Backlink Overview

Get a backlink summary for a domain or page, incl. backlinks and referring domains. Call the Backlink Overview API via REST or MCP to automate SEO research.

CostRecent 37 credits / call

Try online

POST · https://api.nexscope.ai/seo/backlinkOverviewMCP · nexscope_seo_backlink_overview

What this API does

Get a backlink summary for a domain or page, incl. backlinks and referring domains. The request accepts target.kind, target.target. Its documented result includes directLinksOnly, inputTarget.kind, inputTarget.target, backlinks, backlinksSpamScore, crawledPages, firstSeenAt, lostAt.

Backlink Overview API use cases

Review link acquisition evidence

To review link acquisition evidence, a search marketer submits target.kind and target.target to Backlink Overview. The returned directLinksOnly, inputTarget.kind, inputTarget.target help identify referring sources that merit closer inspection.

Compare competitor link profiles

A search marketer uses Backlink Overview with target.kind and target.target to compare competitor link profiles. The returned directLinksOnly, inputTarget.kind, inputTarget.target help compare link evidence for competing websites.

Prioritize links for manual review

For this workflow, a search marketer calls Backlink Overview with target.kind and target.target to prioritize links for manual review. The result helps choose suspicious or valuable links for manual assessment.

Backlink Overview API FAQ

What does the Backlink Overview API return?

Get a backlink summary for a domain or page, incl. backlinks and referring domains. The documented output includes directLinksOnly, inputTarget.kind, inputTarget.target, backlinks, backlinksSpamScore, crawledPages, firstSeenAt, lostAt. It corresponds to the supplied target.kind, target.target. Optional fields can be absent; a missing value should not be interpreted as a measured zero. Example values illustrate the response shape, rather than live account results.

How many credits does the Backlink Overview API cost?

The current documented cost is Recent 37 credits / call. This is the same cost shown at the top of this page. If a range or estimate is displayed, the final charge depends on the request. Review your available credits and the pricing page before calling the API, and check API usage records for the actual charge.

How do I call the Backlink Overview API from my app or an MCP client?

Send a POST request to https://api.nexscope.ai/seo/backlinkOverview with your API key as a Bearer token and the JSON inputs shown in API integration. In a compatible MCP client such as Claude or Cursor, connect Nexscope and call nexscope_seo_backlink_overview. Use the MCP arguments shown in the MCP guide, or switch Online test to MCP to review its request before adding it to your app.

View plans and credits Connect this API with MCP

Try this API

Endpoint

https://api.nexscope.ai/seo/backlinkOverview

MCP method

nexscope_seo_backlink_overview

Step 1 of 3 · Authenticate

Authentication

All run endpoints require a user API key. Send it as a bearer token in the Authorization header.

Authorization: Bearer nk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Missing or invalid API keys return an authentication error. Manage keys from .

Step 2 of 3 · Send a request

POSThttps://api.nexscope.ai/seo/backlinkOverview

Run an API

Send a JSON request body using the parameters described below.

Example request

Replace YOUR_API_KEY, then run this command in your terminal.

curl -X POST 'https://api.nexscope.ai/seo/backlinkOverview' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "target": {
    "kind": "DOMAIN",
    "target": "nexscope.ai"
  }
}'

Code example

{
  "target": {
    "kind": "DOMAIN",
    "target": "nexscope.ai"
  }
}

Step 3 of 3 · Inspect the result

Check the response

Read code for the request status and data for the result. Open the parameter and response reference for the full field definitions.

HTTP status codes

Code	Description
200	Default HTTP response for both success and many business errors. Only outer JSON code 0 indicates success or asynchronous acceptance; inspect data for the result.
429	Execution admission rate limit; honor Retry-After when present.
503	Execution admission is temporarily unavailable; honor Retry-After when present.
Opt-in	X-Nexscope-Http-Status: semantic maps controller-handled business errors to HTTP status on run and task routes. Pre-authentication failures, such as a missing or invalid API key (code 11209, including an incomplete or corrupted copy) or an expired website login session (code 12001), may still return HTTP 200 before this mapping. Always check the outer JSON code; malformed requests and infrastructure failures may also return non-200 HTTP responses.

View parameters & response Try online

All categories/ Backlinks & Authority

POSThttps://api.nexscope.ai/seo/backlinkOverview

Run this API

Send a JSON request to execute this API and receive the documented response payload.

