Backlinks not being indexed: what it means and what to do
A backlink only helps your site in Google once Google has crawled the page it sits on, seen the link in that page's HTML and kept the page in its index. Many links never get that far. Some sit on pages nobody links to, some are on pages blocked from crawling or marked noindex, some are added by scripts that crawlers do not run, and some carry attributes asking Google not to pass credit. Others are on low-quality pages that Google chooses not to index at all. This guide shows you how to check each of those things for a specific link, what you can change when you control the linking page, what to do when you do not, and why paying for a backlink indexing service is a risk you do not need.
- What an unindexed backlink means
- Why the linking page is not indexed
- How to check a specific backlink
- Link attributes and what they tell Google
- Why backlink indexing services are a bad idea
- A worked example
- The fix, step by step
- Edge cases worth knowing
- Getting links that count from the start
- Questions and answers
What an unindexed backlink means
Google finds links by crawling pages. When Googlebot fetches the page that links to you, it reads the HTML, notes the links and decides whether to keep the page in its index. If the page is never crawled, or is crawled but not indexed, the link has little or no chance of affecting how your site ranks. There is no separate index of backlinks: whether a link counts depends on the page that holds it.
So when people say a backlink is not indexed, they usually mean one of three things:
- Google has not crawled the linking page yet. Common for new pages on small sites, or pages with no other links pointing at them.
- Google cannot or will not index the linking page. It is blocked, marked noindex, behind a login, a duplicate of another page or too thin to be worth keeping.
- The page is indexed but the link is not seen as a normal link. It is added by a script, has no real
href, or carriesnofollow,ugcorsponsored.
Third-party backlink tools build their own indexes with their own crawlers. A link appearing in one of those tools tells you it exists, not that Google has crawled it, and a link missing from a tool does not mean Google has missed it.
Why the linking page is not indexed
| Cause | How it shows | Can the link count? |
|---|---|---|
| Not crawled yet | New page, no links to it from the rest of the site | Later, once crawled and indexed |
| Blocked by robots.txt | A Disallow rule covers the path | No, Google cannot read the page |
| noindex in a meta tag or header | noindex in the HTML or an X-Robots-Tag header | Unlikely; over time Google treats links on long-term noindex pages much like nofollow |
| Behind a login or paywall | Signed-out visitors see a login page | No |
| Link added by JavaScript or without an href | Link missing from View Source, or uses an onclick handler | Only if Google renders the page and finds a real link element |
| Page judged low value or duplicate | Thin directory pages, auto-generated profiles, copied articles | Unlikely while not indexed |
| Link marked nofollow, ugc or sponsored | rel attribute on the link | Treated as a hint not to pass credit |
| Redirects or error status | The page returns 404, 410, 5xx or redirects elsewhere | No, unless the final page carries the link |
The last group in Search Console terms is Crawled, currently not indexed and Discovered, currently not indexed. You can only see those statuses for sites you own, but the reasons are the same for other people's pages. Our guides to crawled, currently not indexed and discovered, currently not indexed explain them in detail, which helps when you are asking a partner to fix their page.
How to check a specific backlink
Start with the address of the page that links to you, not your own page. Search Google for it with the site: operator, for example site:partner.example/partners/, or paste the full address into the search box. If the page appears, it is very likely indexed. If it does not, it may not be, but treat this as a rough check: the operator is not a complete or exact report.
Then check the page itself from the command line. These commands show the status code, any robots header, the robots meta tag and whether your link is in the HTML the server sends:
# Status code and any X-Robots-Tag header
curl -sIL https://partner.example/partners/ | grep -iE "^HTTP|x-robots-tag"
# robots meta tag in the HTML
curl -sL https://partner.example/partners/ | grep -io '<meta[^>]*robots[^>]*>'
# Is your link in the server HTML, and with which rel value?
curl -sL https://partner.example/partners/ | grep -io '<a [^>]*yourdomain\.co\.uk[^>]*>'
# Does robots.txt block the path?
curl -s https://partner.example/robots.txtIf the third command prints nothing, your link is not in the server HTML. Open the page in a browser and compare View Source with the inspected DOM. A link that only appears in the inspected version is built by JavaScript. Google can render JavaScript and follow links it finds there, but only if they are real <a> elements with an href, and rendering can happen later than the first crawl. See JavaScript rendering for crawlers.
When you control the linking page
If the link is on your own other site or a partner gives you access, you have better tools. Add the site to Search Console and use URL Inspection on the linking page: it shows whether the page is indexed, when it was last crawled and whether crawling or indexing is allowed. You can also read the server's access logs to see whether Googlebot has fetched the page at all:
grep -i "googlebot" /var/log/nginx/access.log | grep "/partners/" | tail -5On Plesk, the logs for each domain are under /var/www/vhosts/example.com/logs/. Anyone can set a user agent to Googlebot, so confirm important hits with a reverse DNS lookup on the IP address, which should resolve to googlebot.com or google.com.
