Backlink Audit Template: Free Spreadsheet & Guide [2026]

A systematic backlink audit protects your site from algorithm penalties and identifies opportunities to improve your link profile. This template provides the complete framework for auditing backlinks, from data collection through action planning.

Use this template quarterly for ongoing maintenance, or immediately if you suspect link quality issues affecting your rankings.

When to Conduct a Backlink Audit#

Scheduled Audits#

| Audit Type | Frequency | Purpose | |------------|-----------|---------| | Quick health check | Monthly | Monitor key metrics | | Standard audit | Quarterly | Identify new issues | | Comprehensive audit | Annually | Deep profile analysis |

Triggered Audits#

Conduct an immediate audit when:

Rankings drop significantly with no obvious cause
You receive a manual action notice from Google
You've acquired a domain with unknown link history
Competitor negative SEO is suspected
Major algorithm update affects your niche
You've recently disavowed links and want to verify

Audit Process Overview#

Phase 1: Data Collection
    ↓
Phase 2: Profile Overview Analysis
    ↓
Phase 3: Link-by-Link Evaluation
    ↓
Phase 4: Categorisation
    ↓
Phase 5: Action Planning
    ↓
Phase 6: Execution
    ↓
Phase 7: Documentation

Phase 1: Data Collection Template#

Required Exports#

| Source | What to Export | Format | |--------|---------------|--------| | Ahrefs | Referring Domains | CSV | | Semrush | Backlinks | CSV | | Moz | Linking Domains | CSV | | Google Search Console | External Links | CSV |

Master Data Consolidation#

Combine all exports into a single master spreadsheet with these columns:

| Column | Field | Source | |--------|-------|--------| | A | Source Domain | All exports | | B | Source URL | All exports | | C | Target URL | All exports | | D | Anchor Text | All exports | | E | Link Type | Tool data | | F | First Seen | Tool data | | G | Last Seen | Tool data | | H | Source DA/DR | Ahrefs/Moz | | I | Source Traffic | Semrush/SimilarWeb | | J | Spam Score | Moz | | K | Found In | Which tool(s) |

Deduplication Process#

Sort by Source Domain
Remove exact duplicate rows
For same domain, different pages: Keep all unique source URLs
Record final count vs. starting count

Starting links: _______________ After deduplication: _______________ Duplicates removed: _______________

Phase 2: Profile Overview Analysis#

High-Level Metrics#

Complete this summary before detailed analysis:

| Metric | Value | Benchmark | Status | |--------|-------|-----------|--------| | Total referring domains | ___ | N/A | | | Total backlinks | ___ | N/A | | | DoFollow percentage | ___% | 70-85% | | | Referring domain growth (6 mo) | ___ | Positive | | | Average source DA | ___ | 25+ ideal | | | Links from DA 50+ | ___ | 10%+ ideal | | | Links from DA 10- | ___ | <30% ideal | |

Anchor Text Distribution#

| Anchor Type | Count | Percentage | Target Range | Status | |-------------|-------|------------|--------------|--------| | Branded (company name) | ___ | ___% | 30-40% | | | Naked URL | ___ | ___% | 20-30% | | | Generic ("click here", etc.) | ___ | ___% | 10-20% | | | Exact match keyword | ___ | ___% | <5% | | | Partial match keyword | ___ | ___% | 10-20% | | | Other/Misc | ___ | ___% | Variable | |

Red flags:

[ ] Exact match anchors exceed 5%
[ ] Single anchor type dominates (>50%)
[ ] Branded anchors below 20%

Top Referring Domains Review#

List your top 20 referring domains by link count:

| Rank | Domain | Links | DA | Relevant? | Concern? | |------|--------|-------|----|-----------| ---------| | 1 | | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | ... | | | | | | | 20 | | | | | |

Questions to answer:

Are these legitimate, relevant sites?
Is any single domain providing excessive links?
Are there obvious spam domains in the top 20?

