Evaluating Backlink Metrics Guide

This brief tutorial will help you understand how to evaluating backlink metrics using our SEO analysis tool, which is fundamental in assessing the strength and quality of your website’s backlink profile.

Checking Total Backlinks and Evaluating Backlink Metrics

1. Observe the “Total Backlinks” figure. This is the cumulative number of backlinks that lead to your website.
2. A higher number of backlinks can potentially improve your site’s authority, given they are from quality sources.

Understanding Referring IPs

1. The “Referring IPs” metric indicates the number of unique IP addresses from which the backlinks originate.
2. A greater diversity of IPs can signal a more natural and authoritative backlink profile.

Reviewing Referring Pages

1. Look at the “Referring Pages” count. This represents the distinct pages on the internet that contain links to your site.
2. A high number of referring pages in relation to the total backlinks can indicate that your links come from varied and potentially more credible sources.

Analyzing Referring Subnets

1. The “Referring Subnets” figure tells you how many different subnetworks your backlinks are coming from.
2. Like referring to IPs, a higher number of subnets usually reflects a broader range of backlink sources and adds credibility.

Do Follow vs. No Follow Backlinks

1. Check the “Do Follow / No Follow” ratio bar. “Do Follow” links are crucial because they pass on link equity (or “link juice“) to your site, which can boost your search ranking.

Navigating the Backlink Profile Table

1. Referring Page: Start by looking at the URLs of the pages linking to your site. This gives you an understanding of where your backlinks are coming from.
2. Page Rank: This is a score for the individual page on the referring site, indicating its importance or quality.
3. Domain Rank: Here, you see the ranking of the entire domain of the referring page, which reflects the domain’s authority.
4. Link Rank: This metric ranks the specific link pointing to your site, showing the value of that particular backlink.

Reviewing Target URLs and Link Attributes

1. Target URL: Examine the specific URLs on your site that the backlinks are pointing to. This helps you identify which pages are gaining the most authority from external sources.
2. External Links: Check how many other external links are on the referring page, as a high number can dilute the value of the backlink.
3. New: This column indicates whether the backlink is new, which can be useful for tracking your latest link-building efforts.
4. Broken: This shows whether a backlink is broken. You should fix or remove broken backlinks as they can negatively affect user experience and SEO.
5. Anchor: The anchor text used in the link to your site. Relevant and descriptive anchor text can improve the SEO value of the backlink.
6. Do Follow: Indicates if a backlink is a “Do Follow” link, which passes on link equity to your site and can improve your rankings.
7. First Seen / Last Checked: These dates help you track the lifespan of backlinks, showing when they were first discovered and when they were last verified.

Understanding the New Backlinks Feature

1. New Backlinks Graph: This feature presents a visual representation of the number of new backlinks your website has acquired over a given period, typically the last 12 months. To use this feature:
   • Look for the bar graph labeled “New Backlinks.”
   • Each bar represents the number of new backlinks gained in a specific month.
   • Identify which months had the highest growth to correlate backlink increases with your marketing activities.
2. New Backlinks Counter: Here, you’ll see the total count of new backlinks obtained during the analyzed period, which reflects the overall success of your link-building strategies.

Evaluating Backlink Metrics the Do Follow / No Follow Ratio

1. Do Follow / No Follow Bar: This horizontal bar shows the ratio of “Do Follow” to “No Follow” links within your backlink profile.
   • “Do Follow” links are essential as they pass on SEO benefits to your website, while “No Follow” links do not.
   • A healthy backlink profile usually includes a mix of both types to maintain natural link diversity.

Reviewing New Referring Domains

1. New Referring Domains Counter: Adjacent to the new backlinks counter, this feature indicates the number of unique domains that have started linking to your website.
   • More new referring domains typically mean increased trust and domain authority.

Analyzing Lost Backlinks

1. Lost Backlinks Graph: This feature displays the number of backlinks lost each month.
   • The vertical bars show the count for each month, allowing you to identify any patterns or spikes in lost backlinks.
   • Use the dropdown menu to select different time frames for your analysis, with the default typically set to the “Last 12 Months.”
2. Lost Backlinks Counter: This number aggregates the total backlinks lost over the selected time frame.
   • A high number could indicate issues that need to be addressed, such as site changes or broken links.

Understanding Lost Referring Domains

1. Lost Referring Domains Counter: This shows the number of unique domains that have stopped linking to your site.
   • The count is critical because it can impact your domain authority and search engine rankings.

Understanding Broken Backlinks Feature

1. Broken Backlinks Graph: This graph will typically display the number of broken backlinks detected over time. However, if the graph is flat, as shown in your image, it means no broken backlinks were identified during the selected period.
2. Broken Backlinks Counter: Next to the graph, you’ll find the total count of broken backlinks. A count of “0” indicates that there are currently no known broken backlinks pointing to your website.

Reviewing Broken Pages

1. Broken Pages Counter: Alongside the broken backlinks data, this number reveals how many of your web pages contain broken backlinks. It’s essential to address these to avoid negative SEO implications.