How To Get Competitor’s Backlinks | An Ethical Guide

It’s a maddening feeling, isn’t it?

You check your rankings, and there they are: your main competitor, climbing. Again. Faster than you. You’re pouring everything into great content, your on-page SEO is perfect, but they just keep pulling ahead. It’s beyond frustrating. You know there’s a missing piece, a “secret” that’s just out of reach.

Well, I’ll tell you what that secret almost always is. Backlinks. More specifically, their backlinks.

Now, hold on. This isn’t a guide to shady tactics, black-hat hacks, or anything that’ll land you in Google’s penalty box. This is an ethical, strategic guide on how to get competitor’s backlinks—or, to be more accurate, how to earn links from the very same places they are.

I remember my first “aha” moment with this so clearly. I was grinding away for my first agency, maybe building one or two measly links a month, while our main rival seemed to be everywhere. Featured on major blogs, in the news… everywhere. I finally convinced my boss to pay for an SEO tool, I dug into their link profile, and what I found wasn’t magic. It was a strategy.

This is that strategy.

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Key Takeaways

• It’s Just Smart Research: Peeking at their links isn’t “stealing.” It’s high-level market research, plain and simple. It gives you a proven success map for your niche.
• Find the ‘Why’: Don’t just see where they got a link. That’s only half the story. You have to understand why they got it. Was it a guest post? A data study? A free tool? The “why” is your real blueprint.
• Create Better Content: The core of this is not building “me too” content. It’s finding what earned them a link and then creating something undeniably better, more current, or more valuable.
• This is a Marathon, Not a Sprint: You won’t replicate their entire link profile by next Tuesday. This is a patient, long-term game. The goal is to build sustainable, high-quality links that Google actually wants to reward.
• Learn to Ignore the Junk: A huge part of this is developing a filter. You’ll see a ton of spammy, low-quality links. Learning to identify and ignore them is critical. Chasing them is a massive waste of time.

So, What Exactly Are Competitor Backlinks?

Yeah, let’s clear this up. The word “backlinks” can sound a little grimy and technical.

It’s not.

A backlink is just a link from one website to another. That’s it.

Think of them as “votes of confidence.” When a high-quality website (like a top industry blog, a university, or a news outlet) links to your competitor’s article, they are “voting” for it. They’re telling their audience, and telling Google, “This is a valuable, trustworthy resource on this topic.”

Google’s entire algorithm is built on this foundation of trust and authority. It counts those votes. As it sees more high-quality votes, its trust in your competitor’s site grows. More trust equals higher rankings. This is the main reason why a site with 100 high-quality links will almost always crush a site with 1,000 spammy, low-quality links. We’re not hunting for any link; we’re hunting for the quality links. The ones that move the needle.

Why Should I Even Bother Looking at Their Links?

I get this question all the time. I know what you’re thinking. It feels a bit like… spying, doesn’t it?

Let’s reframe that. It’s not spying. It’s market intelligence.

You’d look at a competitor’s pricing, right? You’d check out their product features or their social media campaigns. Of course you would. This is no different. In fact, it’s one of the most powerful forms of competitive analysis you can possibly do.

First, it’s a proven roadmap. Your competitor has already done the brutal, time-consuming work of finding websites that are willing to link to content in your niche. They’ve spent months, maybe years, building those relationships. You get to shortcut that entire discovery process. You’re not starting from a blank page; you’re starting from their finished blueprint.

Second, you’ll discover opportunities you would have never found on your own. I’m talking about niche blogs, industry roundups, resource pages, and podcasts that simply don’t show up in a “write for us” Google search.

My first agency job, my boss gave me the vague instruction to “go build links.” I had no idea where to start. I’m not kidding. I spent a solid week just Googling “submit guest post” and sending emails into a black hole. It was a total failure. The very first time I actually exported a top competitor’s link profile, it was like someone handed me a treasure map. Suddenly, I had a list of 100+ real, relevant sites to target. My entire strategy changed in an instant.

Okay, I’m Sold. How Do I Find Their Backlinks in the First Place?

This is the easy part. Seriously. The real work comes in the analysis and outreach, but just finding the links is simple.