Link attributes and what they tell Google
Even on an indexed page, a link's rel attribute changes how Google treats it. Since 2020 Google has treated these values as hints, which means it may still crawl the link but generally does not pass ranking credit through it.
| rel value | Meant for | Typical places |
|---|---|---|
| none | A normal editorial link | Articles, partner pages, resource lists |
nofollow | Links the site does not want to vouch for | Many directories, social profiles, comment areas |
ugc | User-generated content | Forums, comments, community answers |
sponsored | Paid or sponsored placements | Adverts, affiliate links, paid listings |
Links with these attributes are not worthless. They can send real visitors, and a forum answer that people click is worth more to a small business than a link nobody sees. But they are not the same as an editorial link, and no tool can turn them into one. If a site has paid you or been paid for a link, it should carry sponsored; asking for it to be removed so the link passes credit breaks Google's spam policies. The balance of link types across a profile is covered in nofollow ratio.
Why backlink indexing services are a bad idea
Search for ways to get backlinks indexed and you will find services that promise to push any list of links into Google within hours. They work in a few ways, none of which helps you:
- Networks of spam pages that link to your backlinks, so Google discovers them from pages that are themselves low quality.
- Misuse of the Indexing API. Google's Indexing API is only for pages with job posting or livestream structured data. Using it for anything else goes against Google's guidelines for the API, and Google warns that abuse can lead to access being revoked.
- Pinging and submitting to old ping services, which have no effect on Google.
The underlying problem is that the pages these services target are usually unindexed for a reason: they are thin, automated or of little value. Forcing Google to look at them does not change that judgement, and a pattern of manufactured links to your site looks like the link schemes described in Google's spam policies. If you have bought into such a scheme in the past, our toxic backlinks guide explains how to assess the links.
A worked example
A wholesaler adds a small joinery business to a new Our trade partners page. Six weeks later the joiner sees no change and cannot find the page in Google.
Searching with site: for the partners page address returns nothing. The curl checks show a 200 status, no robots header or meta tag, and a plain link with no rel value, so the page could be indexed and the link would count. The problem is discovery: the partners page is linked only from a dashboard behind the wholesaler's trade login, so Googlebot has no way to reach it. The wholesaler's access logs confirm Googlebot has never requested it.
The wholesaler adds a Trade partners link to the public site footer and includes the page in its XML sitemap. Within a week its logs show Googlebot fetching the page, and it starts appearing for a site: search shortly after. A few weeks later the link appears in the joiner's Search Console Links report.
The fix, step by step
Step 1
Find the exact linking page
Write down the full address of the page that links to you, not the site's home page. Open it in a signed-out browser window and confirm you can see your link without logging in or clicking anything. If the page asks for a login, shows a cookie wall that hides content, or does not show your link until you open a tab or accordion, note that, because crawlers see the page the same way.
Step 2
Check whether the page is indexed
Search Google using site: followed by the page address without the protocol, and also try the full address in the search box. If the page appears, it is very likely indexed and you can move on to checking the link itself. If it does not appear, the page is probably not indexed yet. When you control the site, confirm with URL Inspection in Search Console, which gives a definite answer.
Step 3
Check the page can be crawled and indexed
Run the curl commands from this guide against the page. Confirm a 200 status with no redirect away, no noindex in an X-Robots-Tag header or a robots meta tag, and no robots.txt rule blocking the path. Also check that the page's canonical points to itself. If any of these fail, the link cannot count until the site owner changes it, so note exactly which check failed to explain clearly.
Step 4
Confirm the link is a real HTML link
Use curl or View Source to find your link in the HTML the server sends. It should be an a element with an href pointing to your address. Note its rel value: none, nofollow, ugc or sponsored. If the link only appears in the inspected page, it is added by JavaScript; it may still be found once Google renders the page, but a plain HTML link is far more reliable.
Step 5
Ask the site owner for specific changes
If something blocks the link, contact the site owner with the exact problem and the fix: remove the noindex tag, allow the path in robots.txt, link the page from public navigation, or put the link in the HTML rather than a script. Keep the request short and specific. Do not ask for a sponsored or paid link to have its attribute removed, because that would break Google's spam policies.
Step 6
Help discovery where you control the page
If the linking page is yours or a partner's site you manage, link it from a page Google crawls often, such as the footer, the home page or a popular article, and add it to the XML sitemap. Then use URL Inspection to request indexing. Check the server access logs over the following days for Googlebot requests to the page, verifying the hits with a reverse DNS lookup.
