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Reclaiming Lost Backlinks Step by Step

BacklinkScan Teamon Dec 21, 2025
30 min read

Reclaiming lost backlinks is one of the fastest ways to recover traffic and authority you once had. Instead of chasing only new links, you can identify lost backlinks, fix broken pages, use smart 301 redirects, and reach out to restore valuable mentions that quietly disappeared over time.

In this step‑by‑step guide, you’ll learn how to track backlink losses with SEO tools, prioritize which links are worth recovering, and choose the right fix for each situation—whether that means recreating content, redirecting URLs, or sending a quick, effective outreach email—to systematically reclaiming lost backlinks.

A backlink is “lost” when it no longer passes value from the linking page to your page, even if the URL or mention still exists. In practice, a backlink is lost when:

  • The linking page is gone, deindexed, or blocked from crawling.
  • The link itself has been removed or changed to a different target.
  • The page now redirects somewhere that does not end at your URL.
  • Canonical or noindex tags mean search engines no longer treat that page as a valid source of link equity.

SEO tools may flag a link as “lost” even when you can still see it on the page. That usually means their crawler can no longer access or trust that page, or the URL changed (for example, HTTP to HTTPS, www to non‑www, or a trailing slash change).

So a lost backlink is less about what you see in the browser and more about what search engines can crawl, index, and count.

Backlinks rarely vanish overnight. They fade for many reasons:

  • Content updates and pruning. Editors rewrite or trim articles and remove external references that feel outdated or off‑topic.
  • Page deletions and 404s. A blog post, product page, or resource is removed, leaving your link pointing to a dead page.
  • Site migrations and URL changes. Moving to a new domain, changing URL structure, or switching to HTTPS can break old backlinks if redirects are not set up correctly.
  • Technical or policy changes on the linking site. Robots.txt blocks, noindex tags, canonical changes, or deindexed pages can all cause tools and search engines to stop counting those links.

Over a few years, this “link rot” can quietly erode a large share of your backlink profile. Some analyses suggest many sites lose a significant portion of their links annually through natural attrition alone.

Backlinks are still one of the strongest signals search engines use to judge authority and relevance. When you lose backlinks, you lose part of that signal. The impact shows up in a few ways:

  • Weaker authority for key pages. If high‑quality links disappear from a page, its ability to rank for competitive terms usually drops, especially when competitors are still gaining links.
  • Lower overall domain strength. Losing links from diverse, trusted domains can reduce your domain‑level authority, making it harder for new or updated content to rank.
  • Gradual traffic decline. You may not see a sudden crash, but a slow slide in rankings across many pages as link equity leaks away. Reclaiming strong lost backlinks often recovers positions and organic traffic without creating any new content.

In short, lost backlinks matter because they quietly undo work you have already done. Monitoring and reclaiming the right ones is one of the most efficient ways to protect and grow your SEO performance.

Before you panic about “lost backlinks,” you need to confirm what actually happened. SEO tools crawl the web on their own schedules, and they often flag links as lost when they are only temporarily missing, moved, or misread. A calm first check saves you from chasing problems that do not exist.

In most backlink tools, three situations are common:

  • Broken backlink A broken backlink is still present on the referring page, but it points to a URL that returns an error on your site, usually a 404 or 410. The link exists, but the destination is dead, so no value or users reach you.

  • Lost backlink A lost backlink is one that the tool previously saw but can no longer find on that page or domain. The page may have removed the link, deleted the content, or stopped linking to your site altogether. Some tools also mark links as lost when the linking page itself disappears or is no longer crawlable.

  • Changed backlink A changed backlink is not really “lost”: the link is still there, but something about it has changed. For example, the anchor text is different, the link now points to another URL, it became nofollow, or it sits on a redirected or canonicalized page. Some tools still flag these as “lost” because the exact old link pattern is gone, even though you may still be getting value.

Understanding which bucket a URL falls into tells you whether you should fix your own page, reach out to the site owner, or simply ignore the alert.

Backlink indexes are not real‑time. Crawlers revisit pages on different schedules, and temporary issues can make a live link look lost. Because of that, it is smart to wait a short period before acting, especially for links that were lost very recently.

A practical approach:

  • For links reported lost in the last few days, wait at least 7–14 days before heavy outreach. This gives crawlers time to recheck the page and often clears up false alarms caused by server hiccups, temporary redirects, or brief content changes.
  • For high‑value links from strong, relevant sites, you can manually visit the page right away. If you still see the link and the page loads fine, it is likely just a crawl delay.
  • For links marked lost for 30+ days across multiple crawls, you can usually treat them as genuinely gone and decide whether they are worth reclaiming.

