Google Search Console Link Counts Keep Dropping

I rarely look at the link report in Google Search Console because, well, I rarely look at my links for this site. But something triggered me to check it and I noticed the raw count of links reported in this tool keeps drastically dropping.

I reported in 2019 the Google Search Console link report had half of what it showed the year before. From 2.5 million links back in August 2018 and to 1.2 million links in October 2019. So I checked the other day and now I am showing 550,000 links. That is a 78% reduction in the links Google Search Console reported back in 2018.

Here is a screenshot from now showing 550,000 links:

October 2019 at 1.2 million links:

August 2018 at 2.5 million links:

I know in 2021, Google said the link report is not a priority for Google, John Mueller said then “I don’t see any need to spend lots of resources on the links report – it’s not something we tell people to focus on.”

But wow – that is a big reduction.

I know new sites pick up new links in that report fairly quickly.

Did you notice these changes in your link reports in Google Search Console over time? I am not concerned in terms of ranking purposes, this is just a report, but still.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.