11 Best Backlink Checker Tools to Uncover Link Profile
Acquiring high-quality backlinks to your website is an excellent way to boost your site’s credibility and get more visibility in search results.
While getting such links is a difficult task, one of the most manageable ways is to check your competitors and see the people linking to them.
The good thing is that there are a bunch of tools on the internet that’ll make this process an easier one for you.
These tools will help you to effortlessly spy on your competition and uncover their link sources.
And the good news is, today we are going to explore the best backlink checker tools available in the market.
Let’s get started!
11 Best Backlink Checker Tools of 2023
Why Use a Backlink Checker Tool?
There are several reasons why you’ll need a good backlink checker tool.
As stated above, backlinks are super important if you want to rank high in the SERPs.
In fact, according to Search Engine Land, backlinks are one of the top three ranking factors of Google.
Similarly, after he analyzed 1 Million Google search results, Brian Dean discovered that pages with the highest number of backlinks tends to rank higher in Google:
It’s also worth mentioning that quality matters when it comes to building links. The higher the quality of websites linking to you, the higher your ranking will be on organic search.
Therefore, backlink checker tools will help you to analyze your site’s link profile and improve on it!
Aside from that, you can also use these tools to spy on your competition to find potential link partners and strengthen your link profile.
The benefits of backlinks to rank a web page in SERPs cannot be overemphasized. And to get more of it, you need a good backlink checker tool.
Here are the best website backlink checker tools that’ll help put you ahead of the competition.
11 Best Backlink Checker Tools
1. SEMrush
SEMrush is a highly robust SEO tool that lots of people enjoy using, and it’s also my favorite backlinks analysis tool.
The best thing about the tool is they always add new powerful features every now and then.
But for its existing features, SEMrush has a massive database that is updated daily, enabling you to accurately check and monitor your site’s backlink profile.
Apart from checking your own links, you can also use SEMrush to check your competitor’s links to see ways you can beat them on the SERPs.
To analyze any website’s backlinks, visit SEMrush homepage:
Enter the domain name you want to analyze and hit the “enter” button. In my case, I entered smartpassiveincome.com:
Once the page loads, click on the “backlinks” tab on the left side of the page to see his backlinks profile:
Here, you’ll see all the backlinks pointing to this blog.
You can also decide to see all the links, only the follow links, or nofollow links. And if you see any toxic or bad backlinks, clicking on the big “plus sign” will put it to your disavow list.
Interestingly, the tool also allows you to track multiple competitor websites at once and get inclusive information about their links.
To do this, click on the blue “add competitors” button:
You can add up to four competing domains, and then click on the “search” button:
If you ask me, the free version of SEMrush is enough to do all your backlinks analysis, except you operate an agency and performs several link analysis per day.
That said, the paid version costs $99.95/month, and you’ll get more in-depth analysis.
Click here to learn more about SEMrush and how to use it effectively. Or click this link to experience SEMrush with a 30-Day trial.
2. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is the go-to tool as far as SEO is concerned. The tool is so meticulous with its data that it’s no surprise it has positioned itself as a market leader. Its backlinks analysis feature is where Ahrefs really excels.
There’s apparently a lot to like about Ahrefs, but I personally love the quality of the data it provides.
To start, login to your Ahrefs account, enter the domain name you wish to analyze and click the “enter” button.
In this example, I want to analyze the “smartbloggers.com” blog:
Then click on “backlinks” to see all the backlinks pointing to this website:
Here’s where you’ll get a real taste of the power Ahrefs holds. At a click of a button, you’ll be able to see all the links that point to any specific website/web page.
You can also scrutinize all of your links as well as see what form they take, the domain rating, and the total number of times a particular domain linked to your site:
And just like SEMrush, you can filter the result to see only a particular type of links such as dofollow, nofollow, etc.
Ahrefs also allows you to see only the “new, lost, or broken” links to a website:
The data Ahrefs collects for links is so detailed that many websites use the tool entirely as a backlink checker.
However, Ahrefs is not free, but they have a seven-day trial at the price of $7.
3. Moz
Moz is a long-time favorite of many marketing experts, the tool never falls below your expectations.
