Software to Analyse Bad Links

[Kingalan1]

Is it possible to get a pretty good idea of my site's link profile by merging the link data from Google Webmaster Tools, MOZ and SEMRUSH (backlinks).  I would think that combining the linking domains from these three packages would create a pretty good profile.

Once I create a list of domains that link to my site is it possible to run them thru MOZ so as to evaluate their quality?

Last year I paid a reputable SEO firm to run a link analysis, process link removal requests and finally a disavow, only to see my domain authority decline from 33 to 24. So I am leary of the process. That being said I have reviewed the disavow file that was submitted last year and still see about a third of the low quality domains still linking to our site.

Alternatively is it worthwhile to run a link detox report. Maybe it is worth biting the bullet and spending the $175.00 dollars to run a report. Our site (www.nyc-officespace-leader.com) does not have too many links so maybe I can research this manually.

Thoughts???

[MoosaHemani]

Alan, If you are looking for some tool that can check your bad links than, link detox seems to be the best option around but as you said that your link profile isn’t long to doing it manually isn’t really a bad option either.

While back I wrote a post about how to find bad links in your link profile. In that post I discuss the anatomy of a bad links so just keep that in mind while sorting bad links from the good one and you are good to go for creating a disavow file.

Remember DA does not count the quality of domains so expecting a jump in DA because you are increasing the number of quality domains is not ideal.

Hope this helps!

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi Alan

Yes, combining those three sources would be great! It will give you multiple angles of your backlink profile, and since all tools crawl and show different links, you'll get a more holistic view of your overall backlink profile.

Here's where I pull my links from:

• Google Webmaster Tools
• Majestic
• Ahrefs

Here's a tool I use for quick "scoring" of my backlink profile (still requires manual review):

• LinkRisk

A few questions to ask when assessing links:

• Does this link help my website?
• Is this link relevant to my website?
• Would I trust this site (that's linking to me) if I landed on it?
• Is the website or content in which I am being linked from topically relevant to my website?
• If you check metrics - does anything about the metrics (domain authority, page authority,Majestic, SEMRush traffic/ranking data, etc) make me feel uneasy?

I would also take a look at Link Audit Guide for Effective Link Removals & Risk Mitigation - there are a TON of great tips in this article that can help get you on the right path for data collection, assessment, and action. For more tips on backlink audits, please read:

• How to Conduct a Link Audit (SEW)
• How To Conduct A Link Audit (SEL)
• A More Robust Process for Dealing with Link Removal Requests (Moz)
• Conduct a Backlink Profile Analysis with Excel (case study) (Moz)

Doing a backlink audit takes focus, patience, and knowledge. If you read all of the above and have a healthy data collection, you can find some amazing things. Sometimes, running a backlink analysis report isn't a bad idea, but if you have a small amount of backlinks, take the time to run through the process and learn what to look for in your backlink profile. That alone will pay off dividends in the long run!

Hope this helps - let me know if you have any questions or comments! Good luck!

[Kingalan1]

Hi Moosa:

Thanks for your response. Yes, LinkDetox seems to be the best solution for toxic link removal. I purchased the basic package today and ran a report (See enclosed)  As a novice I have a few questions for you regarding this package:

-We scored a domain wide detox risk of 1,723. The site has referring root domains with 7113 links to our site. 121 links were classified as high audit priority. 56 as medium audit priority. 221 links were previously disavowed and we uploaded a spreadsheet containing the names of the previously disavowed links. We had LinkDetox include an analysis of no-follow links as they recommend this. Is our score really bad? If we remove the questionable links should we see some benefit in ranking?

-Some of the links we disavowed last year are still linking to our site. Is it worthwhile to include those links again in our new disavow file?

-Prior to filing a disavow we will request that Webmaster remove offending links. LinkDetox offers a package called Superhero for $469.00 that automates the process. Does this package effectively help with the entire process of writing and tracking the removal requests? Do you know of any other good alternatives?

-A feature called "Boost" is included in the LinkDetox Super Hero package. It is suppose to expedite Google's processing of the disavow file. I was told by the staff at Link Detox that with Boost Google will process the disavow within a week. Do you have any idea if this claim is valid??? It would be great if it were true.

Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it!!!

Alan

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