How To Check Competitors Backlinks

To check your competitors’ backlinks, you can use various tools and methods to analyze their backlink profile. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do this:

1. Use Backlink Analysis Tools

Several SEO tools are designed specifically to help you check backlinks, including those of your competitors. These tools allow you to see where your competitors are getting their backlinks from, helping you understand their link-building strategies.

Popular Backlink Analysis Tools:

• Ahrefs
  Ahrefs is one of the most popular backlink analysis tools. To check your competitor’s backlinks:
  1. Go to Ahrefs and create an account.
  2. In the search bar, enter your competitor’s website URL.
  3. Navigate to the “Backlinks” tab to see a list of backlinks pointing to their site.
  4. Filter the results based on factors like backlink type, domain rating, etc.
• Moz Link Explorer
  Moz’s Link Explorer is another great tool for backlink analysis. Here’s how to use it:
  1. Go to Moz Link Explorer.
  2. Enter your competitor’s URL in the search bar.
  3. Click on the “Backlinks” tab to view the backlinks of the site.
  4. Use filters to refine your search and identify the highest-quality backlinks.
• SEMrush
  SEMrush provides detailed insights into your competitors’ backlink profiles:
  1. Visit SEMrush.
  2. Enter your competitor’s domain name in the search bar.
  3. Go to the “Backlink Analytics” section.
  4. Click on “Backlinks” to see where their backlinks are coming from.
• Ubersuggest
  Ubersuggest offers backlink analysis as part of its SEO suite:
  1. Go to Ubersuggest.
  2. Enter your competitor’s domain in the search bar.
  3. Click on “Backlinks” from the results to get detailed backlink data.
• SpyFu
  SpyFu allows you to check backlinks and more:
  1. Go to SpyFu.
  2. Enter your competitor’s domain.
  3. Navigate to the “Backlinks” section to see their link profile.

2. Google Search Operators

You can use Google search operators to find some of your competitor’s backlinks for free. Here are a few operators you can try:

• “Link:” Operator
  Example: link:competitorwebsite.com
  This will show pages that link to your competitor’s site. However, Google’s link operator is no longer as effective as it once was, so it might not show all backlinks.
• “site:” Operator
  Example: site:competitorwebsite.com
  This shows the pages indexed by Google from your competitor’s website, which can give you some insight into the types of pages that might link to their site.

3. Manually Analyze Competitor Content and Mentions

You can also manually check backlinks by looking at where your competitors’ content is being shared or referenced:

• Check Competitor’s Guest Posts: Look for guest posts your competitor may have written on authoritative websites and blogs in your industry.
• Monitor Brand Mentions: Tools like Google Alerts can help you track when and where your competitor’s brand or website is mentioned online.

4. Use Browser Extensions

Some browser extensions can give you quick insights into backlinks when you’re browsing competitor websites:

• MozBar: Moz’s browser extension allows you to view the Domain Authority (DA) and backlinks of any page directly from your browser.
• Ahrefs SEO Toolbar: With this tool, you can check the backlinks of any webpage directly while browsing.

Conclusion

Checking your competitor’s backlinks is an essential part of competitive research. By using powerful tools like Ahrefs, Moz, SEMrush, or SpyFu, you can gain valuable insights into their link-building strategies. Once you know where they are getting their backlinks from, you can identify opportunities to acquire similar or better links for your website, helping you improve your own Domain Authority and search rankings.