# Backlink checker

How many domains link to a site, how many of them only with nofollow, the provider's rank and spam score, and the twelve strongest linking domains with the date each first appeared. Your own site or a rival's, one at a time, no account.

Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/tools/backlink-checker

## What it reads

The tool asks a link index for one domain: how many domains link to it (referring domains), how many of those are root domains once subdomains of one linker are counted once, how many link only with nofollow, the total number of links, the index's own rank for the domain on a 0 to 1000 scale, and its spam score across the links. Then it names the twelve strongest linking domains, each with its rank, the number of links from it, and the date the index first saw the link.

The reading above the figures says what the profile is made of: whether a few sites link from every page and inflate the count, whether most linkers are nofollow directories and profiles, and whether the spam score suggests links worth a look.

## Why the count of domains is the figure

Links are still how search engines judge which of two similar pages is trusted, and a domain's links are the floor every page on it starts from. The number that matters is domains, not links: a hundred links from one footer are one vote; a hundred domains are a hundred. A profile where most linkers are nofollow (directories, social profiles, comment sections) is a young site's normal profile and a signal to earn a few links from articles and lists.

Run on a rival, the same figures say how far ahead they are and where their links come from. The strongest twelve are the sites that link to products like yours; each is a page to read and a reason to write to them.

## How to read the result

- **Referring domains** is the headline. Under twenty for a product site is early; a few hundred is established for a niche; thousands is a brand.
- **Links many times the domains** (a thousand links from forty domains) means a few sites link sitewide. The domain count is the honest one.
- **Nofollow only** at 60 % or more means the profile is directories and profiles. Not a fault; a next step.
- **Spam score** above 30 means some of the links come from places the index distrusts. Look before you disavow: most are harmless.
- **First seen** on the strongest twelve shows momentum: a linker from last month is a live channel, one from three years ago is history.
- **Rank** is the index's own 0 to 1000 scale, comparable between sites inside this tool and not with Domain Authority or Domain Rating.

Example: yourproduct.com shows 185 referring domains, 268 links, 156 domains nofollow only, spam score 42, and a strongest linker that is a startup directory. The reading is a launch profile: listings and profiles, almost no articles. Run the same check on the two closest rivals, and the domains in their strongest twelve that are not in yours are the outreach list.

## What to do with it

1. **Check yourself, then two rivals** Three runs. The gap in referring domains is the distance; the strongest twelve of each rival is the map.
2. **Read the strongest twelve as pages** Open each linking domain and find the page that links. A list of tools, a comparison, a directory, a partner page: each kind has its own way in.
3. **Ask for the links you are missing** Lists and comparisons that name two rivals and not you have a reason to add you. One plain email with what the product is and why it belongs on the list.
4. **Turn mentions into links** Sites that name the product without linking are the easiest asks. A brand search in Google, then this tool to see whether they already link.
5. **Ignore the spam unless it is a pattern** A few odd domains link to every site. A disavow is for hundreds of them, not a dozen.

## Limits

One link index, read now. Every index crawls a different part of the web, so this tool, Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz and Search Console each report different figures for one site; compare two sites within one index, never a figure across two. The strongest twelve are shown, not the whole list. Ten checks an hour from one address, two hundred a day in all, because each read is paid for on your behalf. Subdomains of the site count in the totals and are dropped from the strongest linkers.

Each run is a read of the link index that costs a few cents at a provider, so the tool runs for a signed-in account only: a free account, no card, five paid checks a day and forty a month across the paid tools, counted per account. The same input asked twice in a day is answered from memory and is not counted. The free check on the home page is not counted either. A day's budget for the tool as a whole is capped as well, so a busy day ends with a plain message rather than a bill.

## Questions

### Why is the count different from Search Console?

Search Console shows the links Google knows for a property you own, and a sample of them; a link index crawls the web on its own schedule. Neither is complete, and they rarely agree. Use each for what it is: Search Console for your own pages, an index for rivals.

### What is a referring domain?

A site that links to yours at least once, counted once however many links it holds. It is the figure to watch, because search engines weigh a link from a new site far more than a second link from an old one.

### Do nofollow links count?

Google treats nofollow as a hint since 2019, so a nofollow link is worth something and less than a followed one. A profile made only of them is the normal shape of a site that has launched and not yet been written about.

### Is the rank the same as Domain Authority?

No. Domain Authority is Moz's score, Domain Rating is Ahrefs's, and this rank is the index's own, on a 0 to 1000 scale. None of them is Google's; each compares sites within its own tool.

### Can I see all the backlinks?

The tool shows the totals and the twelve strongest linking domains. The full list, the pages that link, the anchors and the links a rival has and you do not are in a bought report.

## Read next

- [Referring domain](https://porteur.ai/glossary/referring-domain): A referring domain is a unique site that links to yours. Here is why the count matters more than backlink totals, how to check it, and what to do.
- [Backlink](https://porteur.ai/glossary/backlink): A backlink is a link from another site to yours. See what counts, how to check links, dofollow vs nofollow, and what a small site can expect.
- [How to get backlinks for a small product site](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-to-get-backlinks-for-a-small-site): What to build, who to ask and how to measure. A founder’s plan to earn backlinks without spam or spend, with examples and a checklist.
- [Backlink gap: the sites that link to your rivals and not to you](https://porteur.ai/guides/backlink-gap): Find the sites that link to rivals and not to you. Read the page, make the ask, and track new links. A practical backlink gap workflow.
- [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.
- [Nofollow link](https://porteur.ai/glossary/nofollow-link): What a nofollow link is, what changed in 2019, how to check rel values, when to use nofollow, sponsored or ugc, and the traps to avoid.
- [Domain Authority](https://porteur.ai/glossary/domain-authority): Domain Authority is Moz’s 1 to 100 score from links. Here is how it works, what Google says about it, how to read it, and how to use it well.
- [The Links report in Search Console: what it shows and what it hides](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-links-report): What Google’s Links report really shows, why counts differ from Ahrefs or Semrush, and two jobs it is good at on a small site.

One domain here; the free check compares your links with your rivals' and names the sites that link to them and not to you. Free check: https://porteur.ai/