over time can reveal which link-building strategies are most effective and help you anticipate changes in your backlink profile.