How to Check Backlinks with Moz Link Explorer (2026)

Backlinks are still the single biggest ranking factor in 2026 despite years of Google trying to reduce their weight. Every serious SEO project starts with a backlink audit, and Moz Link Explorer is the tool that most Filipino agencies use to run one because the interface is beginner-friendly and the free tier gives you enough to test-drive before committing.

This guide walks you through checking backlinks in Moz Link Explorer end to end, from your first domain query to spotting toxic links you may need to disavow.

What Moz Link Explorer actually shows you

Before diving in, know what data you can expect:

• Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) for any URL
• Total number of inbound links and referring domains
• Spam Score (0-17) for each linking domain, so you can spot toxic sources
• Anchor text distribution (what words other sites use to link to you)
• Top-linked pages on your own site
• Link intersect (which domains link to your competitors but not you)
• Historical link growth over 2+ years

Free tier gives you 10 queries per month. Moz Pro Standard (USD 99/mo) unlocks unlimited queries plus the competitor comparison features that make the tool worth paying for.

Step 1: Open Moz Link Explorer

1. Go to moz.com/link-explorer or log in to Moz Pro at analytics.moz.com
2. In the left sidebar, click Link Research
3. Click Link Explorer
4. You will see the main search bar

If you are using the free version, you may need to create a free Moz account to get past 3 queries. The free tier is limited to 10 queries per month total across all tools.

Step 2: Enter your target URL

You can query:

• A full domain (like itsourcecode.com) to see all inbound links to the whole site
• A subdomain (like blog.example.com) to isolate a specific section
• An exact URL (like example.com/blog/post-title/) to see backlinks to one page

Type the URL, select the scope (Root Domain, Subdomain, or Exact URL), and click Analyze. Moz returns results in 5 to 15 seconds depending on domain size.

Step 3: Read the summary metrics

The top of the report shows the key numbers:

• Domain Authority (DA): 1-100 score of the domain’s overall link strength. New sites: 1-15. Established: 20-50. Big brands: 70+. Your own site’s DA is a rough proxy for how easily you can rank for competitive keywords.
• Page Authority (PA): Same 1-100 scale but for a specific URL. Individual page PA usually varies from your domain DA by 5-15 points.
• Linking Domains: Total unique domains linking to your target. This matters more than raw link count (500 links from 10 sites is weaker than 200 links from 100 different sites).
• Inbound Links: Raw total of individual links pointing to your target.
• Ranking Keywords: How many keywords your target currently ranks for in the top 100.
• Spam Score: Your OWN domain’s Spam Score (0-17). Below 5 is healthy. 5-9 is caution. 10+ is danger.

Step 4: Review your top linking domains

Scroll down to the Inbound Links section. This is where the real audit work happens:

1. Click the Inbound Links tab
2. Sort by Domain Authority descending to see your strongest link sources first
3. Review the top 20 to 30 for legitimacy (real editorial links vs suspicious spam)
4. Note any surprising high-DA links you did not know about (they are usually the result of one of your articles going semi-viral in a niche community)

Also review anchor text (what words the linking page used). Ideal distribution: 30 percent branded (your site name), 40 percent long-tail phrases, 20 percent naked URLs, 10 percent generic (“click here”, “learn more”). Over 60 percent exact-match keyword anchor text triggers Google over-optimization flags.

Step 5: Use Link Intersect to find backlink gaps

This is where Moz Pro really pays off. Link Intersect shows domains that link to your competitors but not to you, which is your immediate outreach opportunity list.

1. From Link Explorer, click Link Intersect in the left sidebar (Moz Pro only)
2. Enter your domain in the top box
3. Enter 2 to 5 competitor domains in the next boxes
4. Click Analyze
5. Sort the results by Domain Authority descending

Every high-DA site in this list that links to multiple competitors is a natural outreach target. Look for their contact page and pitch them your relevant content or resource.

Step 6: Spot and handle toxic links

Not all backlinks help you. Some can actively hurt your rankings. Moz’s Spam Score flags these:

1. In Inbound Links, sort by Spam Score descending
2. Review any linking domain with Spam Score 6 or higher
3. For each toxic link, first try to contact the linking site and ask for removal (free option, works 20-30 percent of the time)
4. For unremovable toxic links, add them to a disavow file (a plain text list of domains you want Google to ignore)
5. Submit the disavow file via Google Search Console (Legacy Tools section)

Word of caution: only disavow links you are certain are toxic. Google specifically warns publishers not to over-use the disavow tool because you can accidentally suppress legitimate authority sources.

Common backlink audit mistakes

• Auditing only once a year. Backlink profiles shift monthly. Do a light audit every quarter, deep audit annually.
• Focusing on link count instead of referring domains. 100 domains with 1 link each is stronger than 1 domain with 100 links.
• Ignoring the Spam Score. Toxic links accumulate silently. A quarterly Spam Score sort catches them before they hurt.
• Not tracking competitor link growth. If a competitor gained 50 new referring domains last month, they know something you do not. Investigate their new links.
• Over-disavowing. Filipino agencies especially tend to be trigger-happy with disavow. Only disavow links you have verified are genuinely spammy or unnatural.