A single page can carry far more links than its body copy suggests. Menus, footers, related-post widgets and share buttons all add anchors you never notice while scrolling. The Kwebby Website Links Count Checker counts every <a href> link in a page's HTML and sorts them by type, so you see the links a crawler finds before any JavaScript runs. This guide explains what each number means, how to run a check, and which results deserve action. For more checks like it, browse the Free SEO Tools.
Key Takeaways
- The Kwebby Website Links Count Checker counts the links on one URL and reports internal versus external, followed versus nofollow, sponsored and ugc, plus a link list with anchor text.
- It reads the raw HTML after redirects. Links added by JavaScript, and links inside comments or scripts, are not counted.
- Google can generally only crawl a link that is an
<a>element with anhrefattribute, so a link count matters most for real anchors. - Google recognizes three rel values for outbound links: nofollow, sponsored and ugc. It says links marked this way will generally not be followed.
- Google advises that every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site.
- Google sets no ideal number of links per page, so judge each link by purpose instead of chasing a target.
- The tool is free and needs no account.
What Is the Kwebby Website Links Count Checker?
The Kwebby Website Links Count Checker is a free online tool that counts the links on one webpage. Enter a URL and click Count to see the total, the internal versus external split, the followed, nofollow, sponsored and ugc counts and a link list with anchor text. No account is required.
An internal link points to another page on the same domain. An external link points to a page on a different domain. A nofollow link carries rel="nofollow" in its anchor tag, and a dofollow link is a normal link without that restriction.
Key Features and How It Works
The checker reads one page at a time and reports what it finds in four parts. It parses every <a> element with an href, whether the attribute uses double quotes, single quotes or none, and skips #fragment, mailto:, tel: and javascript: links. Links to the www and non-www versions of the page's domain count as internal.
Total Link Count
The total tells you how many links the page carries in all. Compare it across page types on your site. A blog post, a product page and a category page will each have a different normal range.
Internal Versus External Split
The split shows how many links keep visitors on your site and how many send them elsewhere. A post with no internal links is an isolated page. A post whose links all go out to other domains gives readers little reason to explore your site.
Followed, Nofollow, Sponsored and UGC
The cards count links with rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" and rel="ugc" separately, and the Followed card counts links with none of the three. In the list, each link shows its rel values. This is the fastest way to catch a nofollow attribute that a plugin or editor added to an internal link by accident. Google documents nofollow, sponsored and ugc as the rel values for outbound links, and it says links marked this way will generally not be followed.
Link List With Anchor Text
The list shows each link with its anchor text, or the image alt text for image links, in Internal and External tabs. Each tab shows up to 200 links, while the totals count every link. A Copy list button copies all listed links, their type, anchor text and rel values as tab-separated rows you can paste into a spreadsheet. The list lets you read each link instead of trusting a total. Use it to spot unexpected destinations, repeated links and anchors that point to the wrong page. If a count looks off, compare it with the raw markup in the Get Source Code of Webpage tool.
Why Counting the Links on a Page Matters
Links are how search engines find pages and how visitors move between them, so the links on a page shape both crawling and navigation. Google's guidance on crawlable links states that it can generally only crawl a link that is an <a> element with an href attribute. Buttons and scripts that act like links may not be crawled.
Google also advises that every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site. A page with no internal links pointing to it is an orphan, and crawlers have no path to it except a sitemap or an outside link.
Link count is not a score to maximize. Google states there is no magical ideal number of links a page should contain, and that if you think a page has too many, it probably does. Treat the count as a prompt to look at the list, not as a pass or fail grade.
How to Use the Website Links Count Checker
Running a check takes four steps.
- Open the Website Links Count Checker.
- Enter the full page address, starting with https://, in the URL field. The example in the field is
https://example.com. - Click Count.
- Read the totals, then scan the full link list for nofollow internal links, unexpected external links and missing links to pages you want found.
Test the exact URL a visitor lands on. If you are unsure whether your site resolves with or without www, check it first with the WWW Redirect Checker.
Best Practices for Link Count Analysis
Check Pages That Earn Money or Traffic First
Start with your top landing pages and newest posts, not the homepage alone. A common mistake is auditing the homepage and assuming every template behaves the same way.
Separate Template Links From Body Links
Navigation and footer links repeat on every page. Look at the list to see how many links sit in the body copy, because those are the links you chose on purpose. If the body has two links and the template has two hundred, add more contextual links.
Audit Nofollow on Your Own Pages
Internal links rarely need nofollow. If the list shows nofollow on a link to your own content, find where the attribute comes from, such as a theme setting, a plugin or an editor field, and remove it.
Mark Paid and User-Generated Links Correctly
Google recommends rel="sponsored" for advertisements and paid placements and rel="ugc" for comments and forum posts. When the list shows outbound links to partners or advertisers without a rel value, fix them.
Write Descriptive Anchor Text
Google asks for anchor text that is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to the target page. A list full of "click here" and "read more" wastes the chance to describe the destination.
Follow Up on Broken Destinations
A link count does not say whether each destination still works. Run the same page through the Broken Links Finder after any redesign or migration.
Common Use Cases
- Pre-publish check. Count the links in a draft post before it goes live and confirm it links to two or three related pages.
- Template audit. Compare a post, a category page and a landing page to find which template adds the most links.
- Outbound link review. Scan a sponsored article for external links that need
rel="sponsored". - Post-migration check. Confirm that key pages still link to each other after a redesign or a URL change.
- Competitor comparison. Count the links on a public competitor page, then use the Backlink Checker to see which sites link to that domain.
Related Kwebby Tools
- Get Source Code of Webpage shows the raw HTML behind each link, so you can confirm the
hrefandrelvalues. - Broken Links Finder tests whether the links on a page still lead somewhere.
- Backlink Checker looks at links pointing to a site, the opposite direction from this tool.
- Meta Tags Analyzer checks the title, description and other tags for the same URL.
- Open Graph Checker previews how the page looks when someone shares it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the difference between internal and external links?
Internal links point to other pages on the same domain. External links point to pages on other domains. Both matter for SEO, because internal links help crawlers and visitors move through your site and external links give context and sources.
What is the difference between dofollow and nofollow links?
Dofollow is the informal name for a normal link without nofollow, sponsored or ugc. A nofollow link carries rel="nofollow", which asks Google not to associate your site with the linked page or crawl it. Google says links marked with nofollow, sponsored or ugc will generally not be followed, but the linked page can still be found through other sources.
How many links should a page have?
Google says there is no magical ideal number of links for a page, and that a page with too many probably feels like it. Judge each link by whether it helps the reader. A long navigation menu is fine, but a body paragraph stuffed with links is not.
Is the Kwebby Website Links Count Checker free?
Yes. The tool is free to use and needs no account.
Can I find broken links with this tool?
The Website Links Count Checker counts and classifies the links on a page. To find dead links, run the same URL through the Kwebby Broken Links Finder.
Final Thoughts
Link counts only help when you read the list behind them. Run the Website Links Count Checker on your top landing page today, look for nofollow links to your own content, and add links to any page that has none pointing at it. Then work through the Technical SEO Checklist to cover the rest of the crawl basics.