This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Mai Vy Ly
Ahrefs’ backlink checker crawls the web with its own bots, stores links in a massive index, and then lets you query any domain/URL to see who links to it. Tools like this help you audit your backlink profile, reverse-engineer competitors, and spot quick wins. If you’re experimenting or building your own workflow, check out this helper repo: ahrefs-backlink-checker.
How it works (quick overview)
- Crawl & index – AhrefsBot discovers pages and extracts outgoing links.
- De-duplicate & score – Links are normalized (www/non-www, HTTP/HTTPS) and evaluated with metrics like URL/Domain strength.
- Query & filter – You search a domain or exact URL and refine with filters (dofollow, platform, language, etc.).
- Analyze & export – Review the link list, sort by quality, and export for reporting or outreach.
- You can prototype similar exports using this repo: https://github.com/maivyly52-gif/ahrefs-backlink-checker
Key data you’ll typically see
Referring Domains & Backlinks
Count of unique domains and total links pointing to your site/URL.Authority Metrics (e.g., DR/UR)
Domain-level and URL-level strength indicators to prioritize high-value links.Dofollow vs. Nofollow
See which links can pass authority. Filter to focus on dofollow opportunities.Anchor Text & URL Targets
Exact anchor phrases and the pages they point to—useful for over-optimization checks.First Seen / Last Seen
When Ahrefs first discovered a link and when it last verified it—handy for tracking lost links.Traffic & Context Signals
Estimated organic traffic of the linking page, language, platform/CMS, and link type (text, image, redirect).New & Lost Links
Daily/weekly deltas to monitor campaigns and catch sudden drops.-
Spam Indicators (indirect)
While not a single “spam score,” patterns like low-quality directories, site-wide links, or unnatural anchors can be flagged for review.- Use this script starter to tag patterns: GitHub repo
Practical uses
- Competitor teardown: Sort by DR/UR to find the best links to replicate.
- Content gap ideas: Look at anchors and linking pages to plan new content.
- Cleanup & reclamation: Find toxic patterns or 404 targets and fix/redirect.
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Reporting: Export filtered CSVs to share progress with clients/stakeholders.
- Try lightweight exports with: https://github.com/maivyly52-gif/ahrefs-backlink-checker
If you want a simple way to test backlink lookups, filters, and exports in your own workflow, grab the code and examples here: ahrefs-backlink-checker on GitHub.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Mai Vy Ly