This small waiting window keeps you from sending awkward “hey, you removed my link” emails when the link is actually still there.

To tell whether a backlink is temporarily missing or truly lost, check a few simple things:

  1. Open the linking URL in your browser
  • If the page loads and the link is visible, the issue is almost always with the tool’s crawl timing or a short‑term server problem.
  • If the page returns a 5xx error or times out, it may be a temporary hosting issue. Check again in a few days.
  1. Check the HTTP status and redirects
  • A 3xx redirect chain that changed or broke can cause tools to mark links as lost even though the page still exists. Fixing or simplifying redirects on your side can make the link “reappear” in reports.
  1. Look for content changes
  • If the article was rewritten, moved to a new URL, or merged into another page, the old link may vanish from reports while a new one appears elsewhere. Search the site for your brand or key phrases to see if you are still mentioned.
  1. Compare across multiple tools
  • If two or more backlink tools and your own logs agree that a link is gone for weeks, it is probably a permanent loss. If only one tool shows it as lost while others still see it, treat it as a data issue rather than a real SEO problem.

By doing this quick triage, you focus your time on genuine lost backlinks instead of chasing ghosts created by crawling delays and temporary glitches.

To find lost backlinks in Ahrefs, start in Site Explorer. Enter your domain, then open the Backlinks → Lost report. This shows links Ahrefs recently stopped seeing, along with the referring page, anchor text, and “first seen / last seen” dates.

Because many lost backlinks are low value, use filters to focus on the ones that matter. For example, apply:

  • “Best links” / quality filters to keep only followed links from stronger domains and pages with some organic traffic.
  • HTTP status filters to separate links lost because your page is now 404 (a fixable issue) from links removed on the other site.

You can also use the Broken backlinks report to find links that still exist on other sites but now point to your 404 pages. These are prime candidates for quick wins with redirects or content restoration.

In Semrush, you can spot lost backlinks in two main places.

First, use the Backlinks report for your domain and apply the Link Status: Lost filter. This shows individual links Semrush no longer sees, with Authority Score, anchor text, target URL, and first/last seen dates so you can judge importance and timing.

Second, the Backlink Audit and Monitor views group links into statuses like Active, Lost, and Broken. This makes it easier to track which backlinks have disappeared or now point to non‑200 pages, and to filter by toxicity, authority, or attributes if you want to ignore spammy losses.

Use these reports together: the Backlinks report for granular link‑by‑link analysis, and Backlink Audit / Monitor for ongoing oversight and quick filtering.

Majestic’s Site Explorer has dedicated New and Lost tabs that show how your backlink profile changes over time. The Lost tab lists which backlinks disappeared and when, based on Majestic’s crawl history.

For deeper investigation, Majestic’s Link Context view lets you show only Deleted backlinks, so you can see the surrounding content, whether the link was replaced, and what now occupies that spot.

Other backlink tools, including Moz and similar platforms, offer comparable “New vs Lost” or “Link status” reports. The exact names differ, but the workflow is similar:

  1. Enter your domain.
  2. Open the backlinks report.
  3. Filter by status (lost / removed / broken).
  4. Export if you want to merge data from multiple tools.

Using more than one crawler can reveal links one tool missed or has not yet recrawled.

Cross-checking with Google Search Console data

Google Search Console does not have a “lost backlinks” report, but it is still useful for validation. In Links → Top linking sites / Top linking pages, you can:

  • Confirm which domains and pages Google currently reports as linking to you.
  • Export link data and compare it with exports from Ahrefs, Semrush, or Majestic to see which “lost” links those tools report that Google still shows, and vice versa.

If a backlink is marked as lost in a third‑party tool but still appears in Search Console, it may simply be a crawl timing issue. When both your SEO tools and Search Console stop showing a link, it is a strong sign that the backlink is truly gone and worth investigating or reclaiming.

Not every lost backlink deserves your time. Some links are genuine assets that are worth chasing. Others are noise, or even harmful. A simple prioritization framework helps you focus on the small group of lost backlinks that actually move rankings, traffic, and revenue.

