How to Check Backlinks in Google Search Console
Google Search Console provides free access to the backlink data Google has processed for your site, directly from Google’s own index.
While it is not as comprehensive as third-party tools like Ahrefs or Semrush, it is the most authoritative source for confirming which links Google has actually crawled and counted, making it an essential component of any link profile analysis.
Understanding how to navigate and use the GSC links report gives you a ground-truth baseline against which all third-party tool data should be cross-referenced.
Key Point: GSC’s links report shows links Google has processed, not necessarily every link that exists pointing to your site. Google may crawl links not shown in GSC, and some links shown may no longer be live. Use GSC alongside Ahrefs or Semrush for the most complete picture. GSC is most useful for confirming Google has processed your most important editorial links and for identifying patterns in your top linking sites.
How to Access the Links Report in GSC
Log into Google Search Console at search.google.com/search-console and select your property from the property selector at the top left.
In the left navigation panel, scroll down to find the Links section and click it.
The Links overview page shows four sections: External links (Top linked pages, Top linking sites, Top linking text) and Internal links (Top linked pages).
The external links section is what you need for backlink analysis.
Click Top linking sites to see the domains linking to your site most frequently, sorted by link count.
Click any domain to see the specific pages on that domain linking to you. Click Top linked pages to see which of your own pages have the most inbound links.
Click Top linking text to see your anchor text distribution as Google sees it.
Exporting GSC Backlink Data
Export the Top linking sites report using the Export button in the top right of the report.
GSC provides exports in Google Sheets, Excel, or CSV format. The exported data includes the linking domain and the number of links from that domain.
Use this export as your authoritative list of referring domains from Google’s perspective.
Cross-reference it against your Ahrefs or Semrush referring domain data to identify links that appear in third-party tools but not in GSC (indicating Google may not have processed them) and links confirmed by GSC that do not appear in third-party databases.
What GSC Backlink Data Tells You
The Top linked pages report reveals which of your pages have attracted the most editorial attention.
Pages that appear prominently here are your strongest linkable assets and should inform your content strategy: the formats and topics that have earned the most links are the ones most likely to earn more.
These pages are also strong candidates for internal linking hubs that distribute their accumulated authority to your commercial pages.
The Top linking text report shows your anchor text distribution from Google’s perspective.
Compare this to the anchor text data in Ahrefs. Significant discrepancies may indicate that some anchor text patterns are being processed differently by Google than third-party tools suggest.
Heavy concentration of exact-match commercial anchors in the GSC anchor text report is a warning signal worth investigating through a full backlink audit.
GSC vs Third-Party Backlink Tools
GSC and third-party tools serve complementary purposes. GSC confirms which links Google has actually processed and included in its ranking calculations.
Ahrefs and Semrush provide richer data including domain authority metrics, organic traffic of linking pages, historical tracking, lost link monitoring, and competitor profile analysis.
Neither is a complete substitute for the other.
When there is a discrepancy between GSC data and Ahrefs data, the GSC data should be treated as more authoritative for understanding what Google has actually processed.
A high-authority link that appears in Ahrefs but not in GSC may not yet have been crawled, or may be on a page that Google cannot access.
A link that appears in GSC but not Ahrefs may be in a part of the web that Ahrefs has not yet indexed.
Regular comparison of both data sources provides the most complete and reliable picture of your actual link profile.
Using GSC for Backlink Monitoring
GSC does not provide the real-time link monitoring available in Ahrefs Alerts. However, checking the links report monthly as part of routine backlink management provides a regular GSC-confirmed view of your profile’s development.
Compare the Top linking sites count month on month to track growth. Check whether new high-value placements from your link building programme have been processed and confirmed by Google.
Verify that previously confirmed referring domains have not disappeared from the report, which could indicate Google has devalued or recrawled those linking pages.
Checking Competitor Backlinks in GSC
GSC only shows data for properties you own and have verified. It cannot be used to check competitor backlink profiles.
For competitor analysis, Ahrefs and Semrush are the appropriate tools. Run a competitor backlink analysis in Ahrefs by entering competitor domains in Site Explorer and reviewing their referring domains report.
This shows the high-authority sites linking to your competitors that represent your warmest outreach targets.
