A backlink gap analysis answers one practical question in link building: which websites link to your competitors but not to you? Each of those domains has already shown it is willing to link to a business in your space, which makes the list a far better starting point than a random set of “high authority” sites. This guide walks through the full workflow, from choosing competitors to scoring prospects, matching each outreach to the way the competitor earned the link, and keeping the whole process inside Google’s link guidelines.
Key takeaways
- A backlink gap analysis compares referring domains across your site and several competitors, then isolates the domains that link to them and not to you.
- The competitors you pick decide the quality of the list. Use sites that rank for your target searches and are roughly your size.
- Raw exports are not a target list. Classify each gap by how the link was earned, then score it before you write a single email.
- Google’s spam policies treat links created mainly to manipulate rankings as link spam, so every outreach idea should offer a real reason to link.
- Run the process quarterly and track what converts, so each round is sharper than the last.
What Is a Backlink Gap Analysis?
A backlink gap analysis (also called a link intersect or link gap report) compares the websites that link to you with the websites that link to your competitors. The “gap” is the set of domains that link to one or more rivals but have never linked to you. The idea is simple: a site that has linked to three businesses like yours already understands your topic, so your outreach is a relevant suggestion rather than a cold introduction.
It is different from auditing your own links. An audit tells you what you already have and whether any of it is risky. If you need that first, read our guide on how to check backlink quality, then come back here to find what is missing.
One caution before the steps. A gap list shows where competitors have links. It does not show why a link exists or whether it helps their rankings. Treat the list as a set of leads to research, not a shopping list.
Step 1: Choose the Right Competitors
The most important decision happens before you open any tool. Compare against the wrong sites and the output is noise.
- Start from search results. Search your five to ten most important keywords and note which domains keep appearing. These are your SERP competitors, and they may differ from the businesses you think of as rivals. A national publisher can outrank a local shop for an informational query.
- Match scale. A small blog compared with a household-name media site produces a list of links you cannot realistically win. Choose three to five sites of similar size, plus one that is a little ahead of you.
- Check that they still earn links. A competitor coasting on a decade-old link profile teaches you little about what publishers link to today. Look for sites that have gained referring domains recently.
Example scenario: a hypothetical regional bakery supply store wants links for its “commercial oven buying guide.” Its true business rivals are two other local suppliers, but the pages ranking for that guide belong to a trade magazine, a restaurant-equipment retailer, and a culinary school blog. The retailer and the school blog are the right comparison set, because they compete for the same searches and are small enough to learn from.
Step 2: Pull the Gap Data
Most paid backlink tools include a report that compares your domain with several competitors and lists the domains that link to them but not to you. The report names and limits differ by tool, so check your tool’s own documentation for how many competitors it accepts and how it defines “link.”
You can also approximate the process with free data. Google Search Console’s Links report shows your own top linking sites, top linked pages, and top linking text. It has limits worth knowing: it is a sample rather than a complete list, tables are capped at 1,000 rows, it can include links that have since been removed, and it does not show whether a link is marked nofollow. You can export up to 100,000 rows from the report landing page.
A manual workflow looks like this:
- Export your linking domains from Search Console.
- For each competitor, collect referring domains from whichever backlink checker you have access to.
- Put all lists in one spreadsheet, one domain per row, with a column for each site.
- Mark the domains that appear for at least one competitor but not for you.
Manual comparison is slower and less complete than a paid report, but the logic is identical.
Step 3: Classify Each Gap by How the Link Was Earned
Two domains can look identical in a tool and need completely different approaches. Open the linking page for each promising gap and decide what kind of link it is.
| Link type | What you will see | Realistic approach |
|---|---|---|
| Resource page | A curated list of tools or guides in your niche | Suggest your most useful page for the list, if it genuinely fits |
| Editorial citation | A competitor is cited as a source inside an article | Offer newer data or a clearer explanation the author may want to reference |
| Guest contribution | A competitor staff member has a byline | Pitch an original article on a topic the site has not covered |
| Broken link | The link points to a page that no longer exists | Offer your live page as a replacement if it covers the same ground |
| Roundup or “best of” list | Several providers are listed together | Ask to be considered, with a clear difference the list is missing |
| News or PR coverage | A story about a study, launch, or event | Requires something newsworthy first, so this is usually a later project |
| Directory or association | A member or partner listing | Check eligibility and apply, often the simplest win |
Pay attention to disclosure. If a page carries paid or sponsored links, the rules in the next section apply to you as well as to the publisher.
Stay Inside Google’s Link Guidelines
A gap list can tempt you into shortcuts, so read Google’s spam policies before you start outreach. The link spam section defines link spam as links created primarily to manipulate search rankings. Examples include buying or selling links that pass ranking signals, excessive link exchanges, partner pages created only for cross-linking, and automated tools that generate links to your site. Guest posts and advertorials that carry paid, ranking-passing links or keyword-stuffed anchor text also fall under the policy.