When you review lost backlinks, start with a quick quality and relevance check. Useful metrics include:

  • Domain-level authority Look at the linking site’s overall strength using any common authority metric (DR, DA, etc.). As a rough rule of thumb, links from domains in the 40–60+ range are usually more valuable than those from tiny, weak sites, especially if they are also trusted in your niche.

  • Topical relevance A moderately strong site in your exact niche often beats a very strong but totally unrelated site. Check whether the linking site regularly covers your topic and whether the specific page is contextually related to your content. Google continues to emphasize relevance and context over raw link volume.

  • Page-level value A backlink from a page that ranks for keywords and gets real organic traffic is worth far more than one from an unindexed or dead page. If the linking URL has no visibility or traffic, the SEO value of reclaiming that link is limited.

  • Link type and placement Prioritize followed links placed in the main content over nofollow, footer, sidebar, or user-generated links. Editorial in-text links tend to carry the most weight and send better referral traffic.

  • Referral traffic history If analytics shows that a lost backlink used to send visitors or conversions, it jumps to the top of the list, even if the authority metric is only “good, not great.”

Sorting by authority, traffic, and anchor text

Once you have basic metrics, sort your lost backlinks so the best opportunities rise to the top. A simple approach is to score each link on three axes:

  1. Authority Give higher scores to links from trusted, established domains. Many practitioners start by focusing on DR/DA 40–60+ and especially strong sites in their vertical, since a single high-authority reclaimed link can outweigh dozens of weaker ones.

  2. Traffic and visibility Next, look at the linking page’s estimated organic traffic and keyword rankings. A lost backlink from a page that ranks for valuable queries or has steady traffic is a prime candidate, because it can restore both authority and ongoing referral visits.

  3. Anchor text and context Check how the site linked to you:

  • Natural branded or descriptive anchors in relevant paragraphs are ideal.
  • Over‑optimized, exact‑match anchors from marginal sites can be a risk rather than an asset, especially in 2025’s stricter link spam environment.

A practical workflow is to export your lost backlinks, add columns for authority, relevance, traffic, and “likelihood of getting it back,” then sort by a combined score. This turns a messy list into a clear, ranked queue of outreach targets.

Some lost backlinks are not worth reclaiming at all. In many cases, you are better off doing nothing. You can usually skip links that:

  • Come from low-quality, spammy, or off-topic sites, such as obvious link farms, mass directories, or scraped content pages. Modern algorithms often ignore or devalue these anyway, so reclaiming them adds little upside and can even increase risk.
  • Use manipulative or over‑optimized anchor text, especially if the site’s overall link profile looks unnatural. Restoring these can reinforce patterns you might rather phase out.
  • Live on pages with hundreds of outbound links and no real content value, such as generic resource dumps or auto‑generated lists. These rarely pass meaningful authority or traffic.
  • Point to content you no longer care about, like outdated offers, discontinued products, or topics that no longer fit your strategy. In those cases, it is often smarter to invest in new, relevant links to current assets.

If you are unsure, ask a simple question: If this link were brand new today, would I be happy to have it?

If the honest answer is “not really,” that lost backlink is probably safe to let go.

Understanding why a backlink disappeared is the key to deciding whether you can realistically get it back. Each lost backlink usually falls into one of a few patterns, and the fix depends on which one you are dealing with.

When the linking page is now 404 or removed

If the page that used to link to you now returns a 404 or 410, or has been removed from the site’s navigation and index, the backlink is truly gone at the page level.

You can confirm this by:

  • Opening the linking URL in a browser and checking the HTTP status.
  • Running it through a header checker or crawler to see if it is 404/410, soft‑404, or blocked.

If the whole page has vanished, you are not “fixing a broken link” so much as doing classic outreach. Look for:

  • A newer, similar article on the same site where your resource would still fit.
  • An unlinked mention of your brand or product on another page.

Then you can pitch your content as a replacement. But if the entire site is dead or deindexed, it is usually not worth chasing.

When your own page moved or was deleted

Sometimes the backlink is reported as lost because your URL changed, not theirs. Common causes include:

  • You deleted or unpublished the page that was being linked to.
  • You changed the URL slug, folder, or protocol (for example, during a migration).
  • You merged several pages into one and forgot to redirect the old URLs.

To diagnose this, check the target URL in your browser and in your own crawl data. If it returns 404, 410, or an irrelevant page, that is on you.

In these cases, you can often “revive” the backlink by either restoring the original content or setting up a clean 301 redirect from the old URL to the best current equivalent.

