How to Find Competitor Backlinks (+ Get Them for Your Site)

What Is a Competitor Backlink Analysis?

A competitor backlink study is an SEO maneuver that reveals your competitors' full number of backlinks, linking domains, and top-linked pages to thief you find nexus building opportunities for your site.

You tin past usage insights from your competitor backlink study to toggle shape scattered backlink information into actionable link building tactics. Which you tin usage to perchance boost your site’s authority and hunt visibility.

How to Find Competitor Backlinks

Find competitor backlinks quickly and easy pinch an SEO instrumentality for illustration Backlink Analytics. 

Just participate 1 of your competitors’ domains.

The instrumentality will show an overview of that competitor’s backlink profile. Which includes the number of referring domains (linking websites) and full number of backlinks.

Head to the “Backlinks” tab to get a array of your competitor’s backlinks pinch specifications like:

• The linking page’s Authority Score (AS)—a measurement of the page’s reputability and SEO strength
• The linking page’s title and URL
• The anchor matter (the nonstop words that are linked) and URL pointing to your site

If you’re not judge who your competitors are, participate your domain into Organic Research and caput to the “Competitors” tab. These are the domains that rank for the keywords you target.

How to Find Competitor Backlinks You Don’t Have

To find competitor backlinks you don’t have, tally a backlink spread analysis—a link building tactic that reveals websites that nexus to your competitors but not to you.

Finding these gaps reveals opportunities. 

Because if a tract links to your competitors’ content, they’re apt to nexus to you arsenic well. Especially if you create amended content. 

To place these opportunities, usage the Backlink Gap tool.

Enter your domain and up to 4 competitors’ domains. And click “Find prospects.”

The “Best” tab shows the domains that nexus to each your competitors. But not to you.

Click the arrow successful a competitor’s file to spot specifications astir each backlink from a peculiar domain, including the anchor matter and target URL. 

4 Ways to Get More Links After Finding Competitors’ Backlinks

Here are 4 ways to toggle shape your nexus building efforts based connected your competitors' backlinks.

1. Replicate Your Competitors’ Backlinks

Replicating your competitors’ backlinks intends getting backlinks from the aforesaid domains that nexus to those rivals.

This is 1 of the easiest ways to build high-quality links to your site.

Here’s how:

First, find your competitors’ highest-quality backlinks. 

You tin do this pinch Backlink Analytics.

Enter a competitor’s domain into the tool, caput to the “Referring Domains” tab, and benignant by “AS” (Authority Score).

Now you person a database of the astir reputable domains that nexus to your competitors.

Look done the list. And look for the pursuing types of pages:

• Resource pages
• Industry directories (most well-known directories usage attributes that show hunt engines not to spot links arsenic endorsements, but niche-specific directories are little apt to do this)
• Listicles
• Expert round-ups
• Guest station sites
• Podcast interviews

These types of pages mostly actively activity caller submissions and regularly update their content.

So spot really galore of your competitor’s backlinks you tin replicate.

For example:

For niche-specific directories, scope retired to the website owners and see circumstantial reasons why your tract should beryllium included.

For listicles and master round-ups, inquire the authors to adhd your business. And beryllium judge to explicate the unsocial features that differentiate you from existing entries.

For impermanent station sites, travel their submission guidelines and transportation topics that capable gaps successful the site's existing content.

2. Replace Your Competitors’ Broken Backlinks

Replacing your competitors’ surgery backlinks (often called broken nexus building) involves uncovering contented that links to your competitors’ surgery pages and convincing the creators to nexus to your pages instead.

This maneuver useful because tract owners mostly want to hole surgery links connected their sites. And you’re providing an easy solution (swapping to a nexus to your page instead).

To start, unfastened Backlink Analytics. And participate a competitor’s URL.

Head to the “Indexed Pages” tab and cheque the container adjacent to “Broken Pages.” 

You’ll spot a database of 4xx and 5xx pages (which are surgery pages) connected the competitor’s site. 

Click the bluish number successful the “Backlinks” file to spot each the backlinks pointing to the corresponding surgery page. 

Filter for “Active” links and export your results. 

Then, analyse which URLs could easy beryllium swapped for your ain pages. And scope retired to the linking websites to propose your pages arsenic alternatives.

Repeat this process for different competitors and pages.

3. Create Better Versions of Competitors’ Most-Linked Content

Create a amended type of your competitors’ most-linked content, truthful you tin scope retired to the sites linking to them and urge your pages instead.

This useful because you're creating an upgraded type of contented that websites already want to nexus to.

First, find the pages connected your competitors’ sites pinch the astir backlinks. 

Do this pinch Backlink Analytics.

Enter your competitor’s domain into the tool. And spell to the “Indexed Pages” tab. 

You’ll get a database of your competitor’s pages sorted by the number of referring domains. 

Analyze these pages and look for patterns based connected topic, format, length, style, and depth. And make a database of what makes each portion link-worthy.

Now comes the important part: 

Create contented that's intelligibly amended than the competition. 

Look for what's missing from your competitors' content. Maybe their information is outdated. Maybe they deficiency existent examples. Maybe their proposal isn't actionable enough. 

Fix these circumstantial problems successful your version.

Your extremity is to make tract owners think, "Wow, this is overmuch amended than what I presently nexus to."

After publishing your improved content, do immoderate link building outreach.

In different words, interaction sites linking to the competitor's pages and explicate really your contented provides much value. 

4. Build Similar Media Relationships

Build akin media relationships by uncovering and analyzing which journalists and publications often nexus to your competitors.

This tin thief you build targeted outreach lists that are apt to consequence successful much backlinks.

Start by entering a competitor’s domain into Backlink Analytics. 

Then, caput to the “Backlinks” tab and look for backlinks from news sites, manufacture publications, and different media outlets. 

Make a database of outlets that person mentioned your competitors. And sojourn those pages to spot which circumstantial journalists aliases writers mention them.

These group are apt to nexus to you. Because they already mention akin brands.

Then, effort to build relationships.

Here’s how:

1. Find each writer's email utilizing Hunter.io (or a akin tool)
2. Follow the writers connected X (formerly Twitter) aliases LinkedIn. And remark thoughtfully connected their posts.
3. Look astatine really the writers covered your competitors, past transportation akin (but unique) communicative ideas
4. Reference writers’ erstwhile work—this shows you did your homework
5. Offer unsocial information aliases master insights writers can't get elsewhere

The extremity is to build spot that lets you go different reliable source.

Study Competitor Backlinks to Build Your Own

Finding competitor backlinks is measurement 1 of amended nexus building. 

You past request to move what you learned into action by uncovering the champion nexus targets, creating contented worthy linking to, and building existent connections pinch different tract owners. 

Pick your apical 5 competitors, find their champion backlinks utilizing Semrush tools, and commencement reaching retired this week.