The short version: you check backlinks with a tool like Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or Google Search Console, but the raw number means almost nothing on its own. What matters is where those links come from, how many unique domains are linking (not total links), and whether the pages sending them are indexed and get traffic themselves.
The tools that show you backlinks
Google doesn't give you a full backlink report anywhere in its public interface. Search Console shows you links to your own site under "Links" (not another site's), and it's useful for that, but it's incomplete and it won't show competitors. For anything beyond your own domain, you need a third-party crawler.
- Ahrefs has the biggest link index of the commercial tools, updated roughly every 15 minutes, and its free Backlink Checker gives you the top 100 backlinks to any domain with no signup.
- Semrush has a slightly smaller index but a cleaner interface, and its free version shows you a limited snapshot too.
- Moz Link Explorer is the oldest of the three, invented the whole "Domain Authority" concept, and still has a usable free tier.
- Google Search Console is free forever and shows every link Google knows about pointing to your own verified property, sorted by top linking sites and top linked pages.
If you only want the topline number, not the full list, a free option is worth trying first. I've written a longer walkthrough on what a backlinks counter does and how to use one without paying for a full SEO suite.
Step by step: checking your own site right now
- Log into Google Search Console (free, you just need to verify ownership of the domain with a DNS record or HTML file).
- Click "Links" in the left menu.
- Look at "Top linking sites" for the number of unique domains, and "Top linked pages" to see which of your pages attract the most links.
- Cross-check the total against a free crawler like Ahrefs' Backlink Checker, because Search Console's numbers and a third-party index rarely match exactly. The gap itself tells you something: a huge gap usually means the third-party tool is picking up spammy or low-value links that Google has quietly deprioritised.
I've laid out the full process, including what to do if the two numbers disagree by a lot, in how do I check the total number of backlinks on my site.
A worked example: two sites, same backlink count
Say you run a small accountancy firm site and a rival firm across town has, according to Ahrefs, exactly 400 backlinks each. On paper that looks like a tie. Now look closer.
Your 400 links come from 38 unique domains, mostly local business directories, two guest posts on finance blogs, and one link from a regional newspaper covering a tax story you commented on. Their 400 links come from 6 domains, because they bought a set of links stitched into footer widgets across a network of low-traffic blogs that all link to each other, all hosted on the same few IP ranges.
Same total. Wildly different value. Your 38 domains signal genuine, varied recognition. Their 6 domains scattered across 400 URLs is a classic footprint of a link scheme, and Google's algorithms are built specifically to spot that pattern. If Google catches it, their site risks a manual action; yours doesn't, because nothing about your profile looks manufactured. This is why "how many backlinks" is the wrong first question. "How many referring domains, and do they look natural" is the right one.
What the number means
Total backlinks is a vanity metric dressed up as an authority metric. Here's what to check instead, in order of importance:
- Referring domains, not total links. One domain linking to you 50 times from its footer is worth roughly the same as one link from that domain, in Google's eyes. Ten domains linking once each is worth far more than one domain linking ten times.
- Whether the linking page is indexed. A link sitting on a page Google hasn't crawled or has dropped from the index passes nothing. Tools sometimes report links from pages that are technically live but functionally invisible to Google.
- Topical relevance. A link from a well-known marketing blog is worth more to a marketing agency's site than a link from an unrelated site with a bigger domain rating.
- Anchor text pattern. If every single link uses the exact phrase "best AI consultant London," that's a red flag for manipulation. Natural link profiles have messy, varied anchor text: brand names, URLs, "click here," article titles.
- Follow versus nofollow. Nofollow and sponsored/UGC tags tell Google not to pass ranking credit through that link. They still send referral traffic and brand visibility, but they don't move rankings directly, and a healthy profile usually has a mix of both.
Domain Authority (Moz), Domain Rating (Ahrefs) and Authority Score (Semrush) are all attempts to compress this into one number between 0 and 100. None of them are Google metrics. Google has never confirmed using any of them. They're useful for comparing your own progress over time or roughly sizing up a competitor, and useless as a standalone measure of ranking power. I've seen SEO reports built entirely around pushing a Domain Rating score up, with no mention of whether the traffic or leads moved. That's the uncomfortable bit most guides on this topic skip: a rising backlink count with zero corresponding movement in organic traffic almost always means the links are low quality, badly targeted, or arriving on pages Google has already decided not to trust.
Checking a competitor's backlinks
Same tools, same process, just point them at a domain you don't own. In Ahrefs or Semrush, paste the competitor's root domain into the Site Explorer or Backlink Analytics tool. You'll get:
- total backlinks and referring domains
- a list of every link with the anchor text, the linking page's own authority score, and whether it's follow or nofollow
- "new" and "lost" links over a chosen date range, which is gold for spotting a PR push or a link they've just had removed
This is one of the fastest ways to build a content or outreach plan: find the 20 domains linking to three competitors but not to you, and you've got a targeted outreach list rather than a cold guess. For the mechanics of pulling every single link rather than just the free top-100 sample, see how to see all the backlinks going to your site.
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Tracking growth over time, not just a snapshot
A single number today tells you where you stand. What tells you whether your link building is working is the trend. Most of the paid tools let you filter by date, so you can see links gained in the last 30, 90, or 365 days rather than the full historical pile, some of which might be dead, redirected, or from sites that no longer exist.
Set a baseline once a quarter: note referring domains, total backlinks, and how many of last quarter's new links are still live. It's common to find that 10 to 20 percent of "new" links reported by a tool have already disappeared by the next check, because guest posts get taken down, directories close, or a site changes its CMS and loses old content. I've written a fuller breakdown of how to do this check in how many backlinks has my site gained this year.
Does any of this move rankings?
Backlinks remain one of Google's confirmed ranking factors, but they're not the only one, and a big number without relevance or quality behind it can sit there doing nothing. I've dealt with this question in more depth, including what a "good" number of backlinks looks like for a small business site versus an enterprise one, in how many backlinks do I have, and does it change your rankings. Short version from that piece: a local service business with 40 solid referring domains often outranks a competitor with 400 spammy ones, because Google weighs quality and relevance far more heavily than raw volume.
Backlinks also aren't the only signal worth checking when you're sizing up a site. Pair a backlink check with a look at actual visitors using a free website traffic checker, because a site can have an impressive link profile and still get almost no search traffic if its content or technical setup is broken.
Frequently asked questions
How many backlinks does a website need to rank well?
There's no fixed number. A local plumber's site can outrank national competitors with 30 to 50 relevant, natural referring domains, while a competitive national keyword might need hundreds. What matters more than the count is that the domains are relevant to your topic and the links look earned rather than bought.
Is Google Search Console enough, or do I need a paid tool?
Search Console is free and accurate for your own site, but it only shows links Google has already indexed and doesn't let you check competitors. If you want competitor data, historical trends, or anchor text detail, you'll need Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz, all of which offer limited free checks before you'd need to pay.
Can a website have too many backlinks?
Not in the sense of a hard limit, but a sudden spike of hundreds of low-quality links in a short window, especially from unrelated or spammy domains, is a red flag Google's algorithms are specifically built to catch. Steady, varied growth from relevant sites is far safer than a sudden burst.
Do nofollow links count as backlinks?
They show up in backlink checker tools and count toward your total link count, but they don't directly pass ranking authority the way a followed link does. They still matter for referral traffic, brand mentions, and a natural-looking link profile, so they're worth having, just not worth chasing at the expense of followed links.