Open tester

Endpoint

Method	`POST`
Path	`https://api.nexscope.ai/seo/backlinkOverview`
Auth	`Bearer API key`
Content-Type	`application/json`

Request parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`target`	`object`	required	Target value used by this API operation.
`target.kind`	`string`	required	Kind value used by this API operation. Allowed: DOMAIN, PAGE
`target.target`	`string`	required	Target value used by this API operation. Minimum length: 1 Maximum length: 2048

Response example

Example response envelope from the documented SEO API contract.

{
  "code": 0,
  "cost": "-1",
  "data": {
    "callId": "synthetic-call",
    "completedAt": null,
    "coverage": {
      "missing": [
        {
          "field": "synthetic",
          "reason": "UPSTREAM_FIELD_MISSING"
        }
      ],
      "status": "PARTIAL"
    },
    "requestedAt": "123",
    "result": {
      "directLinksOnly": false,
      "inputTarget": {
        "kind": "synthetic",
        "target": "synthetic"
      },
      "items": [
        {
          "backlinks": 9007199254740992,
          "backlinksSpamScore": 9007199254740992,
          "crawledPages": 9007199254740992,
          "firstSeenAt": 9007199254740992,
          "lostAt": 9007199254740992,
          "missing": [
            {
              "field": "synthetic",
              "reason": "synthetic"
            }
          ],
          "rank": 9007199254740992,
          "referringDomains": 9007199254740992,
          "referringIps": 9007199254740992,
          "referringMainDomains": 9007199254740992,
          "referringSubnets": 9007199254740992,
          "targetSpamScore": 9007199254740992
        }
      ],
      "missing": [
        {
          "field": "synthetic",
          "reason": "synthetic"
        }
      ],
      "normalizedTarget": {
        "kind": "synthetic",
        "target": "synthetic"
      },
      "rankScale": 1,
      "returnedCount": 1,
      "scope": "synthetic",
      "sourceKind": "synthetic",
      "sourceProduct": "synthetic",
      "status": "synthetic",
      "truncated": false
    },
    "schemaVersion": "synthetic",
    "source": "synthetic",
    "status": "PARTIAL",
    "usage": {
      "billingStatus": "UNAPPROVED",
      "chargedCredits": "0"
    }
  },
  "msg": null,
  "time": "2026-01-01 00:00:00",
  "traceId": "synthetic-trace",
  "ts": "9007199254740993"
}

