A site’s external LinkSignal is a score out of 100 for its outbound links, and for the link-related health of the site itself. It is Link Signals’ own metric, worked out only from what this tool finds and checks. Start here, then open the page for any part of the score.
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. A site starts at 100, and each kind of problem takes off a fixed number of points each time it is found, up to a limit for that kind.
| Score | Band |
|---|---|
| 90 to 100 | Strong |
| 75 to 89 | Good |
| 50 to 74 | Needs attention |
| 0 to 49 | At risk |
Links that visitors cannot see, or that have nothing to do with the page they sit on. These cost the most, because they are the usual sign of injected spam.
The part of a site’s external LinkSignal that costs the most per link, because a link hidden from visitors is the usual sign of a hacked site.
LinkSignal: out of context linksThe part of a site’s external LinkSignal for risky links that look out of place, such as a casino link in a recipe, without being hidden.
Links to domains that are gone, for sale, or about to run out. Anyone can register them, and your visitors and credit would go to whoever does.
The most costly kind of link in the domain group: a link to a name anyone could register today. This page covers what is counted, what is not, and what to do.
LinkSignal: parked linksA parked link goes to a placeholder or a for-sale page. This page explains how one is recognised, what it costs, and how to clear it.
LinkSignal: linked domains expiringA warning row, not a failure: domains you link to that run out within 30 days. This page covers how they are counted and how the 90-day list and monitoring alerts relate.
Links that are flagged but need a person to look: risky destinations that don’t fit a simple rule, and dead ends.
Checked once per scan, about the site you scanned rather than the sites it links to: its domain, its certificate and its HTTPS.
Your site’s own domain is checked once per scan. A domain that has expired costs more than one that is close to expiry, and nothing is scored if the registry publishes no date.
LinkSignal: your certificateThe certificate your site presents is read once per scan. An expired certificate costs more than one close to expiry, because visitors are shown a warning page.
LinkSignal: HTTPS on your siteThree things are read: whether https:// loads, whether http:// sends visitors on to it, and HSTS. The first two cost points. HSTS is shown but costs nothing.
Shown beside the score, not part of it: how much of the ranking credit your followed links pass on goes to a flagged destination.
On a rescan the score is shown with how it moved. On the Sites page it is a line, with a point for each check.
A rescan is labelled as one, counted the same way as the scan it repeats, and compared with it link by link. Nothing in the comparison is guessed.
See how a site is changing in Link SignalsOne scan is a snapshot. The Sites page puts your checks side by side so you can see whether a site is getting cleaner or worse, and what changed.
Re-check the links you have fixedYou don’t need a full scan to find out whether a fix worked. Re-check just the flagged links, and you get a new report set against the one you started from.
How to read your Link Signals reportA scan can return hundreds of links. The report is built so the ones worth your time come first, in a set order. This guide explains each part.