Your competitors’ backlink profiles are a roadmap to link building success. Every link they have earned represents a proven opportunity — a site that links to content in your niche and might link to yours too. Competitor backlink analysis reveals where to focus your link building efforts for maximum impact.
Step 1: Identify Your Link Competitors
Your link competitors are not always your business competitors — they are the sites that rank for your target keywords.
- Search your top 10-15 target keywords
- Note which domains appear most frequently on page one
- Select 3-5 competitors with similar or slightly higher domain authority
- Include at least one competitor that outranks you significantly — their link profile shows what is needed to reach that level
Step 2: Pull Competitor Backlink Data
Use a backlink analysis tool to export each competitor’s link profile:
- Ahrefs Site Explorer: Enter the competitor’s domain and navigate to the Backlinks report
- SEMrush Backlink Analytics: Enter the domain for a complete backlink overview
- Moz Link Explorer: Free option with limited data
Export the data for analysis. Key fields: referring domain, URL, anchor text, domain rating, and link type (dofollow/nofollow).
Step 3: Analyze Overall Link Profile Metrics
Compare high-level metrics across competitors and your own site:
- Total referring domains: How many unique sites link to each competitor?
- Domain rating/authority: What is their overall authority level?
- Link velocity: How fast are they acquiring new links?
- Dofollow vs. nofollow ratio: What percentage of links pass SEO value?
This comparison shows the gap you need to close and the pace of link building required.
Step 4: Identify Their Best Links
Focus on the links that provide the most ranking value:
- Sort by referring domain rating — high-authority links matter most
- Filter for dofollow links (these pass ranking value)
- Identify links from relevant, niche-specific sites (more valuable than generic links)
- Note links from sites you recognize as authoritative in your industry
Step 5: Categorize Link Sources
Group competitor links by how they were acquired:
- Editorial links: Natural mentions within article content — the highest quality
- Guest posts: Content published on other sites with author bio links
- Resource pages: Links from curated resource lists and directories
- Product reviews: Links from review sites and blogger reviews
- Digital PR: Links from news sites and media coverage
- Directories: Business and industry directory listings
- Forum and community links: Links from discussions and Q&A sites
Categorization reveals which link building strategies your competitors use most successfully.
Step 6: Find Replicable Opportunities
Not all competitor links can be replicated. Focus on opportunities where you can earn similar links:
Resource Page Links
- If competitors appear on resource pages, you can pitch your content to the same pages
- Search for the resource page URL and check if they accept suggestions
Guest Post Sites
- If competitors have guest posts on specific blogs, those blogs likely accept guest contributions
- Pitch original content ideas that are better than what the competitor published
Directory Listings
- Submit to the same quality directories where competitors are listed
- Focus on niche and industry-specific directories, not generic link farms
Broken Links
- Check if any competitor backlinks point to pages that now 404
- Create equivalent content on your site and reach out to the linking site with your replacement
Step 7: Analyze Competitor Content That Earns Links
Identify which types of content attract the most backlinks for your competitors:
- Use Ahrefs “Best by Links” report to see their most-linked pages
- Note the content type: guides, research, tools, infographics, data studies
- Analyze what makes this content link-worthy
- Create similar but better content to attract links from the same sources (and new ones)
Step 8: Run a Link Gap Analysis
Use dedicated gap analysis tools to find sites that link to competitors but not to you:
- Ahrefs Link Intersect: Shows domains linking to multiple competitors but not you
- SEMrush Backlink Gap: Similar comparison across up to 5 domains
Sites linking to multiple competitors in your niche are highly likely to link to quality content from you as well.
Step 9: Build Your Link Building Plan
Convert your analysis into an actionable plan:
Quick Wins (Week 1-2)
- Submit to directories where competitors are listed
- Claim unlinked brand mentions
- Pitch resource page inclusion
Medium-Term (Month 1-3)
- Pitch guest posts to sites that published competitor content
- Create link-worthy content based on competitor analysis
- Begin outreach to link gap domains
Ongoing
- Monitor competitor new links monthly for fresh opportunities
- Track your referring domain growth against competitors
- Adjust strategy based on what works best
Tools for Competitor Backlink Analysis
- Ahrefs: Largest backlink database, best for comprehensive analysis. $99+/month.
- SEMrush: Strong gap analysis and competitive comparison. $129+/month.
- Moz: Domain Authority metric plus basic backlink data. Free tier available.
- Majestic: Specialized backlink database with Trust Flow metric. $49+/month.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Replicating low-quality links: Skip spammy directories, PBN links, and comment spam even if competitors have them
- Ignoring relevance: A link from a high-authority but irrelevant site provides less value than a link from a relevant, lower-authority site
- One-time analysis: Competitor link profiles change monthly — build ongoing monitoring into your routine
- Copying instead of improving: Do not just match competitor links — aim to surpass them with better content and more creative strategies