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Security report for backlinko.com

Backlinko · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

66/100

Risk levelMedium

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

Backlinko is a well-established SEO training and content marketing platform founded in 2011. It offers advanced strategies for link building and SEO, targeting digital marketers and SEO professionals. The website is professionally designed with excellent content quality and strong branding consistency. Technically, it uses modern frameworks such as React and Next.js, with integrations for analytics and marketing tools like Google Tag Manager and Visual Website Optimizer. Security posture is good with HTTPS enforced and domain protections in place, though improvements like enabling DNSSEC and publishing security policies are recommended. Privacy compliance is basic, with a cookie consent mechanism but no explicit privacy or terms of service pages detected. Overall, the site is trustworthy and authoritative in its niche.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

6 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  3. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • High

      No SPF record found

      SPF helps prevent email spoofing

      What to do: Add SPF record: "v=spf1 include:_spf.yourmailprovider.com ~all"

  4. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching backlinko.com

This scan found 23 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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Full report

€39.90one-time

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Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
52
Security headers
65
Email security
40
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
66

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Backlinko occupies a strong market position as a niche SEO training provider with a focused business model on educational content and strategies. Its competitive advantage lies in high-quality, actionable SEO and link building content. The company targets SEO professionals and marketers seeking to improve website rankings. The domain age and WHOIS data support a credible and stable business presence. The marketing ecosystem includes social media channels and analytics tools, indicating a mature digital marketing approach. No parent or subsidiary companies were identified, suggesting an independent operation.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a good security posture with HTTPS enabled and domain status protections such as clientDeleteProhibited. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which is a recommended enhancement. No explicit security policies or incident response contacts are published, which could improve transparency and readiness. The site uses third-party analytics and marketing scripts, which require ongoing monitoring for vulnerabilities. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Overall, the security maturity is solid but could benefit from formalized policies and DNS security improvements.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service to improve compliance and user trust.
  3. Add a security policy page and incident response contact information to demonstrate security readiness.
  4. Implement and verify Content-Security-Policy and other security headers to harden the website.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking tools to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Backlinko
Description
Backlinko provides next-level SEO training and link building strategies focused on acquiring backlinks that make a difference.
Key services
SEO training, Content marketing strategies, Link building strategies
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, Google Tag Manager, Visual Website Optimizer (VWO), CookieHub
Frameworks
Next.js, React
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited and other EPP protections
  • No DNSSEC enabled (recommend enabling)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Tag Manager, Pingdom RUM, Visual Website Optimizer
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Visual Website Optimizer, Pingdom RUM
Marketing tools
Visual Website Optimizer, CookieHub
Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured.
  2. Strong SEO and marketing focus with educational content.
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage HTML.
  4. Cookie consent mechanism implemented via CookieHub.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  6. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service detected in provided HTML.
  7. WHOIS data shows long-term domain registration with no privacy protection.
  8. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure found.
  9. No signs of adult or questionable content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern React and Next.js stack, ensuring fast performance and good mobile optimization. It uses Google Tag Manager and Visual Website Optimizer for analytics and marketing experiments. The site is well-structured with proper meta tags and SEO optimizations, including Open Graph and JSON-LD structured data. Accessibility features appear adequate, and the site is responsive across devices. Hosting details are not explicit but DNS is managed via NS1 name servers. No CMS like WordPress detected, indicating a custom or headless CMS approach. Overall, the technical infrastructure is modern and robust, supporting a high-quality user experience.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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