Why should I check links before paying a link building invoice?
Link packages are sold by count: 50 links, 200 links, 1,000 links. The report at the end looks convincing, but nobody can open hundreds of pages by hand, so most clients pay without checking. Meanwhile some links are removed, some are nofollow, and some sit on pages Google never indexed. You pay full price for all of them.
Checking is not about distrusting your vendor. Good vendors welcome it, because a checked report proves their work. It is about paying for links that can actually help your website.
If a link is missing, nofollow when you paid for dofollow, or on a page Google cannot index, it does nothing for you. Ask for a replacement, not a discount.
Check 1: Get the full list of linking URLs
Not screenshots, not domain names, not "300 links delivered": the exact URL of every page that carries your link. Without it you cannot check anything. A vendor who will not share URLs is a red flag on its own.
Check 2: Is the link live and pointing to the right page?
Open the page and confirm your link is really there, pointing to the exact URL you agreed, not your homepage instead of a service page, not an old domain, not a typo. A link to the wrong website helps someone else.
Check 3: Is the link type what you paid for?
Look at the rel attribute. If you were promised a normal editorial link and it carries nofollow or ugc, it is not what was sold. If it is a paid placement, Google expects rel="sponsored", so be wary of anyone who guarantees "dofollow" on paid links. Our guide to dofollow, nofollow, sponsored and ugc explains what each one means, and Google spam updates 2026 covers the risks of paid links.
Check 4: Can Google index the page?
A link on a page that tells Google not to index it passes nothing. Check for a noindex tag, an X-Robots-Tag header, a robots.txt block, a canonical pointing to another URL, and the HTTP status. Details in why backlinks are not indexed.
Check 5: Is the page actually in Google?
Indexable does not mean indexed. Search site: plus the exact URL in Google. New pages can take a few weeks, so agree on a date: if a page is still not indexed after 30 days, it should be replaced or helped along. Our guide on getting backlinks indexed shows what can and cannot be done.
Check 6: Is the site worth a link?
- Relevance: does the site cover your industry or location at all?
- Publish-anything signs: unrelated topics side by side, a "write for us" price list, pages stuffed with outbound links.
- Authority and spam signals: metrics such as DA and Spam Score are third-party estimates, not Google scores, but a very high spam score is worth a closer look.
- Real readers: recent comments, social shares, a site that is properly indexed in Google.
Check 7: Look at the anchors and domains as a whole
Step back from single links. If most anchors are the same money keyword, the profile looks manufactured. If "500 links" come from 20 domains, most of them are sitewide or footer links that count for far less. Count unique referring domains, not URLs.
| Check | Pass | Ask for a replacement |
|---|---|---|
| 1. URL list | Every linking page URL shared | Only screenshots or a count |
| 2. Live and target | Link present, exact agreed URL | Missing, wrong page or wrong domain |
| 3. Link type | As agreed (sponsored if paid) | nofollow/ugc when editorial was promised |
| 4. Indexable | HTTP 200, no noindex, no block | noindex, blocked, canonical elsewhere, 404 |
| 5. In Google | Indexed within the agreed time | Still not indexed after 30 days |
| 6. Site quality | Relevant site with real readers | Publish-anything or link farm signs |
| 7. Anchor and domain mix | Natural anchors, many domains | Same keyword everywhere, few domains |
What to agree with your vendor before the next order
- Payment is for verified links (passing checks 2 to 4), not for a count.
- Failed links are replaced within an agreed time.
- You receive the full URL list with every delivery.
- A re-check after 30 days before the final payment, because links disappear.
- Paid placements are labelled honestly, with no guaranteed-dofollow promises.
For freelancers and agencies: turn checks into proof
If you sell link building, run the same checks before you send the report and attach the result. Clients stop doubting the work, disputes end, and you can show the links that survived months later. That is the idea behind our smart link building workflow and our backlink checker, which gives each link a verdict and exports the result as an Excel or branded PDF report. Choosing tools for this? Read the best backlink analysis tools, free vs paid.
FAQ
Conclusion
A link building invoice should pay for links that work. Ask for the full URL list, run the 7 checks, agree on replacements and a 30-day re-check, and you will never pay for a report full of links that do not count again.
