External Link Counter

WHAT IT DOES

External Link Counter is a browser extension that scans any webpage for all links and counts external links (different domain) versus internal links. It displays a summary with total links, external count, internal count, and percentages. The tool lists external and internal links separately, showing link text and URL. External links are highlighted on the page with a visual indicator (orange outline and label) to help you quickly identify them. You can toggle the feature on or off and control whether highlighting is shown. The tool is ideal for SEO professionals, content strategists, web developers, and anyone who wants to analyze the link structure of a webpage.

WHERE IT RUNS

External Link Counter runs on any webpage, overlaying a floating panel that does not interfere with page content. It operates entirely in your browser as a lightweight userscript, scanning the DOM for anchor elements. It works on any page, whether static or dynamic, with no external dependencies. All settings are stored locally using GM_setValue—no data is ever sent to any server.

HOW TO USE

After installation, open the floating panel by clicking the extension icon. The panel shows the current status (Enabled or Disabled) and a toggle button to enable or disable the counter. Toggle "Highlight external links" to show a visual indicator (orange outline and label) on external links. Click the "Scan" button to analyze the page. The panel displays a summary with total links, external count, internal count, and percentages. External links are shown in orange, internal links in green. Click the "Export" button to copy a full report to your clipboard, including all external and internal links with their text and URLs. All settings are saved per website.

REAL MECHANISM — WHY THIS WORKS

Most link analysis tools require manual inspection or external SEO tools that may not show real-time data. External Link Counter uses a DOM-scanning approach that reads the page's current link structure. The tool queries the page for all anchor elements with href attributes. For each link, it extracts the href and checks if it's external or internal. The tool uses the URL API to parse the href, comparing the hostname against the current domain. It also checks for subdomain matches to correctly identify external links. Links are classified as external if they are on a different domain (or subdomain) and internal if they are on the same domain. The tool excludes javascript:, mailto:, tel:, and anchor links (#) from the count. Results are displayed in a summary with counts and percentages, and a detailed list shows each link with its text and URL. External links are highlighted on the page using CSS outlines with an orange color and a label. This approach ensures accurate, real-time, and fully private link analysis without requiring any external services or network access.

THE PANEL

The floating panel is fully draggable and remembers its position per site, snapping to the edges of the viewport when dragged near them. You can collapse the panel to a small icon to minimize screen distraction and expand it back with a single click. The panel is resizable from the bottom-right corner, giving you more space to view the results. Press the Escape key to close the panel instantly. The panel remains open across page navigation within the same domain, maintaining your current view state. All preferences—panel position, enabled state, and highlight toggle—are saved per domain for a seamless experience.

PLEASE NOTE

External Link Counter requires the free BotGentz extension to be installed and enabled, as it relies on the cross-extension messaging API provided by BotGentz for DOM access permissions. The tool scans all links on the page at the time of the scan. Dynamically added links will be included in subsequent scans. The highlight feature adds visual indicators to external links; these are purely visual and do not modify the page content. The export function copies a full report to the clipboard. All settings are stored locally in your browser using GM_setValue. No page content, link data, or usage information is ever sent to any server. The extension does not read, store, or transmit any personal information. It only scans and displays link data at your request.