SERP Indexing Speed
How recently Google indexed content from the target domain. A site not crawled in 90+ days is a risky backlink target — Google isn't paying attention to it.
Free Tool · Chrome Extension · No Login
Free Backlink Safety Checker:
Score Any Site Before You Link
Get a 0–100 backlink safety score for any website in seconds. Checks sitemap freshness, SERP indexing speed, spam risk, technical health and link profile. Everything runs locally in your browser. No API key or account required.
Free: 20 checks/day · Pro: Unlimited + Bulk scanner + CSV export · from $79/yr
What Gets Checked
5 Backlink Safety Signals
Checked Instantly
Every check runs inside your browser. No data leaves your device. No paid APIs.
Sitemap Freshness
Checks 15 sitemap paths. A stale or missing sitemap means the site owner isn't actively managing their content — a red flag for any link builder.
Spam Risk Score
8 heuristics including TLD reputation, robots.txt status, nofollow-only policy, and feed staleness. Shown as a clear Low / Medium / High badge. Learn more →
Technical Health
Checks for noindex directives, blocked robots.txt, missing canonicals and broken meta tags. A noindexed site passes zero link juice regardless of domain authority.
Link Profile
Analyses the follow vs. nofollow ratio on the most recently indexed page. Nofollow-only sites are flagged as spam risk and score low on link profile.
Fast Indexer Bonus
If Google indexes new content within 7 days, the site earns a teal ⚡ badge and bonus points. These sites are the most valuable for backlink campaigns.
How to use
Check a Site's Backlink Safety
in 4 Steps
No dashboard, no signup, no waiting. Install once and check any site instantly.
1
Install the extension
Free from the Chrome Web Store. No account or email required.
2
Search the target domain
Go to Google and search
site:targetdomain.com filtered to "Past year".3
Open the popup
Click the SEO Readiness icon. The extension scans all 7 signals automatically.
4
Read your verdict
85+ = safe to scale. Always review the Spam Risk badge before committing to a link.
Score reference guide
85+
Excellent: Safe to Scale
Build backlinks at full pace. All signals healthy.
70+
Good: Scale Slowly
Moderate link building. Monitor indexing frequency.
40+
Needs Work: Fix First
Fix sitemap and content issues before scaling links.
<40
Critical: Do Not Build
Severe indexing or technical issues. Avoid for now.
Pro Feature
Check 20+ Backlink Sites at Once
For serious link builders: paste your whole prospect list, scan all at once, export CSV for client delivery.
FAQ
Backlink Checker Questions
What does a backlink safety checker actually check?
SEO Readiness checks 7 signals: SERP indexing recency (how recently Google crawled the site), sitemap freshness, RSS/Atom content activity, technical health (noindex, canonical, meta), link profile (follow vs nofollow ratio), Fast Indexer bonus, and Content Volume bonus. All run locally in Chrome.
What score should I look for before building a backlink?
85+ (Excellent) is safe to scale. 70–84 (Good) is fine with moderate velocity. 40–69 (Needs Work): wait. Below 40: avoid entirely. Always also check the Spam Risk badge. A 75-point site with High Spam Risk should still be avoided. See full score guide →
Is it really free?
Yes. Full scoring (all 7 signals) is free with 20 scans/day. Pro unlocks unlimited scans, bulk scanning 20+ domains at once, and CSV export. $79/year, no hidden fees.
How is it different from Ahrefs or Moz?
Tools like Ahrefs focus on backlink database metrics (DR, UR, referring domains). SEO Readiness checks live real-time signals: how recently Google indexed the site, whether the sitemap is fresh, whether the content feed is active. Both types of data are useful; this gives you the "is Google paying attention right now?" answer.
Start Checking Backlink Safety
For Free
Install the Chrome extension. No account. No API key. 20 free checks per day.