Discover which websites already link to any domain — yours or a competitor's — using a battery of free Google search operators. Each query opens in a new tab so you can audit the link source manually.
A backlink is any incoming hyperlink from another website. Backlinks are still one of the strongest ranking signals in 2026: pages with more authoritative inbound links rank higher. Paid tools like Ahrefs and Moz maintain proprietary link indexes, but a meaningful slice of the same data is available for free directly through Google search operators — you just have to construct the queries by hand.
Enter the domain you want to audit. The tool generates four queries: link:domain.com (legacy operator), "domain.com" -site:domain.com (mentions excluding the site itself), inurl:domain.com -site:domain.com (URL mentions), and intext:"domain.com" (in-body mentions). Each opens in a new Google tab so you can scroll, click and verify which pages actually carry a live link.
Run a backlink audit monthly, after launching a new product, when monitoring competitors' link-building campaigns, or when investigating a sudden ranking change. Combine with Google Search Console (free) for the most complete first-party view of your own backlinks.
Cross-reference the Google results with Search Console's 'Top linking sites' report — Google itself ranks them by importance. For competitor analysis, look for patterns: is the competitor consistently getting links from one industry directory or guest-post network? That's a list you can target too. Toxic or spammy links can be disavowed via the Search Console disavow tool.
Google deprecated the link: operator's accuracy years ago — it now returns a sample, not a complete index. Use it as a discovery tool, not a definitive count.
No paid index is comprehensive either — they all sample. For full authoritative backlink data on your own site, Google Search Console is the gold standard and it's free.
Quality matters more than quantity. One link from a respected industry publication is worth hundreds from low-quality directories.
Explore more backlink tools on the tool hub — or jump straight to the Backlink Maker, Website Link Count Checker, Website Broken Link Checker.