To access Semrush Backlink Audit, log in to Semrush, open the SEO Toolkit, select Backlink Audit, choose or create the relevant Folder, enter your domain and configure the campaign. Once the audit runs, Semrush organises your backlinks, highlights suspicious signals and helps you decide which links need manual review.
This guide explains how to access Semrush Backlink Audit, set it up correctly, interpret Toxicity Scores and review suspicious backlinks without automatically removing or disavowing legitimate links.
What Is a Backlink Audit?
A backlink audit is the process of reviewing the websites and pages that link to your domain. The goal is to understand the quality, relevance and risk signals within your backlink profile, not simply to delete every link that looks unusual.
A backlink audit can help you:
- Identify suspicious or manipulative backlinks that deserve investigation.
- Find valuable links pointing to deleted or redirected pages.
- Review branded, commercial and unusual anchor-text patterns.
- Understand which pages naturally attract authoritative backlinks.
- Build a stronger link-building strategy.
It is important to remember that an SEO tool marking a backlink as toxic does not mean Google has penalised your website. Semrush uses its own Toxicity Score and Toxic Markers to prioritise links for review. The final decision should still be made manually.
How to Access Semrush Backlink Audit
Follow these steps to find the Backlink Audit tool:
- Log in to your Semrush account.
- Open the SEO Toolkit.
- Select Backlink Audit.
- Choose an existing Folder or create a new one.
- Enter the domain you want to analyse.
- Configure the campaign scope, brand settings, categories and target countries.
- Start the audit and allow Semrush to collect the backlink data.
If you cannot find the tool in the navigation, use Semrush’s internal search and search for “Backlink Audit.” Limits, reports, exports and recrawl frequency can vary by plan.
How to Set Up a Semrush Backlink Audit
- Open Backlink Audit: Select the tool from the Semrush SEO Toolkit.
- Choose a Folder: Select an existing Folder or create one for the website you want to audit.
- Configure the campaign: Set the audit scope, brand name, categories and target countries.
- Run the audit: Allow Semrush to collect and analyse the backlink profile.
- Add integrations: After the campaign is created, connect Google Search Console, Google Analytics or other supported sources from Integrations where useful.
Step 1: Choose the Correct Campaign Scope
The first setup decision is which part of the website you want to audit. Depending on your website structure, Semrush can analyse the complete root domain, a subdomain or a narrower website section.
For most websites, the root domain gives the clearest overall picture. A narrower scope can make sense when a blog sits on a separate subdomain, you are investigating one product area or separate teams manage different website sections.
Step 2: Add Your Brand Name and Variations
Add your official brand name and common variations. This gives Semrush more context when it evaluates branded and compound anchor text.
- Your primary brand name.
- Common abbreviations.
- Previous company names.
- Common spelling variations.
- Important product names that appear in link anchors.
Step 3: Select Relevant Website Categories
Select the categories that best describe your company, product and audience. For example, a B2B SaaS company might choose categories related to software, business services, data, marketing or finance.
Do not select every category. Choose the options that genuinely represent the site so Semrush has better context when evaluating referring domains.
Step 4: Choose Your Target Countries
Select the markets where your business operates or where your target audience is concentrated.
A foreign backlink is not automatically harmful. International publications, software directories, partners, customers and industry websites can all create legitimate links. Treat country information as context rather than an automatic reason to remove a backlink.
Step 5: Run the Audit and Connect Integrations
Start the campaign and allow Semrush to collect the backlink profile. After the audit is created, use the Integrations options to connect supported data sources such as Google Search Console and Google Analytics where you have access.
These integrations can add useful context. Search Console can provide additional links discovered through Google’s data, while Analytics can help show whether users have arrived from referring domains. The audit can still be useful without these integrations.
Understanding the Semrush Backlink Audit Overview
The Overview report gives you a summary of the backlink profile and highlights patterns worth investigating. Depending on your account and campaign configuration, you may see metrics for analysed backlinks, referring domains, new and lost links, follow and nofollow links, Authority Score, anchor text and overall toxicity.
Use this screen to identify patterns rather than making immediate removal decisions. Investigate further when you notice sudden increases in unrelated links, repeated commercial anchors, hacked or malware-infected referring pages, templated link creation or suspicious activity after a link-building campaign.
How to Review Individual Backlinks in Semrush
Open the Audit report to review links individually. Semrush can organise links into groups such as For Review, Whitelist and All Links. You can also group and filter links by domain, URL and other attributes to make large backlink profiles easier to review.
Check Topical Relevance
Ask whether the referring website and page are genuinely connected to your company, product, market or subject matter. A lower-authority website can still provide a legitimate backlink when the context is relevant.
Review the Referring Page
Open the actual referring page and check whether it contains original, useful content. Warning signs can include copied content, malware warnings, deceptive redirects, obvious link networks or pages filled with unrelated outgoing links.
Examine the Anchor Text
Branded, descriptive and naturally varied anchor text is normal. A backlink profile dominated by identical commercial keywords can deserve closer investigation, especially when those links were deliberately created.
Consider Authority and Organic Visibility
Authority metrics can help prioritise your review, but they should not be used alone. A low Domain Rating or Authority Score does not prove a link is harmful. A high-authority domain can also contain poor-quality or manipulated pages.
Review the Toxic Markers
Semrush uses more than 45 Toxic Markers to identify signals that may deserve attention. These can relate to suspicious anchor-text patterns, link networks, spam indicators, referring-site quality and other characteristics.
A Toxic Marker is a warning signal, not proof that Google considers a link manipulative.
What Does the Semrush Toxicity Score Mean?
Semrush assigns potentially suspicious backlinks a Toxicity Score from 0 to 100. A higher score means Semrush has detected more signals that may warrant manual review.
