How to Check If a Backlink Is Live and Dofollow for Free
Confirm your backlinks are still live, see the anchor text and spot links that switched to nofollow, using a free checker.
You were promised a link in a guest post, a partner page or a directory listing. Is it actually there? Is it pointing to the right page? Is it a normal followed link, or quietly marked nofollow? Checking by viewing page source works for one link, but becomes tedious for twenty. The free SeoSpidie backlink checker does it in one go.
For the bigger picture on why links disappear, read why backlinks disappear and how to monitor them.
What this checker does
This is a verification tool. You tell it which page of yours should be linked (the target) and which pages should be linking to it (the referring pages). It visits each referring page and reports whether the link is live, the anchor text used and whether it is dofollow or nofollow. It does not search the whole web for unknown backlinks; that needs a large crawler index. For links you already know about, verification is exactly what you need.
Step 1: Enter your target page
Paste the URL on your site that the links should point to, for example your homepage or a specific service page. If the links might point to several versions (with or without www, HTTP or HTTPS), use the main version; the important thing is that your redirects send every version to one place.
Step 2: List the referring pages
Paste the URLs of the pages that should contain your link, one per line. Use the exact article or page URL, not just the website's homepage. Where do you find them? Your outreach records, guest post confirmations, partner emails, Search Console's Links report (Top linking sites), and referral sources in your analytics.
Step 3: Run the check and read the results
- Live, dofollow โ the link is present and passes full value. Nothing to do.
- Live, nofollow / sponsored / ugc โ the link exists but is marked as a hint. Fine for sponsored placements; for an editorial link you expected to be followed, it may be worth a polite question.
- Not found โ the page loads but your link is not on it. It may have been removed, or it points to a different URL.
- Page error โ the referring page itself is unavailable. Recheck later; if it persists, the page may be gone.
Also read the anchor text. Natural, descriptive anchors are healthy. If many links use the same exact keyword anchor, that pattern can look unnatural.
Step 4: Act on what you find
- Missing links you earned: contact the site owner with the page URL and the original agreement or context.
- Links to the wrong URL: make sure that URL redirects to the right page. Check it with the redirect checker.
- Links to pages you deleted: restore or redirect the page so the link keeps its value.
- Record the result in your link spreadsheet with the date.
Before you pay for a link placement
If you are considering a sponsorship or listing, check a few of that site's existing outbound links first. If they are all nofollow, expect yours to be too. Remember that Google requires paid links to be marked sponsored or nofollow; buying followed links to manipulate rankings is against its spam policies. Pay for placements for the audience and traffic, not for link value.
Related guides
More free tools: browse all our free SEO tools, no sign-up needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can this tool find all backlinks to my site?
No. It verifies links on the pages you list. For discovering links, start with Search Console's Links report.
Why does a link show as missing when I can see it?
It may point to a slightly different URL, be added by JavaScript after the page loads, or the site may show different content to automated visitors.
How many referring pages can I check?
Paste the list you need to verify. Very long lists take a little longer, since each page is fetched.
Is the backlink checker free?
Yes, with no sign-up.