Understanding Why Your Backlink from Fortune.com Isn’t Showcased in Google Search Console
Gaining backlinks from reputable websites like Fortune.com can significantly bolster your site’s authority and visibility. Recently, I discovered via Bing Webmaster Tools that I received an organic link from Fortune.com as a result of a PR campaign conducted approximately six months ago. However, upon inspecting Google Search Console, I noticed that Fortune was not listed among my “Top Linking Sites,” which left me wondering about the underlying reasons and possible solutions.
Why Isn’t Google Recognizing This Backlink?
Several factors could explain why Google isn’t displaying your Fortune backlink in Search Console:
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Indexing Delay: Backlinks from high-authority sites like Fortune often take time to be discovered and indexed by Google. Since your article was published in July, it’s possible that Google has not yet fully crawled or indexed the page containing your link.
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No Follow links: If the link from Fortune.com is marked as “nofollow,” Google does not pass link equity or necessarily include it in link reports within Search Console. You can check the link’s HTML to see if it contains the rel=”nofollow” attribute.
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Crawling Restrictions: The Fortune article or page might have robots.txt directives or meta tags that prevent Google’s crawlers from indexing it or following links on the page.
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Data Reporting Lag: Google’s link reporting in Search Console can sometimes lag behind actual link acquisition, especially for dynamic or high-volume sites.
Actions You Can Take to Improve Link Recognition
While you can’t directly influence another website’s linking policies or indexing schedules, there are steps you can take to enhance the visibility of your backlinks:
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Verify the Link’s Status: Visit the page on Fortune.com and inspect the HTML source to confirm the presence and nature of the link. Look for “rel” attributes such as “nofollow” or “ugc” which impact link juice.
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Request Indexing: Use Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool to submit the specific URL where your link resides for indexing. This can sometimes expedite the discovery process.
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Build Additional High-Quality links: Continued outreach and PR efforts can result in more backlinks, increasing the likelihood of inclusion and recognition within Google’s index.
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Monitor Crawl Stats: Keep an eye on your site’s Crawl Stats report in Search Console to identify any crawling issues that may hinder Google from discovering inbound links.
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Improve Site and Content Accessibility: Ensure your website’s robots