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2 Backlink Tools You Can Use to Check Link Quality

In my previous post, I shared tips on how to maintain a good PageRank score, and the first tip was to do a backlink audit. But how do we go about that?

Well, you’re in luck because I am now about to discuss a list of backlink tools that you can use to check the quality of links your website is receiving. Before I start, I will leave a disclaimer that I am not any way affiliated to the brands mentioned. I am merely informing you that these backlink tools exist on the internet. At the end of the day, it’s up to you if you choose to use them on your website.

Connected Puzzle pieces

Connecting related piece together.

With the 2 tools mentioned below, you can easily monitor particular links and discover new ways on how to improve link quality. So, here they are:

1. SE Ranking

  • SE Ranking can help you monitor up to 75000 backlinks per account. First, you need to choose how often you would like to check the ranking. Then, you will choose a plan that fits your needs. For a daily ranking check, the cheapest option would be $39 per month.
  • Other than backlinks, SE Ranking offers a wide variety of tools to help you strengthen your SEO strategy. There are tools that will help in performing a full website audit or web page audit, generating reports, doing keyword research, categorizing keywords, and exploring backlinks.
  • However, let’s focus on the Backlink Checker tool. With this, you will be able to see all incoming links to a website. So, whether the website is yours or it’s a rival site, you will be able to view the backlinks.
  • Meanwhile, the “monitoring” part is where things get tight. You can only monitor a limited to a specific number links, and do the following:
    • Check the backlink’s status.
    • See the anchor text, and the date when the link added.
    • Know the destination URL.
    • Get the exact Domain Trust score.
  • The Backlink Monitoring tool allows you to have a more in-depth idea with the backlinks you have, and you get daily or weekly reports depending on your current subscription plan.
  • Overall, SE Ranking provides an array of extensive data that is easy to understand. Plus, the clean interface makes it simpler to find and look at the number you need to know. Aside from that, the automatic reporting feature allows to generate comprehensible reports for your clients to read.

2. LinkMiner

  • If you need help in finding specific backlinks and you wish to look for new opportunities to backlink, then, LinkMiner is the perfect tool.
  • LinkMiner currently has 3 subscription plans: Baisc, Premium, and Agency. With Basic, you are allowed to retrieve 2,000 backlinks in LinkMiner per day. The maximum number is 15,000 backlinks, and you need an Agency subscription for that.
  • For the backlink analysis, the LinkMiner Basic plan allows you to evaluate 500 backlinks per day. When you start analyzing backlinks, you can immediately see the website and its URL along with the anchor text used.
  • Moreover, the analyzer tool categories the links as either part of a Q&A section, blog post, or a forum, making it convenient to know what backlinks are effective and what are not. Also, LinkMiner has other metrics you can use like Citation Flow, Trust Flow, and Do/NoFollow tags.

How NOT to Endanger Your PageRank Scores?

We all know that Google stopped making PageRank scores to the public. However, just because it is not available to the public, it does not mean that PageRank ain’t relevant anymore. I busted some myths when I posted:  Clearing the Misconceptions About PageRank (Part 1) and Clearing the Misconceptions About PageRank (Part 2)!

Clearly, no one has a clue what the PageRank score a particular web page is. If someone claims to know the exact score, then, you better not believe those lies! Now, the question is… Can we do something to improve PageRank scores? Obviously, we can’t know to boost these scores because we dont’t even know what the exact PR score is.

stop road sign

What are things to avoid?

However, we can discuss the things to avoid. In order to not bring your PageRank scores down, here are some tips you can apply:

Perform a backlink test.

  • As what I’ve said multiple times, links play an important role in having better rankings. By doing a backlink analysis, you will be able to know the backlinks you are getting. If you feel like the links are unnecessary and spammy, then, choose to disavow these links using Google’s disavow tool.

The fewer clicks, the better.