The primary goal of the Moz Link Explorer tool is clearly stated on its website:
“Get the data you need to do better link building research, smarter content ideation, and link prospecting – in less time.”
There are three major ways to use the Moz link checker tool:
- Analyze backlinks
- Find links that are holding your site back
- Discover the best link building opportunities
One thing I really love about Moz Link Explorer is its speed. Once you perform a search, you can expect to get results within seconds – a superb user experience.
To use this tool, login to your account and enter the domain you want to analyze:
Click on the blue search icon, and here’s what you’ll see:
This is an overview of your backlink profile, but Moz Link Explorer goes further.
Click on “Inbound Links” to find your way through the report, you will soon see a list showing each link:
Apart from the link URL itself, you can also review details like:
- Anchor text
- PA (Page Authority)
- DA (Domain Authority)
- Spam score
In addition, just like SEMrush, Moz also allows you to compare the link profile of up to two websites. You can achieve this by hitting the “Compare Link Profiles” tab:
In my own case, I’m comparing between smartbloggers.com and smartpassiveincome.com:
If quality, speed, and accuracy are important to you, Moz will never disappoint you. You can expect a thorough experience that’s easy to understand and data that can help you take instant action.
Moz Link Explorer works best when you have a premium account. However, their free version is good enough to get you started checking your website’s backlinks and that of your competitors.
4. Neil Patel’s Backlink Tool
This is one of the newest players in the industry. Neil Patel’s backlink tool (Ubersuggest) is a powerful SEO tool with so many fantastic features.
Among its features is the ability to figure out who links to you and your competitors. The best part is that this tool is totally free to use at the moment.
To use the tool, visit the homepage and enter your website or that of your competitor to check their backlink:
Once you click “enter,” here’s what you’ll see:
You’ll be able to see the domain or page score, the total number of backlinks it has, the total number of nofollow links, referring domains, etc.
And of course, you can also see all the backlink details, such as title, anchor text, URL, authority, link type, and when the link was first and last seen.
And with the filters, you can even drill down further to get a more personalized result:
When you have all the information you need, you will be able to export the data for later use.
As you can see, Neil Patel’s Backlink Tool can help you to discover a lot about your website’s link profile. You can also see where your competitors are getting their links from.
5. Backlink Watch
Backlink watch is one of the easiest tools on the web to check the backlink profile of any website. The good news is that it uses Ahrefs’ API so you’re sure of getting reliable results.
Just visit their homepage, enter your domain, and click on the “Check Backlinks” button:
Once it loads, you’ll be able to see the domain’s page rank, outbound links, anchor text, etc.
The tool is really straightforward, but what I don’t like is that it takes a longer time to update its database and produce results.
Additionally, its interface is bombarded with Ads, which will affect the user experience (such is expected from a free tool though).
There is also no option to export the data but you can just copy the report and paste it in a spreadsheet.
6. Majestic SEO
Majestic SEO is one of the biggest and oldest brands in the online marketing space. The tool has a lot to offer those who have a solid interest in monitoring their backlink portfolio.
Getting started with Majestic is as simple as putting your domain into the search box. From there, the tool will do the rest.
Here’s an example of the results for problogger.com:
As you can see, there are lots of numbers here, so ensure that you take the time to analyze each of them.
And while you will be mostly focused on the total number of external backlinks, don’t ignore the other important metrics:
- Referring domains
- Referring subnets
- Referring IPs
All of these key metrics will help you to have a better understanding of where your website (or your competitor’s) backlink profile stand.
Going down the page, the “backlink history chart” is equally very helpful. This will help you to clearly understand whether you are gaining or losing stamina, regarding your link building tasks.
And moving down further, you can also review the anchor text charts.
There are lots of backlink analyzer tools on the internet, but Majestic continues to be one of the most sought-after, thanks to its pure depth of data.
Finally, signing up for their premium account will give you access to more mind-blowing features. But the free account will still give you lots of wonderful information about your link profile.
7. BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo is one of the best tools out there for content marketing. They offer both free and pro version.
Interestingly, the pro version now has an added feature that allows you to check your website’s backlinks as well as that of your competitors.
