What Is a Link Analyzer?
A link analyzer is an SEO tool that scans any webpage and extracts every hyperlink on it. It classifies each link as internal (pointing to the same domain) or external (pointing to a different domain), detects link attributes like nofollow, sponsored, and ugc, and provides a summary of the page's link profile.
Links are the backbone of the web and a core Google ranking factor. Internal links help search engines discover and crawl your pages while distributing page authority across your site. External links (outbound links) provide references and context. Our free link analyzer helps you find links to a page, audit your link structure, and identify potential SEO issues — all in seconds.
Whether you're running a site audit, checking a competitor's link profile, or verifying that your outbound links have proper rel attributes, this external link checker gives you the data you need. The tool extracts up to 200 links per page and shows anchor text, link type, rel attributes, and target attributes for each link.
How to Find Links on Any Webpage
Our link analyzer uses a simple four-step process to find all links on a website and classify them:
Enter the URL
Paste any webpage URL into the analyzer. The tool accepts any valid URL — homepages, blog posts, product pages, or landing pages. HTTPS is added automatically if omitted.
Fetch & Parse HTML
The analyzer fetches the page HTML and parses every anchor tag (<a> element). It resolves relative URLs to absolute URLs and identifies the page's base domain for internal/external classification.
Classify Each Link
Every link is classified as internal or external by comparing the link domain against the page domain. The rel attribute is parsed to detect nofollow, sponsored, and UGC values. Target attributes are also extracted.
View Link Profile
Results are displayed with full statistics: total links, internal vs external count, dofollow vs nofollow breakdown, sponsored and UGC counts. Each link shows its anchor text, URL, type, and attributes.
Internal vs External Links: Why Both Matter for SEO
Understanding the balance between internal and external links is essential for SEO. Both serve different purposes, and a well-optimized page uses a healthy mix of both. Here's how they differ:
Internal Links
- Help search engines discover and index all your pages
- Distribute page authority (link equity) across your site
- Establish site hierarchy and content relationships
- Improve user navigation and reduce bounce rate
- Help Google understand your most important pages
External Links (Outbound)
- Provide references and citations for your content
- Signal content quality and trustworthiness to Google
- Help establish topical relevance and expertise
- Create relationships with other websites in your niche
- Improve user experience with valuable resources
Use our internal link analysis feature to ensure your pages are well-connected and that link equity flows to your most important content. For external links, use the outbound link checker to verify that you're linking to reputable sources and that paid links have proper rel="sponsored" attributes.
Understanding Link Attributes: Nofollow, Sponsored & UGC
The rel attribute on a link tells search engines how to treat that link. Here are the key values our link analyzer detects:
rel="dofollow"
Default state — passes link equity and authority. No rel attribute needed. Most valuable for SEO.
rel="nofollow"
Tells search engines not to pass authority. Used for untrusted links. Since 2019, treated as a hint by Google.
rel="sponsored"
For paid links, ads, and affiliate links. Required by Google for commercial link placements.
rel="ugc"
For user-generated content: comments, forum posts, wiki edits. Helps Google understand link context.
SEO Tip: Links can have multiple rel values combined, e.g. rel="nofollow sponsored". Google recommends using the most specific value: use sponsored for paid links rather than just nofollow.
Why Use an External Link Checker?
Regularly checking your outbound links is a critical part of SEO maintenance. Here are six reasons to find outbound links and audit them:
Find Broken Links
Identify external links pointing to pages that no longer exist (404 errors). Broken links hurt user experience and can negatively impact your SEO.
Detect Spammy Links
Find outbound links to low-quality or malicious websites. Linking to spam sites can damage your site's reputation and search rankings.
Verify Paid Link Tags
Ensure all sponsored and affiliate links have proper rel='sponsored' attributes. Missing tags can result in Google penalties for link schemes.
Audit UGC Links
Check that user-generated content (comments, forums) has rel='ugc' or rel='nofollow' to prevent spam links from passing your site's authority.
Monitor Link Injections
Detect unexpected external links that may have been injected through hacked plugins, compromised themes, or XSS vulnerabilities.
Optimize Link Equity
Understand how your link equity flows. Too many outbound links can dilute your page authority. Strategic internal linking keeps equity on your domain.
What Our Link Analyzer Detects
When you analyze a URL, the tool provides a comprehensive link profile with the following data points for each link:
| Data Point | Description | SEO Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| URL (href) | Full resolved URL of the linked page | Check for broken or suspicious destinations |
| Anchor Text | Clickable text of the link (up to 200 chars) | Descriptive anchors improve contextual relevance |
| Link Type | Internal (same domain) or External (other domain) | Balance internal linking with authoritative external refs |
| Rel Attributes | nofollow, sponsored, ugc, or dofollow (default) | Controls how link equity is passed to target pages |
| Target | _blank (new tab), _self, or none | External links should open in new tabs for UX |
| Summary Stats | Totals for internal, external, nofollow, dofollow | Quick overview of the page's link health |
Link Analysis Best Practices for SEO
Use these best practices when analyzing and optimizing your website's link profile:
Use descriptive anchor text
Avoid generic anchors like 'click here' or 'read more'. Use keyword-rich, descriptive text that tells users and search engines what the linked page is about.
Balance internal and external links
Every content page should have at least 3-5 internal links to related pages. Include 2-3 external links to authoritative sources for credibility.
Tag paid links correctly
All affiliate, sponsored, and advertisement links must have rel='sponsored'. Failure to tag paid links violates Google's guidelines and can result in penalties.
Open external links in new tabs
Use target='_blank' for external links so users don't leave your site. Include rel='noopener' for security to prevent reverse tabnabbing attacks.
Fix or remove broken links
Broken links (404 errors) waste crawl budget and frustrate users. Run the link analyzer regularly and fix or update any links pointing to dead pages.
Audit links after content updates
When you update or restructure content, old internal links may break. Re-run the link analyzer after major changes to catch redirect chains and broken paths.
How Link Analysis Helps Your SEO Strategy
Internal link analysis is one of the most underrated SEO techniques. By understanding how your pages are connected, you can improve crawlability, boost important pages, and create a logical site structure that both users and search engines love.
When you find links to a website or individual page, you can identify orphan pages (pages with no internal links pointing to them), pages with too many outbound links diluting their authority, and opportunities to add contextual internal links that pass authority to underperforming content.
Checking outbound links is equally important. Pages that link to authoritative, relevant sources tend to rank better than pages with no external references. However, linking to spammy or irrelevant sites can harm your rankings. Our outbound link checker tool helps you verify that every external link on your page adds value.
For a complete technical SEO audit, combine link analysis with our other tools: use the HTTP Header Checker to verify redirect status codes, the SSL Checker to ensure linked sites have valid certificates, and the DNS Record Validator to check overall domain health.
Related SEO & Network Tools
Combine the link analyzer with these tools for a comprehensive website audit:
HTTP Headers
Check response headers, redirects, and security headers of any URL
SSL Checker
Verify SSL certificates, expiry dates, and certificate chains
Redirect Checker
Trace redirect chains and verify 301/302 status codes
Subdomain Finder
Discover all subdomains of a domain via CT logs
DNS Lookup
Check A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, and SOA records
WHOIS Lookup
Find domain owner, registrar, and registration dates
Domain Validation
Validate DNS records with health score and graded report
CMS Detector
Detect what CMS, web server, and technologies any website uses