Paid placements are not forbidden. The policy allows them when the link is marked with rel=”nofollow” or rel=”sponsored”. The practical rule is that any link you ask for should be one an editor would add on its merits, and any arrangement involving payment, products, or services should be disclosed through the right attribute.
Before chasing any prospect, screen it for obvious red flags such as thin content, link-selling pages, or unrelated topics. Our toxic backlinks guide covers the signals to look for.
Step 4: Score and Prioritize Your Gaps
“Prioritize by relevance” is easy to say and hard to apply to 400 rows. A simple scoring model helps. This is a working framework rather than an industry standard, so adjust the weights to your market.
- Overlap (1 to 5): 1 if one competitor has the link, 3 if two do, 5 if three or more do.
- Relevance (1 to 5): 1 for a loosely related site, 3 for an adjacent industry, 5 for your exact topic and audience.
- Achievability (1 to 5): 1 if you would need a major campaign, 3 if a strong pitch could work, 5 if a directory or resource listing is likely.
Multiply the three numbers for a score out of 125. Work the highest scores first and park anything low in a backlog.
Example scenario: the hypothetical bakery supply store scores three made-up domains.
| Domain (hypothetical) | Link type | Overlap | Relevance | Achievability | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| restaurantstartups.example | Resource page | 5 | 4 | 5 | 100 |
| cityfoodbusiness.example | Roundup | 3 | 4 | 3 | 36 |
| generalbusinessnews.example | News coverage | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
The first domain goes to the top of the queue. The third is parked, even though a tool might rate its authority highly, because it is neither relevant nor realistic.
Useful spreadsheet columns: domain, which competitors link, link type, linked-to competitor page, your page to suggest, three scores, total score, contact, status, and date contacted.
Step 5: Study the Competitor Page That Earned the Link
Domain-level lists hide the most useful detail: which competitor page received the link. Group your gaps by linked-to URL and read the top few pages as a reader would. Ask what that page offers that yours does not.
- Is its information newer or more specific?
- Does it include a tool, template, or dataset people can use?
- Is it clearer, better organized, or better illustrated?
If the answer exposes a real gap, improve or create your own page before you reach out. Outreach for a page that is no better than the existing one gives the publisher no reason to act. Do not copy the competitor’s page. Google’s guidance on helpful content asks whether a page adds original value, and a rewrite of someone else’s work does not.
Step 6: Write Outreach That Fits the Link Type
Gap outreach works best when it is specific, short, and clearly useful to the person reading it. A basic structure:
- First message: mention the page where they linked to a competitor, say what your page adds in one sentence, and link to it. Do not ask for a specific anchor text.
- One follow-up: a brief reminder after about a week, adding anything new, such as an updated figure.
- Close politely: if there is no reply, stop. Repeated pestering damages your reputation with the very sites you want to build relationships with.
Match the ask to the link type from Step 3. Asking a resource page curator for a guest post, or asking a news site to add you to a list, signals that you have not looked at the page. For more on pitching, see our guide to how to get quality backlinks.
Step 7: Track Results and Repeat
The analysis ends when links appear, not when the spreadsheet is finished. After each round, record:
- How many prospects you contacted, how many replied, and how many links were added.
- Which link types converted best for your site.
- Whether domains linking to several competitors really did respond better than single-overlap domains.
Your own numbers are more reliable than any outside benchmark, because reply rates vary widely by niche and offer. Re-run the analysis every quarter, since competitor profiles change as they publish and promote new content.
Run the Analysis in Reverse
Swap the columns and the same method shows domains that link to you but to none of your competitors. These links are your own advantage. Check each one every quarter to confirm it is still live, keep the relationship warm by sharing updated resources, and watch for any sign that a rival is now earning links from the same sites.
Common Backlink Gap Analysis Mistakes
- Using the wrong comparison set. Giants and business models unlike yours produce lists you cannot act on.
- Treating the export as a to-do list. Without classification and scoring, you will spend weeks on low-value domains.
- Sorting by authority score alone. A third-party score is not something Google uses, and a loosely related site with a high score is often a worse target than a niche site with a modest one.
- Mismatched pitches. Ask for the kind of link the page already contains.
- Offering nothing new. If your page is not clearly useful, improve it first.
- Chasing links that break the rules. Paid, swapped, or automated links without the right attributes can cause more harm than good.
- Running it once. The data goes stale within months.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many competitors should I include?
Three to five is a practical range. Fewer gives a thin list, and more makes the filtering hard to manage. Quality of the comparison set matters more than the count.
Can I do this without a paid tool?
Yes, with more manual work. Use Search Console for your own links and a free checker for each competitor, then compare the lists in a spreadsheet. Expect less complete data than a paid report provides.
Should I go after every gap?
No. Filter out irrelevant, low-quality, or rule-breaking domains, then work the highest-scoring group first.