In search engine optimization (SEO), backlinking is a significant metric of quality and credibility. Search engines consider sites with a robust backlink profile credible and reward them with a high rank. Naturally, the more links you have, the better you rank on search engines. However, not all backlinks have a positive effect on the ranking of your site. To protect yourself from such links and websites, you must use the best tools that help check for spammy links. The following article discusses 7 of these tools.
1. Link Litmus By Outreach Crayon
Link Litmus by Outreach Crayon is an excellent tool within your portfolio of defense against spammy links. As the best spammy links checker, this tool is often used by SEO experts to identify poor-quality links and may adversely affect the backlink profile of the sites they are working on. The tool looks at various attributes to identify whether the links used in the profile are shady.
First, it checks whether the link is part of the links in various Private Blog Networks, or PBNs, a group of blogs that unethically create backlinks by making webpages that interlink with each other, as opposed to linking with other sites with credible information. This creates the illusion that a site has a robust link profile when it simply gets links from a central PBN.
Secondly, it also checks whether the links are based on other unethical methods, such as selling via cold outreach, from websites that take content without verifying their quality and authenticity and are poorly rated. The tools also check for the link against its internal quality database. With this tool, you have the best protection from a poor backlink profile that may harm your site’s ranking on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
2. Google Transparency Report
Considering that Google is the most commonly used search engine across the board, using their transparency checker to insulate yourself from spammy links can significantly serve you. The link-checking service provided by Google allows you to confirm the suitability and quality of the link based on information Google can capture online about it. Through this checker, you can confirm whether the link can direct you to a phishing site, has reliable information, and can generally be trusted. In the long run, this will keep you from clicking on risky links or adding unreliable links to your website backlink profile.
3. Ubersuggest Backlink Tool
Ordinarily, this tool is often used to gauge basic information surrounding backlinks, including what backlinks your competitors are using, whether there are additional backlinks you should add to those you are using, and generally, what should work best for you. However, you can also incorporate the existing filtering system to remove unwanted links that may affect your site’s credibility and spammy links that may be conduits to cyber threats.
The filters can also weed out no-follow links, which may be extra baggage to your site with no additional value. While the free plan can be a good way to explore the nifty features of the tool, if you want to unlock its full potential, consider getting the paid package.
4. Ahrefs Backlink Checker
Ahrefs is arguably one of the popular options in SEO research on backlinks. However, it also has excellent features to help you get rid of spammy links. For instance, the Ahrefs rating of the site can provide guiding insight into the quality of a link. Links with low Ahrefs ratings are certainly of poor quality and probably spammy.
Further, you can get additional information regarding the entire domain and guiding tips on the possibility of a link leading to growth over time. The free option allows you to get 100 backlinks per check. However, the paid package has additional benefits, including crawl edits and tracked keywords.
5. Semrush Backlink Audit Tool
Semrush is a household name in the SEO backlinking market. It helps you get metrics on different aspects surrounding the links you are using and can help you protect your site from poor-quality links. Using the tool, you can get a lot of metrics on other domains and sites to weed out links that may adversely affect you.
For instance, you can get information on whether one of the sites linking to you has too many links, which is a tell-tale sign of a spammy link. While the tool is slightly pricey, ranging between $119.95 to $449.95 per month, it is an excellent choice.
6. Moz Pro Link Explorer
Moz Pro is an excellent tool to help you get information on spam scores of different sites linking to you. With this tool, you can explore the quality of backlinks and avoid being penalized by SERPs with poor rankings because of a poor backlink profile. Sites performing poorly on the spam link score metric provided by Moz Pro are likely to cause your site to perform poorly and need to be removed quickly. Moz Pro also provides metrics on four competitors to give tips on how to outrank them and serve better than you did before.
7. Mangools LinkMiner
Lastly, the LinkMiner tool provided by Mangools is a great additional tool in your fight against spammy links. With this tool, you can get insight into domains, including their scores on the site and, possibly, whether you should consider them. The tool has a straightforward interface that is easy to grasp, even for beginners. The interface allows you to explore new links, identify whether they are spammy, and replace them with better options.
Parting Shot
Considering the amount of effort spent in creating a robust backlink profile, it can be unfortunate if the backlinks you have yet to add value to your site. If you intend to protect yourself from any negative impact on your blog or website based on shady backlinks, you should try out the link checkers above.
Trying out these link checkers will keep your website in excellent quality and help you avoid being prey to fraudulent persons online. Since all these tools serve a similar purpose, you will need to evaluate them to consider which ones will work for you. Ultimately, the choice of which tool to use is purely personal.