How to Find Your Competitors’ Backlinks: A Step-by-Step Guide

What Is a Competitor Backlink Analysis?

A rival backlink investigation is the process of identifying websites that nexus to your competitors, but not to you.

This tin assistance you find caller nexus gathering opportunities for your website and boost your efforts successful these ways:

• Efficiency: Your competitors astir apt person links from applicable websites successful your niche. Which could importantly trim the clip you walk connected researching topically applicable websites.
• Potentially higher occurrence rate: Websites that already nexus to your competitors mightiness beryllium funny successful linking to your website, too. This could summation your nexus gathering occurrence rate.
• Keeping up with your SEO competition: By analyzing your competitors’ backlink profiles, you’ll marque definite you’re not earnestly underperforming compared to them
• New nexus gathering run ideas: You whitethorn observe caller contented ideas oregon contented promotion tactics successful your competitors’ backlink profiles. You’ll spot what benignant of pages they’re getting links to and travel up with caller ideas connected however to physique links to your website.

For example, you whitethorn beryllium trying to make a linkable asset—a benignant of leafage offering large informational worth that tin gain backlinks organically. 

That means a ample fig of websites whitethorn nexus to it without you having to bash a batch of outreach.

Imagine you determine to make an infographic but summation small oregon nary traction connected earning links.

Then, you bash a rival backlink investigation to find retired what benignant of linkable assets are palmy successful your industry.

You rapidly larn that immoderate of your main competitors are creating escaped online tools, similar Ryan Robinson’s Blog Title Generator.

That benignant of accusation tin springiness you guidance connected what benignant of contented to make to make much backlinks organically.

If you determine to make a escaped tool, you tin spell backmost to that rival investigation and find the websites that nexus to your competitor’s page. They’re apt to privation to nexus to yours, too.

How to Find Competitor Backlinks successful 4 Steps

A thorough rival investigation volition springiness you a ton of nexus gathering ideas and prospects to scope retired to.

Let’s find retired however you tin bash that successful 4 steps.

1. Select Your Competitors

Your archetypal task successful this process is to prime up to 4 competitors you’ll comparison your website to.

How should you prime them if you’re not 100% definite who your competitors are?

Here are a fewer factors to instrumentality into account:

• Industry: The archetypal measurement is to constrictive down the database of competitors to companies and websites successful your industry. For example, if your company’s products are bundle collaboration tools, the wide manufacture you beryllium to is SaaS (software arsenic a service).
• Niche: Not each SaaS websites volition beryllium your competitors, truthful let’s constrictive it down further. What benignant of bundle does your institution create? If your specialty is productivity and collaboration tools, that’s an illustration of your niche.
• Target assemblage alignment: Are each productivity and collaboration tools bully for comparison? Not really. You’ll get the champion results if you prime companies with a akin people audience, specified arsenic hybrid and distant teams successful the tech industry.
• Backlink illustration quality: You don’t privation to analyse competitors who aren’t bully astatine gathering links, due to the fact that you’ll either get fewer results oregon lone low-quality suggestions.

With that successful mind, let’s research however Semrush’s Backlink Analytics instrumentality tin assistance you find candidates for a rival backlink analysis.

When you get astatine the main surface for Backlink Analytics, participate your domain sanction and past click “Analyze.”

You’ll spot a batch of accusation astir your domain’s backlink profile. For now, we’re going to absorption connected identifying competitors for the analysis.

Click connected the “Competitors” tab.

You’ll spot a database of websites that person a akin backlink illustration to yours. This study shows you which domains you stock the astir communal backlinks with.

In the “Competition Level” column, you’ll spot a percent that indicates however galore referring domains nexus to some your website and theirs.

These websites could beryllium a bully acceptable for your analysis. However, earlier you take to comparison your backlink illustration to theirs, you should cheque whether they inhabit the aforesaid manufacture arsenic your company.

Go to their website. Have a look astatine what their products and services are and work done immoderate of their content.

That volition assistance you gauge what manufacture and niche they beryllium successful and if they’re focusing connected an assemblage akin to yours.

Once you take websites that fulfill these criteria, you tin cheque the prime of their backlink profile.

Return to Backlink Analytics, but present participate the competitor’s domain name. Then, click “Analyze.”

Find the “Authority Score” section, wherever you’ll spot a fig indicating the domain’s authorization score.

In our example, the URL has a people of 75, indicating above-average quality. The authorization people is connected a standard of 1 to 100, with a higher people meaning higher authority.

Next to the fig itself successful the Authority Score section, you’ll spot a note. In this case, it says “Very bully and niche relevant.” 

If you hover implicit it, you’ll get immoderate much accusation astir the prime of the domain’s backlink illustration and the worth of gaining a nexus from it.

