Search Console Links Report: Read Your Backlinks and Internal Links

Links are how Google finds most pages, and how people move around your site. The Search Console links report is the free place where Google shows you a view of both: which other sites link to you (backlinks), what words they use, and which of your own pages get the most links from your own navigation and content. If you have ever wondered whether anyone links to the page you worked hardest on, or whether your most important page is buried, this report answers a version of both.

The word "version" matters. The report is a sample, tables are capped, and it does not say whether a link is nofollow. Read it as a set of clues, not an audit. This guide shows what each table contains, how to use it for four practical jobs, how to export more data, and what the report cannot tell you. It is for site owners and marketers with a Search Console property. It makes no promise about rankings: the report describes links Google knows about, not links Google counts or rewards.

Short answer: The Search Console links report lists external links (top linked pages, top linking sites, top linking text) and internal links (your most linked-to pages). Open the Links report in Search Console to see them. The data is a sample, tables show up to 1,000 rows, and nofollow status is not shown.

Before you begin

You need a verified property. Look for the Links report in Search Console. Users with restricted access can view links data, according to Google's permissions table, so you do not need owner rights just to look; see Search Console Add User: Permissions, Owners and Safe Removal for who can see what. If you have no property yet, begin with Set Up Google Search Console: Complete Website Owner Checklist. The choice between a Domain and a URL-prefix property changes which URLs appear; see Domain Property vs URL-Prefix Property.

Allow about twenty minutes for a first read. The report changes nothing on your site. Decide what you want to learn before you start, because the tables are easy to browse aimlessly.

What does the Search Console links report show?

There are two groups.

Group	Table	What it answers
External links	Top linked pages	Which of your pages have the most links from other sites
External links	Top linking sites	Which root domains link to you most, by link count
External links	Top linking text	The most common anchor text used in links to you
Internal links	Top linked pages	Which of your pages receive the most links from other pages on your own site

Select a page in an external table and Google shows which sites link to that page and from which URLs. In the "top linking pages" view, a "Target URL (if different)" column appears. Blank means the link goes to the page you selected. A value means the link points to another URL, for example because of a redirect or because Google chose a different canonical for the linking page.

How is the data grouped?

Google strips protocol, subdomain and subdirectory when grouping linking sites, so m.example.com and example.com/pet_store/ both appear as example.com. It does not strip the top-level domain, so example.com.de is a separate entry. A linking domain that matches your own property usually means one of your subdomains was grouped in. Linking pages are grouped by canonical URL, anchor fragments and possibly some parameters are removed, and links from the same source URL to the same target URL are combined. Anchor text is matched without regard to case, so "Hello world" and "HELLO WORLD" count as one, but "Hello worlds" is another.

Links with no text, such as an image link without text, appear as "(empty)".

What are the limits of the links report?

Google is open about these, and they decide how far to trust the report:

It is a sample. Google calls it "not a comprehensive list of every link" and says some URLs can be left out, such as pages that are not indexed or URLs that were deduplicated.
It includes history. Links Google found over time may appear even if they have since been removed or the page is gone.
Nofollow is not shown. You cannot tell from the report whether a link carries nofollow, sponsored or ugc. For what those mean, see Nofollow, Sponsored and UGC Links.
Tables are capped at 1,000 rows, and larger sites may find them truncated.
No update schedule is given. The help page states no processing delay, so do not assume the report is current to the day.

The report also does not measure quality, trust or value. A link count says how many links Google has seen, not how much any of them is worth.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Open the report and note the totals

Open the Links report for the property. You will see the external and internal tables side by side. If the property is a URL-prefix property, remember it covers only URLs under that prefix.

What success looks like: You can see the four tables and know which property you are viewing.

Step 2: Check your top linked pages (external)

Open "More" under Top linked pages to see the full list, up to the cap. Ask: are these the pages you would expect people to link to? Typical surprises are an old URL that now redirects, a PDF, or a page you did not know had been shared. A page that earned many links and now returns an error wastes that attention. Open it, and if it should still exist, restore it; if it moved, redirect it to the closest replacement. See What Is a 301 Redirect? and 404 vs 410 Status Codes.

What success looks like: Every page in the list either loads normally or redirects to a sensible replacement.

Step 3: Review the top linking sites

Skim the domains. Confirm that relevant partners, publications or directories you know about appear. Look for domains you do not recognise. Google's advice is that links from spammy sites are typically ignored, but you may want to ask for removal, and disavow is a last resort. The disavow tool's own page calls it an advanced feature to be used with caution and says most sites do not need it; it is meant for cases with a considerable number of spammy or low-quality links that have caused, or are likely to cause, a manual action. Do not disavow because a domain looks odd. If you have a manual action for unnatural links, see Search Console Manual Actions.