The score is not a Google metric, does not confirm a penalty and does not prove that the backlink should be removed.
Before taking action, review the referring website, exact linking page, surrounding content, anchor text, reason the link exists and whether your company or an agency deliberately created it.
Never automatically remove or disavow every backlink above a particular Toxicity Score.
Should You Remove or Disavow Toxic Backlinks?
Most websites should not disavow backlinks simply because an SEO tool labels them as toxic.
Google recommends considering disavowal when a considerable number of spammy, artificial or low-quality links point to a site and those links have caused, or are likely to cause, a manual action. The Disavow Tool is an advanced feature, and using it incorrectly can cause Google to ignore legitimate links.
| Backlink situation | Recommended action |
|---|---|
| Relevant editorial or branded link | Keep or whitelist it. |
| Unfamiliar but harmless-looking link | Review and monitor it. |
| Automatically generated spam link you did not create | Usually no action unless there is broader manual-action risk. |
| Paid or manipulative link created by your team | Request removal. |
| Manipulative link that cannot be removed and creates manual-action risk | Consider disavowing after careful review. |
| Valuable link pointing to a broken page | Restore the page or add an appropriate redirect. |
How to Request Backlink Removal in Semrush
When a backlink genuinely needs to be removed, move it to the Remove list, open the Remove report, connect an authorised email account if you want to manage outreach through Semrush, confirm the website owner’s contact details and send a clear removal request.
Keep a record of your outreach if you are resolving an unnatural-links manual action. Documentation can help show that you made a genuine effort to remove deliberately manipulated links.
How to Create a Disavow File Using Semrush
Only proceed when disavowal is genuinely necessary.
- Move the relevant URL or domain to the Disavow list.
- Choose whether you want to disavow the individual URL or the entire domain.
- Export the disavow list as a text file.
- Manually review every entry.
- Upload the final file through Google’s Disavow Links Tool.
Disavowing an entire domain is broader than disavowing one URL. Use domain-level disavowal only when you are confident that links across that domain are manipulative or create genuine risk.
Uploading a new disavow file replaces the existing file for that Search Console property, so preserve any legitimate existing entries before submitting an updated version.
Semrush Backlink Audit vs Backlink Analytics
The two Semrush tools serve different purposes:
| Tool | Best used for |
|---|---|
| Backlink Audit | Reviewing potentially suspicious backlinks, assessing risk and managing removal or disavow workflows. |
| Backlink Analytics | Exploring backlink profiles, comparing competitors and finding link-building opportunities. |
Use Backlink Audit when you need to assess risk or investigate unusual links. Use Backlink Analytics when you want to study competitors, referring domains and outreach opportunities. You can also learn how to find competitor backlinks using Ahrefs if you use both platforms.
Common Semrush Backlink Audit Mistakes
Automatically Trusting the Toxicity Score
The score is a starting point for investigation, not a final verdict. Open the referring page and assess the link manually before taking action.
Treating Every Foreign Website as Spam
A website’s country or language does not determine whether its backlink is legitimate. Review the quality and context of the page instead.
Focusing Only on Domain-Level Metrics
Relevance, editorial context, anchor text and referring-page quality are often more useful than one authority metric.
Disavowing Links Without Checking Search Console
Review the Manual Actions report in Google Search Console before assuming suspicious backlinks have caused a penalty.
Confusing Removal With Disavowal
Removal means asking for the backlink to be deleted from the referring website. Disavowal asks Google not to use the specified link or domain when evaluating your site.
Expecting an Immediate Ranking Increase
Completing a backlink audit does not guarantee improved rankings. The outcome depends on whether problematic links were affecting the site or contributing to a manual action.
Semrush Backlink Audit Checklist
- Select the correct audit scope.
- Add your brand name and important variations.
- Select accurate categories and target countries.
- Run the audit and connect Search Console or Analytics where useful.
- Review high-risk backlinks manually.
- Check unusual anchor-text patterns.
- Investigate sudden spikes in new backlinks.
- Check the Manual Actions report before assuming there is a Google penalty.
- Attempt removal before considering disavowal when appropriate.
- Manually review any disavow file before uploading it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Backlink Audit Tool in Semrush?
Log in to Semrush, open the SEO Toolkit and select Backlink Audit. Choose an existing Folder or create one, then configure the domain you want to audit.
Can I use Semrush Backlink Audit for free?
Access and limits depend on your current Semrush account and plan. Available reports, export limits and recrawl frequency can vary.
How long does a Semrush backlink audit take?
There is no universal completion time. It depends on the size of the backlink profile and the amount of data Semrush needs to process.
Is a high Semrush Toxicity Score a Google penalty?
No. Toxicity Score is a proprietary Semrush metric. It is not a Google ranking metric and does not confirm that Google has penalised the website.
Should I disavow every toxic backlink?
No. Review suspicious links manually. Most websites should not use Google’s Disavow Tool simply because an SEO platform labels a link as toxic.
What is the difference between Backlink Analytics and Backlink Audit?
Backlink Analytics is used to explore and compare backlink profiles. Backlink Audit is designed for reviewing potentially suspicious links and managing removal or disavow workflows.
What to Do After Completing the Audit
A backlink audit should not focus only on removing links. Use the findings to recover valuable links pointing to broken pages, understand which content earns natural editorial links and improve future outreach and link-building decisions.
Backlink quality is only one part of SEO performance. Technical issues, content quality, internal linking and search intent also affect whether pages rank.
Use OneMetrik’s free website audit tool to identify additional technical and on-page issues. You can also view OneMetrik’s Semrush Agency Partner profile or explore how our SEO agency turns technical, content and backlink findings into a prioritised growth plan.