Home / Check catalog / 6. Schema, Local, Trust, Deep Audit / 6.56 Off-Page SEO, Backlink Quality, Brand Mentions, Knowledge Graph Expansion & AI Link Signals

6.56 Off-Page SEO, Backlink Quality, Brand Mentions, Knowledge Graph Expansion & AI Link Signals

200 checks in Schema, Local, Trust, Deep Audit. AI-assisted Scored in the Deep Audit's AI analysis pass.

Backlink Quantity, Quality & Distribution

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.01	Validate total backlink count measurable	Measurable	Critical	Deterministic + AI
6.56.02	Validate toxic links identifiable	Identifiable	Critical	Deterministic + AI
6.56.03	Validate backlink authority distribution balanced	Balanced	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.04	Validate majority of links come from reputable domains	Reputable	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.05	Validate domain relevance of linking sites	Relevant	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.06	Validate link velocity natural	Natural	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.07	Detect suspicious spikes in link acquisition	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.08	Validate link age distribution healthy	Healthy	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.09	Validate links not from spam networks	Clean	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.10	Validate domain diversity strong	Diverse	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Anchor Text Patterns & Optimization

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.11	Validate anchor‑text distribution balanced	Balanced	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.12	Validate no over‑optimized exact‑match anchors	None	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.13	Validate branded anchor usage healthy	Healthy	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.14	Validate topical anchors relevant	Relevant	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.15	Validate generic anchors low proportion	Low	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.16	Detect spammy anchor text patterns	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.17	Validate distribution across pages even	Even	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.18	Validate anchor‑text matches landing page context	Matching	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.19	Detect keyword‑stuffed anchors	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.20	Validate multilingual anchors accurate (if applicable)	Accurate	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Link Placement, Context & Link-Level Authority

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.21	Validate links placed in body content	In‑body	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.22	Validate contextual links (editorial) dominant	Dominant	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.23	Validate link placement not in footer/sidebar only	Avoided	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.24	Validate linking page topic aligned	Aligned	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.25	Validate link context descriptive surrounding text	Descriptive	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.26	Detect links from thin/low‑content pages	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.27	Validate dofollow vs nofollow balance healthy	Healthy	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.28	Validate outbound linking page authority strong	Strong	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.29	Detect harmful proximity (links near spam terms)	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.30	Validate contextual paragraph relevance strong	Strong	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Toxicity, Risk, Disavow & Safety Signals

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.31	Validate harmful backlinks detectable	Detectable	Critical	Deterministic + AI
6.56.32	Validate spam score measurable	Measurable	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.33	Validate toxic link categories identifiable	Identifiable	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.34	Validate adult/gambling/pharma links removed or flagged	None	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.35	Validate no hacked‑site backlinks	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.36	Validate no auto‑generated links	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.37	Validate no toxic foreign language links	Clean	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.38	Validate no suspicious TLDs dominating	Clean	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.39	Validate disavow file exists if needed	Exists	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.40	Validate disavow file up‑to‑date	Updated	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Overall Backlink Graph Stability

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.41	Validate backlink graph growth consistent	Consistent	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.42	Validate brand authority trending upward	Upward	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.43	Validate link loss rate normal	Normal	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.44	Validate seasonal link variations normal	Normal	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.45	Detect anomalous link loss	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.46	Validate tier‑2 link environment safe	Safe	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.47	Validate outbound link context from linking site relevant	Relevant	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.48	Validate no negative‑SEO footprint	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.49	Validate long‑term backlink health stable	Stable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.50	Validate backlink graph supports entity authority	Supportive	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Brand Mentions — Quantity, Context & Consistency

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.51	Validate brand mentions detectable across the web	Detectable	Critical	Deterministic + AI
6.56.52	Validate branded entity consistently referenced	Consistent	Critical	Deterministic + AI
6.56.53	Validate mention context positive or neutral	Positive/Neutral	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.54	Validate mentions aligned to business category	Aligned	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.55	Validate mentions appear on relevant platforms	Relevant	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.56	Validate brand name spelled consistently	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.57	Detect ambiguous references (similar brand names)	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.58	Validate entity mentions include contextual relevance	Relevant	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.59	Validate mentions not surrounded by negative keywords	Clean	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.60	Detect “brand confusion” patterns across sources	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Sentiment Analysis — Web, Social & Media

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.61	Validate sentiment detectable across major platforms	Detectable	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.62	Validate sentiment trend positive	Positive	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.63	Validate no severe negative sentiment spikes	None	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.64	Validate social sentiment matches review sentiment	Aligned	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.65	Validate forum/blog sentiment stable	Stable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.66	Detect emerging negative sentiment clusters	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.67	Validate positive sentiment keywords present	Present	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.68	Validate neutral sentiment dominant	Neutral	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.69	Detect toxic sentiment terms associated	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.70	Validate sentiment consistency across languages	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Contextual Brand Positioning — Industry, Competition & Category

