Quick Answer
Competitor backlink analysis involves identifying the links that go to your competitor’s website, evaluating which of these links have any real SEO value, and figuring out how you can get such or even better links for yourself. If you do not have an active subscription, you will use some free versions of Ahrefs’ Backlink Checker and SEO SpyGlass along with your own searches, according to the three step method, namely competitor identification, identifying shared backlinks, and sorting out the results by quality.
What Competitor Backlink Analysis Actually Tells You
Competitor backlinks analysis helps to answer three basic questions: from whom do the competitors have backlinks, which ones help in ranking their sites, and how can you get similar backlinks yourself?
This matters for four concrete reasons:
- It finds real gaps. The website which links to the competitor does not have any loyalty towards the competitor. If the website sees that you provide some value to their readers, then they would like to link back to your website as well.
- It sets a quality benchmark. Understanding the connections with your competitors will enable you to focus on valuable sources rather than worthless ones.
- It explains ranking gaps. As backlinks are an important factor in determining rankings, a competing website with more backlinks can easily beat other competing websites with good content simply based on backlinks.
- It gives you something measurable. Measuring link growth and domain authority over time will help to tell if your link building efforts are really effective or you’re simply busy.
Free and Low-Cost Tools You Can Actually Use
Complete backlink databases for competitors are available only through pricey subscriptions, costing hundreds of dollars every month from the prominent software companies, thus making them impossible to afford by most individuals owning websites in Nepal. There are some ways of obtaining real data free of charge.
| Tool | What It Gives You Free | The Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Your own site’s keyword and page performance data | Shows nothing about a competitor’s backlinks, only your own |
| Ahrefs Backlink Checker (free version) | A limited look at a domain’s backlink profile and history | Caps the number of results and how far back the data goes |
| SEO SpyGlass (free version) | A full backlink audit for one competitor per project | Limited to a single competitor at a time without upgrading |
Direct answer: Google Search Console can’t show you backlinks to your competitor’s website. It gives information about those websites whose ownership verification has been done by you. Thus, it is completely useless in this regard; yet, it can be very helpful in other scenarios. Take the free versions of Ahrefs and SEO SpyGlass to start from.
The Three-Step Process for Analyzing Competitor Backlinks
Step 1: Identify your real organic competitors.
These aren’t necessarily the businesses you compete with locally. They’re whichever sites actually rank for the keywords you’re targeting. Find them by:
- Running your target keywords through a search engine and noting who consistently appears in the top ten results.
- Checking industry directories and well-known blogs in your niche for recurring names.
- Using whatever free tool access you have to confirm which domains show up repeatedly across your keyword list.
Step 2: Find common and uncommon backlinks.
Once you have a short list of competitors, look at what links to them and sort those links into two groups.
- Common backlinks point to several competitors at once, but not to you. These sites clearly have no strong loyalty to any one competitor, which makes them realistic, lower-friction outreach targets.
- Uncommon backlinks point to only one or two competitors. These often come from higher-authority sites and are harder to earn, but worth noting for later, more ambitious outreach.
Step 3: Sort what you find into quality tiers.
Not every backlink is worth the same effort. A simple three-tier system keeps your priorities straight:
| Tier | Examples | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Industry media, authoritative blogs, trusted directories, government or education sites, guest posts on major industry publications | Highest priority; pursue these first |
| Tier 2 | Smaller industry blogs, regional news sites, niche directories, guest posts on growing blogs | Worth real effort, but secondary to Tier 1 |
| Tier 3 | Generic directories and local listings | Useful for a diverse link profile, not a primary focus |
Turning This Into an Ongoing Habit
A one-time competitor backlink check gives you a snapshot. The real value comes from repeating it.
- Track competitor link growth monthly. A sudden jump in a competitor’s backlinks often means a successful campaign worth understanding, and possibly replicating.
- Set a link goal that matches or beats their pace. If a competitor gains ten new quality links a month, treat that as your own rough target.
- Prioritize Tier 1 and Tier 2 opportunities over chasing volume with low-value Tier 3 links.
- Look for domains linking to multiple competitors at once. These are your highest-probability outreach targets, since they’ve already shown a pattern of linking within your niche.
- Reclaim your own lost links. Sites that once linked to you but removed the link, often during a redesign, are usually easier to win back than cold outreach to someone new.
For a Nepal-based tourism business, this looks concrete in practice. A site like Discover Himalaya Nepal would want to see which travel blogs, trekking directories, or regional news sites link to competing tour operators, since those same sites are realistic targets for a well-pitched guest post or resource link.
The same logic applies to a healthcare or clinic website. A practice like Agni Dental could look at which local directories or health-focused blogs link to other dental clinics in the area, since those sites are often open to listing multiple local practices rather than favoring just one competitor.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating every competitor backlink as worth pursuing, instead of focusing on Tier 1 and Tier 2 opportunities first.
- Trying to use Google Search Console to check a competitor’s backlinks, when it only reports data for your own verified domain.
- Running a one-time check and never repeating it, which misses genuine shifts in a competitor’s link-building activity.
- Ignoring your own lost backlinks while chasing new ones, when reclaiming an old link is usually faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see a competitor’s backlinks using Google Search Console?
No. Google Search Console is only able to display performance metrics of those websites that have been verified by the owner. There is no such option within Google Search Console that allows one to view the backlinks of any other website.
What’s the best free competitor backlink checker?
The free Ahrefs Backlink Checker as well as the free SEO SpyGlass allow you to get real data from them without paying for a subscription, although each of them restricts your access in some way.
What’s the difference between common and uncommon competitor backlinks?
The common backlink refers to backlinks pointing to more than one competitor. On the other hand, uncommon backlinks refer to backlinks which point to just one or two competitors, and are typically of high authority, making them hard to get.
How often should I run a competitor backlink analysis?
Treat this as a regular habit instead of an occasional chore. The fact that you do this check on a monthly basis will allow you to identify any sudden spike in your competitor’s links.
Do I need a paid tool eventually, or can free tools cover this long term?
While free versions can help you conduct a regular competitor analysis, the restrictions on query limits and lack of historic data suggest that a paid subscription will prove more helpful when building links on a larger scale.
The purpose of competitor backlink analysis is not to just match your competitor’s links link by link. The idea is to find out how the competitor got their authority and which of those opportunities are possible for you to tap into. While the free tools cannot do what a paid one can do, it is good enough to get started.