Backlink evidence report

See which returned pages link to the site without downloading a giant backlink index. The report keeps what each source returned and limits visible, so a missing row never becomes proof that no link exists.

Install and run the report

Install the CLI once, then run seo start to connect your site and Google data. After setup you can run this report yourself or ask your agent to run it.

Runafter install

Install the SEO CLI globally.

npm i -g seo

Run setup after installation.

seo start

Run review referring link evidence through the report catalog.

seo reports run link-evidence --params '{"provider":"ahrefs","target":"example.com","scope":"domain","rowLimit":100,"limit":100}' --json

What you get from this report

Review limited referring URLs, target pages and anchor text from Ahrefs, DataForSEO, Bing Webmaster or a local export, with source limits kept visible.

Best for: You need concrete referring URLs and anchor text where the source provides it.
Needs: Live provider target or local link export
You get: Review limited referring URLs, target pages and anchor text from Ahrefs, DataForSEO, Bing Webmaster or a local export, with source limits kept visible.
Use next: Recover broken URLs with search value

Every report follows the same rules for missing data and outside estimates.See how report data works.

What you need before you run it

The report uses the information below. Optional sources are only used when you ask for them.

Live provider target or local link export

Provides the referring URL, target URL, and optional anchor text observed by the selected source.

Explicit work and output limits

Bounds provider pages, target pages, file rows, returned rows, parallel requests, and returned detail.

Use a different report for these jobs

These jobs need a different report or a manual review.

You need to find broken internal links or discover links across the current site.

Run a limited site crawl. It follows current internal links and records broken responses rather than importing external referring-link evidence.

Sitemap health check and technical site crawl

You need a complete backlink index or want one provider score turned into a ranking verdict.

Use the provider's own metrics only with their method kept clear. This report cannot turn a backlink sample or Domain Rating into ranking impact.

Needs more evidence

Use the report with an agent or in code

The command above is enough for most work. These options let an agent, script or application run the same report with explicit input and structured output.

Use the report catalog when an agent, script or CI job needs predictable JSON instead of the normal terminal output. Check the current input first, then run the report with the validated parameters.

Check the current input before the agent or script runs the report.

seo reports describe link-evidence --json

Once the input is valid, run the report through the report catalog.

seo reports run link-evidence --params '{"provider":"ahrefs","target":"example.com","scope":"domain","rowLimit":100,"limit":100}' --json

An MCP agent follows the same two-step flow. It inspects the current schema, fills the required fields and only then runs the report.

Ask the MCP server for the current report input.

{
  "id": "link-evidence"
}

Run the report after the agent has checked and filled the input.

{
  "id": "link-evidence",
  "params": {
    "provider": "ahrefs",
    "target": "example.com",
    "scope": "domain",
    "rowLimit": 100,
    "limit": 100
  }
}

Install the package in a Node 22 project when your application needs to run the report directly. The result includes the same evidence, warnings and limits returned through the CLI and MCP server.

Add the SEO package to your project.

npm install seo

Run the report from your TypeScript application.

import { executeReport } from 'seo/mcp'

const result = await executeReport(
  'link-evidence',
  {
  "provider": "ahrefs",
  "target": "example.com",
  "scope": "domain",
  "rowLimit": 100,
  "limit": 100
},
)

console.log(result)

What to do next

Open a selected referring page and confirm the link is still present before making a decision. Use a fresh export or Bing report later when you need to check whether the observed set changed.

01Verify a selected referring URL directly.
02Trace a target URL when it redirects or no longer serves the expected page.

Find broken URLs and weak redirects that still have Search Console value, then decide which pages to restore, redirect or leave alone using search evidence.

Broken link recovery report

Follow every redirect hop from one URL to its final page and check status codes, loops, chains, canonicals and link safety before updating links.

Redirect trace

Check sitemap URL status, redirects and access first. Run the full technical SEO crawl only when you need page content, links, metadata and affected URLs.