# The Links report in Search Console: what it shows and what it hides

You get a Links report in Search Console. It shows the links Google knows for your verified property. Here is what each table means, what it hides and how to use it on a small site.

Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-links-report

## What the Links report is and is not

The Links report is Google’s view of links to and within your verified property. It is built from the links Google has seen for your property.

- It has two parts: External links and Internal links.
- External links has three tables: Top linked pages, Top linking sites, Top linking text.
- Internal links has one table: Top linked pages.
- Each table shows a sample of up to 1,000 rows. The export gives the same rows.

It does not rate link quality. It does not show lost links over time. It does not show rival links. It is not a full crawl of the web.

## The four tables at a glance

| Table | What it counts | Use on a small site | Limits |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| External: Top linked pages | Your pages, grouped by the number of links from other sites | Find the pages others cite the most. Use them to pass visitors and context to pages that matter. | No link quality signals. Status of the target is not shown. |
| External: Top linking sites | Domains that link to you, with the number of links they send | See which sites have found you. Build a short list of partners to keep warm. | No authority score. Subdomain detail is limited. |
| External: Top linking text | Anchor texts on links to you, with counts | Check if people link with your brand or page topics. Spot spammy patterns. | No page context. Truncated to a sample. |
| Internal links: Top linked pages | Your pages, counted by internal links within your site | Find strong hub pages. Balance links towards pages that need help. | No crawl depth or click depth. No page status. |

If your property is a Domain property, it covers all subdomains and both http and https. A URL prefix property covers one exact prefix such as https://www.yourproduct.com/. That changes what links can show.

## External: Top linked pages, and how to use them

Open Links, External links, Top linked pages. You will see your pages sorted by the number of backlinks. Click a page to see the linking sites and the sample of source pages.

- Identify your most linked pages. On many small sites this will be the home page, a /blog/guide, or a /pricing page if it has been cited.
- Add sensible internal links from those pages to priority pages that underperform. Add links in body copy where they help a reader.
- Make the anchor clear. Use the target page’s topic in the link text, not “click here”.
- If a top linked page is thin or off-topic, improve it. The page that attracts links should convert or steer people well.

Example: /guides/getting-started has 80 links. It ranks for “yourproduct guide”. Add links from it to /pricing and to /features. Add a short comparison to help users choose a plan.

> Do not stuff links. A few clear links placed where a reader needs them work better than a footer dump.

## External: Top linking sites, and what to read in it

Top linking sites lists domains that link to your property, with a count. Click a domain to see the sample of source URLs and which of your pages they link to.

- Group similar domains. A cluster of university labs tells you your docs help researchers. Add a /guides/citations page to serve them.
- Watch for sites that link to many of your pages. They are likely to update references. Keep a short outreach list.
- Check for odd patterns, like dozens of links from a scraper. You can usually ignore them unless they cause a legal issue.

You will not see an authority score or toxicity flag here. If you need a competitive view, use a third-party crawler. For Bing’s view of backlinks, Bing Webmaster Tools has a Backlinks section and can compare profiles against another domain.

## External: Top linking text, and why it is often messy

Top linking text shows anchor strings on links to you. Expect noise. Many anchors are your brand or naked URLs. Some are truncated or generic like “read more”.

- Scan for topic anchors you earned, like “web font optimiser” if you sell that. Those confirm how people frame you.
- Spot anchors that point to the wrong page. If “web font optimiser” links to /blog/old-post, add a clear path from there to /features/web-fonts.
- Ignore spam anchors that do not map to a source that matters. Chasing them wastes time.
- If your brand dominates every anchor, that is normal for small sites. You do not need to force keyword anchors.

## Internal links: fix gaps and build hubs

Internal links count how many of your pages link to a given page. This is your own structure, not backlinks. It is useful to balance attention across your site.

1. **Find pages that need help** Sort by count. Look for important pages with low internal link counts. For example, /pricing with 2 links while /blog/has-20 has 30.
2. **Pick hubs** Use pages with both traffic and backlinks as hubs. Home, /guides/getting-started, /docs/overview. Link out to related pages.
3. **Place links in context** Add links from body copy with descriptive anchors. Add a short block on /guides that lists 3 to 5 next steps, not 30.
4. **Update nav where justified** If a page now matters, add it to the sidebar or header. Keep it short. Drop links no one clicks.

A fixed /pricing page might go from 2 internal links to 12, with links from /features and /guides. The report will show the higher count after Google recrawls those pages.

## Why your backlink counts differ from Ahrefs or Semrush

Your counts will differ. Each link index crawls the web in its own way. Search Console shows links Google knows for your property. Third-party tools show links their crawlers found across the web. Neither is a ground truth list of every link on the internet.

- Coverage: a crawler may miss a page or a JavaScript link. It may crawl a site less often than Google does.
- Scope: Search Console only shows links to your verified property. A third-party tool shows rivals too.
- Sampling: the Links report tables cap at 1,000 rows. Exports give the same sample. Large sites will not see the long tail here.
- Grouping: domains, subdomains and redirects are normalised differently across tools. Counts will not match.

Use Search Console to see how Google connects to your site. Use a third-party crawler when you need a bigger index or a rival view. Compare shapes, not absolute totals.

