Competitor Backlink Analysis: How to Do One, Step by Step

A competitor backlink analysis is a side-by-side look at which websites link to your competitors and not to you. It tells you where they earned their authority, which of those sites might link to you too, and which links are not worth chasing. You need one list of competitors, one backlink tool and about an hour for a first pass.

Key takeaways

• Compare against the sites that beat you in Google for your searches, which may not be your business rivals.

• Count referring domains, not total backlinks. One site with 500 links is still one site.
• The most useful output is a link gap: sites that link to two or more competitors and not to you.
• Sort the list by how easily you can get each link, then work from the top.
• Never copy a competitor's paid or spam links. Google's spam policies treat bought links that pass ranking credit as a violation.

What is a competitor backlink analysis?

A competitor backlink analysis is the process of collecting the backlinks pointing at the sites you compete with, then comparing them with your own. The question it answers is simple: why does that page rank above mine, and which of the links behind it could I earn as well?

It is different from a normal backlink audit. An audit looks at your own links and asks what is broken or harmful. A competitor backlink analysis looks outwards and asks what is missing. Our guide on what to look at beyond domain rating covers the audit side.

Why does competitor backlink analysis matter?

Google lists link analysis and PageRank among its ranking systems in its guide to Search ranking systems, so links still count. Guessing where to get them is slow. A competitor backlink analysis replaces guessing with a list of sites that have already shown they will link to a business like yours.

It also tells you when links are not your problem. If you and a competitor have a similar number of strong referring domains and they still outrank you, look at the page itself before you send a single email.

How do you run a competitor backlink analysis, step by step?

Step 1: Pick the right competitors

Open Google in a private window and search for the three or four terms you most want to win. Note who keeps appearing on page one. Those are your search competitors, and they are the ones to compare with. A huge brand that ranks for everything is a poor comparison, because its links came from years of press you cannot copy. Pick three to five sites closer to your size.

Step 2: Export their referring domains

Run each competitor through a backlink tool and export the list of referring domains. Our free backlink checker gives a quick view of any domain. For a side-by-side comparison, use a tool that handles several domains at once. Our roundup of backlink analysis tools compares the main options.

Step 3: Find the link gap

Combine the exports and remove every site that already links to you. Then count how many of your competitors each remaining site links to. A site that links to three of your competitors and not to you is a much better prospect than a site that links to one, because it clearly covers your market.

Step 4: Remove the rubbish

Delete anything that looks automated before you go further. The signs are easy to spot:

• The address ends in something throwaway and is named after selling links or traffic.
• The link sits in a long numbered list of unrelated sites.
• The link text sells rankings, not the business it points to.
• The site has no real readers and nothing else links to it.

Step 5: Work out why each link exists

Open what is left and write down the reason for each link. Most fall into a few types:

Step 6: Prioritise by effort

Listings come first, because they take minutes. Roundups come next, starting with articles that were updated recently, because those writers are still paying attention. Guest articles and cited sources take the longest but tend to be the strongest links.

Step 7: Reach out, and track it

Write to one real person at each site. Say what you noticed on their page, what you would add and why their readers would care. Keep a simple list of who you contacted, when, and what they said, or you will end up writing to the same editor twice.

What makes a backlink worth pursuing?

Three checks are enough for most sites:

1. Relevance. Does the site cover your topic or your customers? A relevant site with modest authority usually beats a strong site about something unrelated.
2. Real readers. Does anyone visit? A site that gets search traffic of its own is a good sign that Google trusts it.
3. A followed link. Google says links marked nofollow, sponsored or ugc will generally not be followed, so a plain link is worth more to you. A nofollow link from a well-read site can still send visitors, so do not dismiss it.

How does a link gap turn into a plan?

Keep it short. Take the top 20 prospects from your cleaned list and put them in order of effort. Do all the listings in one sitting. Then aim for a small, steady number of personal emails each week.

Check back each month for two things: which links you won, and whether the pages they point to moved. If a page has earned links and still has not moved, the page is probably the problem. Compare it with what ranks above it and fix what is missing.

If you run this for clients, the same steps work with one extra rule: agree the competitor list with the client first. They often name rivals who are not the sites beating them in Google, and it is better to have that conversation before the report than after it.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Comparing with the wrong sites. Links that helped a national brand say little about what you can win.
• Counting backlinks, not referring domains. One site with thousands of footer links is one relationship.
• Chasing score alone. Authority scores are third-party estimates, not figures from Google.
• Copying spam. If a competitor bought links, copying them adds risk and little else.
• Sending templates. Editors can spot a mail merge in the first line.
• Stopping after one pass. Competitors earn new links all the time, so repeat this monthly or quarterly.

How does UtilitySEO help with competitor backlink analysis?

UtilitySEO does most of the sorting for you. Add your competitors and the Get more links list shows the sites that link to them and not to you, with the easiest first, the reason each one is on the list and a draft email to start from. It also flags sites that AI answers quote, so you can see which links might help you get named there too. You send the emails yourself, and you mark each site as contacted or won.

The Clean up view shows which of your own links look like spam, and why. If you want to try it, plans start from £39 a month with a 14-day free trial. You can also start with a free SEO scan to see where your site stands.