Backlink audit and clean-up · Marketing
Find out which links point at your site, and deal with the ones that should not.
Some businesses inherit a link profile they never chose. A former agency bought links, a directory submission service filled the web with listings, or an old campaign left hundreds of links on sites nobody would vouch for. The owner learns of it only when rankings fall and nobody can say why.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Backlink audit and clean-up reviews every site that links to yours, separates sound links from risky ones, recovers mentions that have gone missing, and compares your link profile with that of your competitors. It is a paid diagnostic, scoped and agreed in writing, and it makes no promise about rankings.
A backlink audit lists the sites that link to yours and judges each one on its own merits. Risky links are marked for removal or for a request to the search engine to ignore them. Good links that have broken, or mentions of your name that carry no link at all, are marked for recovery.
We start with the requirements brief: your site, its history, what was bought and by whom, and what has changed in search. Scope and fee are agreed in writing after that brief. This is paid work, and we do not promise that any ranking will return.
The problem
Does this sound like your business?
What owners tell us on the first call, in their words.
“Links were bought and nobody kept a record”
The agency that placed them has gone, the invoices say little, and the site carries links from pages that exist only to sell links.
“A ranking fall has no explanation”
Traffic dropped and the team has guessed at content, speed and competitors. Nobody has looked at who links to the site.
“A genuine penalty is possible but rare”
Search engines now ignore most poor links without any action against the site. A true manual action is uncommon, so the audit first establishes whether one exists before anything is removed.
“Good links and mentions have slipped away”
Pages were moved, addresses changed, and sites that once linked to you now point at a dead page, or name your business with no link at all.
What we do
Everything that is included.
Each deliverable, and what it gets you. Nothing here is an extra.
Backlink profile review
Every linking site found in the tools agreed in scope, listed and read by a person rather than sorted by a score alone.
Toxic-link assessment
Each doubtful link judged against the search engine's current guidance on link schemes, with the reasoning recorded so you can see why it was flagged.
Removal and disavow plan
For each risky link, a decision between asking the site owner to remove it and asking the search engine to ignore it, written down before any request is sent.
Link reclamation
Links that now point at dead pages, and mentions of your business that carry no link, matched to the right live page and followed up with the site owner.
Competitor backlink analysis
The sites linking to your named competitors compared with your own, to show realistic sources you could earn links from.
Findings document
A written account of what was found, what was done, what was left alone and what we recommend next.
How the result is measured
- Linking sites reviewed and the number classed as risky
- Removal requests made and the answers received
- Links and mentions reclaimed to a live page
- Competitor link sources identified as realistic to earn
- Whether a manual action exists, confirmed from the search engine's own tools
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
Who it is for
This is written for you if these sound familiar.
- Owners whose search visibility fell after a period of bought or exchanged links
- Businesses that took over a site from a former agency and cannot see what that agency built
- Companies that received a manual action notice in the search engine's own webmaster tools
- Firms that suspect a competitor or a spam network is pointing poor links at their site
- Teams about to start link building who want a clean base to build from
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- Sites with no links bought, exchanged or submitted in bulk, where a ranking fall has another cause
- Owners who want a promise that lost rankings will return, which nobody can honestly give
How it works
From your first message to the first report.
No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.
First
Your brief
You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.
After the brief
A conversation and a written scope
We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.
Before work starts
Baseline recorded
The numbers this work is meant to move, such as enquiries, quotations, orders, visits or renewals, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.
After the baseline
The first fix goes live
The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is a reply, a follow-up, a page, a listing or the handover between marketing and sales.
As agreed
Report against the baseline
What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.
At renewal
Renew on the numbers
The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.
How the backlink audit and clean-up work runs
- 1
Take the requirements brief
We record the site, its link history, any notice from the search engine and what you want from the audit.
- 2
Agree scope and fee in writing
What is reviewed, which tools are used and what it costs are written down and agreed after the brief.
- 3
Review and classify the links
Each linking site is read and sorted into sound, neutral or risky, with the reason noted.
- 4
Act on the agreed plan
Removal requests, search engine disavow files and reclamation outreach are carried out only for the links the plan names.
- 5
Report and hand over
You receive the findings, the record of what was done and a recommendation on whether to build new links.
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Engagement options
Ways to work with us.
Pick the size of commitment that fits. Every option starts with your brief and a conversation.
Option 1
The conversation on its own
A call after you send your brief. It says honestly whether you need outside help, and many fixes are ones your own team can make.
Option 2
One fix, scoped
Start with the fix that matters most, such as reply time or follow-up. The fee is in writing before anything starts.
Option 3
An ongoing programme
We run the work, report against the baseline, and you renew on the numbers. The term and the reporting are agreed in writing first.
Option 4
Guidance for your own team or agency
We plan, brief and check the work of your in-house team or current agency, instead of replacing them.
Your brief
Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
How is the work priced?
Will cleaning up links bring my rankings back?
Do I need to disavow every poor link?
Can you tell me who built the links?
What if the audit finds nothing wrong?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
By industry
Backlink audit and clean-up, written for your industry.
Related services
Often bought with this, or instead of it.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.