Looking to build more backlinks to your website? Well, checking how your competitors managed to acquire theirs is a good place to start. After all, understanding their backlinks strategy can help you inform yours. 

But, how do you find out where your competitors got their backlinks from? Let’s take a look. 

How to Find a Competitor’s Backlinks for Free

The easiest way to find a competitor’s backlinks is by using a tool that provides what is known as a ‘competitor backlinks analysis’. We personally think Ahrefs is the best, but you could also use Semrush or another provider. 

If you choose to go with Ahrefs, then you can use the company’s free Backlinks Checker. All you need to do is plug in your competitor’s domain or URL and you’re ready to go. 

Using this piece of information, the tool will then show you the total number of backlinks your competitor has, as well as the total number of referring domains. In addition to this, it will also show you the domain’s top 100 backlinks. This includes the referring page, the anchor and the target URL. 

Remember, although Ahrefs is great, it isn’t the only option. For example, Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool is also very useful. Simply sign up for a free account, add your domain and the name of a competitor, and the tool will discover a number of backlink opportunities that you can explore. It will also show you a list of domains to target. 

Is it Worth Paying to Find a Competitor’s Backlinks? 

If often is, yes. After all, most of your competitors are likely to have more than 100 backlinks, and many of these may not be relevant to your website (for example, some may be in a foreign language and others may not be driving any traffic). 

Added to this, a paid-for tool like the Ahrefs one also allows you to filter the results, meaning you can see the links that would add the most value to your website at a glance. 

To see all of your competitor’s backlinks, all you need to do is plug their domain or URL into Site Explorer. From here, you simply need to go to the Backlinks report. Then, you can see all of their backlinks. 

What Should I Do If I Don’t Know Who My Competitors are? 

Again, tools like Ahrefs can help you with this. Simply put your URL into Site Explorer and click on the Organic Competitors report. This will then show you which websites and webpages are ranking for the keywords you’re targeting. 

For clarity, here’s what it looks like if you put ahrefs.com into the Ahrefs Site Explorer: 

Now you’ve found your competitor’s backlinks, you need to try and replicate their successes. This means: 

Of course, it likely won’t be possible for you to create like-for-like replicas of your competitor’s links. However, you should be able to replicate some of them. Examples of links that are usually easy to replicate include: 

How Do I Find Competitor Backlinks? Our Summary 

As you can see, finding the backlinks of your competitors is easy. After all, using a simple tool like Semrush or Ahrefs can complete the job for you – and even provide a snippet for free. 

Of course, acquiring those links yourself (or comparable ones) is less easy. However, once you know which links your competitors have earned, you can make a plan of action and aim to replicate their successes. Start with the types of links listed above (directory links, listicles, interviews and guest posts) and then go from there. Soon, you’ll have your own link building strategy that’s providing tangible results.