4 Signs Your Website Needs A Backlink Audit

So much emphasis is placed on how important backlinks are to SEO growth, but what isn’t talked about is the fact that, just like every other SEO factor, backlinks are not a one-time fix. They need to be checked from time to time.

The question is, how do you know when it is time to conduct an audit on your backlink profile? Here are 4 signs you should look out for:

1. Sudden Drop In Rankings and Website Traffic

If your ranking on search results just drops out of the blue or you notice that your website traffic is going down, it’s time to carry out an audit on your backlink profile.

Google uses backlinks to verify the reliability and trustworthiness of sites, and they are also used as one of the criteria for ranking sites highly. So, once Google notices that there is an issue with a backlink that serves as a vote of confidence for your brand, it reduces your ranking, which in turn reduces the traffic that your website gets.

It doesn’t matter whether the link is broken or identified as spam. No matter the case, once Google notices an issue with your backlink, it will drop your ranking drastically until you sort it out.

So, immediately you notice that your ranking has gone down suddenly, see it is a sign for you to do an audit on your backlink profile.

2. Notification from Google

In some cases, you don’t need to look out for a sign; Google sends you a message directly letting you know that there is an issue with your backlink profile, and you need to check it out.

This notification is usually sent by Google Search Console, telling you what the exact problem is and the action you can take to resolve it.

When you get this notification, you can either go and just correct the issue you have been notified about or carry out a full-blown backlink profile check to see if there are any other underlying issues.

3. Website Redesign

It is a good idea to carry out a check on your backlink profile when your website is redesigned or restructured. This is because whenever a website is redesigned, there is a very high chance that some pages will be removed and some backlinks will be affected. 

So, to be on the safe side, ensure you do a backlink audit every time you do a major update on your website’s design or structure.

4. Irrelevant Sites Are Linking to Yours 

The sites that are linking to yours are a good indication of whether you should run a backlink audit or not. 

If these sites have low authority, are not in your industry, or have pages written in a foreign language, then you should see it as a sign to run an audit on your backlink profile.

One of the key duties of backlinks is to tell Google what your site is about, so if you have backlinks from sites that aren’t related to your industry, Google will be confused about which industry to associate your site and brand with. So, ensure you do an audit and remove unrelated backlinks, no matter their domain authority.

Don’t be an agrochemical site with backlinks from basketball sites. 

Final Thoughts

If you see any of these signs on your site, know that it’s time to carry out a backlink audit, restore broken links, and remove unrelated backlinks. 

Harnix Tech can offer your site a full-scale backlink and SEO audit. So, reach out to us today and let’s fix all issues that can affect your online growth.