This article explains how to use Search Atlas to assess a new client's backlink profile when they arrive with a high spam score. You will learn where to run the analysis, how to read the data, and how to confirm that your cleanup efforts are having a measurable effect.
📍 Where to Find It
All backlink analysis tools are grouped in one place. In the top-right header, click the apps-grid icon, then go to More Features → Backlinks (Backlink Research). You will see the following sub-tools:
- Backlink Research — full backlink profile for any domain
- Link Gap Analysis — compare your client's links against competitors
- Compare Backlinks — side-by-side domain comparison
- Topical Relevance — assess how contextually relevant linking domains are
- Backlink Velocity — track the rate at which links are being gained or lost
🛠️ Step-by-Step
- Run a Backlink Research audit. Go to the top-right header (apps-grid icon) → More Features → Backlinks (Backlink Research) and enter your client's root domain. Click Analyze. This pulls the full backlink profile including spam metrics for each linking domain.
- Identify high-risk links. In the results, sort or filter by spam score. Focus on referring domains with a spam score above 30% — these are your highest-priority targets. Look for patterns: private blog networks, unrelated foreign-language directories, or domains with no organic traffic and thin content.
- Assess topical relevance of linking domains. Go to the top-right header (apps-grid icon) → More Features → Backlinks (Backlink Research) → Topical Relevance and enter the client's domain. Links from topically unrelated domains compound a spam risk even if their raw spam score is moderate. Flag any that are both off-topic and low-authority.
- Check velocity for unnatural link patterns. Go to the top-right header (apps-grid icon) → More Features → Backlinks (Backlink Research) → Backlink Velocity. A sudden spike in link acquisition — especially from low-quality domains — is a common trigger for algorithmic penalties. Note any spikes that coincide with ranking drops.
- Build your disavow list. Compile all domains flagged in steps 2–4. Export the data and format it into a Google Search Console disavow file (one domain per line, prefixed with domain:). Submit this file through Google Search Console to signal to Google that these links should not be counted against the site.
- Begin a targeted link-building campaign. Use the top-right header (apps-grid icon) → More Features → Backlinks (Backlink Research) → Link Gap Analysis to find high-quality, topically relevant domains that link to competitors but not to your client. These become your outreach targets to replace toxic links with authoritative ones.
✅ How to Confirm It Worked
Re-run Backlink Research on the client's domain after 4–6 weeks. You should see:
- A measurable decrease in the average spam score across referring domains — compare the new figure to your baseline from step 1.
- Fewer flagged high-risk domains appearing in the filtered view (spam score above 30%).
- Backlink Velocity showing a stabilised or positively trending link acquisition rate from higher-quality domains.
- If rankings were suppressed, expect gradual recovery over 8–12 weeks once Google re-crawls the disavow file and indexes new quality links.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.