SEO SpyGlass builds a working record of the pages and domains that link to a website. A project can collect links from its own backlink index, import records, and add data from connected accounts. SEO SpyGlass then organizes those backlinks by source page, target page, anchor, link status, authority estimates, and profile patterns. It does not create backlinks or change search results by itself.
Project data
The selected statistical source changes what the Summary describes. The backlink index shows links as the crawler last recorded them. The Project source uses the records currently held in the project, which can include imported links, manually added rows, and live updates. Two summaries for the same domain can therefore show different totals without either one being a simple counting error.
SEO SpyGlass can update selected factors after the first collection. Backlink Page Info checks the source page and whether the link remains present. Linked Page Info checks the destination status. Other updates collect domain details, anchor properties, and authority estimates. Referral-session data needs a connected analytics account; the backlink crawl alone cannot supply it.
Link status
A backlink record represents an observed relationship between a source URL and a page on the researched site. The source page may later remove the link, disappear, redirect, or block access. Updating the record distinguishes a link that still exists from historical data that remains in the project.
Large projects take time to refresh because every selected row can require several network requests and calculations. SEO SpyGlass uses the computer’s connection for some external checks, and repeated automated queries can trigger captchas or service limits. Updating only the columns needed for the current decision reduces that work.
Risk estimates
Penalty Risk is a proprietary percentage derived from several backlink and profile signals. SEO SpyGlass considers properties of the linking domain and page together with patterns across the profile, such as repeated anchors or clusters of links from related network ranges. The information control beside a result lists the factors that raised its value.
The percentage is an estimate, not a message from a search engine and not proof that a link caused a penalty. A high value identifies a record for manual inspection. The source page, editorial context, ownership, anchor, destination, and any known manual action still matter before removal or disavowal.
History views
Historical Data separates newly found and lost backlinks over a selected period. A graph shows spikes and falls, while the workspace below lists the records associated with the chosen date range. Search scope also matters: domain with subdomains, domain only, and exact URL answer different questions.
A lost-link label describes what the crawler observed, not why the publisher made the change. The page may have removed one link, moved the content, changed access rules, or disappeared. Rechecking the source URL supplies the evidence needed before treating the loss as a relationship problem.
Disavow files
SEO SpyGlass can add a page or an entire domain to an internal disavow list and export the finished text file. It does not submit that file automatically. The user must review it and upload it through the search engine’s separate disavow interface.
An upload replaces the disavow file already associated with the property. If a previous file exists, it must be imported into SEO SpyGlass before new entries are added; otherwise, exporting and uploading only the new rows can remove the earlier instructions. Domain-level disavowal also covers every link from that domain, so choosing it for one questionable page can exclude unrelated links. Comments help preserve the reason for each decision before export.