With an authorization people of 76, this rival is apt to springiness you immoderate large nexus gathering opportunities during your backlink analysis.

Now, find the “Network Graph” section. It’s to the close of the “Authority Score” connected the Backlink Analytics results page.

At the apical of this section, you’ll spot a enactment astir this domain. In this case, that’s “Reputable.”

Reputable websites person a beardown backlink illustration with a batch of niche-relevant links.

If your website inhabits the aforesaid niche, getting backlinks from websites that nexus to this rival tin beryllium highly beneficial for you.

Hover implicit the “Reputable” enactment to corroborate the information.

This website makes a large rival for backlink spread analysis. 

With 1 rival identified, repetition this process until you person 4 competitors for your backlink analysis.

2. Set Up Backlink Gap

You tin easy find rival backlinks with a instrumentality similar Backlink Gap.

This rival backlink investigation instrumentality volition assistance you rapidly place websites you tin scope retired to and summation backlinks.

Let’s person a look astatine however you tin analyse the results effectively.

In the Backlink Gap tool, participate your domain and up to 4 competitors’ domains.

Next to each domain, there’s a drop-down paper with 3 options for each information of the website you tin evaluate.

Here’s what each of those options means:

• Root domain: All links to the domain volition beryllium analyzed. This is utile erstwhile you privation to comparison full websites.
• Subdomain: The instrumentality volition analyse each links to these subdomains. You tin usage this enactment erstwhile you privation to comparison links to 2 blogs hosted connected subdomains. For example, blog.domain1.com vs blog.domain2.com.
• URL: All links to these circumstantial URLs volition beryllium analyzed. This is cleanable erstwhile you privation to compare, say, 2 blog posts connected the aforesaid taxable and thing else.

In this example, we’ll amusement you the investigation for basal domains.

If you’re doing the rival backlink investigation for the archetypal time, that’s a bully spot to start. You’ll get a wide overview of your competitors' backlink profiles.

Click connected “Find prospects,” and we’ll amusement you however to construe this study successful the adjacent step.

3. Analyze the Backlink Gap

After clicking connected “Find prospects,” you’ll spot the archetypal rival backlink study that shows you the opportunities nether the “Best” tab.

These are the websites that nexus to each of your competitors, but not to you.

These are your champion opportunities. Because it’s imaginable that these websites volition privation to nexus to your website arsenic well.

From here, you tin usage filters to modify the results based connected what you’re looking for. You’ll spot them listed horizontally astatine the apical of your results.

Here’s what each filtering enactment means:

• Best: Domains that nexus to each the competitors, but not to you
• Weak: Domains that nexus to some you and the competitors, but nexus to them much times than they nexus to you.
• Strong: Domains that lone nexus to you
• Shared: Domains that nexus to each websites equally
• Unique: Domains that nexus to lone 1 domain. This could beryllium yours oregon 1 of the selected competitors.
• All: All domains that nexus to astatine slightest 1 of the analyzed websites

To place the backlink gap, research what is displayed for each of these filters: Best, Weak, and Unique.

Start with the domains that amusement up erstwhile you click the “Best” tab. As the sanction suggests, these are perchance the champion nexus gathering opportunities for you.

In this database of the best, you tin spot each linking domain’s Authority Score and monthly visits.

You tin adhd filters to this presumption to constrictive your hunt further.

For example, click connected the “Authority Score” drop-down paper to specify a scope you’re looking for.

If you click connected the “Advanced filters” drop-down menu, you tin besides take to see oregon exclude a circumstantial determination oregon portion successful your search.

In this example, we’re going to beryllium looking astatine domains with an authorization people betwixt 61 and 70 that are located successful the United States.

When we filter the database we’ve generated successful that manner, each of the rival sites you selected volition get a file with numbers that correspond the fig of backlinks that this website is getting from this referring domain. 

By clicking connected the “>” awesome adjacent to immoderate number, the enactment volition grow to amusement you a database of the pages presently linking to the competitor’s website.

Explore these pages to spot what benignant of contented they person contiguous connected the leafage and which leafage they’re linking to.

Are they highlighting a circumstantial statistic connected the leafage oregon linking to an infographic that showcases thing successful a amusive and engaging way?

These insights tin assistance you fig retired what benignant of contented you tin make to summation your ain backlinks.

Before you determination connected to the adjacent step, don’t hide to research the “Weak” and “Unique” tabs.

“Weak” domains nexus to some you and your competitors. But they nexus to them much often than they nexus to you.

This study tin beryllium utile for uncovering ways to instrumentality immoderate of your existing relationships to the adjacent level.

