Open the page named under Found on, read the reason beside the finding, and look at the link in place. Then do one of four things: remove it, replace it, mark it so it passes no ranking credit, or decide to keep it as it is and say so. Link Signals reports links and never changes your site, so the edit is yours to make.
Choose the fix by the kind of finding
| The finding | Usual fix | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hidden, cloaked or hidden in script | Find where the page gets it (a template, widget or post) and remove it there | Nobody hides a link by accident, so the cause matters more than the link |
| Not registered or expired domain | Replace or remove the link | Anyone can register the name and receive your visitors |
| Parked domain | Replace it with a live page that serves the same purpose, or remove it | The site you linked to has gone and visitors land on an advert |
| Out of context | Work out how the link got there; keep it only if it belongs | A link that does not fit its page is a common sign of an injection |
| Needs review | Read the reason and visit the destination yourself | A keyword or category matched. The scan cannot know your reason for linking |
| Broken | Find the new address, or remove the link | Visitors reach a dead end |
If the link is deliberate
A link you chose is not a mistake, and there are two honest ways to keep it. If it is paid, sponsored or written by visitors, give it the right marker: which rel should a link have explains the options. A marker stops a link passing ranking credit, but visitors can still click it, and the next check will say that it is still flagged.
If you have looked and are content for it to stay, record that. On a monitored site, ignore the finding: it stops counting and stops triggering alerts, and returns only if the link gets more serious. In a one-off report, mark it reviewed, which asks Link Signals to read the page again on the next scan. Neither changes your site.
If there are a lot of them
- Start at the top of the list. Findings are sorted by priority, and the most serious come first.
- Fix by cause rather than by row: one template change can clear dozens of findings.
- Re-check after each session. One re-check reads up to 60 flagged links, most urgent first, so a long list is cleared in rounds.
Where to read more
How a site was compromised, and how to clean it properly, goes beyond what Link Signals does. It finds the links and points at the pages. These explain the rest.
- Check a hacked WordPress site for spam links: which findings to open first, and what a scan will not catch.
- Which rel should a link have: when nofollow, sponsored or ugc is the right marker.
- Google’s guidance on qualifying outbound links: what a search engine asks of sponsored and user-written links.
- Google’s security and hacked-sites documentation: recovery steps if the site itself has been compromised.
- WordPress: my site was hacked: a clean-up checklist for WordPress owners.
Questions
Do I have to fix every finding?
No. Work down the report in the order it gives, most urgent first, as explained in how findings are prioritised. A link you have decided to keep can stay. You can mark it reviewed so the next scan checks it again, and on a monitored site you can ignore a finding so it stops counting and stops alerting. The report does not need to reach zero to be a good result.
Should I remove every flagged link?
No. A flag means the link deserves a look. Some are harmless on inspection, such as a regulator linked from an article about gambling law. Read the reason, visit the destination, then decide.
Can a flagged link wait?
A broken link can. A link to a domain that is not registered, or a hidden link, should not, because both can be used against your visitors while they sit there.
Run a scan, fix what matters, then re-check only the links you changed.
