Inspect Backlinks
inspect_backlinks(domain: string, view?: enum, limit?: number)One domain's link profile, sliced by view (authority / referring domains / anchors / individual backlinks).
One domain's link profile sliced by view: authority rank, referring domains, anchor text distribution, or individual backlink URLs.
Input Parameters
3 arguments| Parameter | Type | Requirement | Default / Constraints | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
domain | string | required | Target domain to inspect inbound links for. | |
view | enum | optional | Which slice to fetch (authority = domain score; referring_domains = top linking domains; anchors = anchor text distribution; backlinks = individual link URLs). | |
limit | number | optional | Maximum entries to return for list views. |
Return Envelope (OFE / 1.0)
Open Fact EnvelopeEvery response adheres to the strict ofe/1.0 envelope schema, returning verified data, typed facts, entity references, and follow-up tool suggestions:
data Payload
One domain's link profile sliced by view: authority rank, referring domains, anchor text distribution, or individual backlink URLs.
coverage & Freshness
Reports returned count vs total items, observation timestamp as_of, and scope notes. Evaluated live per request.
resources (Dataset Exports)
If a query yields high row counts (e.g. >1,000 queries in Search Console), full unpaginated tables are persisted to R2 and linked as an mcpseo:// URI for follow-up retrieval via export_dataset.
next_actions
Provides suggested follow-up tool calls with pre-filled arguments so your AI agent can navigate from discovery to detailed inspection autonomously.
Emitted Facts & Entities
Knowledge GraphTyped Facts
Facts emitted in the facts[] array with provenance receipts:
| Fact Type | Claim Description | Emitted Data Fields |
|---|---|---|
backlinks.domain_authority | DataForSEO domain rank, backlink count, and referring domain count. | rankbacklinksreferring_domainsreferring_main_domains |
backlinks.referring_domain | Referring domain with authority rank and backlink count. | referring_domainbacklinks_countdomain_rank |
backlinks.anchor | Anchor text and referring domain count. | anchorbacklinks_countreferring_domains_count |
backlinks.backlink | Individual backlink with target URL, source URL, anchor, and dofollow status. | from_domainfrom_urlto_urlanchordofollowfirst_seen |
Registered Entities
Entities registered in the entities[] array to establish subject relationships:
Target domain and referring domains.
Individual backlink entities when view is 'backlinks'.
Request & Response Examples
Live MCP PayloadsExact JSON schemas transmitted over Model Context Protocol (stdio or HTTP SSE transport):
1. Client Tool Invocation
{
"tool": "inspect_backlinks",
"arguments": {
"domain": "github.com",
"view": "authority"
}
}2. Server Envelope Response
{
"schema_version": "ofe/1.0",
"domain": "backlinks",
"data": {
"domain": "github.com",
"view": "authority"
},
"facts": [
{
"type": "backlinks.domain_authority",
"subject": [
"urn:domain:github.com"
],
"data": {
"rank": 98,
"backlinks": 1420000000,
"referring_domains": 4800000,
"referring_main_domains": 4100000
},
"provenance": {
"source_class": "backlink_index",
"method": "backlink_summary",
"confidence": 0.8,
"observed_at": "2026-09-24T00:00:00Z",
"cache_hit": false
}
}
],
"entities": [
{
"id": "urn:domain:github.com",
"kind": "domain",
"label": "github.com"
}
],
"coverage": {
"returned": 1,
"total": 1,
"as_of": "2026-09-24T00:00:00Z",
"scope_note": "Single-view fetch keeps vendor API consumption strictly at 1 call."
},
"deltas": [],
"resources": [],
"next_actions": [
{
"tool": "inspect_backlinks",
"args": {
"domain": "github.com",
"view": "referring_domains"
},
"use_when": "inspect top referring root domains"
}
]
}LLM Agent Workflow
Claude & Cursor IntegrationPrompt Trigger
"Inspect github.com's domain authority score and backlink counts."
Agent Decision & Reasoning
The agent defaults to view: 'authority' for cheap broad stats, then requests view: 'referring_domains' or 'backlinks' only if deep link acquisition analysis is requested.
Recommended Follow-up Tools
Provenance Guarantees & Error Handling
ReliabilityEvery fact emitted by Vouched includes source_class, method, observed_at ISO timestamp, and a published confidence score. LLM agents can inspect these citations to distinguish first-party verified facts (e.g. Search Console) from modeled competitor estimates.
Billing & API Keys
Paid market data, on Pro and Team. A call typically costs about $0.024 per call of market data, so Pro's included $4 covers roughly 166 calls. Self-hosted, it uses your own DataForSEO key and bills you directly, with nothing added. See pricing for what each tool costs.