NitroShock analyzes any domain's backlink profile - total links, referring domains, link quality, and toxicity risk - using our backlink index. Run a one-time check on any domain without creating a project, or add a domain to a project for a full audit with toxicity scoring, disavow tools, trend tracking, and scheduled monitoring.
Light Backlink Scan
The light scan at /backlinks/ runs a one-time backlink snapshot for any domain without adding it to a project. You'll need to be logged in, and each check uses credits from your account balance - the cost is shown on the page before you run a check.
To run a light scan:
- Go to
/backlinks/ (linked from the header's Tools menu as "Backlink Analysis" when you don't have a project open)
- Enter a domain (with or without
https:// or www. - it's normalized automatically)
- Click Run Light Scan
Results show Total Backlinks, Referring Domains, Domain Rank, DoFollow and NoFollow link counts, Broken Backlinks, and a Spam Score, plus tables of the top 10 referring domains and top 10 anchor texts. A Track in a Project button carries the domain into project creation.
The light scan is a snapshot only - it isn't saved, doesn't include the toxicity audit trail or disavow tools, and re-running it on the same domain charges again. Its Spam Score is the aggregate spam signal for the domain, which is a different (and usually lower) number than the per-referring-domain Toxicity Score a full project audit produces. For ongoing tracking, disavow management, or a deeper audit, add the domain to a project instead.
Backlink Analysis in a Project
Open a project and go to its Backlinks tab for full backlink tracking: accurate domain-wide totals, a 12-month new/lost trend, toxicity scoring across your referring domains, a disavow workflow, and optional scheduled monitoring.
Total Backlinks, Referring Domains, DoFollow Links, and NoFollow Links show your domain-wide link counts. Domain Rank is a 0-100 authority estimate for the domain. Broken Backlinks counts links pointing to pages on your site that return an error. New Backlinks and Lost Backlinks show how many backlinks and referring domains appeared or disappeared in the trailing 30-day window. A New vs Lost Backlinks chart plots that trend over the past 12 months.
When a project is created, its Backlinks tab starts with a summary snapshot (the totals and 30-day new/lost figures) so the numbers are useful immediately. A snapshot doesn't include the referring domain list, anchor text list, toxicity analysis, or trend chart - the tab shows a notice when you're looking at a snapshot. Click Refresh Data to run the full audit.
Refresh Data quotes its cost before charging anything: the price scales with how many referring domains your site has, and you'll see the exact credit cost and domain count in a confirmation prompt before the audit runs and your balance is charged. The audit pulls your full referring domain list, one representative backlink per referring domain for toxicity analysis, your top anchor texts, and the 12-month trend. Very large sites are audited up to a domain cap - if your site exceeds it, the tab shows "top N referring domains audited" rather than silently under-reporting.
Top Referring Domains and Top Anchor Texts tables below the metrics show your highest-authority link sources and most common anchor text.
Toxicity Analysis
The Toxicity Analysis section scores your referring domains for spam risk. After a full audit, coverage is one row per referring domain (not a small fixed sample), so the toxicity picture reflects your whole link profile rather than just your best or most recent links.
Each referring domain is scored using a rule-based check across several signals: whether it's on a free/throwaway hosting platform, a spam-associated top-level domain, very low authority, excessive outbound links (a link-farm indicator), spam-pattern anchor text, and where the link sits on the page. Domains are grouped into four tiers:
- Toxic - score 75 and above
- Potentially Toxic - score 50-74
- Suspicious - score 25-49
- Clean - below 25
The Toxicity Score card and Toxic Domains card on the metrics grid, and the donut/tile breakdown in the Toxicity Analysis section, all reflect this scoring. The donut's risk label reads Healthy, Low Risk, Moderate Risk, or High Risk depending on the overall score.
Run Toxicity Scan triggers a deeper, page-level pass: it fetches the actual referring pages and checks content signals - thin content, scraper patterns, missing/mismatched canonical tags, noindex tags, auto-generated content, and language mismatches - to refine the score beyond what link metadata alone can tell you. This costs credits shown in a confirmation prompt before it runs, and processes your stored referring-domain rows in the background with a progress indicator.
Disavow Workflow
Click View & Audit Toxic Links to see your scored referring domains in a pageable, filterable grid, with each domain's total link count shown alongside its toxicity tier and score. You can select individual rows (shift-click for a range) or bulk-select by tier.
Disavowing works at the referring-domain level by default, since one domain can hold many backlinks - disavowing the domain covers all of them in a single line. Per-row Domain and URL buttons let you choose either granularity for a specific entry.
Download Disavow generates the disavow file for Google. The format dropdown controls the output: Domains Only writes one domain: line per disavowed domain (URL-level picks are collapsed to their domain and deduplicated); Full URLs keeps URL-level picks as full URLs while domain-level picks stay as domain: lines. The Google Disavow Tool button opens Google Search Console's disavow tool in a new tab so you can submit the downloaded file.
Once you've submitted your file to Google, click Mark Submitted to Google to record it - this flags the disavowed rows and recalculates your toxicity score, tier breakdown, and donut with those sources excluded, so the dashboard reflects your cleaned-up profile. Disavowed rows show a "disavowed" badge in the audit grid and a grey slice in the tier breakdown bar. Marking a submission doesn't remove the backlinks themselves or affect Google's index directly - it updates how NitroShock scores your profile to match what you told Google to disregard.
If you already have a disavow file you submitted previously (from NitroShock or elsewhere), use Import Disavow File to upload the .txt file - its domain: and URL lines are parsed and marked as submitted the same way, recalculating your score immediately.
Scheduled Monitoring
The Monitoring toggle in the tab header turns on scheduled updates for a project: a smaller weekly update that refreshes your totals and 30-day new/lost figures, and a monthly full audit that re-pulls your referring domain list and toxicity analysis. Both cadences show their own credit cost in the confirmation prompt when you enable monitoring, and each scheduled run charges your account the same way a manual run would. A project needs at least one manual full audit before monitoring can start.
Backlink Reports
The Reports tab can generate a downloadable backlinks report for a project, styled with your report branding profile (colors and fonts) if you've set one up.
Credits
Every backlink action shows its exact credit cost before you confirm it - the light scan shows a flat per-scan cost, the project's full audit is quoted based on your referring domain count, and the deep toxicity scan and monitoring updates each show their own cost. Check your account balance and recent usage under Account Dashboard → Billing.
FAQ
Do I need a project to check backlinks?
No. The light scan at /backlinks/ works on any domain without creating a project. You do need to be logged in, and each check uses credits. For tracking, toxicity audits, and disavow tools, add the domain to a project.
Why do my backlink totals differ from other tools?
Every backlink tool draws from its own link index, and index size and update methodology differ between providers - totals rarely match exactly across tools. Referring domain counts (unique linking sites) are generally more consistent between tools than raw backlink counts, since a single site can link to you many times.
What counts as a broken backlink?
A backlink where the destination page on your site currently returns an error (a 4xx or 5xx response) instead of loading normally.
Can I check a competitor's backlinks?
Yes - the light scan and the project audit both work on any domain, not just ones you own.
Does disavowing remove the backlink?
No. Disavowing tells Google to disregard a link when evaluating your site; it doesn't remove the link itself or change anything on the linking site. Marking a submission in NitroShock recalculates your toxicity score to reflect the sources you've told Google to ignore.