  • When you want better ranks, you should make your content closer to your homepage. Wait, what does this mean? A user should not make more than 3 page clicks. So, from point A to B, the number clicks should be 3 (or less) ideally.
  • Of course, not all pages can be shortened and can be accessed within a snap. At least, keep the important web pages closer. For the other web pages, you can provide breadcrumbs for a faster navigation.

Use relevant anchor texts.

  • When you link 2 related posts, you would obviously provide a link to this post. Remember, when you link, you should use relevant keywords. Use an appropriate anchor text with the basing on the post.
    • Why do this? Because…
    • The users can easily know what the content is about.
    • This would mean easier navigation and effective website optimization on your part.
  • Choosing the right anchor texts just won’t help the users, but also the search engines.

Consider the right placement of the links.

  • Aside from using the appropriate anchor texts, it is best to find the right placement of these links as well. Don’t just randomly add this link because you want more views.
  • Relevancy should be a factor when you are adding a link. So, you are adding a link because you found a connection between the two published content.
  • Remember, just because they are related, it does mean you just keep on linking. Overdoing links will also taint your PageRank scores. Ultimately, you need to find the right balance on where to put and how many links to put.

Do a link audit.

  • By doing an SEO audit, you will know what strategy works and what does not.
  • You are going to scan for broken links, and fix the internal linking system so that the users can flawlessly browse from one point to another.
  • Make sure also you have customized your 404 pages to aid users in case they clicked a dead link.

Related: 5 Things to Do After an SEO Audit

Clearing the Misconceptions About PageRank (Part 1)

According to an abstract on Stanford’s Computer Science department posted years ago, PageRank was even mentioned in this paper. Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page, the researchers, shared that PageRank “brought order to the web”. Named after Larry Page, PageRank is Google Search’s algorithm that is used to rank web pages accordingly.

an arrow indicating an upward trend

Is PageRank still heading an upward trend?

However, does PageRank have any value in this day and age? In 2019, can we still consider PageRank important in the entire Google hierarchy? For this blog post, I will tackle all the prevalent questions, and bust some myths still lurking about PageRank.

  1. PageRank is an outdated metric, right?

  • To be honest, PageRank is already mentioned in a research paper made during the late 90s. Seriously, most of its citations were works during the 90s and yet PageRank is already a prominent during that time.
  • In 2016, PageRank said goodbye to the public eye. The last known update before that was still in 2013. For something introduced in 1999, PageRank is something outdated. There’s no better way to say it, but it’s really old.
  • However, PageRank is one of the pillars of Google. It was made to help users get relevant information and to avoid useless content during their web search. Up to this day, Google has doing a great job in giving us search results that are useful and functional.
  • Aside from that, PageRank has obviously changed, and it is not the same metric as we all grew up. They were changes in its algorithm and Google released major updates as posted on this article right here. An obvious move made to cope up with the changing digital landscape.
  • Most of all, there was document on USpto.gov that stated Google wanted to extent the patent given to PageRank. The date reflected was April 24, 2018. So, this would mean that PageRank is still here to stay. Obviously, it may not be visible to the public, but it is definitely still connected on how we search things online.
  1. Google is not posting updates about PageRank. So, it’s not probably implemented, right?

  • Just because something is not publicly updated, it does not mean it is gone FOREVER. Remember, there was no official word regarding the discontinuation or cancellation of PageRank.
  • Well, we just know that it bid goodbye to the public eye. For sure, something is brewing behind the scenes. Google just might surprise us with a major public update soon.
  • In case you forgot, Google’s Gary Illyes tweeted, “…we’re still using PageRank (and 100s of other signals) in ranking.”
  • Because Google does not disclose PageRank scores to the public, misconception about its discontinuation easily spread like wildfire.
  • Before, users have convenient access to the PageRank metric. You could see the scores of any web page you are visiting with the help of the Google Toolbar. However, this lead to the rampant use of spammy links. Thus, Google had to stop publicizing these scores because unpopular websites are milking reputable and top-rated sites.
  • Because of this unfortunate incident, Google gave the public an option to “nofollow”. With this tag, website admins can stop PageRank from taking these links into consideration when ranking pages in the future.
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