With well-regarded clientele like Buzzfeed, NewsCorp, and Yahoo! BuzzSumo’s status as a big player in website management is there for everyone to see.
Just visit BuzzSumo and enter your domain name on the search bar to get started:
The dashboard is very easy to understand and works for domain names as well as keywords, enabling you to see the highest-ranking pages on a specific topic, and also check the links pointing to a given page.
Here’s the result from “problogger.com.”
Click on “view backlinks” to see the domain’s backlink profile:
A very curious feature promoted by this tool is the “Influencer tab,” where a search can return details of the most famous figures associated with the domain – with great potential for both outreach and link-building.
BuzzSumo pricing starts at $99/month. However, discounts are available for those that want to sign up for the yearly subscription – there’s also a free 7 days trial for new users.
And you must sign up for a free trial before you can use the backlink tool.
8. Open Link Profiler
Here is yet another powerful tool that offers awesome free backlink checking solution.
Open link profiler is one of the best free backlink checker tools on the internet with so many unique features. It allows you to analyze the freshest backlinks, and every other link pointing to your website.
The tool is pretty much easy to follow and is color-coded to show the most important results first.
To use this tool, enter your website (or your competitor’s site) on the search bar:
Once you click on the “get backlink data” button, the tool will load immediately, showing you the backlink data of the site.
You’ll be able to see the unique and total number of links pointing to the site, links to its homepage, and the number of dofollow and nofollow links.
Furthermore, the quality of the links that show in your search results carries a “LIS (Link Influence Score).”
This is a metric that calculates the power of the backlinks to your website by a variety of factors in order to tell you its real value to your website.
Simply scroll down the page to see the backlinks:
You can also filter and sort the result to show only information based on your chosen factors, such as to display links from a specific industry:
Open Link Profiler shows only the backlinks that are active in the last 90 days so that you don’t have to work with outdated stuff.
With their free account, you can download up to 100 backlinks in CSV format. And with their “link influence score,” you will be able to easily get an in-depth idea of the best links to go for, based on the quality of the links.
Finally, Open Link Profiler has a free version, which is pretty much enough if you’re a part-time user. However, dedicated users can purchase their premium version that costs from $69.95 per month.
9. Linkody
As their name suggests, Linkody specializes in backlinks. You can use their backlink checker tool to check up to five unique domains for free, but if you want more freedom, their pricing doesn’t jump up to the sorts of numbers listed by competitors.
From the moment you land on the Linkody homepage, you’ll instantly understand what the link tracking tool has in mind for its users:
“The easiest way to track your link building campaigns.”
If you’ve ever tried to manually check your website’s backlink profile, you know two things to be a fact: it’s very time consuming and it’s almost impossible to keep up.
This is what’s boosting the popularity of Linkody. Just like every other tool mentioned on this list, everything is automated on your behalf.
Some of the coolest reasons to use this tool are:
- Ability to easily identify and disavow spammy backlinks
- Get instant notifications when you gain and lose links
- Get an inside look at what’s working for your competitors
The feature that I like most is the ability to monitor when you lose old links and gain new ones. Your link profile will always be changing, so it’s important for you to stay on top of it.
If you lose any backlink, you’ll want to know about it immediately. And, if you gain a new link, it’s also as important to know the source and how it’ll potentially affect your search engine rankings.
To get started, visit the Linkody homepage and create a new account, confirm your email address and then enter the website whose backlinks you wish to track:
As usual, here’s what I got when I entered problogger.com on the search bar:
As you can see, the results page layout is simple, clear, and clutter-free. I’m also on the trial account, so it’s showing me only the results from the last three months. I’ll need to upgrade to see more results.
A great asset to the backlink checker is the emphasis on the authority of link sources. And the fact that you can easily see the domain authority, spam score, and Alexa rank of your link providers in the free account.
And premium account holders can also see the page authority and Mozrank of the link sources.
Linkody’s quick-to-use service and clear interface made it a perfect choice for newbies in the SEO world looking to keep their website’s links in check.
That said, the Linkody backlink checker tool has a free but limited plan, while the paid versions are reasonably priced at €13.90 per month.
