How to check which backlinks are indexed?

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hifivebaby

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I used free version of SEO PowerSuite to check my competitor's backlinks - there are 500+

I used free version of SpyFu to check competitor's seo profile - " We didn't find any Google-indexed web pages that link to this domain. "
It is surprising because this competitor rank #1 for the keyword.

I have always thought that if any backlinks appear in these tracking software, it means the backlinks are indexed.

So, how can i check the index status of a backlink?
So, backlinks do not have to be indexed for ranking?
 
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hifivebaby said:
I used free version of SEO PowerSuite to check my competitor's backlinks - there are 500+

I used free version of SpyFu to check competitor's seo profile - " We didn't find any Google-indexed web pages that link to this domain. "
It is surprising because this competitor rank #1 for the keyword.

I have always thought that if any backlinks appear in these tracking software, it means the backlinks are indexed.

So, how can i check the index status of a backlink?
So, backlinks do not have to be indexed for ranking?
Click to expand...
Knowing which of your competitor's links are indexed or not, would not yield any real positive results for you. They could even be using some PBNs that you can't see, how then do you know of those are indexed.
 
For checking backlink index status, don't rely solely on SEO tools. They're helpful, but not always 100% accurate. A manual check using "site:url" in Google can sometimes reveal more. But remember, just because a backlink isn't indexed doesn't mean it's not contributing to rank. Google's algorithms are complex and consider more than just indexed links.
 
Backlinks do not have to be indexed in order to have an effect on your website's ranking. Backlinks are valuable because they can generate traffic to your website while also informing google that your link is valuable. Backlinks from indexed pages improve the possibility that google will discover and consider them when evaluating your site's rating.
 
420lounge said:
Backlinks do not have to be indexed in order to have an effect on your website's ranking. Backlinks are valuable because they can generate traffic to your website while also informing google that your link is valuable. Backlinks from indexed pages improve the possibility that google will discover and consider them when evaluating your site's rating.
Click to expand...
Biggest discussion in the SEO community

Some says, it doesn't have to be indexed
some says it has to be indexed
 
"I have always thought that if any backlinks appear in these tracking software, it means the backlinks are indexed." - LOL, just because some links appear on ahref doesn't mean that google bothered to index those pages.
As mentioned above, you can manually check on google but simply entering each url or if you have many pages to check you could use a service for it.
 
Use the site: operator along with the competitor's domain to check if Google has indexed any pages from that domain. For example, site:competitordomain.com.

Make sure your competitor's backlinks are quality and from good sites. Use tools like Ahrefs to check if they're indexed by Google. Indexed links are important, but even unindexed ones from good sites can help your website over time.
 
Backlink analysis tools: Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz. These tools allow you to enter your website's URL and see a list of backlinks pointing to your website. It often shows information about which backlinks are indexed by search engines.

Google search operators: You can use Google's search operators to see which backlinks are indexed. Type "site:yourdomain.com" into the Google search bar, followed by the URL of the specific page that contains your backlinks. This will show you which pages on your website are indexed by Google.

For example, if you want to check the backlinks of a page such as "example.com/page", searching for "site:example.com/page" on Google will tell you if Google has indexed that particular page. You can check it.

Google Search Console: Access your website's Google Search Console. It provides a "Links" report that shows which external websites link to your website. It doesn't specifically say whether each backlink is indexed or not, but it does give you some insight into which domains are linking.
 
Consider monitoring your backlink profile over time using multiple tools and staying patient with indexing processes. The key is to focus on the overall quality and relevance of your backlinks rather than solely relying on indexing status for SEO success.
 
HenryObi said:
Knowing which of your competitor's links are indexed or not, would not yield any real positive results for you. They could even be using some PBNs that you can't see, how then do you know of those are indexed.
Click to expand...
Can those PBN be also hided in seo tools search like semrush and ahref ?
 
Try Screaming Frog
 
Check manually in google that's better or use tools like semrush, ahrefs.
 
hifivebaby said:
I used free version of SEO PowerSuite to check my competitor's backlinks - there are 500+

I used free version of SpyFu to check competitor's seo profile - " We didn't find any Google-indexed web pages that link to this domain. "
It is surprising because this competitor rank #1 for the keyword.

I have always thought that if any backlinks appear in these tracking software, it means the backlinks are indexed.

So, how can i check the index status of a backlink?
So, backlinks do not have to be indexed for ranking?
Click to expand...
In my opinion, you can give a try to screaming frog .
 
maxmayer said:
For checking backlink index status, don't rely solely on SEO tools. They're helpful, but not always 100% accurate. A manual check using "site:url" in Google can sometimes reveal more. But remember, just because a backlink isn't indexed doesn't mean it's not contributing to rank. Google's algorithms are complex and consider more than just indexed links.
Click to expand...
site:url : Does this always include all the indexed pages ?
 
onlinemarketer12 said:
site:url : Does this always include all the indexed pages ?
Click to expand...
Google will only ever show you a subset of indexed pages when using the site: operator. You can try adding stopwords, single letters and negative queries to your site: search to try and eke out some more results, but the most accurate data you'll get out of them is from GSC, and even that can be lacking.
 
Tools don’t always show real indexing, so differences are normal.
1) The simplest check is to take the exact page with your backlink and search it in Google using site:https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/how-to-check-which-backlinks-are-indexed.1560484
If the page shows up, it’s indexed. If not, it likely isn’t yet.
2) The fastest way is to use Collaborator Link Assistant. It shows directly on the page whether your link is there, whether the page is indexed, link attributes (do follow, no follow), scrolls to the link, and more.
 
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