A very common reason for a lost backlink is editorial change. The page is still live, but your link has been swapped out for:

  • A competitor’s guide or tool.
  • A newer, more complete resource.
  • A generic internal link on their own site.

You can spot this by comparing cached or archived versions of the page, or by using change‑tracking features in SEO tools to see what changed around the old link location.

If your link was replaced, ask yourself honestly why: was your content outdated, thin, or less relevant? If so, improve the page first. Then you can reach out and say, “We have updated this resource to cover X, Y, Z. If you still think it is useful for your readers, we would love for you to consider adding it back.”

When the link was removed during a redesign or content update

During redesigns, CMS migrations, or big content refreshes, links often disappear by accident. Typical signs:

  • The URL of the linking page is the same, but the layout and copy are completely different.
  • Many or all external links have vanished, not just yours.
  • The site has moved to a new theme or structure and trimmed sidebars, footers, or resource lists.

Here, the backlink loss is usually collateral damage. Check whether your topic is still covered on the new version of the page. If it is, you can politely point out that they used to reference your resource and ask if it still makes sense to include it.

If the new content has a different focus or the site has adopted a strict “no external links” policy, the chance of reclaiming that backlink is low, and it is better to move on.

When the domain changed, merged, or migrated to HTTPS

Backlinks also “disappear” when the linking site changes its domain or protocol and does not handle redirects cleanly. Common scenarios:

  • HTTP to HTTPS migration without proper 301 redirects.
  • Domain change (example.com to example.co or a full rebrand).
  • Consolidation of several sites into one, with some sections redirected to the homepage or dropped.

To diagnose this, follow the old linking URL and watch the redirect chain. If it ends on a new page that still links to you, the backlink is not truly lost; tools may just need time to recrawl.

If the redirect ends on a page that no longer mentions you, or the chain breaks with a 404 or loop, then the link equity is gone. In that case, you can:

  • Suggest a working, relevant URL on your site that they can link to instead.
  • Ask if they would consider re‑adding the link on the new domain or updated page.

When a domain has changed hands entirely or been repurposed into something unrelated, it is usually not worth pursuing. Focus your effort where the site is still active, relevant, and likely to care about fixing the backlink.

When backlinks disappear because of problems on your own site, the good news is that you have a lot more control. Before you start emailing other site owners, make sure your own URLs, content, and technical setup are not quietly breaking valuable links.

Recreate missing high-value content

If a strong backlink points to a page that no longer exists, search engines will eventually drop or devalue that link. Start by exporting your lost backlinks and sorting them by authority and relevance. Then:

  • Identify which dead URLs used to receive the best links.
  • Check if there is an obvious replacement on your site or if the content is simply gone.
  • For truly unique, useful pieces that earned links in the past, consider recreating a modernized version.

You do not always need to rebuild the exact same article. Often it is enough to publish an updated resource that covers the same topic and intent, then map old URLs to the new one with a clean redirect.

Set up smart 301 redirects from dead URLs

A 301 redirect tells search engines and users that a page has permanently moved. For lost backlinks, this is your main recovery tool.

Set up redirects from dead URLs to the most relevant live page, not just your homepage. If the original page was about a specific product, redirect to that product or its closest current equivalent. If there is no tight match, redirect to a broader but still related category or guide.

Avoid redirect chains, where URL A redirects to B, then to C. They dilute link equity and slow crawling. Whenever possible, point old URLs directly to the final destination and keep your redirect rules tidy and documented.

Fix URL changes caused by CMS or site migrations

Platform changes and redesigns often break backlinks without anyone noticing. Common issues include:

  • New URL structures that drop or change slugs
  • Added or removed trailing slashes
  • HTTP to HTTPS moves without full redirect coverage
  • Language or folder changes that shift content into new paths

After any migration, crawl your old URLs and compare them to the new structure. Make sure every important legacy URL has a one-to-one 301 redirect to its new version. If your CMS auto-generates URLs when titles change, lock down slugs for key pages so they stay stable over time.

Sometimes backlinks look “lost” because search engines are unsure which version of a page to index. Internal signals on your own site can cause that confusion.

Review:

  • Internal links: Are you linking to outdated URLs instead of the canonical version? Are there multiple paths to the same content?
  • Canonical tags: Do they point to the correct preferred URL, or are they accidentally set to another page, a parameter URL, or even the homepage?
  • Noindex and redirects: Make sure important linked pages are not marked noindex, blocked by robots.txt, or redirecting in a way that conflicts with canonicals.