One final thing that’s worth mentioning about Linkody is that you can set up daily email notifications. This will let you get a daily email report, giving insight into the health of your link profile.
10. SEO Spyglass
SEO Spyglass is a new backlink checker tool that’s really making a wave in the industry. The team behind it are always working tirelessly in order to provide great results.
In a recent update, its database of indexed links was increased to 15,000,000,000,000, which is pretty more than Majestic SEO and Ahrefs.
However, it is not a web-based client like most of the other tools here. Rather, it’s a desktop application available on its own or as part of SEO Powersuite.
Once installed on your PC, SEO Spyglass will check all the live links on your site at any given time.
It downloads your links from a number of sources and will fetch live/real-time data on the status of your backlinks, the page rank, anchor text used, etc. All of which can be easily exported into PDF reports for future use.
You can also choose exactly what backlink metrics the tool should track on your competitor’s site:
Finally, unlike the monthly fee-based link checker tools on the list, this application is available for a one-time fee of $124.75. A free version is also available but with limitations.
11. Raven Tools
Raven Tools is designed mainly for SEO professionals, and it’s a great backlink checking tool.
Raven Tools gets their data from Majestic SEO and MOZ, so you can be sure you’re getting trusted information about your site.
Good enough, getting started with Raven Tools is also easy. Just sign up for an account (if you don’t already have one), and then enter the website you want to analyze:
It’ll ask you a couple of questions before taking you to your main dashboard.
Now, click on the “Backlinks” tab to see all the backlinks pointing to your website:
You can also filter the result to show either the total links, image links, nofollow links, etc.
And finally, Raven Tools allows you to easily export your data in CSV or PDF format for future use.
The only thing I don’t like about this link checker is their user interface, which is relatively poor.
Raven Tools is a paid backlink checker, but it also has a fully functional 14-day free trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
A backlink checker is an SEO tool that helps you to track which links point to any given URL. You can also use it to see your competitors’ best links so you can replicate them.
It’s very easy to find backlinks to your website using any of the backlink checking tools listed here. Ahrefs and SEMrush are my preferred tool among them. Just login and enter the URL you want to check in the search bar and then click on the backlinks tab to see the full list.
Backlink analysis is an integral part of any successful link building campaign. With good backlink analysis, you’ll always see what’s working and what’s not before starting any new link building campaign. This will enable you to easily replicate what’s working for a better result.
With a good link analysis tool, you can effortlessly find your competitors backlinks. SEMrush will help you to achieve this in seconds. Just enter your competitor’s website and click on the “backlinks” tab. And it’ll show you a list of all the links pointing to that site.
All the tools listed here will do the job for you, but my all-time favorite is SEMrush. This is because of its ease-of-use and newbie friendliness.
By putting your URL to any of these link checker tools, you’ll immediately see the total number of backlinks pointing to your website.
There are many ways to build backlinks. However, one of the easiest ways is to check your competitors’ link profile using SEMrush. And then reach out to the people linking to them and ask them to also link to your website.
It’s advisable to always go for dofollow backlinks from reputable websites.
Backlink matters a lot if you wish to rank high in SERPs. It’s one of the 3 most important Google ranking factors.
Conclusion
Search engine optimization isn’t really as difficult as it sounds.
Granted, you can’t rank on top of your target keywords in a blink of an eye. However, there are a few things that will certainly guarantee your success.
One of those things is building a healthy link profile.
With proper keyword research and high-quality backlinks, you’ll be 90% close to getting to the top.
But apart from building more links, finding and analyzing all your existing backlinks is crucial to know the link quality of your website.
From my research, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Majestic SEO have the handiest backlink checker tool. So you might want to start from any of them.
Leverage any of these tools to analyze your backlinks, check how much traffic and links your competitor’s gets, and figure out how best to beat them in the SERPs.
You Might Also Like:
- 11 Best Google Keyword Rank Checker Tools
- How to Build High-Quality Backlinks by Spying on Your Competitors?
- How to Spy on Your Competitors’ Keywords?
Hi Ankit, this was more than a awesome post. I really liked the list of tools. I am not a SEO type guy but these tools are really handy and would help me in the near future. Analysis paralysis is a funny and scary thing at the same time. I never knew about it but would be careful too.
