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

What Is a Competitor Backlink Analysis?

A competitor backlink analysis is an SEO tactic that reveals your competitors' total number of backlinks, linking domains, and top-linked pages to help you find link building opportunities for your site.

You can then use insights from your competitor backlink analysis to transform scattered backlink data into actionable link building tactics. Which you can use to potentially boost your site’s authority and search visibility.

How to Find Competitor Backlinks

Find competitor backlinks quickly and easily with an SEO tool like Backlink Analytics. 

Just enter one of your competitors’ domains.

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

Head to the “Backlinks” tab to get a table of your competitor’s backlinks with details like:

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

If you’re not sure who your competitors are, enter your domain into Organic Research and head 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, run a backlink gap analysis—a link building tactic that reveals websites that link to your competitors but not to you.

Finding these gaps reveals opportunities. 

Because if a site links to your competitors’ content, they’re likely to link to you as well. Especially if you create better content. 

To identify these opportunities, use the Backlink Gap tool.

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

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

Click the arrow in a competitor’s column to see details about each backlink from a particular domain, including the anchor text and target URL. 

4 Ways to Get More Links After Finding Competitors’ Backlinks

Here are four ways to transform your link building efforts based on your competitors' backlinks.

1. Replicate Your Competitors’ Backlinks

Replicating your competitors’ backlinks means getting backlinks from the same domains that link to those rivals.

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

Here’s how:

First, find your competitors’ highest-quality backlinks. 

You can do this with Backlink Analytics.

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

Now you have a list of the most reputable domains that link to your competitors.

Look through the list. And look for the following types of pages:

• Resource pages
• Industry directories (most well-known directories use attributes that tell search engines not to see links as endorsements, but niche-specific directories are less likely to do this)
• Listicles
• Expert round-ups
• Guest post sites
• Podcast interviews

These types of pages generally actively seek new submissions and regularly update their content.

So see how many of your competitor’s backlinks you can replicate.

For example:

For niche-specific directories, reach out to the website owners and include specific reasons why your site should be included.

For listicles and expert round-ups, ask the authors to add your business. And be sure to explain the unique features that differentiate you from existing entries.

For guest post sites, follow their submission guidelines and pitch topics that fill gaps in the site's existing content.

2. Replace Your Competitors’ Broken Backlinks

Replacing your competitors’ broken backlinks (often called broken link building) involves finding content that links to your competitors’ broken pages and convincing the creators to link to your pages instead.

This tactic works because site owners generally want to fix broken links on their sites. And you’re providing an easy solution (swapping to a link to your page instead).

To start, open Backlink Analytics. And enter a competitor’s URL.

Head to the “Indexed Pages” tab and check the box next to “Broken Pages.” 

You’ll see a list of 4xx and 5xx pages (which are broken pages) on the competitor’s site. 

Click the blue number in the “Backlinks” column to see all the backlinks pointing to the corresponding broken page. 

Filter for “Active” links and export your results. 

Then, analyze which URLs could easily be swapped for your own pages. And reach out to the linking websites to suggest your pages as alternatives.

Repeat this process for other competitors and pages.

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

Create a better version of your competitors’ most-linked content, so you can reach out to the sites linking to them and recommend your pages instead.

This works because you're creating an upgraded version of content that websites already want to link to.

First, find the pages on your competitors’ sites with the most backlinks. 

Do this with Backlink Analytics.

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

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

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

Now comes the important part: 

Create content that's clearly better than the competition. 

Look for what's missing from your competitors' content. Maybe their data is outdated. Maybe they lack real examples. Maybe their advice isn't actionable enough. 

Fix these specific problems in your version.

Your goal is to make site owners think, "Wow, this is much better than what I currently link to."

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

In other words, contact sites linking to the competitor's pages and explain how your content provides more value. 

4. Build Similar Media Relationships

Build similar media relationships by finding and analyzing which journalists and publications frequently link to your competitors.

This can help you build targeted outreach lists that are likely to result in more backlinks.

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

Then, head to the “Backlinks” tab and look for backlinks from news sites, industry publications, and other media outlets. 

Make a list of outlets that have mentioned your competitors. And visit those pages to see which specific journalists or writers mention them.

These people are likely to link to you. Because they already mention similar brands.

Then, try to build relationships.

Here’s how:

1. Find each writer's email using Hunter.io (or a similar tool)
2. Follow the writers on X (formerly Twitter) or LinkedIn. And comment thoughtfully on their posts.
3. Look at how the writers covered your competitors, then pitch similar (but unique) story ideas
4. Reference writers’ previous work—this shows you did your homework
5. Offer unique data or expert insights writers can't get elsewhere

The goal is to build trust that lets you become another reliable source.

Study Competitor Backlinks to Build Your Own

Finding competitor backlinks is step one of better link building. 

You then need to turn what you learned into action by finding the best link targets, creating content worth linking to, and building real connections with other site owners. 

Pick your top five competitors, find their best backlinks using Semrush tools, and start reaching out this week.