Why Your Backlinks Aren’t Indexing

Backlinks are a critical component of search engine optimization (SEO). They act as votes of confidence from other websites and help boost your site’s credibility, trust, and rankings. But what happens when search engines like Google don't index those backlinks? It’s a common issue that many SEOs and website owners face.

In this article, we’ll break down why backlinks may not be indexing and share effective backlink indexing strategies that can help you fix the problem and make sure your link-building efforts pay off.

What Does It Mean When a Backlink Is Not Indexed?

When we say a backlink is not indexed, it means Google or other search engines haven’t added the page containing your backlink to their index. If the page isn’t indexed, the backlink doesn’t count toward your SEO metrics, and you miss out on potential authority and ranking benefits.

So, even if you've built 100 backlinks, if only 20 are indexed, you're only getting credit for those 20.

Why Are Backlinks Not Indexing?

Here are the most common reasons:

1. Low-Quality or Spammy Sites

Search engines may ignore backlinks from low-quality or spammy websites. If your backlink is on a thin-content page, a spammy blog, or a private blog network (PBN), it might not get indexed at all.

Solution: Focus on earning backlinks from high-authority, niche-relevant sites with real traffic.

2. No Index Tags or Robots.txt Blocking

Sometimes, the page containing your backlink might have a noindex tag or be blocked by robots.txt, which prevents search engines from crawling or indexing it.

Solution: Check the page’s meta tags and robots.txt file. Use tools like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console's URL Inspection Tool.

3. Backlink Is Buried Deep in the Site

If your backlink is on a page that is not internally linked or is buried deep within the site’s structure, search engines may not find or prioritize it for indexing.

Solution: Ensure that the page containing your backlink is easily accessible through internal links or included in the sitemap.

4. The Page Hasn’t Been Crawled Yet

Sometimes, Google just hasn’t gotten around to crawling the page that contains your backlink, especially if it’s a new or low-traffic page.

Solution: Be patient, but also consider using indexing strategies (discussed below) to speed up the process.

5. Too Many Outbound Links on the Page

If the page with your backlink has hundreds of outbound links, the value and attention given to each one may be reduced, and your backlink could be skipped during indexing.

Solution: Avoid getting backlinks from link farms or pages with excessive external links.

Why Backlink Indexing Matters

Increased domain authority: Indexed backlinks contribute to your domain's trustworthiness.
Higher rankings: More quality-indexed backlinks = stronger chances of ranking in search engines.
Faster keyword movement: Proper indexing can speed up your keyword improvements.

So now the big question...

How to Get Your Backlinks Indexed: Proven Strategies

Here are the most effective backlink indexing strategies in 2025:

1. Use Google Search Console (if you control the page)

If the backlink is on your guest post or a site you own, use Google Search Console’s “URL Inspection Tool” to request indexing. This gives Google a direct nudge to crawl the page.

2. Ping the Backlink Page

Use pinging tools to notify search engines that a new page with your backlink exists. These tools submit the page URL to various update services.

Popular ping tools:

Ping-o-Matic
IndexKings
Bulkaddurl

3. Share the Page on Social Media

Search engines frequently crawl social media platforms. Sharing the backlink-containing page on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, or LinkedIn can lead to faster indexing.

Tip: Get engagement on the post (likes, shares, comments) to increase crawl priority.

4. Build Tier 2 Backlinks

Create backlinks to the page that contains your backlink. This is called Tier 2 link building. It helps increase authority and prompts search engines to crawl and index the page.

Tier 2 link sources:

Web 2.0 blogs
Social bookmarks
PDF submissions
Blog comments
Medium, Tumblr, etc.

5. Submit to Indexing Services (Paid or Free)

There are tools specifically made to help index your backlinks faster.

Popular backlink indexing tools:

OneHourIndexing
IndexMeNow
LinkCentaur
Omega Indexer

While not free, they can be worth the investment if you're doing heavy link-building.

6. Internal Linking (If Possible)

If the backlink is on a guest post or site you manage, ensure it's linked internally from other relevant, high-traffic pages. Internal links help search engines discover and index content more effectively.

7. Update and Re-Publish the Page

If you have access, updating the content on the backlink page with fresh information, images, or media and then saving or re-publishing it can trigger a re-crawl.

8. Add the Page to a Sitemap

If you control the site or collaborate with someone who does, adding the backlink-containing page to the website’s XML sitemap improves the chances of it being crawled.

Bonus Tips to Ensure Future Backlinks Get Indexed

Always prioritize quality over quantity.
Avoid link farms, spammy sites, and irrelevant directories.
Request backlinks from websites that are actively publishing and regularly crawled by Google.
Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush, or IndexCheckr to monitor your indexed backlinks.
Don’t rely only on guest posting — diversify with PR mentions, resource pages, and niche edits.

Final Thoughts

If your backlinks aren't indexing, you're not alone—it’s a common SEO challenge. But the good news is that with the right strategies, you can boost your indexing rate and ensure your efforts are not wasted.

From tiered link building and pinging tools to social sharing and indexing services, these methods will help speed up the indexing process and ensure you get full SEO value from your backlinks.

Remember, indexing takes time. But by being proactive and smart, you can turn more of your backlinks into ranking power.

Want help indexing your backlinks or building high-authority ones that count? Reach out to an SEO expert or use trusted backlink indexing tools to maximize your investment.