someone talk me through finding backlinks in google search?

You can't pull a site's backlinks out of Google directly anymore, the link: operator was retired years ago. What still works for free: - your own site: Search Console > Links shows your top linking sites - competitors: search "theirbrand" -site:theirdomain and go through the results, a lot of mentions turn out to be links - prospecting: your keyword plus "write for us", "resources" in the title, or "useful links" Slow, but it costs nothing. Once you want a full list for a competitor you need a paid tool.