Semrush Backlink Analytics: 7 Features Worth $139/Mo?

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If you use Semrush mainly for keyword research, you’re leaving one of its most useful workflows untouched. Backlink Analytics is where Semrush helps you answer the questions that actually matter in SEO: who links to you, whether those links are follow or nofollow, which pages attract links, what anchors keep showing up, and where competitors have links you still don’t.

This guide focuses on the seven Backlink Analytics features that matter most in 2026, especially if your goal is to audit link quality fast instead of getting buried in vanity metrics.

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What Semrush Backlink Analytics Is Best At

Semrush Backlink Analytics is built for practical SEO decisions. Instead of forcing you into a raw export-first workflow, it gives you a readable overview of a domain, subdomain, subfolder, or exact URL.

That matters when you need to answer questions like:

• Are most of this site’s links follow or nofollow?
• Are backlinks concentrated on one asset or spread across the site?
• Did a campaign actually earn new referring domains?
• Are competitor links coming from pages we can realistically pitch too?
• Is this profile healthy, or does it look manipulated?

If you already use Semrush pricing plans for keyword research or site audits, Backlink Analytics fits neatly into the same workflow.

1. Referring Domains Overview

The first feature that matters is the referring domains view. Total backlinks can be inflated by sitewide links, footer links, and repeated navigation links. Referring domains tell you how many unique sites actually vouch for the domain.

When you open a domain in Backlink Analytics, start here first. If a site claims 50,000 backlinks but only 120 referring domains, that profile is much weaker than the raw backlink count suggests.

What to look for:

• steady growth in unique referring domains
• a healthy spread of domains instead of one source dominating
• whether the profile feels brand-driven or spam-driven

2. Follow vs Nofollow Link Filters

This is the feature behind one of the live GSC queries we found: does Semrush show nofollow backlinks? Yes, it does.

Semrush lets you filter backlinks by attribute, including:

• follow
• nofollow
• sponsored
• UGC

That means you can isolate nofollow backlinks in seconds. For a real audit, that is useful because a profile with only a small share of follow links may look strong on paper but pass very little ranking value in practice. For Google’s current guidance on link attributes, see the official Google Search Central documentation.

Fast workflow:

1. Open the target domain in Backlink Analytics.
2. Go to the Backlinks tab.
3. Use the attribute filter and select nofollow.
4. Sort by Authority Score or latest seen date.
5. Review which nofollow links still help with brand visibility or referral traffic.

3. Anchor Text Distribution

Anchor text is where manipulation patterns become obvious. If most anchors are branded or natural phrases, the profile usually looks fine. If the same money keyword repeats too aggressively, it’s a warning sign.

Semrush surfaces anchor text distribution clearly enough that you can spot this in a minute, not an hour. That makes it useful both for your own site and for competitor reviews.

Use it for:

• spotting over-optimized exact-match anchors
• finding branded anchors worth replicating in digital PR
• checking whether a link-building vendor left obvious footprints

4. New and Lost Backlinks

The new and lost links report is one of the fastest ways to judge whether SEO momentum is real or just historical.

If a site ranks well but keeps losing referring domains each month, that can become a problem later. If a competitor suddenly gains links from relevant industry sites, you want to know now, not three months from now.

Semrush makes this easy to scan because you can compare recent link acquisition with recent link decay and decide whether a campaign is actually working.

5. Top Linked Pages

Not every page earns links equally. The Top Pages report shows which assets attract backlinks so you can reverse-engineer what the market rewards.

Sometimes the answer is obvious, like free tools or studies. Other times the strongest linked asset is a comparison page, glossary, or template library. Knowing this helps you build the next asset with a real backlink angle instead of guessing.

For content teams, this is where Backlink Analytics becomes more than a reporting tool. It becomes a topic selection tool.

6. Competitor Backlink Gap

The Backlink Gap workflow in Semrush is one of the most actionable features in the product. It compares your domain against competitors and highlights referring domains that link to them but not to you.

That turns vague competitor envy into a concrete outreach list.

Use it when:

• two competitors outrank you on the same keyword cluster
• you need fast link prospects for a campaign
• you want to see whether a niche has shared media sources or partner sites

This is often the shortest path from backlink analysis to backlink action.

7. Authority Score and Link Quality Triage

Authority Score is not the only metric that matters, but it is useful for triage. In Semrush, it helps you sort a big backlink list into pages worth reviewing first.

The right way to use it is not as gospel. Use it as a prioritization layer alongside:

• relevance of the linking site
• anchor text pattern
• page context
• follow vs nofollow status
• whether the page actually sends traffic or trust

That combination is enough for most practical backlink reviews.

When Semrush Is Enough, and When It Isn’t

Semrush is enough for most in-house teams, agencies, and content operators who need a reliable backlink workflow inside an all-in-one platform.

Ahrefs can still feel deeper for pure link discovery in some niches. But if you care about speed, reporting, and having backlink data in the same place as keyword research, technical audits, and rank tracking, Semrush is a strong choice.

That is why it works particularly well for operators who want one stack instead of five disconnected tools.

Final Verdict

Semrush Backlink Analytics earns its keep because it focuses on the features most teams really use: referring domains, link attributes, anchors, top pages, new and lost links, and competitor gaps.

If your current backlink workflow depends on exporting data into spreadsheets before you can even see what’s happening, Semrush is a meaningful upgrade. And if your question is simply whether Semrush can show nofollow backlinks, the answer is yes, clearly and fast.

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