You’ve probably heard about link-building tactics before, but did you ever wonder where those backlinks come from? How do they get there? And how do you find them?
You must first know what your competitors do to rank higher on Google. You may think there is no way to find out who links to your site, but there is! Learn how to do it here!
Table of Contents
What Are Backlinks?
Backlinking creates external links (incoming links) to your site from other websites. The idea is to increase traffic to your site and boost its search engine ranking.
The Importance of Backlink Analysis
A backlink analysis shows you all the links to your competitor’s site and gives you a better understanding of your site’s ability to rank well in search engine results. Backlink analysis also helps you identify bad links.
There are several ways to determine who has linked to your competitor’s sites. One way is to check their webmaster tools or Google Analytics. Another option is to look at their social media profiles.
Competitor analysis is essential in digital marketing’s competitive landscape. Competitors’ successes and failures can inform your strategies, from keyword analysis to backlink analysis and everything in between.
Backlinks, in particular, attract justified interest, as they demonstrably drive organic traffic. However, while each type of analysis will overlap conceptually, each will have its tools and best practices. As such, let us devote this article strictly to backlinks. Specifically, we’ll delve into how to find your competitors’ backlinks using some of the most prominent tools available today.
You may think there is no way to find out who links to your site, but there is! Learn how to do it here! Share on XBuilding a Healthy Backlink Profile
Foremost, let us begin with the end goal, a healthy backlink profile. A healthy link profile is key to search engine optimization (SEO) success, so aiming for one should frame your efforts.
A healthy, natural backlink profile consists of multiple factors, including the following:
- A mix of Follow and NoFollow links; only building Follow links for Page Authority (PA) gains may incur penalties. Natural profiles include both backlink types, and both effectively produce referral traffic.
- Natural anchors: backlink anchors should include keywords or search terms. A natural anchor should make logical and syntactical sense within its sentence.
- Anchor variety: being natural sounding aside, anchors should offer variety. Using the same keywords in anchor text can seem unnatural and lead to penalties.
While these and other factors will not affect how you find your competitors’ backlinks, they will inform your competitor’s backlinks strategies. For example, as we will cover below, many backlinks checkers/backlink analysis tools focus on backlink types and linking domain authority scores. This is partly because earning Follow backlinks may differ substantially from earning NoFollow ones, such as through a guest blog post or user-generated content (UGC). Thus, you may include such factors in your SEO strategy and competitors’ backlink analysis in advance for additional insights.
What are backlinks? Backlinking is the practice of creating external links to your site from other websites. Share on XFinding Your Competitors’ Backlinks
Now, finding your competitors’ backlinks is, conceptually, a straightforward process. However, it does differ depending on who you identify as a competitor, the tools you use for competitor backlink analysis, and so forth. As such, let us explore the fundamental steps of finding your competitor backlinks in some detail.
Identify Your Competitors
You will need to identify your competitors as part of your link-building strategy. How you do so will affect the following steps – so a crucial distinction is in order here.
Competitors will typically be divided into two categories, each with its subsets. There are:
#1 Search Competitors
Search competitors are those who deliberately compete with you for specific keywords. One can then divide these into two subsets:
- Domain-level search competitors. These sites will compete with you on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) at a domain level. Even though they may slightly overlap with your field, your keywords will overlap significantly. Many tools we will discuss below use this keyword overlap as an analytic tool for backlink opportunities.
- Page-level search competitors. These sites may be unrelated to your niche but will compete with you at a page level for specific keywords. This may be due to a similar subject focus, even though your products and services differ.
#2 Traditional Competitors
Traditional competitors are your competitors by default, as they are direct business rivals. These we can divide into two subsets of their own:
- Same-industry competitors. These are traditional competitors within your field, regardless of their physical location. As such, they’re your search engine optimisation rivals regarding industry-specific keywords.
- Same-location competitors. Finally, these are same-industry competitors who are also in close physical proximity. Thus, since you share locations, you will likely need to compete in local SEO.
You may identify your competitors through market research, customer feedback, keyword research tools, a backlink analysis tool/backlink checker tool and more. However, different types of competitors will call for various strategies to beat. When targeting blogging sites in your niche, your method differs from local SEO. Thus, make this distinction early, choosing where it makes sense for your business to focus.
A backlink analysis shows you all the links to your competitor's site and gives you a better understanding of your site's ability to rank well in search engine results. Share on XAnalyse Your Competitors’ Backlinks
Having identified your competitors, you may then begin to analyse their backlinks. There are multiple reputable tools to help you do so, so we will only explore three among them. Namely, in no particular order:
- SEMrush’s Backlink Gap tool
- Ahrefs’s Site Explorer
- Moz’s Link Explorer
Each software’s process will differ, naturally, so let us go through each one.
