Help & Documentation
Learn how to use LinksCrawler to monitor your backlinks effectively and protect your link portfolio.
Getting Started
Follow these steps to start monitoring your backlinks
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1
Sign up and verify your email
Create your LinksCrawler account and verify your email address to get started.
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2
Create a project for your domain
Projects help organize your backlinks. Each project represents a domain or site you're monitoring. LinksCrawler handles domain normalization automatically.
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3
Add backlink page URLs in bulk
Add the URLs where your backlinks exist. You can add links individually or use batch addition (up to 100 links per batch for premium projects).
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4
Let LinksCrawler crawl and record status
LinksCrawler will automatically crawl your backlink pages and record their status, rel attributes, and technical SEO signals.
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5
Use filters and analytics to review
Filter by status, rel attributes, indexability, and more. Use analytics to understand your backlink portfolio and prioritize your efforts.
Understanding Link Statuses
Clear status indicators so you always know the current state of your backlinks
PENDING
Link has been added but not yet crawled.
CHECKING
Link is currently being crawled.
BACKLINK FOUND
Backlink detected on the page.
NOT FOUND
Backlink not detected on the page.
LOST
Previously found, now missing. This indicates a backlink that was once detected but is no longer present.
ERROR
Crawl could not complete due to an error (network issue, invalid URL, server error, etc.).
Monitoring & Frequency
Choose the right monitoring frequency for your needs
Free Tier
Free projects use a default monitoring frequency of 48 hours. LinksCrawler will check your backlinks every 48 hours automatically.
Premium Projects
Premium projects allow you to choose your monitoring frequency:
- Every 12 hours (Twice Daily) - Most frequent monitoring for critical links
- Daily (24 hours) - Daily checks for important backlinks
- Every 48 hours - Default frequency, same as free tier
- Every 15 days - Less frequent monitoring for stable links
Note: Credits are independent of crawl frequency. Each credit covers one link for one month, regardless of how often the link is checked.
Account Limits & Freezing
Understanding free tier limits and account management
Free Tier Limit
Free tier accounts can monitor up to 1,000 total links across all free projects. This limit helps ensure fair resource usage while still providing substantial monitoring capability.
Account Freezing
If you exceed 1,000 links, your account will automatically freeze. When frozen:
- You cannot add new links
- Links beyond the 1,000 limit stop being crawled
- You'll receive an email notification explaining the freeze
Unfreezing Your Account
To unfreeze your account, you have two options:
- Delete links to get back under the 1,000 limit
- Upgrade to premium which has no link limits (as credits allow)
Your account will automatically unfreeze once you're back under the 1,000 link limit. Premium accounts never freeze due to link limits.
Understanding Dofollow/Nofollow & Rel Attributes
Learn how LinksCrawler detects link attributes that affect SEO value
Dofollow Links
Dofollow links pass SEO value (link juice) to the linked page. These are the standard links without any rel="nofollow" attribute.
Nofollow Links
Nofollow links include the rel="nofollow" attribute, which tells search engines not to pass SEO value through the link. LinksCrawler detects when providers quietly change links from dofollow to nofollow.
Additional Rel Attributes
LinksCrawler also identifies other rel attributes that affect link value:
- rel="sponsored" - Indicates paid or sponsored content
- rel="ugc" - User-generated content
- Multiple rel values - Links can have multiple rel attributes
Understanding Indexability Checks
Technical SEO checks to determine if your backlink pages are indexable
HTTP Status Codes
LinksCrawler captures the HTTP status code of each backlink page (200, 301, 404, etc.) to understand the page's availability.
Redirects & Final URL
If a page redirects, LinksCrawler follows the redirect chain and reports the final URL after all redirects. This helps you understand where your backlink actually resides.
Canonical URL
LinksCrawler detects the canonical URL specified in the page's meta tags. If the canonical URL differs from the page URL, it may affect how search engines index the page and your backlink.
Robots Tags
LinksCrawler analyzes robots meta tags and X-Robots-Tag HTTP headers to determine if the page is blocked from indexing. If a page is blocked from indexing, your backlink may not provide SEO value even if it's dofollow.
Analytics & Reporting
Comprehensive analytics to understand your backlink portfolio
Project Analytics
LinksCrawler provides detailed analytics for each project, including:
- Total links - Complete count of all links in your project
- Active links - Links with BACKLINK_FOUND status
- Dofollow/Nofollow breakdown - Count and percentage of dofollow vs nofollow links
- Clickable vs non-clickable - Track which links are actually clickable
- Indexability status - Count of indexable vs unindexable pages
- Lost links - Total lost links and lost this week count
- Link types breakdown - Distribution by link kind (FORUM, BLOG, DIRECTORY, etc.)
- Last 7 days activity - Daily chart showing links added over the past week
Visual Charts
Analytics include a bar chart showing daily activity over the last 7 days, helping you visualize when links were added and track your monitoring growth.
Trend Indicators
Metrics include trend indicators (up/down arrows) and percentage calculations to help you quickly understand changes in your backlink portfolio.
Real-Time Updates
Analytics update in real-time as links are crawled. Use the refresh button to manually update analytics and see the latest metrics with a timestamp of when data was last updated.
Folder Analytics Premium
Premium projects include folder-level analytics with the same comprehensive metrics as project-level analytics. Analyze specific folders, compare folder performance, and track metrics for organized link groups.
Collaboration & Sharing Premium
Premium projects support collaboration, allowing you to invite team members
Inviting Collaborators
Invite collaborators via email to shared folders/projects. Collaborators receive an invitation email with a link to accept and join your project.
Collaborator Permissions
Collaborators can view shared folders, add links, and see "Added By" information. They cannot delete links owned by the project owner, protecting your link data.
Invitation Statuses
Track invitation statuses: PENDING, ACCEPTED, EXPIRED, or REVOKED. Manage your team access easily.
Troubleshooting
Common issues and solutions
ERROR Status
If a link shows an ERROR status, common causes include network issues, invalid URLs, server errors, authentication requirements, robots.txt blocks, or timeouts. LinksCrawler will retry on the next scheduled crawl.
Redirects & Final URL
If you notice a discrepancy between the URL you added and the final URL reported, this is likely due to redirects (301, 302, or chain redirects). LinksCrawler follows redirect chains and reports the final destination URL where your backlink actually exists.
Need More Help?
If you have questions or need assistance, visit our support page or contact our team.