Cross-reference the competitor data with your GSC-confirmed profile to identify the most valuable gaps to close.
Manual Actions and the Links Report
If your site has received a manual action for unnatural links, the Manual Actions report in GSC is the primary place to manage the remediation process.
Navigate to Security and Manual Actions in the left panel and click Manual Actions.
Any active manual actions will be listed here with a description and the scope of the penalty.
The links report should be reviewed alongside the manual action description to identify which linking patterns triggered the review.
After addressing the issues through link removal or disavowal, the reconsideration request is submitted directly through the Manual Actions report interface.
Important: GSC does not show link quality metrics like Domain Rating or URL Rating. It shows volume and source data only. To evaluate the quality of links confirmed by GSC, cross-reference the confirmed referring domains against Ahrefs or Semrush to pull in authority metrics. This combined view gives both Google’s confirmation that a link has been processed and third-party quality signals for that linking domain.
Setting Up Regular GSC Backlink Reviews
Build GSC backlink review into your monthly SEO routine. Export the Top linking sites report on the first working day of each month and compare it to the previous month’s export.
Track the total referring domain count, note any significant new additions from your link building programme, and flag any domains that have disappeared since the previous export.
This monthly comparison takes 15 to 20 minutes and provides a consistent GSC-confirmed view of your profile’s development over time.
Combine this with your Ahrefs monitoring for a complete picture. The GSC data tells you what Google has confirmed.
The Ahrefs data tells you what exists across the broader web. Gaps between the two often reveal either crawl delays on newly acquired links or crawlability issues on linking pages that Google cannot access.
Investigating these gaps occasionally surfaces technical issues worth addressing to ensure Google can process all the link equity your profile has earned through your acquisition programme.
The combination of GSC’s authoritative confirmation data with Ahrefs’ broader coverage and quality metrics gives the most complete and reliable backlink intelligence available.
Neither tool alone is sufficient: together they provide both the ground truth of what Google has processed and the full market view of what exists across the web pointing to your domain.
Making both part of your regular monitoring routine is the foundation of effective backlink management.
Frequently Asked Questions
Topical FAQ
LinkPanda Service FAQ
External Sources
Google Search Central Google Search Console
Google’s official tool — the authoritative free source for backlink data Google has processed, providing the ground-truth view of which domains and pages Google associates with your site.
Google Search Central Links Report in Google Search Console
Google’s Links report documentation — explaining the External links section, Top linking sites, Top linked pages, and anchor text data accessible through the interface and CSV export.
Google Search Central External Links Section — Google Search Console
Google’s documentation confirming the external links section as the primary data source for backlink analysis within Search Console — how to navigate to it and what each report contains.
Ahrefs Ahrefs Site Explorer: A Beginner’s Guide
Ahrefs’ guide to using Site Explorer as the third-party complement to GSC — providing DR metrics, organic traffic data, and historical backlink data that Search Console doesn’t include.
Ahrefs How to Do a Competitor Backlink Analysis
Ahrefs’ methodology for drilling into specific linking domains — clicking through to see individual linking pages and their metrics, extending the basic GSC data into actionable acquisition intelligence.
Internal References
LinkPanda Backlink Audit: How to Analyse and Clean Up Your Link Profile
What to do with the backlink data you find in GSC and Ahrefs — the full audit process for assessing quality, spotting risks, and building acquisition priorities.
LinkPanda How to Find Your Backlinks: Tools, Methods and What to Look For
The complete guide to finding backlinks using all available methods — GSC, Ahrefs, Semrush, and what each tool shows that the others miss.
LinkPanda Referring Domains: Why They Matter More Than Total Backlinks
How to interpret the GSC and Ahrefs referring domain data to focus on the metric that actually predicts competitive authority rather than raw backlink counts.
Build Links That Show Up in Google’s Index
Every LinkPanda placement is an editorial link on a genuine, crawlable, indexed page that Google processes and confirms in Search Console.
About The Author
Christopher Lier
Christopher is an experienced Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketer and digital marketing specialist. He is Co-Founder of LinkPanda and leads the marketing and sales teams. Mostly known as a Software-as-a-Service co-founder of LeadGen App, he has helped grow the website to become a renowned player in the lead generation space with steadily growing user base and readership.
