Backlink Quality Audit

When to Run a Quality Audit

Conduct a full backlink quality audit quarterly or whenever you notice unexplained ranking drops. This process helps you identify toxic links and opportunities to improve your profile.

Audit Preparation

1. Export your complete backlink profile from Ahrefs, Semrush, or Google Search Console
2. Export your active exchange list from Linkorite
3. Prepare a spreadsheet with columns for: URL, domain, DR, spam score, status, action

Quality Assessment Checklist

For Each Linking Domain

• Domain authority is above your minimum threshold
• Spam score is below 30%
• The domain has real organic traffic
• The domain publishes original content
• The domain is not a known link farm or PBN

For Each Linking Page

• The page is indexed in Google
• The page has relevant content (not a link dump page)
• The page has a reasonable number of outbound links (under 100)
• The link is contextually placed within content
• The link uses appropriate anchor text

Categorize Each Link

• Keep — high-quality, relevant, properly placed
• Monitor — acceptable quality but watch for changes
• Improve — contact the partner to request better placement or anchor text
• Remove — request removal from the linking site
• Disavow — if removal requests fail, add to your disavow file

Post-Audit Actions

1. Contact partners for any exchanges that need improvement
2. Submit an updated disavow file to Google Search Console if needed
3. Update partner scores in Linkorite based on audit findings
4. Document the audit results for comparison in future quarters
5. Adjust your partner qualification criteria based on what you learned