You can buy a link package that looks great in a tool and still get… nothing. No movement. No new rankings. Sometimes, you even get weird volatility that makes you regret touching anything.
That’s the trap with “DR inflation.” The numbers rise, the screenshots look clean, and the links quietly do the opposite of what you wanted.
So here’s a checklist you can actually use. Not theory. Not vibes. Eleven tests you can run on any prospect page before you pay, pitch, or place.
If you’re building links for a client site, a niche project, or your own brand, this is the quickest way to spot what’s real and what’s just dressed up.
Test 1–3: Start with the page, not the domain
Most bad link decisions happen because people evaluate the domain and ignore the page that will host the link. Google doesn’t rank “domains.” It ranks pages. And a strong domain can still publish pages that are thin, duplicated, or never seen by search.
Test 1: The page is indexable and actually indexed
If the page isn’t indexed, it can’t pass anything meaningful. Sounds obvious. Still missed constantly.
Concrete example: you buy a link on a “news” subfolder that’s blocked by robots, or it’s set to noindex, or it’s buried behind a tag archive Google doesn’t bother with. Your DR report still “counts” it. Google doesn’t.
Mini-checklist:
- Search Google for the page title in quotes and see if it shows up
- Check if the page has a noindex directive
- Look for obvious crawl blockers like “blocked by robots” messages in the source or headers
- If it’s a brand-new page, ask how they get new posts discovered
If you want context for why indexing is the first gate, GrowthScribe’s piece on backlink indexing timing and strategy is a useful reminder that a link can exist and still be invisible to search.
Test 2: The link will live in the main content, not the furniture
Sidebar, footer, author bio, “resources,” sitewide blocks, or templated widgets are where “DR inflation” links go to die. The placement looks permanent, but it behaves like wallpaper.
Concrete example: a site offers “editorial insertion,” but when you open the page, the link is sitting under a generic “Partners” module that appears on hundreds of posts. Tools may show a lot of “referring pages,” but the signal is muddy and easy to discount.
Mini-checklist:
- The link sits inside the body copy, surrounded by relevant sentences
- It’s not repeated across a category template or widget
- It isn’t shoved into a block of unrelated outbound links
- You can point to the sentence and say why the reader would click
Test 3: The page has a real job to do for users
Pages that exist mainly to host outbound links often have a familiar smell: vague headlines, long paragraphs that say nothing, and random product mentions stapled together.
Concrete example: “Best tools for modern businesses” with 18 unrelated tools, no criteria, and no original screenshots. It ranks for nothing, but it still gets sold as “DR 60.”
Mini-checklist:
- The page answers a specific question, not five at once
- It includes at least one original detail: a screenshot, a workflow, a named scenario
- It has internal links that help navigation, not just external links
- You’d be okay putting your own brand name on it
A practical way to keep your team aligned is to define what you mean by white-hat authority backlinks before you evaluate prospects, so you’re scoring publishing quality and context rather than arguing about a single metric.
Test 4–6: Spot manufactured authority signals
Once the page clears the basics, you’re looking for the subtle fingerprints of manufactured authority. These are the patterns that look “strong” in a spreadsheet while being weak in reality.
Test 4: Traffic is relevant, not just present
A page can sit on a high-traffic site and still be irrelevant to the topic you need. Relevance isn’t moral. It’s mechanical.
Concrete example: a general “tech news” site has traffic, but the page you’re buying is about “how much is a galaxy worth on TikTok.” If you’re placing a link for B2B cybersecurity or SaaS, that context mismatch is loud.
Mini-checklist:
- The site ranks for topics adjacent to yours, not just random viral queries
- The page itself has a shot at ranking for a specific keyword cluster
- The surrounding articles are in the same neighborhood, not a roulette wheel
- The internal links point to related content, not a messy sitemap
Test 5: Outbound links aren’t the entire business model
Some sites exist primarily to publish outbound links. They’ll still have DR. They’ll still have “traffic.” But their pages behave like link farms with better design.
Concrete example: open five posts and count outbound links. If each article has 10–25 external links to commercial pages, with no consistent editorial logic, you’re not looking at journalism. You’re looking at a marketplace.
Mini-checklist:
- Outbound links per post feel normal for the format
- External links include references, not just brands
- Anchor text varies naturally and doesn’t read like a list of keywords
- You don’t see the same “best X for Y” structure repeated endlessly
Google is pretty direct that manipulative link behavior can violate its policies, and it’s worth keeping its spam policies in mind when a site looks like it’s built mainly to manufacture ranking signals.
