How do you audit your backlinks for issues and risks?

1 Step 1: Collect your backlink data

The first step is to gather all the data you need to analyze your backlink profile. You can use various tools and sources to do this, such as Google Search Console, Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush. These tools can provide you with information such as the number, source, anchor text, and type of your backlinks, as well as their domain authority, trust score, and spam score. You can export your backlink data to a spreadsheet or a dashboard for easier analysis.

2 Step 2: Identify low-quality and spammy backlinks

The next step is to filter out any backlinks that are low-quality or spammy. These backlinks come from irrelevant, untrustworthy, or malicious websites, such as link farms, directories, forums, or hacked sites, which can negatively affect your site's ranking and trustworthiness as well as expose you to penalties from Google. To identify such low-quality and spammy backlinks, consider the domain authority, trust score, and spam score of the linking site; the relevance and quality of the linking site's content and niche; the anchor text and context of the link; the number and diversity of links from the same site or domain; and the location and language of the linking site.

3 Step 3: Remove or disavow harmful backlinks

The third step is to take action on the harmful backlinks you've identified. You have two options: remove or disavow them. Removing them means contacting the webmaster of the linking site and asking them to delete the link. This can be time-consuming and not always successful, but it's the most effective way to get rid of unwanted backlinks. Disavowing them means telling Google to ignore them when evaluating your site. This can be done by creating a text file with a list of the domains or URLs you want to disavow and submitting it to Google's Disavow Tool. This can be faster and easier, but it's not a guarantee that Google will comply with your request.

4 Step 4: Monitor and maintain your backlink profile

The final step is to keep an eye on your backlink profile and make sure it stays healthy and natural. You can use the same tools and sources you used in step 1 to track and measure your backlink data over time. You can also set up alerts and notifications to inform you of any new or lost backlinks, as well as any changes in your ranking or traffic. You should also continue to build high-quality and relevant backlinks from authoritative and trustworthy sites, using diverse and natural anchor texts and methods.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?