Competitor analysis: How to use it for your backlink strategy
One of the smartest strategies in link building is keeping a close eye on what your competitors are doing.
By analyzing their backlinks, you can gain valuable insights into which sites are linking to them, what’s working for them, and how you can replicate their success.
This is where competitor analysis comes in.
Why competitor analysis matters in link building
Competitor analysis involves researching the backlink profiles of your top competitors to understand their SEO strategy.
By doing this, you can:
- Discover link opportunities: Identify websites that are linking to your competitors and potentially reach out to them for your own link-building efforts.
- Understand their strategy: Are they focusing on guest posts, directory links, or partnerships with influencers? Knowing this can help you shape your own approach.
- Benchmark your progress: Tracking your competitors’ backlink growth allows you to see where you stand and what steps you need to take to improve.
Normally, you’ll need both a competitor analysis tool and a backlink checker, but at Bazoom, we’ve combined them into one platform.
How to conduct competitor backlink analysis
Here’s how you can analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles:
- Identify your competitors: List your direct competitors—the ones ranking for the same keywords. Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz can help you find out which websites are outranking you.
- Analyze their backlink profiles: Use an SEO tool to pull up a list of backlinks pointing to your competitors. Examine where these links are coming from, the content being linked to, and how authoritative the linking sites are.
- Spot overlap and gaps: Compare their backlinks with yours. Are there high-quality sites linking to your competitors but not to you? These are opportunities you should pursue. Using Bazoom’s competitor backlink tool, you can easily enter your competitors and see which backlinks they have that you don’t—helping you spot gaps instantly and target those same sites.
- Evaluate link quality: Not all backlinks are equal. Prioritize the high-quality links your competitors have secured. These typically come from authoritative, relevant sites within your industry and will have the biggest impact on your rankings.
Choosing the right sites based on competitor analysis
Once you’ve gathered your data, take action. Here’s how to choose the best sites for your own link-building strategy:
- Focus on relevance: Look for websites that are related to your niche. If your competitor is getting links from relevant sites, those are likely good targets for you too.
- Prioritize High-Authority links: Links from strong domain authority sites will give your site more SEO value.
- Reach out for guest posts or collaborations: If your competitors are securing links through guest posts or collaborations, reach out to those same sites with a pitch for your own fresh, valuable content.
Conclusion
Competitor analysis isn’t just about keeping up with your rivals—it’s about learning from their successes to build a smarter link-building strategy.
By studying your competitors’ backlinks, you can find new opportunities to boost your rankings. Of course, keep your judgment in mind; not everyone knows what they are doing.
Sometimes, you’ll come across backlinks that don’t make sense—skip those and focus on the ones that suit your industry, niche, and metrics.
