You might have noticed a significant drop in the number of links reported in your Google Search Console (GSC). This issue began to surface around late May 2024, causing a stir among many website owners and SEO professionals. Google has confirmed this reporting issue and is actively working on a fix.
Why the Sudden Drop?
The decline in reported links is due to a bug in the GSC link report. This bug caused a drastic reduction in the number of links displayed, affecting numerous websites. Google initially denied any issues but later acknowledged the problem. According to John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate, this issue is purely a reporting glitch and does not affect your site’s actual ranking or indexing. The bug only impacts the number of links shown in the report, not the actual performance of your site in search results.
Some others rumored this inconvenience was due to Google switching on it’s AI Search Engine capabilities and rolling it back partially, after some users reported inaccurate information being served such as Google Recommending Glue on Pizza.
Another theory, I learnt from some users writing on reddit, is that Google had decided to do a cleanup and de-rank all websites having content created with an AI SEO Generator directly without processing the content with an AI Humanizer.
What really Happened?
Around the end of May 2024, numerous SEOs reported seeing a drastic reduction in the number of links displayed in the Google Search Console’s link report. For some, this drop was as high as 60%, with valid, high-quality backlinks seemingly disappearing overnight. This phenomenon was quickly acknowledged by Google, who confirmed that the issue was a reporting error within the Search Console. They clarified that this glitch did not affect the actual ranking, indexing, or crawling of websites, but merely how links were displayed in the report.
Decline In Links Reported In Google Search Console Links Report
What’s Happening with Your Links ?
You might be wondering why this matters if it doesn’t affect your site’s performance directly. Accurate link data is crucial for understanding your site’s backlink profile, which can influence your SEO strategy. Knowing which sites link to you and how those links contribute to your overall link equity helps in making informed decisions about content and outreach strategies. Therefore, even though the glitch doesn’t impact rankings, it disrupts the insights you rely on for strategic planning.
How to Use Google Search Console’s Link Report
To access the Links report in Google Search Console, log in and select your property. Navigate to the ‘Links’ section in the left-hand sidebar. Here, you will see data divided into ‘External links,’ ‘Top linking sites,’ and ‘Top linking text.’ This report helps you monitor who is linking to your site and assess the quality of those links. If you notice a sudden drop, it might be due to the recent reporting issues. Rest assured, Google has announced that the problem should now be resolved, and link counts should stabilize soon.
How to Use This Information
While it’s frustrating to see a drop in your link count, it’s important to understand that this issue doesn’t affect your site’s SEO performance. Google is working on a fix, and the numbers should normalize soon. In the meantime, continue focusing on building high-quality links and monitoring other SEO metrics like traffic and keyword rankings.
Try to get yourself acquainted with AI Search Engines to keep traffic to your site stable and survive the upcoming changes.
Moving Forward with AI SEO
Given that Google has addressed the reporting glitch, it’s a good time to revisit your link data in Search Console. Check for any changes and update your SEO strategies accordingly. Remember, while the reporting tools are essential, your primary focus should remain on creating valuable content and earning genuine backlinks. Keeping an eye on these reports helps ensure you maintain a healthy and effective SEO strategy.
For those who track their links meticulously, this might be a temporary inconvenience, but it’s reassuring to know that your actual search performance remains unaffected. Keep an eye on updates from Google for when the issue is fully resolved.