LinkSignal is a score out of 100 for how healthy a site’s outbound links, and the site itself, are right now. Every site starts at 100 and each kind of problem takes off a fixed number of points, up to a limit for that kind. When the score moves, something that was found or checked is different, and the row that moved says which.
A site’s external LinkSignal is a score out of 100 for its outbound (external) links, and for the link-related health of the site itself, right now. It sits at the top of every report, and the whole method is on the LinkSignal hub.
The rows it is made of
| Row | Rule |
|---|---|
| Hidden, cloaked or script-injected links | 6 points each, up to 30 |
| Links to domains that aren’t registered or have expired | 5 points each, up to 20 |
| Links to parked pages | 4 points each, up to 12 |
| Out of context links | 2 points each, up to 12 |
| Links that need review | 1 point each, up to 8 |
| Broken links | 0.5 points each, up to 8 |
| Your own domain | 15 points if it has expired, 5 if it expires within 60 days |
| Your security certificate | 10 points if it has expired, 5 if it expires within 21 days |
| HTTPS on your site | 10 points if the secure version does not load, 3 if http:// does not send visitors on to https:// |
| Linked domains expiring within 30 days | 0.5 points each, up to 5 |
Scores read as bands: 90 to 100 is Strong, 75 to 89 is Good, 50 to 74 is Needs attention, and below 50 is At risk.
Why the score can change
| What happened | Effect |
|---|---|
| You fixed a link, and a later scan recorded it as gone or no longer flagged | Its points come back, until a row is below its limit. A row at its limit can hide one fix. |
| A new link was flagged | Points are taken off in the row it belongs to. |
| A domain you link to renewed, or came within 30 days of expiring | The linked-domains row changes, though nothing on your pages did. |
| A scan stopped early | It is scored on the pages it read and labelled Provisional, so compare with care. |
| A check did not record your own site | Those rows are left out and marked as not recorded. |
What does not change it
- Your priority order. It changes what you see first, never the score.
- Marking a finding reviewed or ignoring it. A note to yourself is not a fix.
On a rescan the score is shown with how it moved since the scan before. On the Sites page it is a line over time, with a point for each check. See see how a site is changing and rescan and compare.
Questions
Does a score of 100 mean nothing is wrong?
It means nothing was found in what was checked. Domains you link to can lapse and sites can change hands without anything changing on your pages, so a clean score is true on the day it was worked out.
Where do I see my LinkSignal?
At the top of every report, with the How this is worked out rows beneath it, and as a line over time on the Sites page. A hollow point is a check that stopped early, and a green point is a re-check.
Why does a re-check not change the original score?
A re-check makes its own report and leaves the scan it was run on as it was. The points for a fixed link come back when a later scan records the link as gone.
Run a scan and your LinkSignal is at the top of the report.
