Link gap
Your important pages compared with the ones winning the same keywords – but only after checking intent and keyword value. Output: pages links will actually help, and pages they won’t.
Link auditBefore you buy links,
Before you buy links,
check that you need them.
When a page doesn’t rank, it’s easy to blame missing links – and few people check. I compare your pages with the ones that win and check whether the difference really is links. I also reclaim links you already have but lose to 404s, and clean up your outbound links.
In short
What is a link audit?
A link audit is a review of the links pointing to your site and out of it. It checks whether a lack of links really limits your important pages, which links you lose to dead URLs, whether the site links to dead or suspicious pages, and whether the link profile needs any defense. It ends with a prioritized list of actions.
When it’s worth doing
- An agency or vendor is pitching you links and you want to verify the need
- Important pages sit on page two despite good content
- After a migration or rebuild, many old URLs return 404
- The site has years of history and nobody has checked outbound links
- You see a sudden wave of suspicious links, or got a manual action in Search Console
When to start with something else
If a page doesn’t answer the question it wants to rank for, no links will fix that – start with content strategy or a content audit. If Google doesn’t index important pages, start with an SEO audit.
Scope
What I check
Six areas: from whether links are the problem at all to the hygiene of links you publish yourself.
Link reclamation
URLs that return 404 or redirect nowhere but have links from other sites. A 301 to the closest equivalent recovers the value without earning new links.
Outbound links
Links from your content to dead domains, taken-over and parked sites, 404s, and weak sources. Each one is a worse reader experience and a sign of neglect.
Profile and anchors
Where links come from, how they spread across pages, and what anchor text they use: brand, URL, generic (“here”), and exact match. For a service site, exact-match commercial anchors outnumbering brand and URL anchors is a red flag. Unnatural patterns show up faster in the distribution than in single links.
Negative SEO and disavow
Whether suspicious links are a problem or noise Google ignores anyway. A disavow file only for a manual action or a clear attack – never as prevention.
Internal linking
Whether the value from external links reaches the pages that sell: click depth, orphan pages with no internal links, and whether pages with external links pass it on to service pages.
How I work
From “is it links?” to a list of actions
- 01
Key pages and keywords
We agree which pages and keywords matter for sales. Without that, a link gap is a list of everything you don’t have.
- 02
Three gates
For each page–keyword pair I check intent, leverage, and deficit. Only pairs that pass all three go into the gap.
- 03
Reclamation
A list of dead URLs with links and a redirect map – usually the fastest win in the whole audit.
- 04
Hygiene
A review of outbound links and the profile: what to remove, what to replace, whether anything needs a disavow.
- 05
Actions and sign-off
Prioritized tasks with acceptance criteria: redirects verified, dead links removed, and for pages with a deficit – a plan for which sources make sense.
Link reclamation
Links you already have but don’t use
Referring domains split into those pointing to working pages and those pointing to URLs that return 404. Once the redirects ship, the second group moves into the first – without earning a single new link.
Below, the hygiene side: dead and taken-over domains in your outbound links.
- To working pages
- To 404 URLs
Domains reclaimed via 301
+100
Dead outbound links
−88%
Illustrative example – it shows the report format, not a specific client’s data.
What you get
A yes or no for every important page
Instead of a list of domains to buy, you get an answer on whether a page needs links at all, with the reasoning. Plus a redirect map for lost links and a list of outbound link fixes.
A service page on page two
- Page
- /services/crm-implementation
- Intent
- Match – the winners are service pages too, not guides
- Leverage
- A keyword that brings enquiries, position 12
- Deficit
- None – the winners have a similar number of strong domains
- Verdict
- Links aren’t the problem. Cause: the page stays vague where winners give scope and pricing
Illustrative example – it shows the format, not a specific client’s data.
Honestly
What I don’t do
Reclamation in scope
Redirects for dead URLs with links and outbound link fixes can be verified with a crawler after they ship.
Link acquisition ongoing work
The audit points out the pages that pass all three gates. Link acquisition itself isn’t part of the audit – I only take it on in ongoing engagements.
Buying links no
I don’t sell links or broker their purchase. Undisclosed paid links break Google’s guidelines and put your site at risk.
The most common link audit result isn’t “you need more links.” It’s “you have links you’re not using.”
Pricing
What drives the cost
Scope depends on the size of the profile and the number of important pages. Four things affect the price:
Number of key pages and keywords
A gap for a few service pages is different work from one for hundreds of store categories.
Size of the link profile
A few hundred referring domains are reviewed differently from tens of thousands.
Site history
Migrations, domain changes, and old content mean more dead URLs and outbound links to check.
Implementation support
The report only, or also sign-off of redirects and fixes with a recrawl.
After a short call, I send a proposal with scope, timeline, and price – before any work starts.
Related services
SEO
SEO audit
Technical health, content, links, and AI readiness – findings grouped by root cause, prioritized by business value, each with an acceptance criterion.
MoreContentSEO content strategy
What to publish next: a topic map, intent per page, the gap against competitors, and internal linking that builds authority.
MoreOngoingOngoing SEO consulting
Every month: a plan, sign-off on what shipped, decision-stage content, link acquisition, and AI visibility tracking – reported in leads, not just traffic.
MoreFrequently asked questions
Where does your link data come from?
From the Links report in Search Console, which shows links Google knows about; from a backlink tool (such as Ahrefs), which has a fuller picture and history; and from a site crawl for internal and outbound links. I merge them into one deduplicated list: source page, target page, anchor, status, and first-seen date.
How do you tell a good backlink from a harmful one?
Red flags include sites built only to sell links, networks of related domains, content unrelated to your industry, bulk links with identical anchors, and a sudden spike in links nothing explains. A single weak link is usually noise Google ignores. I only act when a pattern matches Google’s link spam policies or there’s a manual action.
How do I know if links are holding my page back?
Compare your page with the ones winning the same keyword – but first check that they answer the same question. If intent matches, the keyword has value, and the winners have clearly more strong links, links are a real problem. If any of those conditions fails, the cause is somewhere else.
Is buying links worth it?
I don’t recommend it. Undisclosed paid links break Google’s guidelines, and in many cases the page doesn’t need links at all – it needs better content or the links it already has, reclaimed.
What is link reclamation?
Other sites link to URLs that no longer exist on your site, so the value of those links is lost. A 301 to the closest equivalent recovers it without earning new links. After migrations, it’s often the fastest win.
When should you use a disavow file?
When you have a manual action in Search Console for unnatural links, or you see a clear, deliberate attack. Otherwise, Google usually ignores spammy links on its own, and a preventive disavow can hurt if you reject good links.
Why check outbound links?
Domains expire, get taken over and parked, and pages disappear. A link from your article to a dead or hijacked site is a worse reader experience and, at worst, a link to content you don’t want to be associated with.
Do you do link building?
Only in ongoing engagements, not as part of a one-off audit. Links are then earned for pages that passed the three gates, not to hit a monthly link count.
Let’s check whether it’s
really the links.
Tell me which pages don’t rank and what you’ve already tried. I reply within one business day.
Ask about a link audit