#1 SEMrush’s Backlink Gap Tool
As the name suggests, the Backlink Gap tool offers to analyse link gaps. For your link building strategies/campaigns, list your competitors from the previous step. Then, you may find your competitors’ backlinks and analyse them under different scopes.
For example, you may want to find which of your competitors’ pages and content got the most links. To identify their most popular pages, go to the “Indexed Pages” section under “Backlinks”. Then, using a site’s URL to analyse it, you may sort through pages based on backlinks, domains, and more. Filtering this way will yield insights into which pages get the most valuable backlinks, which you may then analyse and replicate.
Conversely, you may analyse which pages lost backlinks by analysing your competitors’ shortcomings (e.g., broken links). To do so, you can go to “Backlinks” under “Domain Analytics” and sort for “lost” backlinks. Next, the tool allows you to export this list to a .csv. You may open this file in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets and sort URLs based on losses. This way, you can identify which pages lost the most quality backlinks and analyse them for errors you may avoid.
#2 Ahref’s Site Explorer
Ahref’s Site Explorer tool is similar to the above. Again, you will need a list of your competitors to start building backlinks.
Initially, you can enter your domain in Site Explorer to verify your competitors under “competing domains”. This analysis considers the keywords above overlap, so you may better filter between domain-level and page-level competitors. If you’re particularly interested in page-level competitors, you may use Ahref’s Keyword Explorer for specific SERP overviews.
Then, to analyse specific backlinks, you may use the tool’s “backlinks” option under “backlink profile” for a competitor’s page. This section has the subsets “new”, “lost”, and “broken” for additional filters beyond link types, language, and so forth. The tool also features a (Do)Follow/NoFollow filter you may use, but remember that, ideally, you should analyse both. As mentioned above, you may find your competitors’ backlinks – their pages, branded mentions, and, most importantly, their sources.
#3 Moz’s Link Explorer
Finally, Moz’s Link Explorer tool offers similar features as well. While there are many other tools to consider, this one is arguably the best to round up such SEO tools overview lists.
To use this backlink tool, you will–predictably–first need to enter your competitor’s URL. Then, you may navigate to “Inbound Links” and filter their backlinks based on link type and status. This section will also offer Domain Authority (DA) and PA information (invaluable in Follow-link analysis). However, it is worth reiterating that you will not just need to Follow links for link equity – colloquially called “link juice”. NoFollow links will also produce traffic and make your backlink profile appear more natural for search engines.
As mentioned, SEMrush’s Backlink Gap tool allows you to export data into a .csv file. You may thus use it in Excel or Sheets to filter by such factors as:
- Linking site/page DA/PA
- Linked site/page
- Link type, frequency, and anchors used
Criteria, as above, will help inform your strategies for optimal results.
Finding your competitors' backlinks is, conceptually, a straightforward process. Share on XIdentify Sites That Link to Your Competitors
Finally, you may identify the specific sites that link to your competitors. Here, unlike identifying how many sites link to your competitors, you may discover which sites link to them most frequently. Ahrefs dubs these “superfans” – a term that essentially stands for and offers value.
Each of the tools mentioned above and similar ones offer some way to do so. You may filter by linking domain, link frequency, and similar metrics. This matters because you may apply strategies to earn quality links or link-building opportunities. This is crucial for your SEO efforts and link-building efforts.
The essence of all such strategies typically overlaps with Backlinko’s Brian Dean’s Skyscraper Technique. He outlines the steps to this technique as the following:
- Step 1: Find a link-worthy piece of content
- Step 2: Make something even better
- Step 3: Reach out to the right people.
Throughout this process, you should find “link-worthy content”; that’s the essence of your competitors’ backlinks. Then, analytical insights on said backlinks should drive your content creation strategies, i.e. the second step. It is here where content marketing and SEO overlap most substantially. Finally, finding “superfans” and sites that regularly link to content within your niche covers the third step, the “right people”. Typically, you may reach out to propose link opportunities, presenting your guest post or another type of content as valuable for their readers. However, this may also include such practices as politely claiming unbranded mentions in cases where they already acknowledge your content. In all cases, this strategy hinges on finding your competitors’ backlinks’ sources and offers the next step forward.
Use these tips above to gain high-quality backlinks and boost your search rankings. Always go for quality links and avoid building spammy links at all costs. They are not worth it.
Key Takeaways
To uncover your direct competitors’ backlink secrets, use a competitor backlink analysis tool like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz or Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest. Enter your competitor’s domain into the search bar and generate a backlinks report. Look for authoritative sites that link to their website and analyse their backlink portfolio for potential opportunities.
