How to audit the links an agency or vendor delivers
Check every delivered link in three passes. Is the link live and as agreed, can Google see and index the page, and is the site one you would have chosen yourself? Audit every link for the first two months, then a sample of about 30%.
In short
- A delivery audit has three passes, covering the link, the page and the site, and a link can pass the first two and still fail the third.
- A working rule is to audit every link for the first two months with a new vendor and about 30% of links after that.
- BuzzStream's June 2026 study found that 39.6% of about 257,000 sites selling guest posts had no organic traffic, so check traffic yourself whatever the report says.
- Always load the page as Googlebot and check for noindex, canonical and robots.txt rules, because a link you can see is not always a link Google can see.
- Hold payment for a link that fails on delivery and claim a replacement for one that is not indexed by about day 45.
Audit a delivery in three passes. First the link: is it live, in the page as rendered, pointing at the right target with the agreed anchor and attribute? Then the page: can Google reach and index it, and does Googlebot see what you see? Then the site: would you have chosen it yourself? As a working rule, check every link for the first two months with a new vendor and a sample of about 30% after that.
The checks here are working methods used by link teams. They are not a published standard, and no check proves that a link will help.
What you need from the vendor first
You cannot audit a number. A report that says “12 links delivered, average DR 55” gives you nothing to check.
Ask for one row per link with these fields: the live URL, the domain, the method (earned, paid placement, exchange or a site the vendor controls), the target page, the anchor text, the link attribute, the date it went live, whether the page is indexed and the cost or cost band. If the contract does not require that, add it. How to choose a link building agency covers what to write into the agreement.
Pass one: the link
Do this within two days of delivery, before you release payment.
| Check | How | A fail looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Page is live | Open the URL and confirm a normal response | Error page, redirect, or a different domain or section from the one agreed |
| Link is in the rendered page | Inspect the page as the browser builds it, not only the raw source | Link missing, or added by a script that may not run for crawlers |
| Target is right | Click it and read the address | Wrong page, a redirect chain, or tracking parameters you did not agree |
| Anchor is right | Compare with the brief | Changed wording, or an exact-match anchor you did not approve |
| Attribute is as agreed | Read the rel value on the link |
Nofollow or sponsored where a followed link was agreed, or the reverse |
| Nothing was added alongside | Read the whole article | A competitor’s link, or links to gambling or adult sites in the same piece |
Pass two: the page
A link you can see is not always a link Google can see.
| Check | How | A fail looks like |
|---|---|---|
| No noindex | Look for a robots meta tag in the source and an X-Robots-Tag response header |
Either one set to noindex |
| Canonical is correct | Read the canonical tag | It points to a different URL |
| Not blocked | Read the site’s robots.txt | The article’s folder is disallowed |
| Same page for Googlebot | Load the page with a Googlebot user agent | The link is missing or the page differs |
| Reachable inside the site | Find the article from a category page or the homepage | It can only be reached by its direct URL |
| In the sitemap | Open the sitemap | The article is absent |
Save a screenshot and an archive copy on the day you check. If the page later changes, you have a record of what was delivered.
Indexing takes time, so it has its own schedule. Check at day 7, 14 and 30. Backlink indexing and indexers explains what to do when a page stays out.
Pass three: the site
This is where most deliveries disappoint. The link is live, the page is indexable, and the site is one nobody reads.
BuzzStream’s June 2026 study found that 39.6% of about 257,000 sites selling guest posts had no organic traffic, and it rated 96.2% as low quality. A vendor drawing on that pool without vetting will deliver from it.
For each site, look up organic traffic and its trend in your own SEO tool, read what the site ranks for, and open a few recent posts to see where they link. How to vet a publisher gives the full scoring method.
Then look at the delivery as a whole. These patterns are red flags from practice:
- Every site has a DR of 50 to 70 and fewer than 1,000 monthly visits. The score has been inflated.
- Every article has the same length, structure and number of links. They came from one production line.
- The sites have no connection to your subject or your country.
- The implied price is under $100 a link.
- The vendor refused to name the sites in advance.
Check the method and look for recycling
Ask how each link was obtained. An earned link, a paid placement, a link exchange and a link on a site the vendor owns carry different risks, and a report that calls them all “outreach” hides that. If the vendor owns or controls any of the publishers, you are buying from a private blog network and should know it.
Then compare. Check each domain against the vendor’s earlier reports to you. Check a sample against the catalogues of the main marketplaces. If most of the domains are standard marketplace inventory, you are paying an agency fee for something you could order yourself. Seller lists and recycled inventory explains why that happens.
How often to audit
| When | What to check |
|---|---|
| Day 0 to 2 | Pass one and pass two. Release payment only after both |
| Day 7, 14 and 30 | Indexing |
| Day 45 | Claim a replacement for any page still not indexed |
| Day 90 and 365 | Is the link still live, with the same attribute, on an indexed page? |
For the first two months with a vendor, run all three passes on every link. After that, a sample of about 30% is a reasonable working level. Return to checking everything if the sample turns up failures.
The day 90 and day 365 figures are the most useful numbers you will hold on a vendor. A monitoring tool does the re-checking for you, and the backlink tools comparison lists the options. How to track backlinks covers the setup.
What to do when a link fails
| What you find | What to do | Working deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Link missing or wrong at delivery | Return it to the vendor and hold payment | 48 hours |
| Not indexed at day 45 | Claim a replacement or refund | 7 days |
| Link removed, changed to nofollow, or page set to noindex within the guarantee | Claim a replacement and record a strike against the vendor | 7 days |
| Publisher’s traffic collapses or the site is deindexed | Stop buying on that site and review existing links there | 14 days |
| Vendor used hacked, cloaked or self-owned network sites | End the contract, audit every link from that vendor, and take legal advice if hacked sites are involved | Immediately |
Three strikes and the vendor is removed is a common working rule. Whatever rule you choose, write it down before the first order. Link buying policy and governance covers who should own these decisions.
Where to go next
For the tricks an audit is meant to catch, read link seller scams. Terms such as canonical tag, user agent and rendered page are defined in the glossary.
Common questions
What should a link building report include?
For every link it should show the live URL, the domain, the method used, the target page, the anchor text, the link attribute, the date and whether the page is indexed. Cost per link, or at least a cost band, should be there for paid placements.
How do I check if a link is really live?
Open the URL, find the link in the rendered page, and confirm that it points to the agreed target with the agreed anchor and attribute. Then load the page with a Googlebot user agent to confirm the result is the same.
How many delivered links should I check?
As a working rule, all of them for the first two months with a vendor and about 30% afterwards. Go back to checking every link if the sample turns up failures.
What are the warning signs in an agency's link report?
Links that all sit on sites with a high authority score and under 1,000 monthly visits, articles that all share one structure, domains that repeat from earlier reports, and prices under $100 a link.
What do I do when a delivered link fails the audit?
Return it to the vendor and hold payment if it fails on delivery. Claim a replacement if it is removed, changed or not indexed within the guarantee. Record each failure and stop using a vendor that fails repeatedly.
