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AI answers cite what's been crawled, and they lean toward pages that are kept current. FreshlyCited asks Google to crawl the pages, posts and links you've published or updated, then re-checks and shows you which ones Google has indexed: the first step to being eligible for Google Search, AI Overviews and AI Mode. Here's how link builders use it, from delivery to reporting.
A link isn't delivered until Google has seen it
A backlink can only start to count once Google has crawled the page it sits on. Until then, it's a live URL that does nothing for the client, and you can't tell the difference from the outside.
That's the gap in most link building reporting. Guest posts land on pages Google visits once a month. Niche edits go into old articles that may not have been recrawled in months. Directory and citation pages sit deep in sites with little crawl attention. Google's own documentation says crawling "can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks" (Google: Ask Google to recrawl), and the client sees a report full of links with no sign of whether any of them count. Our backlink indexing guide covers why this happens and what affects it.
Check every link you build, in bulk
A visibility check tells you, for each URL, whether Google has seen it. Paste or upload up to 10,000 links at a time with any pack or Agency plan (50 on Free); FreshlyCited removes duplicates and malformed URLs, then checks each link for one check credit.
Use it at three points:
- Before you deliver: check the placement URLs so you know which ones are already seen.
- Before you report: check the month's links again so the report reflects today.
- On inherited lists: check a client's existing backlink list when you take over an account.
Each link comes back as seen by Google, invisible or unknown. For more on what a check can and can't tell you, see our backlink index checker guide.
Push only the invisible ones: indexed or your credit back
Smart push checks every link first (one check credit each), sends only the ones Google can't see (or can't confirm), and doesn't send links Google already has, so no index credit is reserved for them. You don't pay to index a link that already counts.
Step by step in FreshlyCited:
- Paste the links and, if you work for several clients, pick the client.
- Review the pre-flight check. It flags placements that can't be indexed (404 or 410 pages, server errors,
noindex, robots.txt blocks, redirects, canonicals pointing elsewhere) so you can skip them for free. - Optionally spread the push over up to 30 days.
- FreshlyCited re-checks each sent link on days 1, 3 and 7 and emails you the result. The re-checks are included.
Each link you send reserves one index credit, and that credit is used only if Google indexes the link. If it still isn't indexed after the day-7 re-check, the credit comes back to your balance automatically. Google sets the pace (Google says crawling can take a few days to a few weeks); we re-check on days 1, 3 and 7.
The credit-back doesn't cover pages that can't be indexed: dead or erroring pages, noindex, robots.txt blocks, redirects, canonicals pointing elsewhere, links you remove, or spam. If you send those anyway, the credit is used. On other people's sites the page is often the problem, and pushing it again won't change that. Nobody can guarantee Google indexes every link, and FreshlyCited doesn't claim to.
Drip-feed large lists
Drip-feed spreads a push evenly over 1 to 30 days instead of sending every link at once. It suits large monthly batches, tiered link work and any client who'd rather see steady progress than one spike.
With smart push, the check runs first and only the invisible links are scheduled across the drip window. You can follow progress in the push as it runs: how many links have been sent, how many are still waiting, and what Google has seen so far.
Link-by-link reports for clients
Any push can be shared as a report link. On Free it's FreshlyCited-branded; Agency Starter adds your logo alongside a "Powered by FreshlyCited" line, and Agency Pro and Agency Scale remove that line and add your colours and sender name. The client opens it without a login and sees before and after, link by link, with a headline like "33 of 40 seen by Google (+14)" (illustrative). They can print it or save it as a PDF, and you can revoke the link at any time.
That turns the link building report from "here are the URLs we placed" into "here's what Google has seen since we placed them." See client reports for what a report contains. If you run link building inside a wider agency retainer, client workspaces keep each client's credits, pushes and reports separate; see FreshlyCited for agencies.
Links, mentions and AI visibility
Links and brand mentions on third-party pages can only influence AI answers if the pages they sit on have been crawled. For Google's AI answers the rule is written down: to appear as a link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page must be "indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet" (Google Search Central).
So the same check-and-push workflow applies to unlinked mentions, review listings and roundup placements, not just backlinks. Getting those pages indexed by Google makes them eligible for AI Overviews and AI Mode; it doesn't make an AI engine cite them. Authority, relevance and quality still decide that. Being crawled sooner makes a page eligible sooner, but we don't sell citations and won't promise them.
Pricing per link
FreshlyCited has a free tier and two ways to pay: one-off pay-as-you-go packs, whose credits last 12 months, or monthly Agency plans with credits included. An index credit sends one link for indexing and is used only if the link is indexed. A check credit runs one Standard index check; a Live check, with the result in seconds, costs 5. Packs start from $0.16 per indexed link, and index checks from $0.004. See pricing for every pack and plan.
Worked example (illustrative): 500 new links a month reserve up to 500 index credits. Only the indexed ones are used; the rest come back after the day-7 re-check. If you pre-check all 500 with smart push, add 500 check credits, and any link Google already has isn't sent, so it reserves no index credit. The re-checks on days 1, 3 and 7 are included.
To compare FreshlyCited with other backlink indexing services on pricing, refunds and reports, see our backlink indexing services compared listing.
Start free: the Free plan gives you 10 free links to try once you verify your email, then 100 free checks a month, with no card. Run part of your next batch through it. Check your own links free.
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