Step 7
Give it time and avoid indexing services
Allow several weeks for a new page on a small site to be crawled and indexed, and longer for it to appear in the Links report. Do not pay a backlink indexing service or submit link lists to pinging tools; they rely on spam pages or misuse of Google's Indexing API, and can make your link profile look manipulative. Use the waiting time to earn links on stronger pages instead.
Step 8
Recheck and record the result
After a few weeks, repeat the site: search and the curl checks for each important link, and look for the linking site in the Search Console Links report under Top linking sites. Keep a simple list of your best links with the date checked and their status. Links on pages that stay unindexed after the owner has fixed everything were probably never going to help, so put your effort elsewhere.
Edge cases worth knowing
- The page is indexed but the link is not in the Links report. The report is a sample and updates slowly. If the page is indexed and the link is in its HTML without
nofollow, give it time rather than chasing it. - Canonical to another page. If the linking page points its canonical at a different address, Google may index that one instead. Check that your link also appears on the canonical version.
- Paginated lists. A link on page 14 of a directory may be crawled rarely. Ask for placement on a category page that is closer to the home page.
- Links in PDFs. Google can index PDFs and follow links in them, but only if the PDF itself is crawlable and linked.
- Removed or changed links. Partners redesign pages and links disappear. Our guide to lost backlinks covers checking and reclaiming them.
Getting links that count from the start
- Before agreeing a link, look at the page it will sit on: is it indexed, linked from the site's main navigation or a popular article, and visible without logging in?
- Prefer pages that people actually read. A link in a relevant, well-linked article is crawled often and sends visitors; a link in a forgotten profile page rarely does either.
- For partners and your own other sites, link the page from somewhere crawled often, such as the footer or a busy hub page, and include it in the sitemap.
- Recheck important links every few months, because pages are redesigned, moved or set to noindex without warning.
The wider approach to earning links is covered in the backlinks guide and in backlink outreach.
1. Why are my backlinks not being indexed?
Backlinks are not indexed when Google has not crawled or indexed the page that links to you. The usual reasons are that the page is new and nothing links to it, it is blocked by robots.txt or marked noindex, it sits behind a login, or Google judged it too thin to keep. A link added by JavaScript or marked nofollow may also be treated differently. Check the linking page first, because whether a link counts depends entirely on the page it sits on.
2. How do I check if a backlink is indexed by Google?
You check whether a backlink is indexed by checking whether the page holding it is indexed. Search Google using the site operator with that page's address; if it appears, it is very likely indexed. Then view its source to confirm your link is in the HTML. If you own the linking site, URL Inspection in Search Console gives a definite answer. The Links report in your own Search Console shows a sample of links Google has found, but it is never a complete list.
3. How long does it take for a backlink to be indexed?
A backlink on a popular, frequently updated page can be found within days, while one on a new page of a small site can take several weeks or longer. Google crawls pages it considers important more often, so how quickly a link is found depends on how well linked the page holding it is. After Google has crawled it, the link may take further weeks to appear in the Search Console Links report, which is updated periodically rather than in real time.
4. Do backlink indexing services work?
Backlink indexing services rarely help and can cause harm. Most push your links through networks of spam pages, misuse Google's Indexing API, which is only meant for job postings and livestreams, or ping services Google ignores. The pages they target are usually unindexed because they are low quality, and forcing Google to look at them does not change that. A pattern of manufactured links can resemble the link schemes in Google's spam policies, so the time and money are better spent on earning genuine links.
5. Do nofollow backlinks get indexed?
A nofollow link sits on a page that can be indexed like any other, but the link itself is a hint to Google not to pass ranking credit. Since 2020 Google treats nofollow, ugc and sponsored as hints, so it may still crawl the link and use it for discovery. Nofollow links can bring visitors and help people find your business, so they are worth having where they fit naturally, but they are not the same as an editorial link.
6. Why do backlinks not show in Google Search Console?
Backlinks may not show in Search Console because the Links report only lists a sample of links Google has found and is updated periodically. A new link can take weeks to appear even after Google has crawled it, and links on pages Google has not indexed may never appear. Third-party tools use their own crawlers, so they often list links Search Console does not. If the linking page is indexed and the link is in its HTML, give it time.
7. Can I request indexing for a backlink on someone else's site?
No, you can only request indexing in Search Console for pages on sites you have verified. For someone else's site, ask the owner to make sure the page is crawlable, not marked noindex and linked from somewhere public, such as their main navigation, sitemap or a popular article. Those changes are what really lead to the page being found. Submitting another site's page through third-party tools or ping lists does not reliably help and can look manipulative.
The backlink audit lists the sites and pages linking to you, so you can pick out the links that matter and check each one with the steps in this guide.
Open Backlink Fixes →