Hi Ankit
I always notice that your blog posts are so unique and well explained with deep information.
Backlink checkers are the most important tools to analyze the backlinks of your competitors blog. But according to my experience, there are slight tools which I like most and love to use on the daily basis.
As we know Afrefs is the best backlinks checker tool, they are always updated with the freshest backlinks but one thing about them which I don’t like is that they only allows 1 trial without registering the account and after register, you will only get one trial. That’s not good. It should be free of cost.
But If you need to check complete backlinks of any website then you need to take premium subscription which every blogger can’t afford.
But on the other side, there is a tool, sorry free tool which is much better for free use. I am talking about OPENLINKPROFILER, 🙂 I personally used it and it’s totally free of use. NO registration , No premium susbcription and full access to the competitors backlinks and they are also updated. You will get all the updated backlinks like Ahrefs by using OPENLINKPROFILER. It’s my personal experience with it and I also recommend it to you. Happy Blogging 😉
Hi Ankit,
Nice list of backlinks checker, but out of these Ahrefs is best, but sad thing is that, it is premium tool. Although I have heard about many of them but was unaware of google alerts that we can use it to check links too.
Thanks again for the post.
Some of the tools mentioned here only provides limited number of links i.e below 10. However I have been using majestic SEO for more then six months and I found it a great free tool to check the backlinks of a single website.
Hi Ankit,
This is really amazing post for everyone who wants to check backlinks for free. Till now i have already know only about 5 backlink checker tool. I don’t know about other 4 backlink checker tool which you mentioned here. But Now i’m going to try other 4 backlink checker tools too…Overall this post will be very helpful for newbies and even it would be helpful for experts too..Good work Ankit..Keep doing..
Very nice article dear.
I am new to your blog. I am not so much good in link building so this post is five star post for me.
Thanks
I love it but I think you missed some good other backlinks checker tools available online which are really effective in finding competitors backlinks with anchor texts. One of them is BuzzSumo.
Kindly update your post and help others to learn more about them. In addition, I have some doubts regarding backlinks stealing from authority blogs and sites. Kindly, pay attention to my question if possible.
Waiting for your kindest reply.
Regards
Mrityunjay
Hi Ankit,
wow! very nice post…..nice list of backlinks checker……
This post has very deep knowledge about check backlinks for free…..
So this post is very important for me…..
Very very thanks for sharing this………
Thanks again!
From-
Amul Sharma
Thanks for your feedback about content quality. Keep visiting, Amul.
Hi Ankit,
Recently I started blogging, I am very confused about back links, how to check the back links. This post is helping me. In those 9 checking tools, SEMRUSH and Ahref tools are showing very good results.
Thanks for giving clear information.
Yes both the are tools are very helpful.
Thanks for your feedback, Aditya.
Hey Ankit,
This is another golden post by your knowledge ocean. I learned a few new things however I am a regular visitor of your blog. Every time I read a new post, it includes something new and attractive. I quickly bookmark every post to take fresh ideas for my post.
Backlinks are one of the most searched things and these tools make it really very easy out work.
Thanks again for such an amazing guide.
Best,
Anirudh
Thanks bro for sharing other tools. Currently I’m using openlinkprofiler but now i will try other tools also 🙂
Hi Ankit,
Wow! Thats great post like always. I know about 4-5 Tools and I’ll try your collection…
Thanks for sharing the list.
Thanks &
Regards-
~Ajit Ray~
i think this is the really great list..
most commonly i use the MOz bar as it comes with browser extension and easy to use also..
i want to about any on page plugin (browser extension) that points to on page score of the page…
Thank you very much Ankit for sharing others tools. From today i will try majestic free backlink checker tool. Thanks again.
Awesome post. I personally use SEMRush for monitoring the backlinks of my site as well to keep an eye on the competitors site. Great to know that there are so many other options. Thanks for such a good list.