Test 6: The site isn’t playing musical chairs with authors and topics
A common “DR inflation” pattern: a site that suddenly publishes everything. Crypto wallets. Snapchat emojis. OSHA training. Net worth estimates. Random software names. All in the same week.
Concrete example: an “AI blog” that also runs posts about airline discount codes, celebrity gossip, and emulator setup issues. That’s not breadth. That’s a lack of editorial identity.
Mini-checklist:
- The site has a consistent set of categories that make sense together
- Authors appear across multiple posts and have stable bylines
- The About page doesn’t feel like filler
- There’s a reason this site should exist besides monetization
Test 7–9: Check for trust and durability
Even if the site looks clean today, you want links that will still make sense a year from now. Durable links come from durable pages.
Test 7: The page gets internal support
A lonely page with no internal links is a floating island. It can be crawled, but it doesn’t inherit much site context, and it’s easy to ignore.
Concrete example: a sponsored post published and then never linked again from anywhere on the site. It exists, but it’s not part of the site’s ecosystem.
Mini-checklist:
- The post is linked from a relevant category, not just “blog.”
- Other related posts link to it naturally
- Navigation and breadcrumbs work
- There’s a clear path a human could follow to find it
Test 8: The content shows editorial friction
“Editorial friction” is when you can tell someone made choices: what to include, what to exclude, and why. That friction is hard to fake at scale.
Concrete example: a backlink prospect page that includes a short “who this is for” paragraph, two concrete criteria, and a negative example. That’s a writer thinking, not a template running.
Mini-checklist:
- Clear criteria, not generic praise
- One specific example with numbers or a scenario
- A small disagreement or trade-off acknowledged in plain language
- No copy that reads like it was stitched together from definitions
Test 9: The site’s link behavior won’t put you in a mess later
If you’re building links for a real business, you’re not just buying today’s signal. You’re buying tomorrow’s cleanup risk. Sites that get hit with penalties or lose trust turn your “wins” into chores.
Concrete example: a client asks why leads dropped, and you find a manual action or a sudden ranking loss tied to a network of low-quality placements. Now your team is exporting link lists and drafting removal emails instead of shipping growth work.
Google’s documentation on manual actions is a good reality check here: a human reviewer can decide a pattern crosses the line, and that’s when things get annoying fast.
Test 10–11: Make the decision with two “reality checks”
These last two tests are the ones I use when everything looks fine, but I still don’t trust it. They’re quick. They’re blunt. And they save money.
Test 10: The “three-click” reader test
Pretend you’re the intended reader. Open the site and try to find the article in three clicks without using the search.
Concrete example: you land on the homepage, click “Blog,” click a category, and the post is nowhere to be found because it’s effectively orphaned. If readers can’t find it, Google probably won’t treat it like a core asset either.
Mini-checklist:
- Homepage → Blog → Category gets you close
- The post appears in recent posts or category feeds
- The site search returns it quickly
- It doesn’t feel hidden or “special”
Test 11: The “anchor swap” test
Read the paragraph where your link would go and swap your brand out for a generic placeholder. If the sentence still makes sense, the placement is probably natural. If it collapses, you’re forcing it.
Concrete example: “This platform is the best solution for businesses that want results.” Swap the brand. The sentence still says nothing. That’s exactly why it’s used to host outbound links.
Mini-checklist:
- The sentence has a specific claim, not a vague compliment
- The anchor describes the destination in plain English
- The surrounding sentences support the click logically
- The paragraph would still be useful if the link were removed
How to use the checklist in a real workflow
Here’s a fast way to apply the 11 tests without turning it into a week-long debate.
Scenario: You have 20 potential placements from a vendor. You need to pick five.
Process:
- Run Tests 1–3 on all 20 first
If a page isn’t indexed, doesn’t allow in-content placement, or has no user purpose, it’s out. No arguing. - Run Tests 4–6 on the survivors
You’re looking for patterns that scream “published for links.” If you see them, downgrade or remove. - Use Tests 7–9 to prioritize
Pick the pages that look supported internally and likely to stick around. - Use Tests 10–11 as the final filter
If you still feel unsure, these two tests usually break the tie.
And if you’re ever tempted to justify a weak placement with “but the DR is high,” pause and rerun Test 3. If the page doesn’t help a reader, you’re paying for a number.
Wrap-up takeaway
DR is a data point, not a decision. When you judge backlink quality at the page level, you stop paying for “authority-looking” placements that don’t carry real weight. Use indexing and placement as your first gate, then look for signs of manufactured publishing patterns.
Prioritize pages that have internal support and content that shows real editorial choices. If you only have ten minutes, run the three-click reader test and the anchor swap test before you approve anything. Open your next link prospect list today and eliminate the first three that fail Test 1.
