# Backlink Checker: Backlinks List, Anchors & Referring Pages (`brightgro/backlinks-list`) Actor

Give domains or page links and get the live backlinks pointing at each one, strongest first: source page, referring domain, anchor text, dofollow, page and domain rank, spam score, first and last seen. For link building, competitor research and audits. Data from the DataForSEO Backlinks API.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/brightgro/backlinks-list.md
- **Developed by:** [Brightgro LLC](https://apify.com/brightgro) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Marketing
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Backlink Checker: Backlinks List, Anchors & Referring Pages

Give domains or page links and get the live backlinks pointing at each one, strongest first. Use it to find a competitor's link sources, vet a site before outreach, audit your own links or feed a link-building list to an AI agent. The data comes from the DataForSEO Backlinks API.

### Who uses it, and for what

- **Link builders:** a competitor's referring domains, strongest first, as an outreach list.
- **SEO audits:** your own links, with spam score, to find the ones to watch or disavow.
- **Agencies and buyers of websites:** vet a domain's links before you take it on or buy it.
- **AI agents:** a flat list of links and anchors per domain.

### Example inputs

The first 100 backlinks of a domain (one `domain` event):

```json
{
  "targets": ["apify.com"],
  "maxBacklinksPerTarget": 100
}
```

Linking sites only, dofollow, for three competitors: an outreach list with one row per site:

```json
{
  "targets": ["semrush.com", "ahrefs.com", "moz.com"],
  "maxBacklinksPerTarget": 500,
  "onePerDomain": true,
  "dofollowOnly": true
}
```

Links to one page rather than the whole domain:

```json
{
  "targets": ["https://apify.com/store"],
  "maxBacklinksPerTarget": 200
}
```

### Input

- Domains or pages: up to 20 a run, for example `apify.com` or `https://apify.com/store`. A domain includes its subdomains; www is removed. Repeats are counted once.
- Backlinks per domain: 10 to 5,000, strongest first. The first 100 are included in the domain price.
- One link per referring domain: on to get a list of linking sites instead of every link.
- Dofollow only: on to skip nofollow links.

### Output

One row per backlink:

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| target | The domain or page checked |
| url_from, domain_from, page_from_title | The page that links, its domain and its title |
| url_to | The page on the target that the link points at |
| anchor, dofollow, link_type | The link text, whether it passes ranking value, and the link kind |
| domain_from_rank, page_from_rank, backlink_rank | Authority of the referring domain, the source page and the link, 0 to 100 |
| spam_score | How spammy the link looks, 0 to 100 |
| domain_from_country, is_new, first_seen, last_seen | Where and when the link was found |

A target with no live backlinks gets a free `no_backlinks` row, and text that is not a domain gets a free `invalid_target` row. A backlink is returned and charged once, even if the source lists it twice, and two spellings of the same page link (for example with and without www.) count as one target.

### Price

- `domain`: one event for each domain or page that returns backlinks. It includes the first 100 backlinks.
- `backlink`: one event for each backlink after the first 100.

The prices are shown on this page. You can set a maximum charge for a run; the run stops before it would go over.

### Limits

- Live backlinks only, from DataForSEO's link index. No index finds every link on the web.
- Up to 5,000 backlinks a target in one run.

### Related actors

- [Ranked Keywords](https://apify.com/brightgro/ranked-keywords): the keywords those links help a competitor rank for.
- [Bulk Domain Metrics](https://apify.com/brightgro/domain-metrics): authority, traffic and spam score for a list of linking domains.
- [Website Traffic, Tech Stack and Backlinks Report](https://apify.com/brightgro/website-report): a one-row summary per site.

# Actor input Schema

## `targets` (type: `array`):

Up to 20 domains (apify.com) or page links (https://apify.com/store). A domain includes its subdomains.

## `maxBacklinksPerTarget` (type: `integer`):

The most backlinks to return for each domain or page, strongest first (10 to 5,000). The first 100 are included in the domain price.

## `onePerDomain` (type: `boolean`):

Return only the strongest link from each referring domain, for a list of linking sites.

## `dofollowOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Return only links that pass ranking value.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "targets": [
    "apify.com"
  ],
  "maxBacklinksPerTarget": 20,
  "onePerDomain": false,
  "dofollowOnly": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Give domains or page links and get the live backlinks pointing at each one, strongest first: source page, referring domain, anchor text, dofollow, page and domain rank, spam score, first and last seen. For link building, competitor research and audits. Data from the DataForSEO Backlinks API.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "targets": [
        "apify.com"
    ],
    "maxBacklinksPerTarget": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("brightgro/backlinks-list").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "targets": ["apify.com"],
    "maxBacklinksPerTarget": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("brightgro/backlinks-list").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "targets": [
    "apify.com"
  ],
  "maxBacklinksPerTarget": 20
}' |
apify call brightgro/backlinks-list --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,brightgro/backlinks-list"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/NbqBloJNtliDE0RSY/builds/38YPI33syL1BI7wpG/openapi.json