Sometimes, the difference between you and your competition comes down to who’s getting the right links, and who isn’t. Well, at least in the context of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Imagine if you knew exactly where your competitors get their best backlinks and then using that information to find how to outperform them. That’s exactly what you get with identifying link gaps – you can find out which links give your competition the upper hand and see how to bridge those gaps for smarter, sustainable growth.
Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Stay tuned and let’s see how to do it.
What Are Backlinks and How They Impact SEO
Backlinks are also called (external) inbound links. They are links from other websites that point to your own. Backlinks can therefore be viewed as endorsements which increase the legitimacy and relevance of a particular site (think of it as if someone else was vouching for you).
In the case of the right backlinks, you can significantly increase your rankings but, aspects such as link gaps may hinder you.
What Are Link Gaps in SEO
How does a link gap occur? It occurs due to a situation where there are strong and authoritative backlinks that your competitors have, but YOUR website does NOT (think of it as an unutilized opportunity from which others are benefiting, but you aren’t – yet).
These missing links usually mean that the competition is getting better ranking, especially if their links come from high-authority sites. This “tells” the search engines that their site is more trustworthy.
There’s not just one type of link gaps, though – there’s a few of them. You have competitor-specific gaps that your competition has from authoritative sites, which makes them more visible. Then there are industry-related gaps, and these are common in directories, resources, or forums that are relevant to the field and if they’re present all the time, they can build authority.
Lastly, there are content-specific gaps, which occur when backlinks support popular content types (guides, tutorials, etc.) that your competitors use to attract links.
For a stronger backlink profile and higher ranking, you need to find and close (all) these gaps.
Using Ahrefs to Investigate/Analyze Link Gaps
Closing a link gap effectively and efficiently would require some link building software and the first (proven & reliable) tool that you can use is Ahrefs. Let’s explore its features.
1. Identify the Competition
The very first step is to determine who your competitors are. It’s preferable to look for both primary and secondary competitors in the industry/niche who have a good/strong profile of backlinks.
If you choose competitors with content similar to yours and that targets the same audience, you have a better chance of finding the links that are relevant to your site.
2. Analyze Competitor’s Backlinks
Ahrefs has a “Link Intersect” feature and it’s very unique. It compares your site’s backlink profile with ones from your competitors and you can use it to quickly see the backlinks your competitors have, but you don’t.
3. Interpret the Data
Once you’ve found the missing links, you need to interpret the data from Ahrefs. First, see which link domains have the highest authority and, of course, which are the most relevant to your site.
Secondly, assess whether these links are embedded in reputable articles, various industry directories, or in mentions within high-traffic authoritative websites. This’ll help you see where your competitors are getting an edge over you and what type of content you need to attract similar links.
4. Link Prospects
Now, you should have a list of potential link opportunities and you need to prioritize them based on their authority, relevance, and ease of acquisition.
On the top of your list, you should have high-value links from respected sites because they have the most potential to close link gaps.
Ahrefs will give you detailed metrics for each link, so this part won’t be hard to do.
Pitchbox for Simpler Link Building Outreach
Pitchbox makes link-building outreach easier because it automates key stapes and it adds a personal touch to emails. Also, it works great with Ahrefs (can be integrated).
Here’s what Pitchbox can do for you.
1. Setting Up Outreach Campaigns
Start with importing link prospects from Ahrefs into Pitchbox, which will let you organize your outreach by link type, like guest post or resources.
Within Pitchbox, you can set up campaigns for each type with customizable templates to save time, but while still keeping every email relevant.
2. Personalizing Outreach
Pitchbox can make every email unique. It pulls details like contact names and website information, so each email is relevant to the recipient.
This will improve audience response rates as people tend to respond more positively to personalized outreach.
3. Tracking and Optimizing Campaigns
In case you send out emails, Pitchbox will help you by sending and tracking the responses, and openings, and follow-ups to show you what’s working and what’s not. While using such (reporting) tools, you can easily identify which outreach means/methods are the most effective ones and alter your approach if necessary.
Spend your resources on what works in the given situation instead of trying out things blindly and hoping for the best.
Conclusion
Closing link gaps is more than just a strategy because it can be your way to surpass your competition. If you find the right links to target and reach out precisely, you’re building a network that can keep your site climbing in search results.
Plus, your site gets more authority. Link gap analysis will patch out any weaknesses and open up new opportunities for your business.
