Competitor backlink analysis is a crucial thing when you want to boost your website.

So as, link building is an essential component of SEO and is one of the most important variables used by search engines when evaluating your ranking.

Whether creating a new link-building plan or refining an existing one, it’s critical to assess your present position. This is where a backlink strategy comes in.

Let’s go through what a backlink analysis, and how to perform competitor backlink analysis in 2023.

What exactly is backlink analysis?

Backlink analysis is a thorough examination of a website’s backlinks to assess its performance and uncover flaws that may influence its search engine ranking.

Backlink analysis is the SEO equivalent of going to the doctor for a physical. You should perform it often to verify everything is in order and when anything goes wrong.

This is a great way to assess your site’s health and ranking variables. Perhaps you’ve witnessed a significant drop in your rating, or you’re just not getting the expected results.

A backlink analysis will also show how your website compares to the competition. You’ll learn about your rivals’ methods and what you may incorporate into your approach.

Finally, it’s an opportunity to uncover new growth options you haven’t previously investigated.

How to Perform Backlink Analysis on Competitors

Here’s a thorough, step-by-step approach to assist you in mastering competitive backlink research.

Examine the Competitor’s Home Page

The first and simplest step in competitor backlink research is to examine your rivals’ home pages to determine what links lead to them.

But why should you begin on the main page?

The rationale is simple: many people prefer to connect to a website’s main page.

For this investigation, you might utilize Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool. Begin by selecting a rival from your list and entering the URL of their home page.

When you do this, you’ll obtain a list of domains that point to that URL. These are all likely websites that should be connecting to yours but aren’t.

Competitor Analysis

Look for Backlinks to Specific Pages

While you’ve examined your rivals’ home pages, you should also read the rest of their website.

It is when your list of page-level rivals comes in helpful. You may use the Backlink Analytics tool to identify all pages that link to these page-level rivals.

Take, for example, the second-ranked article in the SERPs by Moz, as seen in the picture above.

You may evaluate the URL by entering it into the Backlink Analytics tool. Click on “Backlinks” on the next page to view all the sites that connect to this one.

Locate Websites That Link to Many Competitors

So, you’ve discovered websites that connect to your rivals’ home pages or particular pages.

But it isn’t the only thing. You should expand on your research.

In truth, there’s another technique to locate websites to contact for link development. It may accomplish by finding sites that connect to not one but numerous rivals.

And how does this assist you?

The rationale is simple: if those websites connect to your rivals, they will likely link to your website.

So, how do you identify these websites that connect to numerous of your competitors?

You’d need to utilize Ahrefs’ Link Intersect tool or Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool.

You may input up to five rivals and see the websites that link to them in the Backlink Gap tool.

Find Competitor Guest Posts

Another competitor backlink research method is locating websites where your rivals have submitted guest articles.

And how does this assist?

When you publish a guest post for another website, you will almost certainly get a link back to your own.

So, if a website allows your rivals to guest blog on it, it’s probable they’ll allow you to guest blog on it.

But how can you identify websites where your rivals have published guest posts?

Here are a few approaches to consider.

Manual lookup

It is the easiest method for locating guest articles made by your competition.

Begin by locating the author’s name under which your rivals often publish guest articles. It is critical to find all of their postings on other websites.

Make Use of Tools

Another method for locating posts produced by a rival is using tools. You may do this using Ahrefs Content Explorer.

This backlink analysis tool searches all articles and allows you to filter them based on the author’s name to locate those posted by your rivals.

Bottom Line

Several research you may perform, depending on the information you’re searching for.

Although this is not a thorough examination of analytical approaches, we hope it provides insights into how to link data that may be helpful to develop a plan or better understanding of your competitors. You can find our recent blogs to learn more about competitor backlink analysis here