Link Gap Analysis Playbook

What Is a Link Gap Analysis

A link gap analysis identifies domains that link to your competitors but not to you. These are proven link opportunities because the sites have already demonstrated willingness to link to content in your niche.

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Identify Your Competitors (15 minutes)

1. List your top 3-5 organic search competitors (not just business competitors)
2. Focus on competitors who rank for your target keywords
3. Include one aspirational competitor with significantly higher authority

Step 2: Extract Backlink Data (30 minutes)

1. Pull referring domain lists for each competitor using Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz
2. Export your own referring domain list
3. Import all lists into a spreadsheet for comparison

Step 3: Find the Gaps (1 hour)

1. Identify domains linking to 2+ competitors but not to you (highest priority)
2. Identify domains linking to 1 competitor but not to you (secondary priority)
3. Filter out low-quality domains (DA under 20, spam score above 30%)
4. Remove domains that are irrelevant to your niche

Step 4: Prioritize Opportunities

Score each gap opportunity based on:

• Domain authority of the linking site
• Relevance to your content
• Number of competitors they link to (more = higher priority)
• Link type they typically give (editorial, resource page, guest post)

Step 5: Build Outreach Campaigns

1. Group opportunities by outreach approach (reciprocal exchange, guest post, resource page)
2. Create tailored outreach for each group
3. Target the highest-scoring opportunities first
4. Track progress and results in Linkorite

Running This Quarterly

Repeat this analysis every quarter as competitor backlink profiles change. New gaps emerge as competitors acquire new links, creating fresh opportunities for your team.