Automate Lost Backlink Checks with n8n & DataForSEO

1. Opening Problem Statement

Meet Sarah, an SEO specialist tasked with managing hundreds of backlinks to her website. Backlinks are crucial for SEO success, but many of them can go “lost” or become “nofollow,” reducing their value. Manually checking each backlink’s status on multiple pages by visiting URLs and cross-referencing spreadsheets is a nightmare. Sarah wastes over 10 hours monthly on this repetitive, error-prone process, risking lost revenue and decreased search rankings.

This exact pain is what our n8n workflow tackles head-on. It automatically checks if backlinks still exist and are “live” (dofollow) by crawling the backlink URLs and scanning for the presence of her landing page links. If a backlink is lost or marked nofollow, the workflow updates a Google Sheet so Sarah always has accurate, up-to-date backlink data without lifting a finger.

2. What This Automation Does

When you trigger this n8n workflow, here’s exactly what happens:

• Reads backlink URLs and landing page data from a specified range in a Google Sheet.
• Extracts the domain from each backlink URL for targeted crawling.
• Sends each domain and URL pair to the DataForSEO On-Page Analysis API for live crawling and backlink data retrieval.
• Waits 20 seconds to allow API processing.
• Requests link status data from DataForSEO on each crawl task.
• Runs code to determine if the backlink exists on the landing page and whether it’s dofollow or lost.
• Updates the original Google Sheet with the backlink status (“Live”, “Lost”, or “Lost (Nofollow)”).

This workflow saves Sarah up to 10 hours per month by automating backlink verification, reducing manual errors, and enabling proactive SEO fixes.

3. Prerequisites ⚙️

• n8n account (cloud or self-hosted). For self-hosting check options like Hostinger.
• Google Sheets account with a sheet containing backlink data:
  Columns: Backlink URL and Landing page.
  Data range specified like D1:E.
• Google Sheets OAuth2 credentials connected in n8n.
• DataForSEO API account:
  API key and password for HTTP Basic Authentication.

4. Step-by-Step Guide to Build the Workflow

Step 1: Add Manual Trigger

Navigate to Nodes → Triggers → Manual Trigger. This node lets you run the workflow on-demand for testing or scheduled runs. Name it “When clicking ‘Test workflow'”. Leave parameters default.

Outcome: You will be able to start this workflow manually.

Common mistake: Forgetting to connect this node forward will prevent the workflow from starting.

Step 2: Read Data from Google Sheets

Add a Google Sheets node. Connect it from the manual trigger. Choose the proper spreadsheet (documentId) and the specific sheet (sheetName) containing backlink data. Set the range to D1:E to select “Backlink URL” and “Landing page” columns.

Outcome: Node returns each row of your backlink data for processing.

Common mistake: Incorrect range or sheet name will result in empty or wrong data.

Step 3: Clean and Extract Domain from Backlink URL Using Code Node

Add a Code node connected after Google Sheets. Use this JavaScript code:

return items.map(item => {
  let url = item.json['Backlink URL'];
  let domain = url.match(/https?://(?:www.)?([^/]+)/)[1];
  return { json: { domain, url } };
});

This extracts the domain from the backlink URL to target the right part in the next API call.

Outcome: Each item now has domain and url for further processing.

Common mistake: Ensure “Backlink URL” matches exactly your sheet’s column name; typos cause runtime errors.

Step 4: Loop Over Items in Batches

Use the SplitInBatches node named “Loop Over Items”. Connect it from the Code node. It processes URLs one by one or in sets (batch size defaults to 1).

Outcome: Prevents overwhelming the API by pacing requests.

Common mistake: Leaving batch size too high may exceed API rate limits.

Step 5: Send POST Request to DataForSEO for On-Page Task

Add an HTTP Request node. Configure it with:

• Method: POST
• URL: https://api.dataforseo.com/v3/on_page/task_post
• Authentication: HTTP Basic with your API credentials
• Body (JSON):

[
  {
    "target": "{{ $json.domain }}",
    "start_url": "{{ $json.url }}",
    "max_crawl_pages": 1
  }
]

Outcome: Starts the backlink crawling task on DataForSEO.

Common mistake: Incorrect JSON template or missing credentials causes POST failure.

Step 6: Add a Wait Node to Delay 20 Seconds

Insert a Wait node to pause the workflow for 20 seconds after submitting the task request. This ensures DataForSEO has time to process the crawl.

Outcome: Avoids fetching incomplete results.

Common mistake: Skipping this may lead to empty or partial data in the next step.