Phase 3: Link-by-Link Evaluation#

Evaluation Criteria#

For each link, assess these factors:

Domain Quality (0-3 points) | Score | Criteria | |-------|----------| | 3 | DA 40+, real traffic, legitimate site | | 2 | DA 20-39, some traffic, appears legitimate | | 1 | DA 10-19, minimal traffic, questionable | | 0 | DA <10, no traffic, clear spam signals |

Relevance (0-3 points) | Score | Criteria | |-------|----------| | 3 | Same industry, directly relevant topic | | 2 | Related industry, tangentially relevant | | 1 | Different industry, weak relevance | | 0 | Completely unrelated, no logical connection |

Trust Signals (0-3 points) | Score | Criteria | |-------|----------| | 3 | Established site, clear ownership, professional | | 2 | Legitimate site, standard trust indicators | | 1 | Limited trust signals, some concerns | | 0 | No trust indicators, suspicious patterns |

Spam Indicators (-3 to 0) | Score | Criteria | |-------|----------| | 0 | No spam signals | | -1 | Minor spam indicators (excessive ads, thin content) | | -2 | Moderate spam signals (link farm patterns, PBN indicators) | | -3 | Clear spam site (known bad neighborhood, malware) |

Total Link Score#

Total Score = Domain Quality + Relevance + Trust Signals + Spam Indicators

| Score Range | Category | Action | |-------------|----------|--------| | 7-9 | High Quality | Keep, no action needed | | 4-6 | Acceptable | Keep, monitor | | 1-3 | Low Quality | Review, consider disavow | | 0 or negative | Toxic | Disavow recommended |

Phase 4: Categorisation Template#

Link Categories#

Sort all evaluated links into these categories:

Category A: High Quality (Keep)

Score 7-9
Valuable editorial links
Relevant, authoritative sources

| Domain | Link Score | Notes | |--------|------------|-------| | | | |

Category B: Acceptable (Keep, Monitor)

Score 4-6
Low but not harmful
May improve site reputation over time

| Domain | Link Score | Notes | |--------|------------|-------| | | | |

Category C: Low Quality (Review)

Score 1-3
Some spam signals
Questionable value

| Domain | Link Score | Notes | Decision | |--------|------------|-------|----------| | | | | |

Category D: Toxic (Disavow)

Score 0 or negative
Clear spam patterns
Known bad neighborhoods

| Domain | Link Score | Spam Signals | Priority | |--------|------------|--------------|----------| | | | | |

Category Summary#

| Category | Count | Percentage | Action | |----------|-------|------------|--------| | A: High Quality | ___ | ___% | No action | | B: Acceptable | ___ | ___% | Monitor | | C: Low Quality | ___ | ___% | Review case-by-case | | D: Toxic | ___ | ___% | Disavow | | Total | ___ | 100% | |

Phase 5: Action Planning#

Removal Request Template#

Before disavowing, attempt removal for accessible sites:

Subject: Link removal request - [Your Domain]

Hello,

I'm reaching out regarding a link from your site to ours:

From: [Source URL]
To: [Your URL]

We're conducting a link profile cleanup and have identified
this link as one we'd like removed. This isn't a reflection
on your site specifically—we're simply cleaning up our
overall profile.

Would you be able to remove this link?

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you,
[Your Name]
[Your Website]

Removal Tracking#

| Domain | Request Sent | Response | Outcome | Disavow? | |--------|--------------|----------|---------|----------| | | | | | |

Process:

Send removal request
Wait 2-4 weeks for response
Send one follow-up if no response
Move non-responsive to disavow list

Disavow File Template#

# Backlink Audit - [Date]
# [Your Domain] link profile cleanup
# Total domains disavowed: [count]

# Category: Link farms
# Evidence: [brief description]
domain:spamsite1.com
domain:spamsite2.com

# Category: Comment spam
# Evidence: Automated comment links
domain:commentspam1.com
domain:commentspam2.com

# Category: Irrelevant foreign language sites
# Evidence: No topical relevance, low quality
domain:foreignspam1.com

# Individual URLs (domain otherwise acceptable)
# Reason: [specific reason for URL-level disavow]
https://goodsite.com/spammy-page/

