{
    "title": "Backlink Quality Scorecard",
    "updated": "2026-08-06",
    "methodology": "Each opportunity is reviewed against ten dimensions and supported with the exact referring page, audience, context, disclosure, and expected reader value. The scorecard is qualitative rather than a fabricated universal numeric ranking.",
    "limitations": "No checklist can predict ranking impact. Search systems, publisher pages, attributes, and links change over time.",
    "columns": [
        "Dimension",
        "Strong signal",
        "Weak or risky signal",
        "Suggested evidence"
    ],
    "rows": [
        [
            "Topical relevance",
            "Page and audience match the asset",
            "Unrelated domain selected only for a metric",
            "Exact page and audience note"
        ],
        [
            "Editorial choice",
            "Publisher independently decides",
            "Guaranteed placement package",
            "Pitch and disclosure record"
        ],
        [
            "Reader value",
            "Link helps complete the task",
            "Link exists only for SEO",
            "Context around the link"
        ],
        [
            "Placement",
            "Natural body/resource context",
            "Hidden footer or template link",
            "Page screenshot and HTML"
        ],
        [
            "Anchor text",
            "Descriptive and editorial",
            "Forced exact-match keyword",
            "Visible anchor"
        ],
        [
            "Traffic potential",
            "Real readers can use the resource",
            "Orphan page with no audience",
            "Analytics/referral evidence"
        ],
        [
            "Transparency",
            "Payment or relationship disclosed",
            "Hidden sponsorship",
            "Contract/disclosure"
        ],
        [
            "Indexability",
            "Public crawlable page where appropriate",
            "Blocked, cloaked, or doorway page",
            "HTTP/robots check"
        ],
        [
            "Domain pattern",
            "Independent relevant publisher",
            "Network of cloned sites",
            "Ownership/content review"
        ],
        [
            "Durability",
            "Maintained resource page",
            "Temporary rented insertion",
            "Last updated and history"
        ]
    ]
}