Step 7: Request Links Data from DataForSEO

Add another HTTP Request node configured as:

• Method: POST
• URL: https://api.dataforseo.com/v3/on_page/links
• Authentication: HTTP Basic (same as previous)
• Body (JSON):

[
  {
    "id": "{{ $json.tasks[0].id }}"
  }
]

Outcome: Fetches backlink link info from DataForSEO based on the crawl task ID.

Note: This node uses batching set to size 1 to maintain sync.

Common mistake: Not setting “id” dynamically causes invalid request errors.

Step 8: Check Backlink Status Using Code Node

Add a Code node to analyze the returned data. Use this code:

const result = $json.tasks?.[0]?.result?.[0];
const links = result?.items || [];

let backlink = $('Reads Google Sheets').item.json['Landing page'];

let foundLink = links.find(link => link.link_to === backlink);

let status = "Lost";
if (foundLink) {
  status = foundLink.dofollow ? "Live" : "Lost (Nofollow)";
}

return {
  json: {
    backlink: backlink,
    status: status
  }
};

This determines if the backlink is “Live” or “Lost” based on the DataForSEO crawl results.

Outcome: Outputs backlink status for updating the sheet.

Common mistake: Mismatched “Landing page” URL between sheet and code causes false negatives.

Step 9: Update the Google Sheet with Backlink Status

Add a Google Sheets node configured to append or update the sheet rows. Map the columns as:

• Backlink URL – from Loop Over Items node
• Status – from previous Code node

Ensure “Backlink URL” column exists and is used as the matching column to update correct rows in your sheet.

Outcome: Your Google Sheet now automatically reflects “Live,” “Lost,” or “Lost (Nofollow)” status per backlink.

Common mistake: Mistyping column names or missing columns break row updates.

5. Customizations ✏️

• Adjust crawl depth: In the HTTP Request to DataForSEO “task_post” node, change max_crawl_pages from 1 to higher to scan more linked pages.
• Batch size tuning: In “Loop Over Items” node, increase batch size to process multiple backlinks concurrently, balancing API limits.
• Add Slack notifications: Insert a Slack node to notify your team in real-time about lost backlinks when updating the sheet.
• Check only dofollow links: Modify the status Code node to ignore nofollow backlinks and mark them as “Skipped.”
• Extend data range: Update the Google Sheets read node range to include additional backlink metadata (e.g., anchor text).

6. Troubleshooting 🔧

Problem: “HTTP 401 Unauthorized” error on DataForSEO requests.
Cause: API credentials missing or incorrect.
Solution: Go to Credentials in n8n, re-enter your DataForSEO API key and password, then retry.

Problem: Google Sheets node returns empty data.
Cause: Incorrect sheet name or data range.
Solution: Confirm sheet and range exactly match your Google Sheet setup and test connectivity.

Problem: Backlink status never updates in sheet.
Cause: Column names mismatch or wrong mapping.
Solution: Verify the “Backlink URL” and “Status” column names match your sheet exactly and check the mapping settings in the Google Sheets update node.

7. Pre-Production Checklist ✅

• Confirm Google Sheets has columns labeled exactly “Backlink URL” and “Landing page.”
• Test DataForSEO API credentials with a manual API call.
• Run workflow once manually with a single URL to confirm expected results.
• Check the logs in n8n for any errors and fix before scheduling.
• Backup your Google Sheet data before running bulk updates.

8. Deployment Guide

Once you confirm the workflow runs successfully manually, you can:

• Activate the workflow in n8n so it listens for manual triggers or scheduled executions.
• Set up a CRON trigger if you want routine backlink status checks (e.g., weekly/monthly).
• Monitor runs via n8n’s execution log to ensure backlinks are checked regularly.
• Adjust batching and wait times to stay within API rate limits as volume grows.

9. FAQs

Q: Can I use another backlink checking API instead of DataForSEO?
A: Yes, but you’d need to adjust the HTTP Request nodes to fit the new API’s endpoints and response format.

Q: Does this workflow consume a lot of API credits?
A: Each backlink crawl counts as one task against your DataForSEO plan. Adjust batch size and frequency to manage costs.

Q: Is my backlink data safe?
A: Your data is handled securely between your Google Sheets and DataForSEO over HTTPS with authenticated API calls.

10. Conclusion

By building this automated lost backlink checker, you’ve empowered Sarah—and yourself—to regain hours previously spent chasing broken backlinks. You now have a reliable, hands-off system that verifies backlink health and updates your key marketing data instantly.

The workflow directly saves you over 10 hours monthly and lets you react faster to SEO changes. Next steps could include expanding this system to monitor keyword rankings or integrate Slack alerts for real-time team updates.

Keep experimenting with n8n to automate repetitive SEO tasks that drain your time and energy, and watch your productivity soar.