By cleaning up internal links and canonical tags, you help search engines consolidate signals to the right URL, which can restore the value of backlinks that are still technically pointing to your site but were being misinterpreted.

Building a targeted list of pages and contacts

Start with the specific lost backlinks you actually want to reclaim. Export them from your backlink tool, then narrow the list to:

  • Relevant pages in your niche
  • Sites with real organic traffic
  • Contextual links inside content, not sitewide footers

For each lost backlink, note the exact URL that used to link to you, the anchor text, and the target URL on your site. This becomes your outreach “master list.”

Next, find the best contact for each site. Check the page itself for an author name, then look for an About or Contact page. If that fails, search for roles like content manager, editor, or marketing lead on the site or on professional networks. Aim for a real person, not a generic “info@” address, whenever possible.

Keep everything organized in a simple sheet: domain, linking URL, your URL, contact name, email, status, and notes. That structure makes follow‑ups and reporting much easier.

The “right” person is usually whoever controls the content where your link lived. That might be:

  • The article’s author
  • A blog editor or content manager
  • A webmaster or technical contact for smaller sites

Start by checking the byline on the page, then search that name plus the site name to see if they list an email. If not, look for a team or staff page and pick someone responsible for content. For larger brands, you may need to go through a generic contact form but still address a specific role in your message.

If you previously worked with someone to secure the link, go back to that same person first. They already know you and are more likely to help quickly.

For link reclamation, your email should be very simple:

  1. Remind them who you are and where the link used to be.
  2. Explain what is wrong now (404, redirect issue, URL change, or removed link).
  3. Offer a clear, easy fix.

Keep it conversational and respectful of their time. For example:

“I noticed that the link to our guide on [topic] in your article here [URL] now goes to a 404. We moved the page, and this updated URL works: [new URL]. If you’re able to swap it in, it would keep that section fully useful for your readers.”

Avoid pressure, hype, or long pitches. Make it obvious that fixing the link improves their page, not just your SEO.

Most people are busy, so one or two polite follow‑ups are normal. A simple pattern that works well:

  • Initial email
  • First follow‑up after 4–7 days
  • Optional final nudge 7–10 days later

In each follow‑up, keep it even shorter than the first message and reference the benefit to their readers, not your rankings. If there is still no response after two follow‑ups, mark the opportunity as “closed – no reply” and move on.

Continuing to chase the same link over and over wastes time and can damage your reputation. Focus your energy on responsive site owners and higher‑value backlinks instead.

Finding brand mentions that aren’t linked

Unlinked brand mentions are places where your brand, product, or even a key person is named but there is no clickable link to your site. These are some of the easiest link opportunities you can win, because the author already knows and trusts you enough to mention you.

To find them, start with simple searches. Look up your brand name in quotes and exclude your own domain using search operators. Run this for variations, abbreviations, and common misspellings so you do not miss mentions that use a slightly different form of your name.

Next, use SEO and brand monitoring tools that track mentions across blogs, news sites, forums, and sometimes podcasts or video descriptions. Many of these tools let you filter for pages that mention your brand but do not have a backlink, which saves a lot of manual checking.

Do not ignore non‑article formats. Check YouTube descriptions, podcast show notes, and even image reuse via reverse image search. If someone is using your logo or product shots without linking, that can be a natural opening to ask for a credit link.

Once you have a list of unlinked mentions, your goal is to make it as easy and low‑friction as possible for the publisher to add a backlink.

A good outreach email is:

  • polite and appreciative
  • specific about where the mention is
  • clear about which URL you suggest

For example, you might thank them for the mention, paste the exact sentence or paragraph where your brand appears, and then say something like: “If it works for you, could you link our name here to [URL]? It would give your readers a direct place to learn more.” This frames the link as a user benefit, not just an SEO favor.

Keep the message short and personal. Avoid heavy templates or pushy language, and do not offer payment for a simple credit link. If they say no or do not reply after a gentle follow‑up or two, move on to the next opportunity. Consistent, respectful outreach usually converts a good share of unlinked mentions into live backlinks.

When to suggest a new URL or updated resource instead

Sometimes the best link is not your homepage. If the mention is about a specific topic, product, or statistic, you will often get a stronger, more relevant backlink by suggesting a deeper page:

  • a detailed guide that explains the concept they referenced
  • a product or feature page that matches what they described
  • a data or research page if they cited your numbers or study

This helps the publisher too, because they are sending readers to the most useful, context‑matching resource.

