Backlink checker that verifies every link is still there
You paid for a guest post, earned a mention in a local paper, or got listed in directories. Are those links still live, and do they point where you think? Your todo.is agent collects backlinks from your Search Console or tool exports plus what it can find through search, visits each page and reports what is working, what broke and what looks spammy.
The prompt
- Check the backlinks to [YOUR DOMAIN]. Start from [LINK EXPORT] and add any other linking pages you can find by searching Google for mentions of my brand [BRAND NAME] and my domain. Visit each linking page and record: is the link still there, the anchor text, the target URL on my site, whether the link is follow, nofollow or sponsored, whether the target returns 200, 301 or 404, and the topic of the linking site. Flag links that look spammy (link farms, unrelated foreign-language pages, sitewide footer links) and brand mentions that do not link to me yet. Give me an Excel file with all links and a short summary of the 10 most valuable links, broken ones to fix, and unlinked mentions worth asking for.
What to change
- [YOUR DOMAIN]: Your site, e.g. "harborbakery.com".
- [LINK EXPORT]: Attach the Links report CSV from Google Search Console, or a backlink export from your SEO tool. Write "none" to rely on search only.
- [BRAND NAME]: How people write your name, e.g. "Harbor Bakery" or "Harbor Bakery Portland".
Example result
- Backlink check: harborbakery.com
- Sources: Search Console Links export (78 pages) plus 8 extra pages found through search.
- Summary
- • 71 live links from 43 websites
- • 9 links removed since the export (pages updated or deleted)
- • 6 links point to 404 pages on your site, mostly the old /menu-2023 URL
- • 3 spammy links from unrelated sites with hundreds of outbound links
- • 4 unlinked mentions of Harbor Bakery
- Most valuable links
- • Portland city food guide, "best sourdough in Portland", follow, to homepage
- • Local news site, article on the bakery expansion, follow, to /about
- • Regional wedding blog, "wedding cake bakeries", follow, to /wedding-cakes
- • Food podcast show notes, nofollow, to homepage (still useful for visitors)
- Fix these
- • Redirect /menu-2023 to /menu with a 301. That recovers 5 links at once.
- • /catering-old gets 1 link from a venue's vendor list. Redirect it to /catering.
- Unlinked mentions
- • "Harbor Bakery" in a 2025 farmers market roundup (no link). Email the editor and ask for a link to /markets.
- • A wedding planner's vendor list names you without a link.
- Spammy links
- Three links from link directories on unrelated topics. Google usually ignores these. Only consider a disavow file if you got a manual action in Search Console.
- Note
- This check covers links found in your export and through search. It is not a full web link index, so some small or new links may be missing.
How to do it with todo.is
- Export the Links report from Google Search Console (or your SEO tool) and attach it.
- Copy the prompt, fill in your domain and brand name, and paste it into todo.is or send it to your agent on WhatsApp.
- Your agent visits every linking page in its browser and builds the Excel file with a status for each link.
- Make it monthly: reply "run this on the 1st of every month and tell me what changed".
Tips for a better result
- Fixing links that point to deleted pages is the fastest backlink win. A 301 redirect passes them to a live page.
- Unlinked brand mentions are easy asks. The writer already likes you.
- Do not panic over a few spammy links. Disavow is for clear manipulation or a manual action, not normal web noise.
- Ask your agent to group links by linking site, not by page. Ten links from one site count less than ten different sites.
backlink checker: FAQ
- Does todo.is have its own backlink database? No. Your agent works from your Search Console or tool exports and links it can discover through search, then checks each page live. It is not a full link index like large SEO platforms crawl.
- How do I see my backlinks for free? Google Search Console shows top linking sites and pages under Links. Export it and attach it to this prompt to get each link verified and sorted.
- What is a toxic backlink? Usually a link from a spam network, hacked page or paid scheme that exists only to manipulate rankings. Google ignores most of them, so action is only needed in unusual cases.
- What is the difference between follow and nofollow links? Follow links can pass ranking signals. Nofollow, sponsored and ugc links tell Google not to count them as endorsements, though they can still bring visitors.
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