Response fields

Name	Type	Required	Description
`code`	`integer`	required	0 is a successful envelope; inspect data.status separately. Allowed: 0, 42008, 42009
`cost`	`string`	required	Elapsed processing milliseconds; not price. -1 for non-web context.
`data`	`object`	required	Data value used by this API operation.
`data.callId`	`string \| null`	optional	Call id value used by this API operation.
`data.completedAt`	`string \| integer \| null`	optional	Completed at value used by this API operation.
`data.coverage`	`object`	optional	Coverage value used by this API operation.
`data.coverage.missing`	`array`	optional	Missing value used by this API operation.
`data.coverage.missing[]`	`object`	required	Item in data coverage missing.
`data.coverage.missing[].field`	`string`	optional	Field value used by this API operation.
`data.coverage.missing[].reason`	`string`	optional	Reason value used by this API operation.
`data.coverage.status`	`string`	optional	Status value used by this API operation.
`data.requestedAt`	`string \| integer \| null`	optional	Requested at value used by this API operation.
`data.result`	`object \| null`	required	Result value used by this API operation.
`data.result.directLinksOnly`	`boolean`	required	Direct links only value used by this API operation. Constant: true
`data.result.inputTarget`	`object`	required	Input target value used by this API operation.
`data.result.inputTarget.kind`	`string`	required	Kind value used by this API operation. Allowed: DOMAIN, PAGE
`data.result.inputTarget.target`	`string`	required	Target value used by this API operation. Minimum length: 1 Maximum length: 2048
`data.result.items`	`array`	required	Items value used by this API operation. Minimum items: 0 Maximum items: 1
`data.result.items[]`	`object`	required	Item in data result items.
`data.result.items[].backlinks`	`integer \| null`	required	Backlinks value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0
`data.result.items[].backlinksSpamScore`	`integer \| null`	required	Backlinks spam score value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0 Maximum: 100
`data.result.items[].crawledPages`	`integer \| null`	required	Crawled pages value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0
`data.result.items[].firstSeenAt`	`integer \| null`	required	First seen at value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0
`data.result.items[].lostAt`	`integer \| null`	required	Lost at value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0
`data.result.items[].missing`	`array`	required	Missing value used by this API operation. Minimum items: 0
`data.result.items[].missing[]`	`object`	required	Item in data result items[] missing.
`data.result.items[].missing[].field`	`string`	required	Field value used by this API operation.
`data.result.items[].missing[].reason`	`string`	required	Reason value used by this API operation. Allowed: UPSTREAM_FIELD_MISSING, UPSTREAM_FIELD_INVALID, DUPLICATE_UPSTREAM_ITEM, UPSTREAM_ITEM_MISSING
`data.result.items[].rank`	`integer \| null`	required	Rank value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0 Maximum: 1000
`data.result.items[].referringDomains`	`integer \| null`	required	Referring domains value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0
`data.result.items[].referringIps`	`integer \| null`	required	Referring ips value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0
`data.result.items[].referringMainDomains`	`integer \| null`	required	Referring main domains value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0
`data.result.items[].referringSubnets`	`integer \| null`	required	Referring subnets value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0
`data.result.items[].targetSpamScore`	`integer \| null`	required	Target spam score value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0 Maximum: 100
`data.result.missing`	`array`	required	Missing value used by this API operation. Minimum items: 0
`data.result.missing[]`	`object`	required	Item in data result missing.
`data.result.missing[].field`	`string`	required	Field value used by this API operation.
`data.result.missing[].reason`	`string`	required	Reason value used by this API operation. Allowed: UPSTREAM_FIELD_MISSING, UPSTREAM_FIELD_INVALID, DUPLICATE_UPSTREAM_ITEM, UPSTREAM_ITEM_MISSING
`data.result.normalizedTarget`	`object`	required	Normalized target value used by this API operation.
`data.result.normalizedTarget.kind`	`string`	required	Kind value used by this API operation. Allowed: DOMAIN, PAGE
`data.result.normalizedTarget.target`	`string`	required	Target value used by this API operation. Minimum length: 1 Maximum length: 2048
`data.result.rankScale`	`integer`	required	Rank scale value used by this API operation. Constant: 1000
`data.result.returnedCount`	`integer`	required	Returned count value used by this API operation. Minimum: 0
`data.result.scope`	`string`	required	Scope value used by this API operation. Allowed: DOMAIN, PAGE
`data.result.sourceKind`	`string`	required	Source kind value used by this API operation. Constant: dataforseo_backlink_index
`data.result.sourceProduct`	`string`	required	Source product value used by this API operation. Constant: backlinks
`data.result.status`	`string`	required	Status value used by this API operation. Constant: live
`data.result.truncated`	`boolean`	required	Truncated value used by this API operation.
`data.schemaVersion`	`string \| null`	optional	Schema version value used by this API operation.
`data.source`	`string \| null`	optional	Source value used by this API operation.
`data.status`	`string`	optional	Status value used by this API operation. Allowed: SUCCESS, PARTIAL, EMPTY, PROCESSING, UNKNOWN, FAILED
`data.usage`	`object \| null`	optional	Usage value used by this API operation.
`data.usage.billingStatus`	`string \| null`	optional	Billing status value used by this API operation.
`data.usage.chargedCredits`	`string \| integer \| null`	optional	Charged credits value used by this API operation.
`msg`	`string \| null`	required	Available upstream msg/errmsg/message is preferred for success and failure; Chinese is translated to English. Missing successful message is null. Platform-only errors and task states use platform English. Message text never determines success or retry.
`time`	`string`	required	yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss
`traceId`	`string \| null`	required	Trace id value used by this API operation.
`ts`	`string`	required	Epoch milliseconds; global long serializer.

Accepted processing response

code 0 confirms acceptance. Use data.callId to query the same request; processing is not completion.