Disavow Best Practices#

DO:

Disavow at domain level for obvious spam sites
Use URL-level disavow when only specific pages are problematic
Include comments explaining your reasoning
Keep a backup of all disavow file versions

DON'T:

Disavow good links out of excessive caution
Submit disavow file without thorough review
Forget to document your decisions
Disavow competitor links (unless genuinely spammy)

Phase 6: Execution Checklist#

Pre-Submission Checklist#

[ ] All toxic links reviewed individually (not just spam score)
[ ] Removal requests sent and allowed time for response
[ ] Disavow file formatted correctly
[ ] Disavow file reviewed by second person (if available)
[ ] Documentation complete
[ ] Backup of current disavow file saved

Submission Process#

Go to Google Search Console
Navigate to Links section
Access Disavow Links tool
Select property
Upload disavow file
Confirm submission

Post-Submission#

[ ] Record submission date: _______________
[ ] Set reminder for 2-week check
[ ] Set reminder for 30-day review
[ ] Set reminder for 90-day comprehensive review

Phase 7: Documentation Template#

Audit Summary Report#

Audit Details | Field | Value | |-------|-------| | Audit date | | | Auditor | | | Tools used | | | Time spent | |

Profile Summary | Metric | Before Audit | After Cleanup | |--------|--------------|---------------| | Total referring domains | | | | Average domain authority | | | | Spam score distribution | | | | Toxic link percentage | | |

Actions Taken | Action | Count | |--------|-------| | Links reviewed | | | Removal requests sent | | | Removals achieved | | | Domains disavowed | | | URLs disavowed | |

Findings

[Summary of main issues discovered]
[Patterns identified]
[Recommendations for future]

Next Steps

[ ] Schedule next audit: [date]
[ ] Monitor [specific concerns]
[ ] Implement [preventive measures]

Toxic Link Red Flags#

Immediate Disavow Signals#

These characteristics indicate clear spam—disavow without hesitation:

| Signal | Description | |--------|-------------| | Porn/gambling/pharma spam | Links from unrelated adult, gambling, or pharmaceutical sites | | Known link networks | Sites identified as PBNs or link farms | | Hacked sites | Sites that have been compromised | | Exact match anchor farms | Multiple links with exact keyword anchors | | Foreign language spam | Irrelevant foreign sites with no logical connection | | Sitewide footer/sidebar links | Manipulative site-wide placements |

Review Required Signals#

These need case-by-case evaluation:

| Signal | Evaluation Needed | |--------|------------------| | Low DA sites | Is it a legitimate new site or spam? | | Directory links | Is the directory legitimate or spam? | | Forum/comment links | Natural participation or spam? | | Reciprocal links | Natural relationship or scheme? |

Ongoing Monitoring Setup#

Alert Configuration#

Set up monitoring to catch issues early:

| Monitor | Tool | Frequency | Alert Threshold | |---------|------|-----------|-----------------| | New backlinks | Ahrefs/Semrush | Weekly | Any new link | | Lost backlinks | Ahrefs/Semrush | Weekly | Any lost link | | Spam score changes | Moz | Monthly | >10% increase | | Referring domain drops | Any tool | Monthly | >5% loss |

Monthly Quick Check#

| Check | Status | Notes | |-------|--------|-------| | New links reviewed for spam | | | | Lost valuable links identified | | | | Spam score stable | | | | No new toxic patterns | | |

Backlink Audit Guide - Complete audit methodology
Toxic Links Guide - Identifying harmful links
Disavow File Guide - When and how to disavow
Link Quality Checklist - Evaluating link quality
Competitor Analysis Template - Benchmark against competitors

Backlink Audit Template: Complete Spreadsheet and Process Guide