Backlinks remain one of the strongest ranking signals in Google’s algorithm. If you want to boost your site’s visibility, it isn’t enough to just build links blindly—you need to find competitor backlinks. By understanding who links to them and why, you can reverse-engineer their strategies and discover untapped opportunities for your own site.
In this guide, we’ll cover why competitor backlink analysis matters, how to find competitors backlink in Ahrefs step by step, what metrics to pay attention to, and how to turn insights into real SEO wins.
Why Find Competitor Backlinks?
When you find competitor backlinks, you uncover:
- Proven link sources – If they linked to your competitor, chances are they’ll consider linking to you.
- Content formats that attract links – Guest posts, listicles, resource guides, broken link replacements.
- Partnership and PR opportunities – Directories, podcasts, or niche communities your competitor is part of.
- Authority benchmarks – How strong their link profile is compared to yours.
Put simply, competitor backlinks are a roadmap for where your site can go next.
Step-by-Step: How to Check Backlinks in Ahrefs
Ahrefs makes it easy to audit backlinks and run competitor analysis. Here’s how to do it:
- Log in to Ahrefs & go to Site Explorer
- Enter your competitor’s domain or a specific URL.
- This shows you all the backlinks pointing to that site.
- Choose “Referring Pages”
- Navigate to Competitive Analysis → Referring Pages.
- You’ll now see competitors’ backlinks with details like anchor text, domain rating (DR), and traffic.
- Enter Multiple Competitors
- Use the “Add Competitors” fields to compare several domains at once.
- This is where Ahrefs’ Link Intersect report shines—it shows sites linking to your competitors but not to you.
- Click “Show Link Opportunities”
- The report reveals websites most willing to link to content like yours.
- These become your primary outreach targets.
What to Look for When Spying on Competitors’ Backlinks
Not all links are created equal. As you analyze results, prioritize based on:
- Domain Authority / Domain Rating (DR) – Higher DR usually means stronger SEO value.
- Relevance – Links from niche-relevant sites are worth more than general directories.
- Traffic to linking page – A backlink from a page with 10k visits/month can send referral traffic.
- Anchor Text – Look for natural, keyword-relevant anchors.
- Do-follow vs No-follow – Do-follow links pass SEO equity, but a natural profile includes both.
💡 Pro tip: Use filters in Ahrefs to weed out spammy or irrelevant links and focus on the ones that can truly move the needle.
Turning Insights into Link Opportunities
Once you see competitors’ backlinks, don’t just copy them—use the data strategically. Here are effective tactics:
- Guest Posting – If competitors publish on a site, pitch your own article.
- Resource Page Links – Get listed in directories, “best of” lists, or industry resource hubs.
- Broken Link Replacement – Use Ahrefs to find dead competitor links, then suggest your content as a replacement.
- Content Upgrades – Create a fresher, more detailed guide than your competitor’s and pitch it to the same linkers.
- Partnerships / PR – Podcasts, webinars, or round-ups where your competitors appear.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Chasing link quantity over quality. A few high-authority, relevant links outperform dozens of weak ones.
- Ignoring lost/gained links. Monitor which competitor links are new (to replicate) or lost (to reclaim).
- Over-relying on metrics. DR/UR is useful, but relevance and context matter more.
- One-time analysis. Competitor link profiles change; run this monthly or quarterly.
If you want to grow your rankings faster, you can’t just build links in isolation—you need to spy on competitors’ backlinks. With Ahrefs, you can check backlinks, run comparisons, and identify exactly where to focus your outreach.
By combining find competitor backlinks tactics like guest posting, broken link building, and content upgrades, you’ll not only catch up but also stay ahead in your niche.
👉 Next step: Pick your top three competitors, see their backlinks in Ahrefs, and build a shortlist of high-value opportunities today.
Once you’ve identified backlink opportunities, the next step is creating content that attracts links. For that, you’ll need strong keyword research. Check out our guide on how to use the Ahrefs Keyword Generator to quickly find 150+ keyword ideas and build content that earns backlinks.