If you want to know how to find backlinks for a website, the good news is that you have options at every budget. You can get a useful picture of any site’s backlink profile for free, and you can get a much deeper picture with a paid SEO tool. In this guide, I will walk you through seven methods, show you which ones are free, explain why the numbers differ between tools, and tell you what to look for once you have the data.
Learning how to find backlinks for a website matters because links remain one of the strongest ranking signals in SEO. Backlinko’s analysis of 11.8 million Google search results found that the top-ranked result has, on average, 3.8 times more backlinks than results two to ten. Yet Ahrefs research found that 95% of web pages have zero backlinks at all. Knowing where you stand — and where your competitors stand — is the first step to closing that gap.
1. Google Search Console (free, your own site only)
The best place to start is Google Search Console. It is free, it uses Google’s own crawl data, and it shows exactly the links Google knows about. After you verify ownership of your site, go to the “Links” section in the left-hand menu. You will see three useful lists: top external links (your most linked pages), top linking sites, and top linking text (the anchor text people use).
There is one honest limitation: Google says the report is not a full list of every link, and each table stops at 1,000 rows, though you can export up to 100,000 rows. It also works only for a site you own and have verified — you cannot run it on a competitor’s website. Still, for your own site it is the most trustworthy starting point because it comes straight from the search engine you are trying to rank in. (Source: WebFX’s backlink guide — https://www.webfx.com/seo/learn/how-to-check-backlinks/)
2. Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker (free, any site)
Ahrefs runs a free backlink checker that works on any domain or URL, with no account needed. It shows the top 100 backlinks for the domain, including the referring page, the anchor text, and the target URL, plus total backlink and referring-domain counts. The paid version adds filters, exports, and link history. For a quick look at who links to a site, the free version is genuinely useful. (Source: Rhino Rank on checking competitor backlinks — https://www.rhinorank.io/blog/how-to-analyze-and-check-your-competitors-backlinks/)
3. Semrush Backlink Tools (free tier, then paid)
Semrush offers a free backlink checker that works on any domain without an account, showing the top backlinks with the site’s Authority Score plus totals and follow/nofollow tags. With a free Semrush account you get the Backlinks tool with a limited number of daily requests. Semrush’s paid Backlink Analytics is one of the largest link indexes in the industry, so if you do outreach regularly, the paid tier is worth comparing against Ahrefs. (Source: Rhino Rank on checking competitor backlinks — https://www.rhinorank.io/blog/how-to-analyze-and-check-your-competitors-backlinks/)
4. Moz Link Explorer (limited free queries)
Moz Link Explorer gives you ten free queries a month on a free Community account. It is known for its Domain Authority and Page Authority metrics, which are quick shorthand scores for judging how much weight a linking domain carries. It will not give you the depth of Ahrefs or Semrush, but ten queries a month is enough to check your own site and your main competitors. (Source: Rhino Rank on checking competitor backlinks — https://www.rhinorank.io/blog/how-to-analyze-and-check-your-competitors-backlinks/)
5. Ubersuggest and SEO Review Tools (free alternatives)
If the big names feel like overkill, Ubersuggest shows up to 100 backlinks per site with three reports a day on its free plan. SEO Review Tools offers a checker returning 100 unique backlinks per domain, sorted by Semrush Domain Authority. These are handy second opinions when you want to cross-check your results. (Sources: Rhino Rank — https://www.rhinorank.io/blog/how-to-analyze-and-check-your-competitors-backlinks/, Edvido’s test of free backlink checkers — https://www.edvido.com/blog/best-free-backlink-checkers-tested)
6. Bing Webmaster Tools (free, your own site)
Many people forget Bing. Bing Webmaster Tools has its own Backlinks report for verified sites, covering up to 1,500 linking domains and up to 10,000 backlinks per domain. Bing is a much smaller search engine, but its crawl sometimes surfaces links that Google’s report does not list, so it is worth checking as a second free source. (Source: Rhino Rank on backlink counts per tool — https://www.rhinorank.io/blog/how-many-backlinks-do-you-have/)
7. Manual checks with search operators (free)
Finally, you can find mentions and some links by hand using Google’s search operators. Try queries like link:example.com or “example.com” -site:example.com. This will not show a full backlink profile, but it often turns up press mentions and pages that mention your brand without linking — exactly the pages you can contact to ask for a link.