Name	Type	Required	Description
`code`	`integer`	required	0 is a successful envelope; inspect data.status separately. Constant: 0
`cost`	`string`	required	Elapsed processing milliseconds; not price. -1 for non-web context.
`data`	`object`	required	Data value used by this API operation.
`data.callId`	`string \| null`	required	Call id value used by this API operation.
`data.reason`	`string`	required	Reason value used by this API operation. Constant: IN_PROGRESS
`data.retryable`	`boolean`	optional	Retryable value used by this API operation.
`data.status`	`string`	required	Status value used by this API operation. Constant: PROCESSING
`data.taskId`	`string \| null`	optional	Task id value used by this API operation.
`msg`	`string \| null`	required	Available upstream msg/errmsg/message is preferred for success and failure; Chinese is translated to English. Missing successful message is null. Platform-only errors and task states use platform English. Message text never determines success or retry.
`time`	`string`	required	yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss
`traceId`	`string \| null`	required	Trace id value used by this API operation.
`ts`	`string`	required	Epoch milliseconds; global long serializer.

Error response

Name	Type	Required	Description
`code`	`integer`	required	0 is a successful envelope; inspect data.status separately.
`cost`	`string`	required	Elapsed processing milliseconds; not price. -1 for non-web context.
`data`	`object`	required	Data value used by this API operation.
`data.callId`	`string \| null`	required	Call id value used by this API operation.
`data.reason`	`string \| null`	required	Reason value used by this API operation.
`data.retryable`	`boolean`	optional	Retryable value used by this API operation.
`data.status`	`string \| null`	required	Status value used by this API operation.
`data.taskId`	`string \| null`	optional	Task id value used by this API operation.
`msg`	`string \| null`	required	Available upstream msg/errmsg/message is preferred for success and failure; Chinese is translated to English. Missing successful message is null. Platform-only errors and task states use platform English. Message text never determines success or retry.
`time`	`string`	required	yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss
`traceId`	`string \| null`	required	Trace id value used by this API operation.
`ts`	`string`	required	Epoch milliseconds; global long serializer.

Retrieve a processing result

A response withPROCESSING and a callIdmeans the result is still being prepared. Use the result query below with the returned identifier. This lookup reads the stored result and does not spend credits.

curl -X GET https://api.nexscope.ai/seo/backlinkOverview/calls/{callId} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer nk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

Responses

Code	Description
200	Default HTTP response for both success and many business errors. Only outer JSON code 0 indicates success or asynchronous acceptance; inspect data for the result.
429	Execution admission rate limit; honor Retry-After when present.
503	Execution admission is temporarily unavailable; honor Retry-After when present.
Opt-in	X-Nexscope-Http-Status: semantic maps controller-handled business errors to HTTP status on run and task routes. Pre-authentication failures, such as a missing or invalid API key (code 11209, including an incomplete or corrupted copy) or an expired website login session (code 12001), may still return HTTP 200 before this mapping. Always check the outer JSON code; malformed requests and infrastructure failures may also return non-200 HTTP responses.

Data source, freshness, and limitations

Source, freshness, coverage, rate limits, and estimation notes are not specified in this API definition unless they appear in the request or response field documentation above. Do not assume official marketplace data or real-time freshness when it is not explicitly documented.

Step 1 of 2 · Connect your MCP client

MCP

V2 recommended

Connect remote agents through the standard MCP 2025-11-25 Streamable HTTP endpoint. Use OAuth 2.1 Authorization Code with PKCE, or an API key for compatibility.

POST https://api.nexscope.ai/mcp
MCP-Protocol-Version: 2025-11-25
Content-Type: application/json

Authentication

OAuth clients request the mcp:tools scope. The endpoint's 401 response advertises protected-resource metadata for authorization discovery.

Step 2 of 2 · Call the tool

Call a tool

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": "tool-call-1",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "nexscope_seo_backlink_overview",
    "arguments": {
      "target": {
        "kind": "DOMAIN",
        "target": "nexscope.ai"
      }
    }
  }
}

Legacy MCP v1

Existing API-key clients can continue using the compatibility endpoint. New integrations should use MCP v2.

GET / POST /mcp/legacy

What can you do with this API?

Data explained and practical use cases

AI Guide

Question

What data can Backlink Overview provide, and how might I use it?

AI answer

Backlink Overview gives a single backlink-profile summary for a domain or page. The documented scope uses direct links only.

