Backlinks are links to a specific website that point back to said website from other websites. This is interesting in research, because it gives information about a website's significance, credibility, and not least uncovers connections in a website network.
Backlinks are a commodity in internet business, since numbers of external references help move a website up in searches, and also lends it more credibility. Therefore many services offer backlink analyses along with other SEO (search engine optmization) data and analyses, and some also offer to create more web references. These kinds of services are almost invariably commercial. Most offer trial versions or accounts, but often with unclear specifications, so the option is to sign up more ore less blindly.
Important: Please note that the data handling by these services may not be compliant with GDPR.
OpenLinkProfiler
A fully free backlink checker which allows access to full results - with a drawback; the results are listed as pages with an unchangeable listing of ten results per page. The results cannot be downloaded as a list. However, the service may be interesting a) by providing a full list of search results, and b) by providing analytics of the results in circle diagrams.
The following two services offer similar results using the same search engine (Semrush), and both offer downloadable results. One if free, the other offers a seven day trial. The commercial service offers a more attractive download as Excel option:
HOTH free backlinks checker
A free service, which allegedly retrieves the "top backlinks", which usually signifies an abbreviated list. However, as a free service without limitation it delivers comprehensive search results.
Search results may be downloaded as a .pdf file with active links.
SmallSEOTools
Uses the same search engine from Semrush as the free solution from HOTH.
The backlink checker will find and list the first ten backlinks found for a URL. In order to see the full list, one must have a subscribtion at the software partner, Semrush. A seven day free trial is offered.
Results can be downloaded an an excel file.