Note their domain rating and spam score to distinguish high-quality backlink opportunities from low-quality links. Identify the backlinks of competitors to set up guest blogging opportunities.
Conduct a comprehensive analysis of their link building strategies, outbound links, and content strategy to pinpoint helpful content and relevant sources for potential backlink opportunities. Watch for dead links, and employ email templates in outreach.
Study competitor backlinks to improve your profile and outperform them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, external backlinks are one of the most critical ranking factors in determining whether or not your site will rank higher than another. So, learn about backlink strategies and discover what they mean for your business.
Analysing your competitors’ backlink profiles is a crucial aspect of competitor analysis that should not be overlooked. Conducting keyword research to identify your competitors for the target keywords of choice is the initial step to informing your strategies. Then, locating and analysing their earned backlinks yields more insights into their content’s quality, depth, length, format, tone, etc. Finally, you may identify a list of backlinks, i.e., sites regularly link to them so that you may reach out for backlinks as part of your content marketing. Fortunately, the market offers many tools, including those mentioned above, to help you throughout the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can I spy on competitors’ backlinks?
There are several ways to do this, such as using Google Alerts, which allows you to set up alerts for specific keywords. Another way is to use the free MozBar extension for Firefox, which lets you search any website for links to other websites. This tool also has a built-in link analysis feature that shows how many times each page was linked to from another site.
Q: Can you find competitor backlinks with Ahrefs?
Yes! With the new Backlink Explorer feature from Ahrefs, you can now search for competitor backlinks using keywords. So, if you enter a competitor’s site, you’ll see all their backlinks. This means you can easily discover which websites link to your competitors’ sites.
Q: How do I find my Semrush competitor backlinks?
Yes! Enter your competitor’s domain in Semrush’s Backlink Analytics to discover their top links and content. It gives you reports to dive into their backlinks.
Q: Can you check backlinks on Google Analytics?
Yes! In Google Analytics, backlinks are often called referrals.
Q: How to Check the Backlinks of a Competitor?
Use online tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to analyse a competitor’s backlink profile. Look for the “backlinks” or “linking domains” section in these tools to view the websites linking to your competitor. Analyse the quality of these backlinks by assessing domain authority, anchor text, and relevancy to your industry. Use this information to improve your backlink strategy by targeting similar high-quality websites for links.
Q: Should You Search Your Competitor’s Backlinks?
Yes! Analysing your competitors’ backlinks can provide valuable insights into their SEO strategies. It can help identify potential link building opportunities that you may have overlooked. Understanding your competitors’ backlink profiles can help you benchmark your website’s performance and identify areas for improvement. It can also help you identify and analyse the quality of backlinks driving traffic to your competitors’ websites.
Q: How to Find Competitors’ Broken Backlinks?
Use SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to analyse competitor websites for broken backlinks. Look for outdated or removed content on competitor websites that may have resulted in broken backlinks. Contact competitor websites to replace broken links with your content. Monitor competitor websites regularly to identify new broken backlinks as they occur.
Q: What’s the Easiest Way to Find Links Your Competitors Have That You Don’t?
Compare your website’s backlinks to competitors using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Look for websites that mention your competitors but not your brand, and reach out to them for potential link-building opportunities. Analyse your competitors’ guest post placements or collaborations with industry influencers to discover potential link sources. Monitor your competitors’ social media profiles and track any shared links that could be valuable for your link-building strategy.
Q: How Do I Find Competitor Backlinks?
Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to analyse your competitors’ backlink profiles. Look at your competitors’ guest post opportunities to see where they have been featured. Review your competitors’ partnerships or collaborations to identify potential backlink sources. Analyse your competitors’ social media profiles to see if they have shared any backlinks.
Q: What Is Competitor Backlinking?
Competitor backlinking is about analysing your competitors’ backlink profiles to identify quality websites linking to them. It involves contacting these same websites to request backlinks to your website. This strategy can help improve your website’s search engine rankings and increase organic traffic. Competitor backlinking can also provide valuable insights into your industry and help you stay ahead.
Q: How to Check Backlinks?
Use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush to analyse your website’s backlink profile. Use Google Search Console to see a list of websites that link to your site. Conduct a manual search by entering “link:yourwebsite.com” into a search engine to see backlinks. Use free online backlink tools like Backlink Checker by Ahrefs or Monitor Backlinks.
Q: How Do I Replicate My Competitor’s Backlinks?
Analyse your competitor’s backlink profile using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Identify high-quality backlinks that your competitor has obtained from authoritative websites. Reach out to the same websites and offer them valuable content or resources in exchange for backlinks. Keep track of your progress and network with industry websites for more backlink opportunities.
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