## Find pages with backlinks that now 404

The Links report will list pages that no longer exist if Google still sees links to them. It will not tell you the status code. You have to check which ones return 404 and fix them.

1. **Export Top linked pages** Go to External links, Top linked pages. Export. You will get up to 1,000 rows, the same as the table sample.
2. **Check status codes** Test the exported URLs. Use your server logs, a crawler, or sample them with curl. Mark pages that return 404 or 410.
3. **Decide the best fix** Restore the page if it should exist. Or 301 redirect it to the closest relevant page. Avoid redirecting everything to the home page.
4. **Update internal links** If you still link to the dead URL, update those links. This reduces user errors and tidies your structure.
5. **Ask for updates where it helps** If a high quality source links a dead URL, email a short note with the correct page. Keep it factual.

Example: /blog/how-to-integrate-v1 was removed. It has 12 links. Restore a short archive with a note, or 301 to /docs/integrations. Update your own posts that still point to the v1 URL.

## Workflows that pay off on a small site

- Monthly: export Top linked pages and Internal links. Add 3 to 5 internal links from top pages to current goals.
- Quarterly: scan Top linking sites. Thank real sources that wrote about you. Offer a fresh resource they might cite.
- After launches: add a short note and a link from any evergreen pages that already have backlinks. For example, link a new /features/ai to /guides/getting-started.
- When cleaning content: before you delete or merge a post, check if it has links in the report. Keep a simple redirect map.
- When migrations hit: verify both the old and new properties. Watch the Links report to ensure links start pointing to the new host or path after redirects.

A tidy result looks like this: your /guides/getting-started links to /pricing, /features and /case-studies. Old URLs 301 to current pages. The Links report still shows the old targets for a while, but users reach the right place.

## Sampling and exports: how far you can take it

Each Links table shows at most 1,000 rows. The export gives the same rows you see. There is no extra depth behind the export for this report. Plan your audits around that cap.

- Filter by site section before you export. For example, filter for /guides/ in Top linked pages. This gives a more focused 1,000.
- Repeat exports over time and keep a simple log. You will see new patterns even without a lost links view.
- Use the Performance report and URL Inspection tool alongside Links. Performance shows what queries bring traffic. Inspection confirms a redirect or indexation state on a fixed URL.

> If you need full backlink rows at scale, you will not get them from the Links report. Use a third-party index for that job.

## Questions

### How can I find backlinks using Google Search Console?

Open Links, then External links. Use Top linked pages to see which of your pages get links, Top linking sites to see the domains, and Top linking text for anchors. Click through to view the sample of sources per page or site. Export when you need to work in a sheet.

### Are backlinks still relevant in 2026?

People still cite and share useful pages. Good links are a byproduct of that. Use the Links report to see which of your pages earn those citations. Spend your effort on pages that help the reader, then link from them to your goals.

### Can I use Google Search Console for SEO?

Yes. It shows how Google sees your site. Use the Performance report for queries and pages, the Links report for external and internal linking, and the Pages and Sitemaps reports for indexation. It does not replace a crawler or a keyword tool.

### Is the Google Search Console still a thing?

Yes, as of 2026. It is the free way to verify a site with Google and see how Google Search interacts with it. You manage sitemaps, see performance, links and technical signals, and request recrawls with URL Inspection.

### Why do my Search Console backlinks look low?

The Links report shows a sample of up to 1,000 rows per table and only links Google knows for your verified property. Third-party tools have their own crawlers and often show more rows. Use each for what it does: Google for Google’s view of your site, third parties for wide indexes and rival checks.

### How do I see lost or new backlinks in Search Console?

You cannot. The Links report does not track gains or losses over time. Keep dated exports if you need a rough trend. For detailed link timelines, use a third-party backlink index.

## Read next

- [How to use Google Search Console in ten minutes a week](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-to-use-google-search-console): A quick weekly routine: set four filters, compare 28 days, check pages then queries, and fix three findings, without getting lost in noise.
- [The Search Console performance report, column by column](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-performance-report): Every column in the Google Search Console performance report explained with the traps that trip small sites, and how to act on each.
- [Internal linking for a small site: which pages link to which](https://porteur.ai/guides/internal-linking-for-seo): Decide which pages rank. Build hubs, write clear anchors, fix orphans, and crawl your site to map links you control.
- [Broken backlinks: the links you are losing to pages that are gone](https://porteur.ai/guides/broken-backlinks): Links point to deleted pages, wasting authority. Learn how to find broken backlinks, map redirects, when to restore pages, and what not to redirect.
- [Referring domains: what the count means and what moves it](https://porteur.ai/guides/referring-domains): Learn what referring domains are, how they differ from backlinks, why breadth beats volume, how tools count them, and what actually moves the number.
- [Bing Webmaster Tools for a small site: what it gives that Google does not](https://porteur.ai/guides/bing-webmaster-tools): Set up Bing Webmaster Tools in minutes. Import from Search Console, reach Copilot and Yahoo, use Backlinks, Keyword Research, Site Scan and IndexNow.
- [Search Console shows no data: what to check, and how long to wait](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-shows-no-data): Most empty Search Console views are timing, setup or filters. Check these in order, see what the first data looks like, and know how long to wait.

Drop your URL into the free check and get three findings on your site and rivals on your searches in about thirty seconds, then use the Links report alongside it. Free check: https://porteur.ai/