Frequently asked questions
Why can't you show me a list of actual backlinks?
Backlink data is not public. The major databases (Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, Majestic) each spent tens of millions of dollars building their own web crawlers to index who links to what. There is no free public API that returns the full backlink list for an arbitrary domain. This tool instead shows the publicly-visible authority signals that correlate with a strong backlink profile.
What is the Authority Score?
A composite 0-100 score derived from publicly-visible signals: domain age, SSL certificate health, HTTPS security headers (HSTS, CSP), DNS trust signals (DNSSEC, CAA, MX), and infrastructure quality (CDN, nameserver redundancy). It is a proxy for backlink profile strength, not a count of actual links.
How do I see my own site's actual backlinks?
Use Google Search Console (free) — verify your site and go to Links in the sidebar. It shows every backlink Google knows about with referring domain counts and anchor text. Bing Webmaster Tools provides the same for Bing.
How do I see a competitor's actual backlinks?
You need a paid backlink database. The options are Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz Pro, and Majestic. All four have free trials and free limited web tools that let you peek at top backlinks without a subscription.
Is PageRank still relevant?
Yes. While Google stopped publishing Toolbar PageRank in 2016, they still use it internally. Open PageRank by DomCop estimates PageRank from public web crawl data. It correlates strongly with Moz DA, Ahrefs DR, and Semrush Authority Score.