Quick comparison: what each free option shows you
| Tool | Works on any site? | What you get free |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | No — your own verified site only | Top linked pages, top linking sites, top anchors; 1,000 rows per table |
| Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker | Yes | Top 100 backlinks, referring domains count, no account |
| Semrush Free Backlink Checker | Yes | Top backlinks with Authority Score and follow/nofollow tags |
| Moz Link Explorer | Yes | 10 queries/month on a free Community account |
| Ubersuggest | Yes | 100 backlinks per site, 3 reports/day |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | No — your own verified site only | Up to 1,500 domains, 10,000 links each |
| Manual search operators | Yes | Mentions and some linking pages, by hand |
Why different tools show different backlink counts
Each tool crawls the web with its own crawler and counts links in its own way, so the same website shows a different total in every tool you open. A recent test by Edvido ran eleven free backlink checkers against one real website and got totals ranging from 14,900 to 65,600 backlinks — for the same site, on the same day. (Source: Edvido’s 2026 test — https://www.edvido.com/blog/best-free-backlink-checkers-tested)
The takeaway: pick one tool and track its trend over time rather than comparing raw numbers across tools. For your own site, Google Search Console is the number that matters most.
What to look at once you find the backlinks
Finding backlinks is only half the job. A survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker found that 93.8% believe quality matters more than quantity. For each linking domain, check relevance (a link from your industry beats a random directory), authority (one strong link beats dozens of weak ones), follow vs nofollow (followed links pass ranking value; both are natural), anchor text (a natural mix, not exact-match keywords everywhere), and whether the linking page is a real article with real readers. The honest path to a stronger profile is manual outreach and earned links — which is exactly what our professional link building services are built around: real outreach, real sites, no PBNs.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check backlinks for a website I do not own?
Yes. Ahrefs’ free checker, Semrush’s free checker, Moz Link Explorer, and Ubersuggest all work on any domain. Only Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools are limited to sites you have verified, because they show the search engine’s own crawl data for your property.
Why do two backlink tools show totally different numbers?
Each tool runs its own web crawler and counts links slightly differently, so no two totals match. In one published test, eleven free checkers reported anywhere from 14,900 to 65,600 backlinks for the same site on the same day. Compare trends within one tool instead of totals across tools.
How often should I check my backlinks?
Monthly is enough for most websites. Check more often while running an active link building campaign, after a sudden drop in rankings, or if you suspect a spam attack. Set a calendar reminder so it becomes a habit rather than a one-off.
Should I disavow the spammy backlinks I find?
Usually not. Google says its systems ignore most spammy links automatically, so a disavow file is only worth the risk if you or a previous agency built manipulative links, or if Search Console shows a manual action for unnatural links. Disavowing the wrong links can hurt you, so get expert advice before filing one.
Is buying backlinks a safe way to grow my link profile?
No. Paying for links is against Google’s spam policies and can lead to penalties that are far harder to fix than building links properly would have been. A better use of the pages you find linking to competitors is outreach: if a site linked to them, it may link to you too, if your content is better.
What is the difference between backlinks and referring domains?
A backlink is one link from one page to your site. A referring domain is the whole website that link comes from. One domain can give you many backlinks (for example, links from ten of its pages), but Google’s systems count the number of distinct referring domains as the stronger signal, because links from new sites are harder to earn than extra links from the same site.
Abdullah Zulfiqar is Co-founder and Client Success Manager at RankWithLinks, an SEO agency helping businesses grow online. He specializes in client relations and SEO strategy, driving measurable results and maximizing ROI through effective link-building and digital marketing solutions.