Why did my backlink disappear? Removed, page gone, nofollow and blocked checks explained

You earned a link. Maybe you paid for it. And now the status says it's gone.

Before you panic, know this: links disappear all the time, usually for boring reasons. Most of them have nothing to do with you.

Here's what each status means, why it happens, and what I'd do about it.

How DR Buddy checks a link

Every week, DR Buddy visits the page your link is on, the same way a browser would, and reads the HTML. It looks for a link pointing to your site, and notes how it's labelled and where it sits on the page.

If something looks wrong, we don't tell you straight away. We check again the next day. Only when the problem shows up twice in a row does the status change. Sites go down for an hour, plugins break, servers hiccup. One bad check isn't proof.

What each status means

Live. The link is on the page and followed. Nothing to do.

Nofollow. The link is there, but it's labelled nofollow, sponsored or ugc, so it passes little or no ranking credit. It still sends visitors. I explain the labels, and why sites switch them, in Nofollow, sponsored and ugc links.

Page moved. The page now redirects to a new address, and we found your link there. Usually fine. Google follows redirects, so the link still counts.

Noindex. The page loads and your link is on it, but the page tells Google not to include it in search results. A link on a page Google is told to skip carries little value. This is often a mistake on the site's side, like a staging setting left on after a redesign.

Link removed. The page loads fine, but your link isn't on it anymore.

Page gone. The page returns "not found." The link went with it.

Can't check. The site blocked our visit, or didn't answer. This says nothing about your link. It just means we couldn't look.

Checked by you. The site blocks our checks, so you opened the page and confirmed the link yourself.

Why sites remove links

In my experience, it's almost never because someone decided they don't like you. More often:

• The article was updated. Someone rewrote the post and your paragraph didn't make the cut.
• The site was redesigned. New theme, new templates, and the old author bio or sidebar is gone.
• The page was deleted or merged. Lots of blogs prune old posts to tidy up.
• The site was sold. New owners often strip outbound links.
• A plugin changed things. Some SEO plugins add nofollow, or hide links, after an update.
• It was a paid link with an end date. Some "permanent" links aren't.

What to say to the site owner

If it was a link you earned, a short email works more often than you'd think. Keep it friendly and make it easy:

Hi Sam, I noticed your post on [topic] used to link to my guide on [thing], and the link seems to have dropped off in a recent update. If it was a mistake, here's the page: [URL]. If it was on purpose, no worries at all. Thanks for the mention either way.

No guilt, no demands. You're giving them an easy yes.

If you paid for the link and it was meant to stay up, it's fair to point to what you agreed. If it was a while ago and the site has changed hands, let it go and put the time into new links.

When a site blocks checks

Some sites block automated visits. Big publishers, sites behind Cloudflare's bot protection, and some hosting companies do this to everyone, not just DR Buddy.

When that happens, the status shows Can't check. Open the page, look for your link, and click I checked, it's there. We'll treat it as confirmed for 30 days, then ask you again. If one of our checks gets through in the meantime and finds a real problem, that result wins, because it's better evidence.

A quick way to find your link on a long page: press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac) and search for your domain name.

When to let it go

Not every lost link is worth chasing.

If it was from a site with no real readers, or a page nobody visits, it probably wasn't doing much. Spend that time getting one good new link instead. If it was a link from inside a real article on a site with traffic, it's worth one polite email.

What DR Buddy does for you

Each link's row shows whether it's on the page, whether it's followed, and when we last checked. Open a row to see what the last check found and the full history. Links that need a look show up on your dashboard card, so you don't have to dig.