Links from other websites still help people and search engines find your pages. Most business owners have no idea which sites link to them, or which of their own pages attract those links. Google offers a free way to see a large sample of this data. It sits inside Search Console and it is called the Links report.
This guide explains what each part of the Links report shows and how to read it without jumping to the wrong conclusions. It also covers the limits Google states for the data. Knowing those limits saves a lot of worry about missing or strange links.
Why links still matter for a business website
Search has changed a great deal, yet links remain one of the ways pages are discovered and understood. If you have wondered why SEO still matters, links are part of the answer. A link from a respected local organisation tells readers your page is worth a look. It also gives search engines a path to follow to your site.
The Links report does not score your links or tell you how much each one helps. What it does is show you patterns. You can see which pages earn attention and which sites refer to you most often. That is useful when you plan content or check the health of a site.
Where to find the Links report
Log in to Search Console and pick the property for your website. Open the Links report from the menu. It shows a summary page with several tables, each giving a short preview. Select More under a table to see the full list. The data comes from links Google has found over time.
The external links tables
External links are links from other websites to yours. Google’s Links report help page describes three tables for this data. Each one answers a slightly different question about who links to you and how.
Top linked pages
This table lists the pages on your site that other sites link to most. For many businesses the home page sits at the top. Service pages, useful guides and contact pages often follow. If a page you care about barely appears, it may need better content or more promotion.
You can also drill into a single page here. Choose Top linked pages, select More, then pick the URL. The next screen lists the sites linking to that page. This is the quickest way to find out who has referred to a particular article or service page.
Top linking sites
This table shows the domains that link to you most often. Google groups this data by root domain. The protocol, subdomains such as www and folders are stripped away. Different country endings stay separate, so a .com.au site and a .de site appear as two entries.
Top linking text
This table shows the words other sites use in their links to you. Google treats link text duplicates as exact matches that ignore capital letters. Links with no text show as “(empty)”. Wording that differs by more than capital letters gets its own row.
Linking text gives you a quick feel for how others describe your business. Many entries will simply be your brand name or web address. Others may use words that describe your services. Seeing odd or unrelated text repeated across many links is worth a closer look.
The internal links table
Internal links are links between pages on your own site. The report shows your most internally linked pages and lets you see which of your pages link to a given URL. This tells you how your own site points people around. Pages that matter for the business should not be hard to reach.
Good internal linking works hand in hand with clear menus and well described images. Our earlier article on menus and image optimisation for SEO covers that side of things. If a key service page has very few internal links, add some from related pages. Use words that describe the topic in those links.
How Google counts and groups links
The report combines duplicate links. If the same source URL links to the same target URL more than once, it counts as one. Google removes some URL parameters and normalises addresses before doing this. Anchor tags within URLs are also dropped.
Pages are grouped by their canonical URL. Sometimes you will see a column called Target URL (if different). That appears when the link points to one address but Google treats another as the main version. A redirect or a different canonical choice can both cause this.
The report does not tell you whether a link is marked nofollow. Treat it as a list of links found, not a list of links passed value. Also keep in mind that crawling rules affect what Google can see. A refresher on robots.txt and its role in SEO helps if pages seem to be missing.
What the report does not show
The Links report is a sample. Google says it is not a complete list of every link to your site. Some URLs are left out, such as pages that are not indexed or addresses removed by deduplication. Tables on the screen are also capped at 1,000 rows.
The data builds up over time. Some links listed may have been removed since Google found them. The linking page might not even exist any more. A link appearing in the report does not prove it is live today.
If a link you know about is missing, there are a few likely reasons. Sampling and the row limit are the usual causes. The linking page may not be indexed, or the link may have been taken down. Give it time before assuming something is wrong.
Exporting the data
You can export the report for a deeper review. The export button on the main page gives up to 100,000 rows as a CSV file or Google Sheets. It comes in two parts, called Latest links and More sample links. Latest links is sorted by the date Google found them.
Exporting from a single table page gives up to 1,000 rows. Values shown on screen as a tilde or a hyphen come through as zeros in the export. A spreadsheet makes it easy to sort, filter and note which links are worth following up.
What to do about strange or spammy links
Most sites pick up some odd links from directories, scraper sites and junk pages. Google says it typically ignores links from known spam sites. In most cases these links need no action at all. Do not panic when a few strange domains appear.
If you find unknown or possibly spammy sites linking to you, Google suggests asking for the links to be removed first. If that fails, you can choose to disavow them. For links from known spam sites, Google says you may still remove or disavow them if you wish. Many owners simply leave them be.
Putting the report to work
A quick monthly look is enough for most small businesses. Check which pages are attracting links and whether new sites have appeared. Note any local organisations, suppliers or industry bodies that link to you. These relationships are often worth keeping warm.
Local links deserve special attention for businesses that serve one city or region. Councils, chambers of commerce and community groups are good examples. Advice on local SEO for your business covers how these fit into a wider plan. Earning links through useful content and real partnerships is far better than buying them.
- Check Top linked pages to see which content earns attention.
- Review Top linking sites for new referrers and local partners.
- Scan Top linking text for unusual or unrelated wording.
- Look at internal links for key pages that need more support.
- Export the data when you want a full review in a spreadsheet.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Links report show every link to my site?
No, it shows a sample. Google states that some URLs are left out and that tables are capped at 1,000 rows. Use it for patterns rather than a full count.
Why does a link in the report no longer exist?
The report includes links Google has found over time. The linking page may have changed or been removed since then. The entry can stay in the report for a while after the link is gone.
Can I see which links are nofollow?
No, the report does not show whether a link is nofollow. You would need to check the linking page itself. Look at the link code on that page to see its attributes.
Should I disavow every link I do not recognise?
No, that is rarely needed. Google says it typically ignores links from known spam sites. Ask for removal first if a link worries you, and only consider disavowing after that fails.