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.71	Validate brand recognized within correct industry	Correct	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.72	Validate external content categorizes brand consistently	Consistent	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.73	Validate category‑level association signals strong	Strong	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.74	Validate competitor mentions adjacent but not confusing	Clear	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.75	Validate industry‑specific language used around brand	Accurate	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.76	Detect off‑topic or misleading associations	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.77	Validate vertical‑specific authority keywords nearby	Present	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.78	Validate external content supports entity identity	Supportive	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.79	Detect topic misalignment in external mentions	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.80	Validate entity placed in correct Knowledge Graph category	Correct	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Cross-Platform Brand Consistency — Social, Directories, PR

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.81	Validate social handles match brand name	Matching	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.82	Validate bio/description messaging consistent	Consistent	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.83	Validate correct category selected across directories	Correct	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.84	Validate visual identity consistent	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.85	Validate URL usage consistent	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.86	Validate phone/address details matched	Matched	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.87	Detect outdated directory entries	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.88	Validate press mentions link back to authoritative sources	Authoritative	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.89	Validate social proof links functional	Functional	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.90	Detect platform mismatches in brand messaging	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Overall Brand Mention Graph Stability

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.91	Validate mention volume growing	Growing	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.92	Validate mention velocity natural	Natural	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.93	Validate new mentions relevant to core topics	Relevant	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.94	Validate long‑term mention sentiment stable	Stable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.95	Validate mention patterns aligned to seasonal brand cycles	Aligned	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.96	Detect sudden drop in mentions	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.97	Validate Knowledge Graph‑related mentions present	Present	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.98	Validate new platform mentions increasing	Increasing	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.99	Detect unclear references (brand vs generic term)	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.100	Validate mention graph supports entity authority	Supportive	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Knowledge Graph Associations — Detectability & Strength

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.101	Validate entity appears in structured datasets (KG-compatible)	Present	Critical	Deterministic + AI
6.56.102	Validate entity relationships detectable (brand → category → industry)	Detectable	Critical	Deterministic + AI
6.56.103	Validate Knowledge Graph‑related mentions increasing	Increasing	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.104	Validate branded entity properly disambiguated online	Disambiguated	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.105	Validate KG references align with website schema	Aligned	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.106	Validate structured citations used by KG crawlers	Used	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.107	Detect conflicting Knowledge Graph identities	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.108	Validate entity‑level metadata consistent across platforms	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.109	Validate KG interprets brand’s primary domain correctly	Correct	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.110	Validate entity is referenced by other authoritative entities	Referenced	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Entity Linking — Cross-Domain, External Graph & Semantic Network Signals

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.111	Validate entity link graph shows outward associations	Healthy	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.112	Validate semantic relationship mapping (entity → related topics)	Mapped	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.113	Validate external links reinforce brand’s semantic identity	Reinforcing	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.114	Validate cross‑domain match with business category	Matching	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.115	Validate consistent anchor‑text usage regarding entity	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.116	Detect cross‑domain mentions lacking semantic relevance	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.117	Validate entity linked to niche‑specific authoritative sites	Linked	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.118	Validate link graph not polluted by off‑topic entities	Clean	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.119	Validate co‑occurring entities beneficial	Beneficial	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.120	Detect entity misclassification signals	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI

AI Link Signals — Crawler Favorability, Traceability & Semantic Coherence

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.121	Validate linking pages easy for AI crawlers to parse	Parseable	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.122	Validate link context machine‑interpretable	Interpretable	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.123	Validate no broken semantic paths in link graph	None	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.124	Validate surrounding text supports AI embedding accuracy	Supportive	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.125	Validate link/page metadata consistent with brand topic	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.126	Detect low semantic-density linking environments	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.127	Validate crawler traceability across external links	Traceable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.128	Validate semantic embeddings match link‑graph structure	Matching	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.129	Validate no contradictory semantic hints	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.130	Validate external pages correctly categorize brand	Correct	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Knowledge Graph Expansion — Network Growth & Entity Connectivity

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.131	Validate entity receives new high‑quality references	Increasing	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.132	Validate KG connectivity depth increasing	Deepening	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.133	Validate brand referenced in structured PR releases	Present	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.134	Validate new partner mentions improve KG connections	Improving	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.135	Validate cross‑industry mentions appropriate	Appropriate	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.136	Detect content farms referencing brand	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.137	Validate entity relationship pages discoverable	Discoverable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.138	Validate entity connections not contradictory	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.139	Detect Knowledge Graph “identity drift”	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.140	Validate entity relationships persistent across time	Persistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Final External Entity Graph & AI Link Signal Scoring