Say you already person an existing narration with a domain you find successful the “Weak” section. You tin scope retired to them to research much collaboration opportunities and summation the fig of backlinks you get from them.

“Unique” domains nexus to conscionable 1 of the websites you entered, whether that’s 1 of your competitors oregon your own. 

By gaining links from domains successful the “Unique” tab, you tin unlock a competitory vantage implicit the domains that don’t person a backlink from this website.

4. Select Websites for Your Link Building Campaign

When you place websites you whitethorn privation to scope retired to, prime them from the list.

You tin initiate your outreach run without having to permission the platform. Simply click connected “Start outreach” to prevention the selected prospects.

In the conception “Select project,” take the domain you’d similar to physique links for.

Click connected “Send prospects” to prevention them to the Link Building Tool.

Once you nonstop the prospects, you tin take to spell to the Link Building Tool oregon proceed your backlink spread analysis.

Click connected “Go backmost to Backlink Gap” and repetition this process until you analyse opportunities successful each 3 of the important tabs we spotlighted: Best, Weak, and Unique.

Turning Insights Into Action

Just doing an investigation of your competitors’ backlinks won’t fortify your backlink profile. That was the important archetypal step. 

And present it’s clip to instrumentality enactment based connected what you learned.

Here are immoderate ideas connected however you tin utilize your findings to physique links to your website.

1. Find Out Your Competitors’ Best Content and Create Your Own

In the illustration above, we walked you done the process of uncovering imaginable nexus gathering prospects.

Now, let’s amusement you however to find retired what benignant of contented they’re getting the astir links to. Doing this tin assistance you travel up with ideas connected which contented to create.

Go to Backlink Analytics, participate the competitor’s domain name, and click “Analyze.”

You’ll retrieve the adjacent surface from the erstwhile steps. 

But this time, you’ll click connected “Indexed Pages.”

This volition springiness you a database of pages tied to that domain that person been indexed by Google.

Click connected the “Domains” header to benignant the database based connected the fig of referring domains.

It’s highly apt that you’ll spot home, product, and pricing pages first, arsenic they’re often linked to by contented that reviews oregon promotes brands.

You tin skip these pages for now, arsenic we’re looking for contented that is much precisely created for nexus building. That could entail escaped tools, reports, lawsuit studies, infographics, and the like.

In this example, we’ll person a look astatine an manufacture report, which is 1 of the site’s best-performing pages.

Studies and reports are often mentioned connected different industry-relevant websites, since they’ll often person accusation and statistic that different websites tin usage to enactment their ain contented oregon lawsuit studies.

No substance the benignant of leafage you privation to analyze, ever sojourn it to research however it’s laid retired and enactment everything that you find utile astir the content. 

Pay attraction to the accusation it covers, however it’s structured, and however the writer collected this information.

Once you’ve soaked up each that the leafage has to offer, instrumentality to Backlink Analytics and click connected the fig successful the “Backlinks” column.

You’ll beryllium taken to a database of backlinks that this leafage has, efficaciously spying connected everyone connected the net who’s linking to that page.

Once again, sojourn immoderate of these pages truthful you tin larn much astir the kinds of websites that are motivated to supply a backlink to contented with topics and scope similar this one. 

Then, find the existent nexus placement connected the referring leafage and spot what circumstantial accusation from the study is being highlighted.

This gives you plentifulness of clues astir the benignant of contented that volition assistance you make backlinks of your own.

And this cognition tin assistance you travel up with caller contented ideas. Start reasoning astir what unsocial information and accusation your institution has that others mightiness beryllium funny in.

2. Identify Blog Posts successful Competitors’ Backlinks and Ask to Be Featured

Reaching retired to websites that diagnostic links to your competitors could beryllium a large mode for you to summation immoderate links.

You astir apt already person immoderate blog contented you tin pitch. When you find links to akin pages connected competitors’ websites, it’s worthy reaching retired to website owners to inquire for a nexus to your page.

This is simply a large mode to onshore links without having to make caller content.

While analyzing the backlinks successful Backlink Gap, look for nonfiction headlines that commencement with thing similar this:

• Best X tools
• The Ultimate Guide to X
• Top X Platforms
• A Beginner’s Guide to X
• What Is X? 
• How to Do X?

Select the websites that person contented you’d similar to beryllium featured successful by utilizing the checkbox adjacent to each domain, past click “Start outreach.”

In the conception “Select project,” take the domain you’d similar to physique links for.

Click connected “Send prospects.”

You'll retrieve this series from our erstwhile measurement for gathering sites for your nexus gathering campaign.

Once you've collected each your prospects successful a project, this clip you’ll click “Go to Link Building tool.”

Click connected the “Prospects” tab. First, you’ll spot a database of websites that Semrush sourced for you.