You can also use unlinked mentions as a chance to offer something better than what currently exists on your site. If the only relevant page is thin or outdated, update it first, then reach out with the improved resource. In some cases, you might even suggest a new URL, such as a fresh case study or explainer, that lines up perfectly with their content. That way, you are not just asking for a link; you are giving them a stronger reference that makes their own article more helpful.

A simple spreadsheet is usually enough to manage link reclamation, as long as it is structured well and updated consistently. Create one tab for lost backlinks and another for unlinked mentions. For the lost links tab, include columns such as:

  • Source URL (the page that used to link to you)
  • Target URL (your page that should receive the link)
  • Anchor text
  • Link type (follow/nofollow, text/image)
  • Reason lost (404, content removed, redirect issue, manual removal, etc.)
  • Priority (high/medium/low)
  • Status (to review, outreach sent, fixed via redirect, closed)
  • Notes and date of last action

If you prefer a CRM-style setup, treat each domain or site as a “contact” and each lost backlink as an “activity” or “deal.” The key is to keep everything in one place so you can see which links are worth chasing, what you have already tried, and where you are getting results over time.

Most backlink tools let you set email alerts or scheduled reports for new and lost links. Turn on weekly or bi‑weekly alerts for:

  • New backlinks gained
  • Backlinks lost or broken
  • New brand mentions

Route these alerts to a dedicated folder or label so they do not get buried. When a report comes in, scan for high‑authority domains, pages that send real traffic, and links to your most important URLs. Add only those to your spreadsheet or CRM.

You can also use analytics data to spot sudden drops in referral traffic from specific sites. If a referrer that used to send visits suddenly goes quiet, check whether a key backlink has disappeared or broken and log it for follow‑up.

The right review cadence depends on your site size and how actively you build links, but a simple rule works for most:

  • Small or local sites: review lost backlink reports and your sheet once a month.
  • Growing content sites or SaaS: review every 2 weeks.
  • Large or very active sites: a weekly review keeps issues from piling up.

Each review session should be short and focused. Triage new lost links, update statuses, decide which ones are worth reclaiming, and schedule any needed outreach or technical fixes. With a light but regular routine like this, link reclamation becomes a manageable habit instead of a big, stressful clean‑up project.

Being pushy or sending mass generic outreach

Backlink reclamation works best when it feels like a helpful nudge, not a demand. One of the biggest mistakes is blasting the same template to dozens of site owners with no personalization. It is obvious, easy to ignore, and can damage your reputation.

Avoid language that sounds entitled, such as insisting they “must” restore your link. Instead, explain briefly why the link used to exist, what value it gave their readers, and how fixing it helps them too. A short, specific email that references their page, your original content, and the broken or removed link will almost always perform better than a long, generic pitch.

Redirecting everything to the homepage or irrelevant pages

When you reclaim a lost backlink, the target URL still needs to make sense. A common shortcut is to redirect every old URL to the homepage or a random category page. Search engines treat this as a soft 404 in many cases, and users find it confusing.

If the original content is gone, redirect to the closest relevant page that covers the same topic or intent. If nothing on your site matches anymore, consider recreating a slimmed‑down version of the old resource instead of forcing a redirect that does not fit. Relevance is more important than squeezing every bit of “link juice” out of a redirect.

Not every lost backlink is worth saving. Spending hours trying to restore links from thin directories, spun content, or obvious link farms is a poor use of time and can even keep low‑quality signals attached to your domain.

Focus your reclamation efforts on links from real sites with organic traffic, topical relevance, and natural placements in the content. If a lost backlink looks spammy, off‑topic, or was part of an old manipulative tactic, let it go. Cleaning up your profile by ignoring or disavowing those links can be healthier than trying to bring them back.

Ignoring the user value on the linking page while you reclaim the link

Another mistake is thinking only about your metrics and not about the reader on the linking page. If your suggested fix sends users to a page that does not answer their question, is overloaded with ads, or feels like a hard sell, the site owner has little reason to help you.

Before you ask for a link to be restored or updated, check the context on their page. Make sure your content still fits the topic, adds clear value, and is easy to consume. If needed, improve or refresh your page first so that when you do reclaim the backlink, it actually enhances their article and gives visitors a good experience. That alignment makes your request far more likely to be accepted and to stand the test of time.