Your competitors' backlink profiles are one of the most valuable datasets in SEO — they show you exactly which websites are willing to link to content in your niche, what types of content earn links, and which link building strategies are working right now in your industry. The good news is that you do not need an expensive tool to access this data. This guide covers the best free methods to find competitor backlinks and turn that intelligence into your own link building wins.
Why Competitor Backlink Research Matters
Link building without competitor research is guesswork. When you analyse competitor backlinks first, you know which websites in your niche are actively linking to others — and are therefore potential link targets for you. You see what anchor text is being used, what content formats earn links (guides, tools, statistics), and which link building tactics are working in your specific industry right now. This dramatically increases the efficiency and success rate of your outreach.
Method 1 — Google Search Operators
Google's search operators give you free visibility into who is linking to your competitors. Use the following searches to find link opportunities:
link:competitor.com— shows some sites linking to the competitor (limited but free)"competitor.com" -site:competitor.com— finds pages that mention the competitor's domain"guest post" site:niche-site.com— finds guest posting opportunities on sites that already link to competitors
These methods give you a starting point but are limited compared to dedicated backlink tools. Use them to supplement rather than replace other methods.
Method 2 — Free Backlink Tools
Several SEO tools offer free backlink data with limits:
- Ahrefs Free Webmaster Tools — verify your own domain and get limited backlink data for competitors
- Moz Link Explorer — 10 free queries per month showing referring domains and top backlinks
- SEMrush Free Account — limited backlink analysis with a free account
- Ubersuggest — Neil Patel's tool offers some free backlink data per day
The key is to use multiple free tools together. Each indexes different backlinks, so combining data from two or three tools gives you a more complete picture than any single source.
Method 3 — Analyse Anchor Text Profiles
Once you have a list of competitor backlinks, analyse the anchor text being used. Anchor text patterns reveal what content topics are attracting links in your niche. If a competitor has 50 backlinks using the anchor text "broken link checker," that tells you that topic has strong link earning potential. Use our free Anchor Text Analyser to deep-dive into anchor text profiles for any website, identifying the exact phrases that are driving link acquisition.
Method 4 — Find Deleted Pages with Backlinks
One of the highest-converting link building tactics is targeting competitors' deleted pages that still have backlinks pointing to them. Here is the process:
- Get a list of your competitor's backlinks from a free tool
- Check each linked URL — any returning a 404 is a deleted page
- Use our Broken Link Checker to crawl competitor sites and find all broken internal and external links
- Create content on the same topic as the deleted page
- Reach out to the sites linking to the dead URL and offer your content as a replacement
This broken link building technique has a significantly higher success rate than cold outreach because you are solving a real problem for the site owner — they have a broken link that needs fixing.
Method 5 — Reverse Engineer Their Best Content
Identify which specific pages on competitor sites have the most backlinks — these are their link magnets. Look for patterns: are they statistics pages, ultimate guides, free tools, or original research? This tells you what content format works best in your niche for earning links. Create better versions of those content types on your own site, then reach out to the sites that linked to the original.
Method 6 — Monitor Competitor New Links
Set up alerts to notify you whenever a competitor earns a new backlink. Most free tools allow email alerts for new referring domains. When a competitor gets a new link, that linking site has just demonstrated they are open to linking to content in your niche — making them a warm prospect for your own outreach.
Building Your Outreach List
Once you have identified link prospects from competitor research, organise them into an outreach list with:
- The linking site's domain and domain authority score
- The specific page that links to your competitor
- The anchor text used
- The competitor page being linked to
- Your equivalent content that could serve as a replacement or addition
Personalise every outreach email by referencing the specific page and explaining exactly why your content adds value for their readers. Generic outreach emails are ignored — specific, relevant pitches get responses.
Tracking Your Link Building Progress
After publishing content and conducting outreach, monitor your own backlink growth regularly. Run your domain through backlink tools monthly to see new referring domains, track which outreach is converting, and identify any toxic links that need to be disavowed. Use our Anchor Text Analyser to monitor your own anchor text profile and ensure it remains natural and varied.
Summary
Finding competitor backlinks for free requires combining multiple tools and methods — Google search operators, free backlink tool limits, anchor text analysis, and broken link identification. The highest-ROI approach is finding deleted competitor pages with existing backlinks and offering your content as a replacement. Use our Anchor Text Analyser and Broken Link Checker as part of your free toolkit to make competitor backlink research a regular part of your SEO workflow.