You tin skip this database for present due to the fact that you’ve already selected immoderate leads connected your own. Just marque a enactment to instrumentality to it aboriginal to spot if these options could beryllium bully candidates for your adjacent nexus gathering campaign.

To spot the leads you saved before, click connected the “Uploaded” tab.

Then, take a website from the database that you privation to scope retired to by selecting the checkbox adjacent to it. Click connected the “To In Progress” button.

Then click connected the “In Progress” tab to spot the websites you’ll beryllium reaching retired to.

The instrumentality volition root immoderate email addresses associated with the domain.

Click connected “Contact” to spot the emails.

In the “From:” section, click connected “+ Add mailbox” to link the email code you’d similar to nonstop outreach emails from.

Once you link your email address, it’s clip to take the email you privation to nonstop your connection to.

Below the “To:” box, you’ll spot a database of addresses that Link Building Tool sourced for you.

Once you take the code you’ll beryllium reaching retired to, scroll down and commencement drafting an outreach message.

Here’s an email illustration you tin nonstop to inquire to beryllium featured connected lists similar these.

If you determine to usage this template, conscionable don’t hide to capable retired the missing accusation and personalize the email to acceptable your recipient.

[Subject:] Discover [platform name] - A Great Addition to Your List

Hi [first sanction of recipient],

I anticipation you’re doing well. I precocious came crossed your fantastic list, [name of their list]. This is an fantabulous assets for [niche, e.g. distant workers] similar myself.

I did announcement 1 thing, though - our platform, [your level name] isn’t connected the database yet! I wanted to explicit my appreciation for your enactment portion exploring the anticipation of having our level featured.

I deliberation [your level name] would marque a large summation to your list, since [briefly database retired 1 oregon 2 unsocial selling points and features].

If you’re unfastened to the idea, I’d beryllium blessed to supply you with a much elaborate statement of our platform, on with immoderate images you tin adhd to your article.

Thank you for your clip and consideration. If you person immoderate questions, delight consciousness escaped to interaction me.

Best,

[Your signature]

Further reading: Email Outreach: How to Write Outreach Emails that Convert

When you capable retired the taxable enactment and body, click connected “Send.” And your email volition beryllium sent to the prospect.

If you don’t get a effect close away, don’t get discouraged.

When it comes to acold outreach, it’s communal to nonstop retired rather a fewer emails to antithetic leads earlier getting a effect oregon landing a nexus to your website.

But utilizing Semrush’s tools makes immoderate of that hard enactment easier.

You tin bash the full process, from uncovering prospects to sending retired emails, successful 1 place. That earnestly speeds up your nexus gathering operations and helps you standard your efforts.

3. Replicate Some of Your Competitors’ Links

Sometimes, you’ll stumble upon links your competitors person that you tin replicate successful conscionable a fewer abbreviated steps.

What benignant of links are we talking about?

• Directories: Find retired which directories your competitors are featured in. Go to that website and taxable a petition to person your website featured. These could beryllium websites similar the Yellow Pages (YP.com), the Better Business Bureau, and similar.
• Podcasts/Interviews: Guests connected podcasts and interviews often get links to online properties successful the amusement notes. Create a database of podcasts wherever you oregon your squad members could get featured, stock their cognition and insights, and summation immoderate backlinks.
• Links to pages with outdated content: You whitethorn uncover that immoderate websites are linking to a competitor’s leafage with outdated content. If your website has a leafage with fresher oregon much applicable information, you tin scope retired to the website(s) and inquire them to regenerate the stale nexus with a nexus to your much up-to-date page.

Not definite however to operation an email to inquire idiosyncratic to alteration the nexus to your website? Here’s a template you tin usage arsenic a starting point.

[Subject:] Enhance Your Page: Suggestion for a Link Update!

Hi [prospect's name],

I precocious discovered a nexus to [competitor's website] connected your leafage and noticed their contented is somewhat outdated. Specifically:

• [Outdated constituent 1]
• [Outdated constituent 2]
• [Outdated constituent 3]

I've created a broad assets connected [article topic] that tackles this nonstop issue. Here's the link: [URL].

Would you see updating the nexus to supply your assemblage with the latest info? 

Thanks a bunch!

Best,

[your signature]

Further reading: 11 Cold Email Templates Sure to Attract Hot Leads

Find, Replicate, and Improve Upon Competitor Backlinks

Semrush’s backlink tools marque it easier to:

• Identify rival backlinks
• Determine which ones you should pursue
• Take the close steps to triumph caller backlinks

Making it casual to negociate your entire nexus gathering process. Sign up contiguous and research the opportunities successful your competitors’ backlink profiles.