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.141	Validate link graph strengthens entity identity	Strong	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.142	Validate off‑page signals support AI classification	Supportive	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.143	Validate external semantic graph coherent	Coherent	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.144	Validate cross‑domain credibility stable	Stable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.145	Validate external references predictable (non‑random)	Predictable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.146	Detect entity fragmentation across platforms	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.147	Validate long‑term link graph reliability	Reliable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.148	Validate no AI‑risk associations (misleading semantics)	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.149	Validate entity externally classified in correct vertical	Correct	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.150	Compute External Entity Authority & AI Link Signal Score	Finalized	Critical	Deterministic + AI

Press Mentions — Quality, Authority & Context

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.151	Validate press mentions from authoritative publications	Authoritative	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.152	Validate press mention context positive	Positive	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.153	Validate press backlinks functional	Functional	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.154	Validate PR releases correctly structured (schema/newsArticle)	Structured	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.155	Validate PR pick-ups consistent with brand identity	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.156	Detect low-quality press syndication networks	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.157	Validate press mentions support entity authority	Supportive	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.158	Validate press mentions include correct URL	Correct	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.159	Validate no harmful press associations	Clean	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.160	Validate PR releases indexed & visible	Indexed	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Social Signals — Activity, Engagement & Trust

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.161	Validate social profiles active	Active	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.162	Validate engagement rate stable or improving	Improving	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.163	Validate content consistency across social	Consistent	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.164	Validate follower authenticity (low fake followers)	Authentic	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.165	Validate social presence supports brand authority	Supportive	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.166	Detect social controversies or harmful mentions	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.167	Validate cross-platform branding consistent	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.168	Validate social backlinks functional	Functional	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.169	Validate social proof strong (shares, comments, saves)	Strong	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.170	Validate social sentiment consistent with brand image	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Off-Page Authority — Domain-Wide Signals & Long-Term Growth

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.171	Validate domain authority trending upward	Upward	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.172	Validate referring domain growth consistent	Consistent	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.173	Validate high-authority referring domains increasing	Increasing	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.174	Validate industry-specific links increasing	Increasing	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.175	Detect loss of critical authority links	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.176	Validate long-term off-page signals stable	Stable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.177	Validate link profile suitable for competitive ranking	Suitable	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.178	Detect link gaps vs top competitors	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.179	Validate topical backlink clusters present	Present	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.180	Validate off‑page signals reinforce main topics	Reinforcing	Medium	Deterministic + AI

AI-Specific Link Signals — Machine Favorability & Traceability

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.181	Validate AI crawlers can trace link graph	Traceable	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.182	Validate anchor text supports AI embeddings	Supportive	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.183	Validate semantic context predictable for AI	Predictable	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.184	Validate external content gives clean structured signals	Clean	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.185	Validate external site metadata consistent	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.186	Detect AI misinterpretation risk in link context	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.187	Validate AI-friendly markup surrounding links	Present	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.188	Validate consistent semantic path (entity → link → context)	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.189	Detect broken AI-crawl patterns	None	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.190	Validate multimodal external signals (text, images, schema) aligned	Aligned	Medium	Deterministic + AI

Final Off-Page SEO, Backlink Health & AI Link Signal Scoring

ID	Check	Passes when	Weight	Runs
6.56.191	Validate off-page identity consistent	Consistent	Critical	Deterministic + AI
6.56.192	Validate no external contradictions in brand identity	None	Critical	Deterministic + AI
6.56.193	Validate off-page signals strong enough to rank	Strong	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.194	Validate link graph stability	Stable	Heavy	Deterministic + AI
6.56.195	Validate long-term off-page momentum	Positive	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.196	Validate consistent mention/link growth	Consistent	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.197	Validate off-page sentiment supportive	Supportive	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.198	Validate off-page context aligns with AI classification	Aligned	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.199	Validate external authority signals non-conflicting	Non-conflicting	Medium	Deterministic + AI
6.56.200	Compute Final Off-Page SEO, Backlink & AI Link Score	Finalized	Critical	Deterministic + AI

← 6.55 Content Quality, AI-Optimization, NLP Depth, Semantic Search Readiness & Topical Authority6.57 Advanced Technical SEO, Rendering, Indexation, Canonical Systems, Log Analysis & AI Crawlability →

Run these checks on your site

A Deep Audit scores every check here that applies to your page, then an AI pass of up to 150 checks. Included on Pro and Ultra, or $9 for one audit.

See plans

Machine-readable: catalog totals and the full catalog as JSON (IDs, section, weight, status).