Backlink Monitoring Spreadsheet
Link building is slow, expensive work. Losing track of a hard-won backlink because no one checked whether it was still live is a common and avoidable mistake. This spreadsheet gives you a centralised record of every backlink in your profile, whether you built it or it came organically.
The main tab captures URL, linking domain, DA/DR, anchor text, link type (dofollow/nofollow), discovery date, status (live, lost, pending), and last checked date. A secondary tab covers your outreach pipeline — prospects, contact info, outreach stage, and follow-up schedule — so link building and link monitoring live in one file.
There's a summary dashboard tab that calculates totals by status and link type, giving you a quick picture of your backlink health without opening Ahrefs. It uses basic COUNTIF formulas that work in Excel and Google Sheets.
Designed for link builders who work across multiple clients or multiple campaigns simultaneously and need a source of truth that isn't locked inside a paid tool.
What you get
- A backlink log: linking URL, anchor text, link type, status and last-checked date
- An outreach pipeline with follow-up tracking
- A summary of links by status and type
- Provided on request through the contact form
Who it's for: Link builders and SEO managers tracking outreach campaigns and link profile health.
What this spreadsheet is for
Link building is slow work, and a hard-won backlink is easy to lose without anyone noticing. The Backlink Monitoring Spreadsheet gives you one record of every backlink in your profile, whether you built it or earned it, together with the outreach that produces new ones. It keeps the record in a file you own, instead of leaving it only inside a paid tool.
How it is organised
The main tab is a backlink log. For each link you record the linking URL and domain, the authority metric from your chosen tool (DA or DR), the anchor text, the link type (dofollow or nofollow), the date you discovered it, its status (live, lost or pending) and the date you last checked it.
A second tab covers the outreach pipeline: prospects, contact details, the outreach stage and a follow-up schedule, so link building and link monitoring sit in one file.
A summary tab uses simple COUNTIF formulas, which work in Excel and Google Sheets, to total your links by status and by type. That gives you a quick picture of link health without opening a paid tool.
How to use it
Log each link the day you find it and give it a status. Pick a regular check, such as the start of each month, and open the links marked live to confirm they still exist and still point where they should. Change the status of any that have gone, then decide whether to contact the site. Record the tool you used for the authority number, since DA and DR come from different vendors and are not interchangeable. Treat authority scores as a way to compare prospects, not as a measure of value.
Who it is for
Link builders and SEO managers who run several campaigns or clients at once and want a single source of truth.
The file is provided on request. Would you rather have this done for you? Fill out the form on our contact page, tell us about the business, and we will come back with a quote.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a paid backlink tool to use it?
- No. You can log links you find through Search Console or manual checks. A paid tool is only needed if you want to import authority scores in bulk.
- How often should I check for lost links?
- Monthly is a reasonable rhythm for most sites. Check sooner after a site migration or a redesign on the linking site.
- Does it work in Google Sheets?
- Yes. The summary uses basic COUNTIF formulas that work in both Excel and Google Sheets.
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