Find backlink data for an app: store listing or your own site?
You can send a link to the App Store, to Google Play or to your own domain. Each choice changes what a backlink tool can show you afterwards.
LinksApp research team ·
Store listing and web page, side by side
| Question | Store listing (apps.apple.com, play.google.com) | Your landing page |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the domain? | Apple or Google | You |
| Can you edit the page freely? | Only the fields the store allows | Yes, every word |
| Can you see who links to it? | Not in your own console; a link index gives a rough view | Yes, in a link index and in Search Console |
| Does the link survive an app rename? | The URL carries a store ID, so usually yes | Only if you keep the path |
| Can it hold a changelog, docs or pricing? | Short release notes only | Anything you want |
| Who benefits when the link grows? | The store's domain | Your domain |
Why it matters which URL people link to
A journalist who writes about your app usually links wherever the app is easiest to get. Often that is the store. The link is real and the click is useful, but the authority it carries accumulates on Apple's or Google's domain.
A link to your landing page builds something you own. That is the whole argument. It is not a claim that store links are worthless, since they send installs, which is what the store is for.
Offer both. Put a clear 'Get the app' button on the landing page so a writer who wants the web link can still reach the store in one click.
Three situations app makers describe
A launch on Product Hunt. The page links to the store and to your site. Check the web link: it is the one that counts toward your domain, and a launch listing is a classic source of a first referring domain.
A review on a tech blog. The writer links wherever the install button is. Ask politely for the landing page URL in the byline. Writers often say yes.
A forum thread asking for app recommendations. Those links are often nofollow or ugc, which Google has treated as hints since March 2020. They send readers. Don't count them like an editorial mention.
Checking what a link tool can see
Look up your own domain
Use action=overview&q=yourapp.com. This is the number you can influence.
Look up the store domain, for context only
A listing is a tiny part of a huge domain. The DR of apps.apple.com says nothing about your listing.
Search for your app name as an anchor
The search action (3 credits) does full-text search over anchors, titles and URLs, so it can surface pages that mention your app by name.
Match against your launch posts
If a launch post links the store only, add a polite request for the web link when you thank the author.
What we would do
Make the landing page the link target and the store the second click
Our crawler indexes the open web, not the stores' internal data, so what it reports is strongest for domains you control. Use it for those, and treat any store-side signal as rough.
- Press kits and launch posts link the landing page
- In-app share sheets can use a web URL that redirects by device
- Check referring domains monthly, not daily
Universal Links on iOS and App Links on Android route a web URL into your app. They help installed users, but the web page behind them still needs to exist. Start with the landing page setup and the docs site wiring.