How to export backlink data from Search Console for a food website

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A food website earns links in all sorts of ways: a local paper recommends a café, a recipe gets shared by a cooking forum, or a supplier features a producer on its site. To see which mentions send people your way—and spot links that may need attention—start by learning how to export backlink data from Search Console. It is a practical part of looking after your site, alongside keeping menus, opening hours and recipes up to date.

What a backlink audit can tell you

A backlink is a link from another website to yours. Some links bring interested visitors; others can strengthen your visibility in search. An audit gives you a clearer picture of the sites linking to your pages and whether those links make sense for your business.

For a food business, useful links might come from a regional food guide, a farm or ingredient supplier, a festival listing, or a publication that has tried your recipe. A sudden cluster of unrelated links, or links to pages that no longer exist, may deserve a closer look. Neither situation automatically means something is wrong: context matters more than a simple count.

Exporting the data from Search Console

Search Console’s Links report is a useful starting point. It shows examples of external links Google has found, including linking sites and the pages on your website that receive links. The report is not a complete record of every link on the internet, and it may not show every link Google knows about, so treat it as a working sample rather than a definitive inventory.

Choose the right property. Sign in to Search Console and select the verified property for the website you want to review. Check that you have selected the correct version if the site uses more than one property.
Open the Links report. In the left-hand navigation, go to Links. Look first at the external-link sections, such as Top linking sites, Top linked pages and the text used in links.
Export the relevant tables. Use the export option in the report to download the available data, typically as a spreadsheet or CSV. Save each useful table with a date in its filename; that makes later comparisons easier.
Keep a simple record. Add notes about the date, property and report section. Search Console data can change as Google discovers and processes links, so a dated snapshot helps you understand what changed.

For a fuller explanation of the review process, including how to assess links and decide what to do next, see this step-by-step backlink audit guide.

Review links with a food-business lens

A spreadsheet is useful only if you interpret it. Start with the pages receiving links. Are they still live and useful? A seasonal menu, old event page or discontinued product may have attracted attention, but visitors will be disappointed if it now leads nowhere. Where appropriate, redirect an outdated page to its closest relevant replacement, or update it with current information.

Next, scan the linking sites. Look for genuine relevance and signs of a real audience: a local guide with restaurant listings, a cooking site that credits its recipe sources, or a community organisation promoting a food event. A site you do not recognise is not automatically suspicious. Open a sample and consider whether the link appears naturally in useful content, or sits among unrelated, low-quality listings.

Check the linking text too. Brand names, page titles and descriptive phrases are all normal. A repetitive pattern of exact commercial phrases can be worth investigating, but do not judge a link by its wording alone. Consider the source, the destination and how the link was created before deciding whether to take action.

Turn findings into sensible next steps

Keep and cultivate useful mentions. Thank a local writer or partner when a link brings the right audience, and make it easy for future collaborators to find accurate business details.
Fix broken destinations. Update internal pages or set a relevant redirect when a linked URL has moved.
Investigate before acting. If a link looks unnatural, gather context and review the wider pattern. Avoid removing or disavowing links simply because a tool labels them as poor.
Repeat the review periodically. A quarterly check is often enough for a small food business; review sooner after a redesign, a publicity campaign or a major change to the site.

If your site needs technical changes after an audit, clear instructions can prevent unnecessary back-and-forth. A useful web development brief sets out the problem, the pages affected, the intended result and any deadlines. Osdire is one place businesses can find freelancers for web development and other digital work; a well-scoped request helps a developer understand what needs fixing before work begins.

Backlink data is only one part of your website’s health. Use it alongside visitor behaviour, customer questions and the quality of the pages you publish. For a food business, the best outcome is not simply a longer list of links: it is a trustworthy site that helps people find the food, information and local stories they came for.