The 10-Second Link Quality Checklist (5 Questions)
Five yes/no questions to judge any backlink before you chase it, pay for it or worry about it.
Five quick questions that tell you whether a link is worth getting, based on how Google describes links and link spam. Use it on every link offer, directory or guest post before you spend an hour on it.
For: Founders and small teams who get link offers in their inbox and can't tell a good link from a useless or risky one.
- The 5 questions · 5
- Instant red flags: skip without scoring · 5
- What about nofollow links? · 2
- Open the page where your link would appear. Not the homepage, the actual page.
- Answer the 5 questions. Each takes about 2 seconds.
- 4-5 yes: go for it. 2-3: only if it's free and fast. 0-1 or any red flag: skip.
The 5 questions
- 1. Relevant: is the page about something your customers care about?
A link from a related page helps Google understand what you do. Practical advice: a small relevant site beats a big unrelated one.
- 2. Real readers: would a real person ever see this page and click your link?
If no human would click it, it probably won't help you much. This is the quickest gut check for junk directories and link farms.
- 3. Editorial: did someone choose to link to you because your page is useful?
Google's spam policies say links bought, traded or made mainly to manipulate rankings are link spam.
- 4. Real site: does it publish its own useful content, not just pages of outbound links?
Sites that exist to sell links, or pages with hundreds of unrelated links, are the pattern Google's link spam systems target.
- 5. Natural anchor: is the link text your brand, the page name or a plain description?
Google's link best practices ask for descriptive anchor text. Exact-match keyword anchors you asked for are a common sign of a manipulated link (practical advice).
Instant red flags: skip without scoring
- They want money for a 'dofollow' link and no rel="sponsored" tag
Google says paid links should carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". A paid followed link breaks its spam policies.
- 'Guaranteed DA 50+' or a price list per authority score
DA and DR are third-party metrics from Moz and Ahrefs. Google doesn't use them.
- Link exchange: 'I'll link to you if you link to me'
Google lists excessive link exchanges as link spam.
- Hundreds of links in a footer, sidebar or 'partners' page
Widely distributed site-wide links are named in Google's link spam examples.
- The site's content is spun, AI-junk or unrelated to its name
Practical advice: if you wouldn't want a customer to see you there, don't be there.
What about nofollow links?
Most free profile and community links are nofollow, ugc or sponsored. Google treats these as hints, so they may or may not count for ranking. They still bring visitors, help Google discover your site and show you're a real business. Don't skip a relevant link just because it's nofollow. Do skip a link that fails questions 1 and 2, whatever its tag.
And you don't need to panic about spammy links pointing at you. Google says its systems ignore most of them. The disavow tool is for links you built or bought yourself, or after a manual action.
Unlock the full checklist
Everything above, plus the branded PDF to keep.