How to Analyse Competitor Backlinks (Step-by-Step)
Your competitors' backlink profiles are a goldmine of link building opportunities. Every site that links to them is a site that might link to you. Backlink analysis turns competitor research into a concrete list of link targets — here's how to do it properly.
Pull the full backlink profile of your top competitor
Enter your strongest competitor's domain into a backlink analysis tool. Look at their total referring domains (not just links), Domain Rating or Authority Score, and the spread between dofollow and nofollow links. This gives you the baseline.
Ahrefs has the largest backlink index of any tool. Its referring domains count is the most accurate, and the 'New' and 'Lost' filters let you track link velocity over time.
Budget alternative: Moz Pro (from $49/mo)
Filter for high-authority, relevant referring domains
Don't chase every link your competitor has. Filter by Domain Rating 40+ and sort by relevance to your niche. A link from a DR60 site in your industry is worth 10 links from unrelated directories.
Ahrefs' referring domains filter lets you set DR minimums instantly. Majestic's Trust Flow metric is an alternative measure of quality — sites with high TF are worth prioritising.
Budget alternative: Majestic (from $49.99/mo)
Identify link patterns — what types of content earn links
Look at your competitor's top linked pages. Are they long-form guides? Data studies? Free tools? This tells you what content earns links in your niche. Build something in the same format, but better.
Ahrefs' 'Best by Links' report shows which pages attract the most backlinks — the content types that naturally earn links in your niche are right there.
Budget alternative: Semrush (from $139.95/mo)
Find link gaps — who links to competitors but not you
Run a Link Intersect or Link Gap analysis. Enter 3-4 competitors and your own domain. The tool shows sites that link to all of them but not you — these are your most targetable prospects because they're clearly open to linking in your niche.
Ahrefs' Link Intersect tool is purpose-built for this. Semrush's Backlink Gap tool does the same thing — both are excellent, though Ahrefs has slightly more comprehensive data.
Budget alternative: Semrush (from $139.95/mo)
Export and prioritise your outreach list
Export the referring domains to a spreadsheet. Remove any clearly irrelevant or low-quality sites. Prioritise by: relevance first, then DR, then whether they have a contact email. Aim to reach out to 20-30 prospects per week.
Semrush's Backlink Analytics export is clean and includes contact information where available. It pairs well with an outreach tool for the follow-up process.
Budget alternative: Moz Pro (from $49/mo)