Semrush Backlink Audit: how to run it and what to do with the result

Semrush Backlink Audit is a project tool that pulls your referring domains, scores each link against its own toxicity markers, and gives you three actions per link: whitelist, add to a removal list, or add to a disavow file. Set it up by connecting Google Search Console and Google Analytics so the link set is as complete as possible, then review by referring domain rather than by individual URL. The important judgement comes after the scan: a high toxicity score is Semrush's assessment, not Google's, and Google's own documentation on the disavow links tool states that "in most cases, Google can assess which links to trust without additional guidance, so most sites will not need to use this tool." Use the audit to find out what is pointing at you and to spot a real problem. Disavow sparingly.

That framing is the whole value of the exercise. The scan is quick. Knowing which column of the spreadsheet deserves action is what separates a useful audit from a month of pointless outreach.

Setting it up properly

1. Create the project for the right domain. Decide whether you are auditing the root domain or a subdomain, and keep that choice consistent across every audit you compare.
2. Connect Search Console. This adds referring domains that Google has seen and any third party crawler may have missed. It is the single biggest improvement to coverage.
3. Connect Google Analytics. This brings in domains that actually sent traffic, which is a useful sanity check against a score.
4. Set your categories and country. The tool uses them when judging whether a referring domain is plausibly related to you.
5. Let the first scan finish before judging anything. A partial crawl makes the toxicity number look worse than it is.
6. Export the raw list immediately. You want a dated baseline you can compare against in three months.

How to read the toxicity score

Semrush builds its score from markers such as a referring domain with almost no organic traffic, a site that exists to host links, a page stuffed with outbound links, mirrored or duplicated content, a mismatch between the linking site's subject and yours, and link networks it has identified. Those markers are reasonable signals and they are a vendor's model. Google publishes no toxicity score, so treat the number as a prioritised review queue rather than a verdict.

What the audit shows	What it usually means	Action
Directory and aggregator links you never built	Automatic scraping of your business listing	Whitelist and move on
Foreign language sites with no relation to your subject	Scraped content or a low quality network	Note it, no action unless there is a pattern
Hundreds of links from one domain with the same anchor	A site wide footer or sidebar link, often from an old supplier or a template	Request removal if it is yours to request
Links from pages selling links openly	Paid placements, possibly bought by a previous agency	Remove first, disavow if removal fails
A sudden spike of thousands of new referring domains	Either a genuine viral event or an automated campaign aimed at you	Investigate the anchors before deciding
A high score on a site you recognise and respect	A false positive, usually a small site with low traffic	Whitelist it

The decision: ignore, remove, or disavow

• Ignore, which is correct for the large majority. Scraped links, low quality directories and odd foreign pages accumulate on every site in the world. Search engines have handled them for years, and your time is better spent elsewhere.
• Remove, which applies to links you or a previous agency placed. Paid guest posts, link exchanges, site wide footer links, profile spam in your own name. Email the site, ask for removal, keep the correspondence, and give them a fortnight.
• Disavow, which is for a real and specific problem: a manual action in Search Console for unnatural links, a clear history of bought links you cannot get removed, or an obvious campaign of thousands of low quality links at your site. Disavow at domain level rather than URL level, since a spam network will keep generating new URLs.

One practical note from Google's documentation: the disavow tool does not support Domain properties in Search Console, so you need a URL prefix property to submit a file.

Check the anchor text distribution before you do anything

Anchor text is the most useful part of a backlink audit and the part people skip. Export every anchor and group it.

• Your brand name and URL variants should be the largest group on a healthy profile.
• Generic anchors such as "click here" and "read more" are normal and harmless.
• A large block of exact commercial phrases, especially the same phrase repeatedly from unrelated sites, is the pattern worth investigating.
• Anchors in a language you do not operate in, or in unrelated industries, usually indicate scraped or networked links rather than anything aimed at you.

What to do with the audit afterwards

1. Write a one page summary. Total referring domains, how many you recognise, how many you asked to remove, and whether a disavow file was submitted and why.
2. Fix the lost links worth keeping. The Lost and Found view shows links that disappeared. A link lost because a page 404ed is a redirect away from being recovered, and that is the fastest win in the whole tool.
3. Find the gaps. Compare your referring domains against two competitors and list the sites linking to them and not to you. That list is your outreach plan.
4. Re run quarterly. A dated quarterly audit turns the tool into a monitoring system, which is where its real value sits.

Semrush documents its tools in its knowledge base, and alternatives such as Ahrefs, Majestic and Moz run their own indexes with their own quality metrics. The indexes differ, so a domain missing from one is often present in another. For a serious cleanup, cross check with the Links report in Search Console, which is Google's own view of what it has found.

This page covers auditing an existing backlink profile with Semrush and deciding what to act on. For earning new links, backlink strategy is a separate subject and the more profitable one once an audit comes back clean.

Where people get stuck on Semrush Backlink Audit

Does a high Semrush toxicity score mean Google is penalising my site?

No. It means Semrush's model flagged those links for review. Google reports actual penalties in the Manual Actions section of Search Console, so check there first. If that section is clear, treat the audit as housekeeping and prioritisation.

Should I disavow links as a precaution?

Only with a specific reason. Google's documentation says most sites will not need the tool, and a careless file can remove the value of links that were helping you. Keep a dated note of why anything went on the list.

How long does a removal request take to work?

Many never get a reply, which is normal and not a problem. Send one clear email, follow up once after two weeks, record the attempt, and move the link to the disavow list only if you had a real reason to pursue it.

Can competitors hurt my site with bad links?

Search engines have spent years building systems to ignore links a site did not earn, which is why the sensible response to a strange spike is to look at the anchors and the timing rather than to act immediately. If the pattern is unmistakable and large, a domain level disavow is what the tool is for.

Which backlink tool has the best index?

They differ by region and by site size rather than one being complete. Run your audit in whichever you pay for, and add the Search Console Links report as the free second source, since that is the only view of what Google itself has found.

The audit for what links say about you

A backlink audit judges links by toxicity, anchor text and authority. An assistant treats your linking pages as sources that describe you, so the question is what those pages say. A link from a respected article that calls you a budget option can shape the reply.

Open your best links and read the sentence around each. Then ask three assistants about your company, and see whether the same wording comes back. AI Knows Us lists the cited pages for each answer, so the audit has a second list to match.