How Backlink Index Monitoring Works# Link to this article
A backlink only carries value if the page containing it is itself indexed. Backlink index monitoring tracks the indexation of your linking pages, separately from your own site's URLs.
A link from a page Google has never indexed passes no signal. Backlink index monitoring watches the linking pages rather than your own.
How it differs from project indexing# Link to this section
Project indexing covers URLs on your own verified domain and can submit them. Backlink index monitoring covers third-party URLs on domains you do not own — so it is read-only. Rankato observes their index status and never attempts submission, because submitting someone else's URL is not yours to do.
This is why it is a standalone surface with no project requirement and no ownership detection. The two paths are kept strictly separate by design.
What is tracked# Link to this section
- Whether the linking page is present in the index.
- When that status was last confirmed.
- Whether the link itself is still live, followed, and pointing at the expected target — verified by Rankato's own crawler.
- Status changes over time, so you can see a link degrade rather than only its current state.
Reading it# Link to this section
- Indexed and live — the link is doing its job.
- Live but not indexed — the link exists, but the host page carries no weight yet. Common on new sites and deep pages.
- Indexed but lost — the page is indexed and the link has been removed or changed to nofollow. Worth investigating.
- Unreachable — the page failed to fetch. Rankato retries before concluding anything.
Limits# Link to this section
The number of backlinks monitored is capped by your plan. Prioritise links you paid for, earned deliberately, or rely on commercially — monitoring every link in your profile is rarely a good use of the allowance.
Written by Rankato