What success looks like: You have a short list of domains to leave alone, and at most a short list to investigate.

Step 4: Read the top linking text

The anchor text other sites use shows how you are described. Check that it is accurate and relevant. A brand name, a page title or a descriptive phrase is normal. Unexpected spammy phrases can point to hacked pages or a link scheme aimed at you; if you also see strange pages in your own index, read Hacked Site Spam Pages Cleanup. If outside sites describe you inaccurately, the fix is usually clearer wording on your own pages. For writing your own anchors, see Anchor Text Best Practices.

What success looks like: The most common anchor texts match how you want to be described.

Step 5: Audit internal links

Switch to Internal links and open Top linked pages with "More". This shows which pages your site links to most. Check that the pages that matter most (home, key services or products, contact) are well linked, and that pages you consider unimportant are not at the top because of a footer link or widget. Select a page to see which of your pages link to it, which helps you judge how many clicks it takes to reach it. Google's guidance is that every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page, and that links should be <a> elements with an href. Pages that do not appear at all may be missing links; see Orphan Pages: Find and Fix Them and Internal Linking Strategy.

What success looks like: Your top internal pages are the ones you want users and Google to reach first.

Step 6: Export more data if you need it

Single-table pages have a download button that exports the table, up to 1,000 rows. Sorting on screen does not change the export. The Links export option gives up to 100,000 rows as a CSV or Google Sheet in two slices: Latest links, sorted by discovery date, and More sample links, drawn from the full set of known links, useful when far more than 100,000 pages link to you. Values shown as "~" or "-" export as zeros, so do not read a zero in an export as a true zero.

What success looks like: You have a file you can sort and compare month to month.

Worked example

In a hypothetical export, a small shop sees example-blog.test linking 14 times to /old-guide. That URL now redirects to /guides/size-chart. In the "top linking pages" view, the column "Target URL (if different)" would show where the links point. The owner can't make the blog change its links, but can check that the redirect is a single 301 to a page on the same topic, then email the blog author with the new URL. Whether this changes anything in Google is not something the report can tell you; it simply avoids a dead end for people who follow the link. Crawvix's scan separately checks your own pages for broken internal links, internal links that point at the final address, and orphan pages, which is the part of this job that is fully within your control.

What this report does not do

It does not show competitors' links, tell you which links help, or predict rankings. It does not replace server logs, and it does not show links Google has not found. If a link you know exists is missing, it may be new, may sit on a page Google has not crawled, or may simply be outside the sample. For a missing page, see How to Check If a Page Is Indexed.

Final verification checklist

You opened Links on the property you meant to check.
The top externally linked pages all load or redirect once to a fitting page.
You scanned top linking sites and top linking text for anything unexpected.
Any suspicious pattern was followed up (removal request, security check) before considering disavow.
The top internal pages match the pages you most want found.
You exported the data and noted the date, with the sample caveat in mind.
You understand that nofollow status and link value are not shown.

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating it as a full backlink index. Google calls it a sample; do not conclude a link is absent because it is not listed.
Disavowing out of worry. Google says most sites do not need the tool. Use it only in the case its page describes.
Ignoring dead pages that earn links. Redirect or restore them.
Reading link counts as quality. Counts say nothing about value, and the report does not show nofollow.
Reading exported zeros as true zeros. "~" and "-" become zeros in exports.
Stuffing internal anchors. Use descriptive, concise text; avoid forced keywords.
Forgetting subdomains are grouped. A domain that equals your own is probably your subdomain.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the links report in Search Console?

It is the Links report, which Google's help page lists among its reports and tools. It has an external links section and an internal links section.

Does the links report show all my backlinks?

No. Google describes it as a sample rather than a complete list, with tables capped at 1,000 rows. The export option can provide up to 100,000 rows.

Can I see nofollow links in Search Console?

The report does not indicate whether a link is nofollow, so you need to check the linking page itself.

Why does a linking site show my own domain?

Usually because a subdomain of your site was grouped in with the root domain. Protocol, subdomain and subdirectory are stripped when links are grouped.

Should I disavow spammy links I find?

Not by default. Google says spam links are typically ignored and most sites do not need the disavow tool. It describes the tool for sites with many spammy links that have caused or may cause a manual action.

Official references

Next step: Try the free website sample to see how your own site does on a few of these checks. This guide provides technical information, not a guarantee of rankings, traffic or index inclusion.