Data category	Documented fields	What the values mean
Link volume	`data.result.items[].backlinks`, `data.result.items[].referringDomains`, `data.result.items[].referringMainDomains`	Counts of backlinks and distinct referring domains and main domains.
Source diversity	`data.result.items[].referringIps`, `data.result.items[].referringSubnets`	Counts of referring IPs and subnets in the provider's indexed view.
Rank and spam indicators	`data.result.items[].rank`, `data.result.items[].backlinksSpamScore`, `data.result.items[].targetSpamScore`	Provider rank on a 0–1000 scale and spam scores on 0–100 scales, when available.
Timing	`data.result.items[].firstSeenAt`, `data.result.items[].lostAt`	First-seen and lost time values, when available.
Crawl scope	`data.result.items[].crawledPages`, `data.result.directLinksOnly`, `data.result.scope`	Crawled-page count and confirmation that the summary concerns direct links to the selected domain or page scope.
Missing values	`data.result.items[].missing[].field`, `data.result.items[].missing[].reason`, `data.result.returnedCount`	Explains unavailable fields and shows whether the single summary item was returned.

Get a quick baseline of backlink and referring-domain counts before starting an outreach campaign.
- Prompt example: “I plan search marketing for an online store. Could you get a quick baseline of backlink and referring-domain counts before starting an outreach campaign? Show the relevant returned evidence and tell me what input you need from me.”
Compare a domain summary with a specific page summary to understand their different link profiles.
- Prompt example: “I plan search marketing for an online store. Could you compare a domain summary with a specific page summary to understand their different link profiles? Show the returned values behind the comparison, and mark missing data.”
Review spam scores and source-diversity counts when deciding which profile needs closer inspection.
- Prompt example: “I plan search marketing for an online store. Could you review spam scores and source-diversity counts when deciding which profile needs closer inspection? Show the relevant returned evidence and tell me what input you need from me.”
Record repeated summaries to monitor how the indexed counts and rank change over time.
- Prompt example: “I plan search marketing for an online store. Could you record repeated summaries to monitor how the indexed counts and rank change over time? Show the returned values behind the comparison, and mark missing data.”

The result contains at most one summary item. It does not identify individual backlinks, and a null metric should not be treated as zero.

Data Example

Sample request and response

Request parameters

{
  "inputTarget": {
    "kind": "DOMAIN",
    "target": "amazon.com"
  },
  "normalizedTarget": {
    "kind": "DOMAIN",
    "target": "amazon.com"
  }
}

Response

{
  "code": 0,
  "msg": null,
  "data": {
    "usage": {
      "billingStatus": "CHARGED",
      "chargedCredits": 37
    },
    "callId": "2c2d91e1-fe23-4a04-9b7b-50c32d25d6f5",
    "result": {
      "items": [
        {
          "rank": 822,
          "lostAt": null,
          "missing": [],
          "backlinks": 2795606544,
          "firstSeenAt": 1547592945000,
          "crawledPages": 8872870,
          "referringIps": 690079,
          "targetSpamScore": 8,
          "referringDomains": 3131704,
          "referringSubnets": 272779,
          "backlinksSpamScore": 24,
          "referringMainDomains": 2913716
        }
      ],
      "scope": "DOMAIN",
      "status": "live",
      "missing": [],
      "rankScale": 1000,
      "truncated": false,
      "sourceKind": "dataforseo_backlink_index",
      "inputTarget": {
        "kind": "DOMAIN",
        "target": "amazon.com"
      },
      "returnedCount": 1,
      "sourceProduct": "backlinks",
      "directLinksOnly": true,
      "normalizedTarget": {
        "kind": "DOMAIN",
        "target": "amazon.com"
      }
    },
    "source": "dataforseo",
    "status": "SUCCESS",
    "coverage": {
      "status": "COMPLETE",
      "missing": []
    },
    "completedAt": 1792480163567,
    "requestedAt": 1792480159650,
    "schemaVersion": "MDX-F1-BA01-1.0"
  }
}

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Backlink Anchors

List the anchor texts other websites use when linking to a domain or page.

Backlink Authority Ranks

Compare backlink authority scores for up to 20 websites or pages, keeping the returned scores together for SEO and competitor research.

Backlink Competitors

Find domains with backlink profiles similar to a target domain.

Backlink Domain Intersection

Find websites that link to both of two selected websites or pages. Review the shared link sources to support your competitor research.