A full scan reads the whole sitemap. A re-check reads only the pages your flagged links are on, so it takes a minute or two. The result is a new report, and the one you were looking at is not changed.
Read the full video transcript
- Fix what you canRemove or replace the links, or add the right rel marker where that is enough.
- Open the report and choose Re-checkOn the Overview tab, select Re-check the flagged links, or Only the ones I’ve reviewed if you have marked some.
- Leave it runningIt carries on in the background, up to 60 links at a time, and you are taken to the new report when it’s done.
What changes in the report
| What it finds | What happens |
|---|---|
| The link is gone, or its page no longer exists | It is not in the new report, and is recorded as resolved. |
| The link is still there but no longer flagged | It is not in the new report, and is recorded as no longer flagged. It is not counted as fixed, because the link is still on the page. |
| The link is still flagged | It stays, updated with what we found now. If you had reviewed it, it is reopened. |
| We couldn’t read the page, or the other site wouldn’t answer | It is left exactly as it was. That tells us nothing, so nothing is marked fixed. |
The numbers at the top, the cards and the Sites page all follow, and a monitored site’s stored findings are brought in line too, so the next check doesn’t start from stale results.
What it costs
Only links actually looked at count against your monthly link checks, the same as any other check. A link that couldn’t be checked isn’t counted. Re-checks run one at a time for a report, and you can start a few an hour.
When to re-check instead of scanning again
Use a re-check when you have fixed things and want to know whether it worked. It is quicker than a full scan, uses far fewer link checks and gives you a new report to set against the one you have open. Run a full scan when you have changed a lot of the site, or want to find problems you haven’t seen yet.
- You fixed a handful of links. Re-check them and watch the numbers at the top change.
- You are working through the action plan across several days. Re-check at the end of each session so the report always shows where you really are.
- You have a client report to send. Re-check first, then share the report so it shows the up-to-date position.
What to expect when it runs
The re-check panel at the bottom of the overview shows progress. Each flagged link is looked at in turn, most urgent first, and when the re-check is finished the numbers, the cards and the findings table refresh. You can leave the page, because it carries on in the background, and the result is waiting when you return.
If a link stays flagged
The note on the finding says what was seen. Common reasons are that the link is still on another page you didn’t change, or that the destination is still a problem even with a nofollow marker. Fix that, then re-check again. You can do this as often as you need, within your monthly allowance.
A tip for large reports
A single re-check looks at up to 60 links, starting with the most urgent. If a report has more flagged links than that, fix and re-check in rounds. Each round clears the most urgent ones, and the next round reaches the rest.
Questions
Does a re-check count as a new scan in my history?
It makes a new report, labelled as a re-check, and leaves the scan it was run on exactly as it was. On the Sites page it shows as its own check, in green, so the history never loses what an earlier scan found.
Will it find new problems on pages I didn’t touch?
No. It only looks at links that were already flagged. Run a new scan or use monitoring for new ones.
What if the other site is down when it runs?
A link we couldn’t check is left exactly as it was and isn’t marked fixed. Try again later.
How this counts in your LinkSignal
A re-check reads only the pages your flagged links were on and makes its own report. It does not rewrite the scan it was run on, so the LinkSignal of that scan stays as it was, and the re-check shows what changed in the findings that feed it. Fixed links stop costing points once a scan records them as gone or no longer flagged. See the LinkSignal overview for the rows. LinkSignal is Link Signals’ own metric, worked out only from what this tool finds, and it is not connected to any search engine or third-party score.
Open a report and re-check what you’ve fixed.
