Export multiple views
Use Search Console and third-party link tools when available. Each crawler has a different index, so no single export represents every link on the web.
Review referring domains
Identify the sites that contribute the most links, the most important links, and unusual clusters. Look at relevance, history, content, and whether the domains still exist in a healthy form.
Review anchors
Group branded, URL, partial-match, exact-match, generic, and other anchors. Look for concentrations that do not make sense for how people would naturally cite the business.
Review acquisition patterns
Sudden spikes, large sitewide clusters, repeated commercial placements, or many links from unrelated sites deserve investigation. A pattern matters more than one isolated link.
Check lost and changed links
Links disappear, pages redirect, domains expire, and anchors change. Track meaningful losses so you understand whether link equity and referral sources are stable.
Use judgment before action
Do not remove or disavow links simply because a third-party tool labels them toxic. Investigate context and use Google’s own guidance for manual-action or disavow decisions.
Important policy context
Google's current spam policies identify buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam. Google also says paid advertising or sponsorship links can be legitimate when appropriately qualified with rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". Read Google's spam policies.