Checking backlinks
The link profile helps decide whether an expired domain is an opportunity or a liability. Don't check the quantity, check the quality: who links, from where, to what, with which text – and how much of it still exists at all.
The most important checks
- Referring domains: A few strong, topically relevant domains are worth more than many weak ones. Look at the distribution, not the sum.
- Link relevance and link topics: Do the linking pages fit the previous topic and your planned one?
- Link placement: Editorial links in body text carry different weight than footer, sidebar or comment links.
- Anchor texts: A natural profile mixes brand, URL and generic anchors. Conspicuous clusters of exact-match money keywords are a warning sign.
- Follow and nofollow: A pure follow profile with identical anchors looks manipulated; a share of nofollow is normal.
- Lost links: Many historical links no longer exist. Check what actually links now – not what a tool shows as an archived stock.
- Sitewide links: Hundreds of links from a single domain (e.g. from a footer) inflate numbers but bring little value.
- Link networks: Conspicuously similar sites, shared IP ranges or link-swap patterns point to PBNs.
- Hacked pages: Links from hacked pages (often hidden or inserted off-topic) are toxic.
- Foreign-language spam links and casino, pharma, adult spam: Classic patterns of abused domains – a high share is a knock-out criterion for serious projects.
- Historical topic changes: If the domain changed topic several times, old links are often devalued.
- Redirect chains: Was the domain used as a redirect target or source? Such chains often obscure manipulation.
Metrics from different providers
Link metrics such as TF, CF, DR or DA measure different things with different data sets. Use them as rough filters, compare several providers – and in the end decide based on the actual links, not on a single number.
No guarantee
Good backlinks do not guarantee rankings. Links can be devalued or disappear, and search engines are not obliged to carry historical signals over to a new project.
Next steps
Complement the link check with checking domain history and the trademark check – and record the result in the local domain check.