Studying your competitors' backlink profiles reveals link building opportunities, helps you understand what content earns links in your industry, and provides targets for your outreach efforts.
Find sites that link to competitors but not to you.
Learn what types of content earn links in your niche.
Understand the link gap between you and competitors.
| Metric | What It Tells You | How to Use It |
|---|---|---|
| Total Referring Domains | Overall link profile size | Benchmark against your own profile |
| Domain Authority | Strength of linking sites | Prioritize high-authority opportunities |
| Link Velocity | How fast they're acquiring links | Identify successful campaigns |
| Top Linked Pages | Their best-performing content | Inspire your content strategy |
| Anchor Text Distribution | Their keyword targeting | Learn natural anchor patterns |
| Link Types | Editorial, guest posts, directories, etc. | Identify their link building tactics |
A link gap analysis shows sites that link to your competitors but not to you. These are your best opportunities because:
Organize competitor links into categories to identify patterns and opportunities:
| Category | Examples | Replicability |
|---|---|---|
| Resource Links | Resource pages, link roundups, curated lists | High |
| Guest Posts | Contributed articles on industry blogs | High |
| Editorial Links | Naturally earned mentions in articles | Medium |
| Press/PR Links | News coverage, press releases | Medium |
| Directory Links | Business directories, niche listings | High |
| Partnership Links | Business partner pages, sponsorships | Low |
Study which competitor pages attract the most links to inspire your content strategy: