How to Find Backlinks to Any Website (Free Methods, 2026)

The fastest free way to find backlinks to your own website is the Links report in Google Search Console, which lists the sites and pages linking to you straight from Google's data. To find backlinks of any other website, such as a competitor, use a free backlink checker like the Ahrefs free Backlink Checker, Moz Link Explorer, a free Semrush account or Bing Webmaster Tools. No single tool shows every link, so use two or three together.

This guide shows you step by step how to find and check backlinks for free: for your own site, for any other site, and for one specific link you want to confirm.

How to find backlinks to your own website

If the site is yours, start with the tools from the search engines themselves. They are free, and the data reflects links the search engine has actually found.

Method 1: Google Search Console Links report

This is the first place to look because the data comes from Google itself.

1. Verify your site in Google Search Console if you have not already. Our Google Search Console guide covers setup.
2. Open your property and click Links in the left menu.
3. Under External links, you will see three tables: Top linked pages, Top linking sites and Top linking text.
4. Click More under Top linking sites to see every domain Google lists as linking to you. Click any domain to see which of your pages it links to.
5. Click Export external links at the top right. Choose Latest links for recently found links with dates, or More sample links for a wider sample. You can download as a spreadsheet or Google Sheet.

What it is good at: free, direct from Google, shows linking sites, linked pages and anchor text.

What it does not do: it shows a sample rather than every link, it does not tell you whether a link is dofollow or nofollow, and new links can take time to appear.

Method 2: Bing Webmaster Tools Backlinks report

Bing Webmaster Tools has a Backlinks section that lists referring domains, linking pages and anchor text for your verified site.

1. Sign in to Bing Webmaster Tools with a Microsoft or Google account.
2. Add your site. The quickest way is to import it from Google Search Console, which also handles verification.
3. Open Backlinks in the left menu to see referring domains and the pages that link to you.

Bing's index is different from Google's, so it often shows links that Search Console leaves out, and the other way round. That is exactly why it is worth a second look.

Method 3: Ahrefs Webmaster Tools

Ahrefs Webmaster Tools gives verified site owners free access to Ahrefs' backlink data for their own sites, including referring domains, anchor text, dofollow and nofollow labels, and new and lost links. You verify ownership through Google Search Console, a DNS record or an HTML file. Domain Rating (DR) shown there is an Ahrefs metric, not a Google one.

How to find backlinks of any website (competitors)

Search Console and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools only work for sites you own. To see the backlinks of a competitor or any other website, you need a third-party checker. Each one runs its own crawler, so results differ.

Free plans on these tools change often. Treat the notes below as a rough guide and check each tool's current limits before you rely on it.

• Ahrefs free Backlink Checker. Enter any domain or URL and see a limited preview of its top backlinks and referring domains, plus Domain Rating. No account is needed for the preview, but you only see a slice of the full data.
• Moz Link Explorer. With a free Moz account you get a limited number of link queries, showing top linking domains, anchor text and Moz Domain Authority (DA).
• Semrush (free account). The Backlink Analytics tool works on a free account with a small number of daily requests and limited rows per report.
• Bing Webmaster Tools. Once you have one verified site, Bing's backlink tool also lets you look up backlinks for other domains, so you can compare your profile with a few competitors side by side.

A practical way to research a competitor for free:

1. Put their domain into two different checkers and note the referring domains that appear in both.
2. Look at which of their pages attract the most links. These show you the kind of content people in your niche link to.
3. Note links from sites that could reasonably link to you too: industry directories, local news, partner pages, resource lists.

For a deeper comparison of these tools, read our roundup of the best free backlink checkers.

How to check a single backlink exists

Sometimes you do not need a full report. You just want to confirm that one page really links to you: a guest post that went live, a directory listing, a partner page, or a link you were promised.

Use our free Link Checker. It needs no signup.

1. Enter the URL of the page that should link to you (not your own page).
2. Run the check and filter the results to External links.
3. Search the list for your domain.
4. If your link is there, you will see the exact URL, its anchor text and whether it is dofollow or nofollow.

If your link is missing, the page may have changed, the link may be added by JavaScript after load, or it may never have been added. Contact the site owner politely with the page URL. Our guide to checking internal and external links explains the report in more detail.

How to check if your backlinks are good

Finding backlinks is half the job. The other half is judging whether they help. Look at each important linking site with these questions:

• Authority. Is the linking site reasonably strong? Paste up to 10 domains into our free DA PA Checker to compare them quickly. DA and similar scores are third-party estimates, not Google metrics, so use them for comparison, not as a verdict. See Domain Authority explained.
• Relevance. Is the site, or at least the linking page, about a topic related to yours? Relevance matters more than a big score on an unrelated site.
• Follow type. Dofollow links can pass ranking signals. Nofollow, sponsored and ugc links are hints Google may or may not use. Both are normal in a healthy profile. Read dofollow vs nofollow backlinks.
• Anchor text. Brand names, URLs and descriptive phrases are natural. A large share of exact-match commercial keywords can look manipulative. See anchor text best practices.
• Spam signals. Thin pages full of unrelated outbound links, foreign-language link farms with no connection to you, or sudden waves of identical links deserve a closer look.