Thank to introducing these great tools. I like most open link profiler. This is an awesome tools. But after complete your review I would like to use others 😛
Thanks for the review. In my opinion, SEMRush and Ahrefs are the best tools to check for backlinks. However, they both are too expensive (60$/month) 🙁
Ha… Awesome list! I especially like how u listed them in order of awesomeness… Thanks a lot Ankit.
PS- Spyglass is actually not a new tool. Been around a while.
hey ankit.
Great list of tools, I tried every one of them and overall semrush and ahrefs is best.
Hi Ankit,
Your article’s really useful. I’ve already used 5 tools of your list but I like Openlinkprofiler. It’s so great and also for newbie with many backlinks you can check for free version.
Thanks so much and hope next your article!
Regards,
Janniz
Every tool shows different data and they are all just crap with little and old data.
The best tool for SEO is your own mind, we should use it to explore more tactics for our projects.
Thanks for the list.
Awesome post sir. I personally used SEMRush, Ahrefs and Majestic SEO. Thank to introducing new tools.
Thank you for this list. Personally, I use backlink checker by SE Ranking. It’s easy to use and pretty cheap. Based on the data you can get from the software, you can learn your competitors’ strategy and create your own.
Thanks for sharing this amazing post bro, Ahrefs.com is one of the versatile and updated the tool. Recent changes in the tool are making it even more useful for content discovery and keyword explorer.
Hey Ankit,
You suggest amazing SEO backlinks checker tools. As per my experience, Ahrefs and SEMRush are the best-updated tools, to find competitor’s backlinks and much more.
Hope your next article shows more featured free tools.
Best,
Raj
Hey Ankit,
Thanks for your efforts of putting helpful list of free and paid backlink checker tools together.
From paid options, I like SEMrush and Ahrefs the most and from free options, Linkody, SmallSEOTools backlink checker and UberSuggest are the best bet.
Once again, thanks for the list.
Regards,
Sourav
Hi, Ankit
That’s great post like always. I know about 4-5 Tools and I’ll try your collection…
I personally used SEMRush, Ahrefs, and Majestic.
Thank you for letting me know about SEMrush, it has about the highest free trial days, keep up the good work.
No backlink checker tools work, they give you the wrong idea they don’t index links like google does, in fact, I have 30 referring domains to my website and all the backlink checkers say there are only nine at most. So what this means is that all other data derived from these backink checkers is wrong, like anchor text ratios.
Hey Ankit,
How are you?
I’d like to add that Neil Patel, Moz, SEMrush tools still shows the same old data, I wonder how frequent they update new data.
Spying on competitor backlinks is a smart way to build backlinks but we have to make sure we are building on the right web pages. Quality of the blog/website, niche relevancy, and traffic factors of the web page play a potential role to make the most out of backlink building.
Great compilation about backlink checker tools, buddy! This is definitely a helpful guide for beginners.
Hi Ankit,
This is a very useful article, I use Moz and ahrefs for backlinks checker. I’ll definitely check the other tools you mentioned here. I never knew some of the tools you mentioned here. this is a very helpful article and thank you for providing this valuable information.
You’re welcome, Eddy!
Hi Ankit
Thank you for this valuable content you shared here. I’m into SEO recently and this information is very helpful for me.I’ll Definitely will go through these tools. I use Ahrefs for checking Backlinks. And again Thank you for introducing these tools.
Glad you liked the article, Samuel. 🙂
Hi Ankit,
A ‘backlink’ is the most used word in search engine optimization (SEO).
A page with lots of backlinks seems to rank than a page with fewer backlinks.
It is important to have backlinks from quality sites.
Is it true that automatic website submissions will cause a blog to appear as spam? and it cost a lot in terms of domain authority or even the complete removal of blog from search engines?
Thanks,
Jeangam Kahmei
Hi Ankit,
All are good backlink checkers but Ahrefs and SEMrush are my favorite.
Thanks for the list.
Hey Ankit,
This is another golden post by your knowledge ocean. I learned a few new things however I am a regular visitor of your blog. Every time I read a new post, it includes something new and attractive. I quickly bookmark every post to take fresh ideas for my post.
Backlinks are one of the most searched things and these tools make it really very easy out work.
Thanks again for such an amazing guide.
These backlink tools are really amazing. Thank you so much for providing beautiful article.