Google Search Console shows you backlinks for free
Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to yours. Google Search Console, which is free and run by Google itself, displays every backlink it has found to your site. You do not need special tools or paid services — the information is built into the platform you should already be using to monitor your website.
To see your backlinks in Search Console, sign in with the Google account connected to your website, go to the Links section on the left menu, and look at the "Top linking sites" report. This shows which websites link to you most often, which pages on your site receive the most links, and which search terms people use when they find you through those links.
The data refreshes periodically as Google crawls the web, so you will see new backlinks appear over time. Search Console does not show every single backlink that exists — it shows the ones Google has discovered and considers relevant to your site's ranking.
Key Takeaways
- Google Search Console displays backlinks at no cost and requires only a Google account and ownership verification of your website.
- The Links section shows your top linking sites, which of your pages attract the most backlinks, and the anchor text people use when linking to you.
- Search Console updates periodically as Google crawls the web, so new backlinks may take weeks to appear in the report.
- Backlinks from high-authority websites (news sites, educational institutions, established businesses) carry more weight than links from new or low-traffic sites.
How to access the Links section in Search Console
Open Google Search Console and select the website property you want to check. On the left sidebar, scroll down to the "Links" section — you will see it grouped under the "Discover" category. Click "Links" to open the main report.
The page displays four reports: "Top linking sites" (which domains link to you), "Top linked pages" (which of your pages receive the most links), "Top link text" (the words people use in links to you), and "Linked pages" (a full list of every page on your site that has at least one backlink). Each report can be sorted, filtered, and downloaded as a spreadsheet.
If you have not yet verified your website in Search Console, you will need to do that first. Google offers several verification methods: uploading an HTML file to your site, adding a DNS record through your domain registrar, connecting your Google Analytics account, or using your Google Tag Manager account. The DNS method is fastest if your registrar is listed (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost, and most others are supported).
What the "Top linking sites" report actually tells you
The "Top linking sites" report lists domains in order of how many links they send to your site. A news website linking to you five times counts as one linking site with five links. A blog linking to you once counts as one linking site with one link. The report shows the domain name, the number of links from that domain, and the number of different pages on that domain that link to you.
This matters because Google weighs backlinks differently depending on the source. A single link from a well-known news outlet or university website typically carries more weight than ten links from new or low-traffic blogs. Search Console does not label links as "high quality" or "low quality" — you have to judge that yourself by visiting the linking site and asking whether it is a real, established website or a spam site created only to generate links.
You can click any linking site in the report to see which of your pages it links to and what anchor text (the clickable words) it uses. This helps you understand whether the link is relevant — a link from a technology news site to your tech blog is more valuable than a random link from an unrelated site.
Understanding anchor text and what it means for your site
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a link. When someone writes "read our guide to solar panels" and that text is a link, "read our guide to solar panels" is the anchor text. The "Top link text" report shows which anchor text appears most often in backlinks to your site.
If your site is about solar energy and most of your backlinks use anchor text like "solar panels," "solar energy," or "renewable energy," that tells Google your site is relevant to those topics. If your backlinks use random or unrelated anchor text, or if they all say "click here," Google learns less about what your site is actually about.
You cannot control anchor text on other people's websites, but you can see patterns. If you notice that a particular website is linking to you with misleading or spammy anchor text, you can request removal or disavow the link (tell Google to ignore it) using the Disavow Links tool, also in Search Console.
Why some backlinks do not appear in Search Console
Search Console shows backlinks that Google has discovered through its crawling process. If a website links to you but Google has not crawled that page yet, the backlink will not appear when ready — it may take days or weeks. If a page is blocked from Google's crawler (by a robots.txt file or noindex tag), Google will not see links on that page.
Search Console also filters out links it considers spam or low-quality. If a website is flagged as a spam domain, links from it may not appear in your report. This is actually helpful — it means you are seeing backlinks that Google considers legitimate, not every link that technically exists.
Some websites use JavaScript to generate links dynamically, meaning the link code is created by a script rather than written directly in the HTML. Google's crawler can read JavaScript, but there is a delay — it may take longer for these links to appear than for traditional HTML links.
How to export your backlink data and track changes over time
Each report in the Links section can be downloaded as a CSV file (a spreadsheet format that opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet program). Click the read icon at the top right of any report to save the data. This is useful if you want to track which sites link to you, monitor changes month to month, or share the information with a colleague or marketing team.
Search Console does not automatically show you which backlinks are new or which ones disappeared. To track changes, read the report once a month and compare it to the previous month's read. You can use a spreadsheet to note the date, the linking sites, and the number of links from each site. Over time, this creates a record of your backlink growth.
If you notice a sudden drop in backlinks, it usually means either Google has re-crawled the linking sites and found that links were removed, or Google has updated its spam filters and removed low-quality links from the report. A sudden increase often means a popular site linked to you, or Google has finished crawling a large section of the web it had not indexed before.
Other tools that show backlinks beyond Search Console
Google Search Console is free and shows you what Google itself has found. Other websites like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz maintain their own databases of backlinks by crawling the web independently. These tools sometimes find backlinks that Search Console has not yet discovered, or they may show links from pages Google has not crawled.
The trade-off is that these third-party tools charge a subscription fee (usually $100 to $400 per month). They are useful if you are managing multiple websites, competing with other sites in your industry, or need detailed analysis of backlink quality. For most people checking their own website, Search Console provides the information you need at no cost.
If you use a third-party tool and it shows backlinks that do not appear in Search Console, do not assume those links are being ignored by Google. It usually means Google has not crawled that page yet, or the link is on a page that is not indexed. Search Console's data represents what Google has actually discovered and is using to rank your site.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for a new backlink to show up in Search Console?
Google typically discovers and displays new backlinks within one to four weeks, depending on how often it crawls the linking website. High-traffic sites are crawled more frequently, so links from popular websites may appear within days. Links from smaller sites or pages Google crawls less often can take several weeks to show up in your report.
Can I remove a backlink I do not want?
You cannot delete a backlink directly from Search Console. You can contact the website owner and ask them to remove the link. If they refuse or do not respond, you can use the Disavow Links tool in Search Console to tell Google to ignore that link when calculating your site's ranking. Disavow should be used sparingly — it is meant for spam links, not links you straightforward dislike.
Does a backlink from a website with low traffic hurt my site?
A single low-traffic backlink typically does not harm your site. Google weighs links based on the authority and relevance of the linking site, so a link from a small blog carries less weight than a link from an established news outlet. Hundreds of low-quality links, or links from obvious spam sites, can hurt your ranking, but a few stray links from unrelated sites are usually ignored.
Why do I have fewer backlinks in Search Console than in other tools?
Search Console shows only the backlinks Google has discovered and considers legitimate. Third-party tools may report links that Google has not yet crawled, links on pages that are not indexed, or links Google has filtered out as spam. Search Console's number is more reliable for understanding what is actually affecting your site's ranking.
Should I be concerned if my backlink count drops?
A small drop is usually normal — websites remove old content, pages get deleted, or links expire. A sudden large drop might mean a major site that linked to you removed the link, or Google updated its spam filters and removed low-quality links from the report. Check your top linking sites to see if any major sources have disappeared, and investigate if needed.