Our checklist on what makes a high-quality backlink goes through these signals one by one.

Free ways to find and check backlinks compared

Free limits change, so check each tool's current terms.

Why tools show different backlink numbers

You will rarely see the same backlink count in two tools. That is normal, and there are a few reasons:

• Different crawlers. Google, Bing, Ahrefs, Moz and Semrush each crawl a different part of the web, at different speeds and depths.
• Sampling. Search Console shows a sample of links, not a complete list.
• Different counting. Some tools count every linking page, some focus on referring domains, and some group links from sitewide footers or sidebars together.
• Timing. A link appears only after the linking page has been crawled and processed. Lost links also take time to drop out.
• Filtering. Some tools hide links they judge to be low quality or spam.

So do not chase an exact total. Watch the trend in referring domains over time, and pay attention to the specific links that matter.

What to do with the backlinks you find

A backlink list is only useful if you act on it. Here is what is worth doing:

1. Reclaim broken links. If a linked URL on your site now returns a 404, redirect it to the most relevant live page. You keep the value of a link you already earned.
2. Thank and build relationships. A site that linked to you once may do it again. A short thank-you note often leads to future mentions.
3. Strengthen your best pages. Pages that attract links are your strongest assets. Add internal links from them to important pages that have few backlinks.
4. Find competitor gap ideas. Sites that link to two or three competitors but not to you are your best outreach list. Directories, resource pages and local publications are good places to start. See free backlink strategies and broken link building for how to approach them.
5. Disavow only real spam. Most sites collect some random low-quality links, and Google's systems generally ignore them. Use the disavow tool only if you have a clear pattern of manipulative links, especially ones you or a past agency built, or a manual action. Our guide on toxic backlinks and disavowing explains when action is actually needed.

Tracking links you created yourself

If you use a tool to create discovery links, keep your own record so you can check them later. Backlink Generator submits your URL to public lookup pages (site stats, WHOIS, SEO analysis, archives) and lets you export every result as a CSV or TXT file, including the linking domain's Tranco popularity rank. These links are mostly nofollow and help search engines discover your pages; they do not guarantee rankings. Your first run of 100 links is free with a free account, and Pro gives unlimited runs.

Do not expect every one of those links to appear in Search Console. Lookup pages are crawled on the search engine's own schedule, and Search Console shows only a sample.

A simple monthly routine

1. Export external links from Google Search Console.
2. Check Bing Webmaster Tools or Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for new and lost referring domains.
3. Spot-check important new links with the Link Checker and score the linking sites with the DA PA Checker.
4. Fix links pointing to broken pages.
5. Run one or two competitors through a free checker and add new ideas to your outreach list.
6. Investigate further only if you see a sudden, unexplained spike of spammy links.

For a wider look at your site's health, the free Website SEO Audit shows a preview without signup, and you can browse all our free SEO tools.

FAQ

How do I find backlinks to my website for free?

Verify your site in Google Search Console, open Links, and look at Top linking sites under External links. Export the list for a full sample. Add Bing Webmaster Tools and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for a second and third view. All three are free for site owners.

How can I see the backlinks of any website?

Use a third-party checker such as the Ahrefs free Backlink Checker, Moz Link Explorer or a free Semrush account. Bing Webmaster Tools also lets you look up other domains once you have a verified site. Free versions show limited data, so combine two tools for a better picture.

Why doesn't Search Console show all my backlinks?

Search Console shows a sample of the links Google knows about, not a complete list. Links also appear only after the linking page has been crawled and processed, and Google may leave out links it does not consider useful. Third-party tools use their own crawlers, so they will show some links Google does not list, and miss others.

How often should I check backlinks?

Once a month is enough for most small sites. Check sooner after a launch, a PR campaign or a guest post going live, or if your rankings drop suddenly and you want to rule out a link problem.

Can I check backlinks without signing up?

Partly. Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools need you to sign in and verify your site. Some third-party checkers, such as the Ahrefs free Backlink Checker, show a limited preview without an account. To confirm one specific link, our Link Checker works without signup.

What is the best way to check backlinks?

Use Google Search Console for your own site, add one third-party checker for a second opinion and for competitors, and use a link checker to confirm individual links. No single tool is complete.

Key takeaways

• For your own site, Google Search Console's Links report is the best free starting point, with Bing Webmaster Tools and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools as second opinions.
• For any other website, use free checkers like Ahrefs, Moz, Semrush or Bing's lookup feature, and expect limited data on free plans.
• Confirm a single backlink, and whether it is dofollow, with the free Link Checker.
• Judge links by relevance, authority, follow type and anchor text, not by raw counts.
• Tools disagree on numbers because they crawl differently. Track referring domains over time.
• Act on what you find: reclaim broken links, pursue competitor gaps, and disavow only real spam.