Use Grow → Links → Backlinks to see which sites link to yours, review changes in your backlink profile, and find links that may lead visitors to broken pages.
The workspace shows saved snapshots from Ahrefs or a manual import. Start with the provider and capture date: the figures describe what that source reported at that time, rather than a live count of every link on the web.
Open your backlink overview
Open Grow → Links → Backlinks and check the provider and Updated date under Backlink overview. The overview and Discovered backlinks use the newest snapshot by capture date. Importing an older report can add history without replacing the current overview.
Links read access lets you view saved reports. Links write access is needed to import data and lets Cedros attempt an automatic Ahrefs refresh when you open the workspace. If you cannot access the controls you need, check feature access.
When no Ahrefs snapshot is available, or the last one is at least 24 hours old, opening the workspace with write access starts a refresh attempt. Syncing Ahrefs… means that request is in progress. The page then shows the saved result or an error.
This refresh happens when you open the workspace; the “Every 24 hours” label does not promise a background refresh at a fixed daily time. Automatic sync on is not proof that new data arrived. Check the provider and Updated date to confirm the report you are reading.
If you have no data yet, connect Ahrefs or import a prepared snapshot using the steps below.
Connect Ahrefs data
You need an Ahrefs API key with access to the reports used by your account, permission to change analytics settings, and a configured site domain. Cedros uses your primary site domain for the sync. Check Connecting a domain you already own if the domain is not ready.
- In Backlinks, select Configure → Open analytics settings. You can also go to Settings → Analytics → Third party.
- Find Ahrefs and set Ahrefs backlink analytics to Enabled.
- Enter your key in API key. The Ahrefs API settings link in that section takes you to the provider's key settings.
- Review Backlinks per sync, then wait for the settings to finish saving. The default is 1,000 rows; the supported range is 1–2,500.
- Return to Grow → Links → Backlinks and check the refresh result and capture date.
Analytics settings save automatically. If a save error appears, resolve it before assuming the connection is ready. Enter the credential only in the API key field, not in an imported report.
Ahrefs access and API usage depend on your provider account. Review its access and usage allowance before enabling refreshes. Backlinks per sync limits the detailed backlink rows fetched; it is not a limit on the total backlinks your site can have.
To stop Ahrefs refreshes, return to its analytics settings and set Ahrefs backlink analytics to Disabled. Saved snapshots remain available to review.
Read the totals and trend
Authority shows the score and metric supplied by the snapshot. For Ahrefs, this is Domain Rating (DR), a relative measure of backlink-profile strength on a 0–100 scale. Use it alongside relevance and the actual linking pages, rather than treating a higher score as proof of a better link. Ahrefs explains how DR works.
Referring domains counts linking domains reported by the source. Backlinks counts reported links. Several links from one website can increase the backlink count without adding another referring domain.
New / lost shows the snapshot's reported gains and losses. For an Ahrefs sync, these counts come from the returned backlink rows. They are not a calculation of everything gained or lost since your previous Cedros visit, and the row limit can affect what is represented.
A dash means a score is unavailable. Imported summary counts are supplied by the file; Cedros does not infer them from the number of detailed rows. Check how a manual report was prepared before interpreting a zero as evidence that no links exist.
Under Authority and backlink trend, the chart compares snapshots with the same provider and authority metric as the current report. It needs at least two matching snapshots. The history table includes up to the latest 90 snapshots and identifies their provider, metric, capture date, and totals.
Compare like with like. Changing providers, the imported metric, or the number of rows fetched can change what the report covers. The number of rows in Discovered backlinks can be much smaller than the headline backlink total.
Inspect linking pages and broken destinations
Use Filter backlinks in Discovered backlinks to search by source domain or address, anchor text, or status. The filter searches the current snapshot's records; it does not search the web or older snapshots. Clear it if an expected row is missing. Results are paginated in groups of 100.
Select a source domain to open the page containing the link. Check the surrounding content and follow the link to see what a visitor experiences. Anchor is the link text, Type describes the reported link attribute, and Status can be live, lost, or broken. These labels describe the saved report, so verify a page before deciding it still needs attention.
Ahrefs snapshots may also show:
- Top referring domains: leading linking domains, their DR, link counts, and any reported spam flag.
- Top anchor text: commonly used link text and the domains using it.
- Broken backlink targets: source pages and destinations Ahrefs reported as broken, including the reported HTTP code.
These are short lists, showing up to 25 rows per panel. A missing panel or an empty list does not prove there are no matching links.
For a broken target, open the destination and check whether the intended page still exists. Restore useful content, correct the destination, or arrange an appropriate redirect when a page has moved. If the linking page contains a typo or outdated address, contact its owner with the correct URL. Reviewing a row in Cedros does not edit the other website or repair the link automatically.
Treat a spam flag as a reason to inspect the source. A flag or an unfamiliar domain alone is not a reason to remove every link from it.
Import a prepared snapshot
Use a manual import when you have a crawl or exported backlink data to review. The importer accepts a JSON snapshot in Cedros's format. A raw CSV, spreadsheet, or unchanged provider export must be converted before upload.
For Google data, the Search Console Links report provides exports, but it is a sample and may include links that have since disappeared. It also does not identify nofollow links. Keep those limits when preparing your snapshot rather than filling missing details with assumptions.
- Open Configure and expand Expected JSON shape under Manual snapshot.
- Have the person preparing the report match that format, including its provider, authority label, capture date, summary counts, and individual link records.
- Check that source addresses point to the linking pages and target addresses point to your site's pages. Use complete HTTP or HTTPS URLs and the correct source domains.
- Select Import snapshot JSON and choose the prepared file. Selecting it starts the import; there is no separate preview or approval step.
- Wait for Backlink snapshot imported., then check the history, provider, date, totals, and available records. Select Done to close the dialog.
Supported provider values are ahrefs, manual, and search-console-import. Use ahrefs and the Domain Rating label only for Ahrefs-sourced data. Set authorityScore to null when no score is available.
The file must contain one JSON object, be no larger than 16 MiB, and contain no more than 10,000 records. Summary counts cannot be negative, and authority scores must be between 0 and 100. Target URLs must belong to a configured site domain when your site has domains configured.
Include the original capture date so historical reports appear in the right place. Give each report a stable sourceId: importing the same report with the same ID can safely retry it. A different report needs a different ID; changing its contents while reusing an existing ID is rejected.
Resolve missing or stale data
Automatic sync paused. Read the error, then check whether Ahrefs is enabled, its API key is saved and authorized, the provider account has available usage, and the primary domain is configured. After fixing the cause, reopen Backlinks. Any previously saved snapshot remains available if the refresh fails.
Partial Ahrefs data. The message names the additional reports that failed. Core totals and backlink rows can still be available. Treat the missing panels as unavailable, not as zero results.
The import fails. Confirm that the file is JSON in the displayed format, uses a supported provider, stays within the size and record limits, and contains valid source and target addresses. If an existing source ID conflicts, use the original unchanged file for a retry or a new ID for a genuinely different report.
An imported report does not become the overview. Check its capture date in history. An older snapshot does not replace a newer one just because you uploaded it later.
A link is missing or totals differ elsewhere. Clear the filter and compare the provider, date, domain, report scope, and row limit. Then inspect the source page directly. Differences between saved reports do not by themselves establish that a link was gained or lost.