You will need a paid SEO tool. There’s really no way around this. These tools crawl the web constantly, indexing links just like Google, and they make that data available to you. The main players you’ll hear about are:

• Ahrefs (my personal favorite for link analysis)
• Semrush
• Moz Pro

The process is pretty much the same in all of them. You take your competitor’s domain (e.g., competitor.com), plug it into their “Site Explorer” or “Domain Overview” tool, and then click on the “Backlinks” or “Referring Domains” report.

Boom.

You’ll be staring at a list, potentially with thousands of rows, of every website on the internet that links to them. Export this as a CSV or Excel file. Now the real fun begins.

What Am I Even Looking For in This Giant List of Links?

You will be overwhelmed. That’s a guarantee. You’ll open that file, see thousands of links, and your first instinct will be to panic.

Don’t.

You are not, I repeat, not trying to get every link on this list. Most of them will be junk.

You’re a detective. You’re looking for clues. You’re hunting for patterns. Your goal is to filter this massive list down to the high-value, replicable links.

Start by filtering and sorting. Look for these:

• High-Authority Links: All tools have a metric for this. Ahrefs calls it “Domain Rating” (DR), Moz calls it “Domain Authority” (DA). Sort the list to see the most powerful links first. A link from a DR 80 site is worth more than 100 links from DR 10 sites.
• “Dofollow” Links: This is a simple one. A “dofollow” link passes authority (or “link juice”). A “nofollow” link tells Google not to pass any authority. You’ll want to filter to see only the “dofollow” links, as these are the ones that directly impact rankings.
• Contextual Links: Where on the page is the link? Is it buried in a footer? Is it in a forum signature? Or is it placed naturally within the body of a blog post? These “contextual” links are pure gold.

You’re looking for the why. Does one competitor get all their links from guest posts? Does another get mentioned in podcast show notes? Is a third competitor building links by releasing data studies that everyone in the industry cites? This analysis tells you what kind of content earns links in your world.

Found ‘Em. Now, How Do I Ethically Get Them for Myself?

This is the most important part of this entire guide. This is where we separate ethical strategy from spammy theft.

The Golden Rule is: You don’t “steal” links. You earn them.

Your goal is not to email a webmaster and say, “Hey, link to me instead of them!” That will never, ever work. Your goal is to see that SiteA.com linked to your competitor, understand why they linked, and then give SiteA.com a new, better reason to link to you.

You’re not trying to get the exact same link. You’re trying to get a link from the same website. You are replicating the strategy, not the link itself.

Let’s break down the actual methods.

Method 1: Can I Just… Ask for the Link? (The “Skyscraper” Approach)

This is one of the most famous link-building strategies, coined by Brian Dean of Backlinko. It’s also one of the most effective, when done right.

The process is simple in theory, but requires real work.

1. Find: You use your competitor’s backlink list to find an article of theirs that has a ton of high-quality links. Let’s say it’s an article called “10 Ways to Grow Your Email List.”
2. Create Better: You create a piece of content on the same topic that is demonstrably better. This is not optional. You can’t just write your own “10 Ways” article. It has to be “The 25 Advanced Ways to Grow Your Email List (With Case Studies)” or “The Ultimate Guide to Email List Growth (with 2025’s Data).” It needs to be longer, more up-to-date, better designed, include videos, or feature original data.
3. Reach Out: You then reach out to all the high-quality sites linking to that old, inferior article.
4. Pitch: Your email pitch is simple and helpful. You say, “Hey [Name], I saw you linked to [competitor’s old article] in your post about email marketing. I actually just published a much more comprehensive, updated resource on that topic. It’s [Your Link]. Thought it might be a valuable addition for your readers.”

This works because you’re not just begging. You are offering genuine value. You’re helping that webmaster update their own content with a better, fresher resource.

Does That Skyscraper Thing Actually Work?

I’ll be perfectly honest with you. My first Skyscraper campaign was a complete and utter flop. A spectacular failure.

I was so excited. I found a competitor’s post with 50 links. I spent a whole week writing an article that was longer. That’s it. Just longer. I sent 50 carefully crafted emails. And I got… nothing. Not one link.

Why? Because my article wasn’t really better. It was just a “me too” article. It didn’t have new insights, better data, or a fresh perspective.

My second attempt, I learned my lesson. I targeted an outdated “Top 10 Marketing Tools” list from 2020. It was full of dead links and old software. I made a new “The 15 Best Marketing Tools for 2025” list. But I didn’t just list them. I included 30-second video reviews for each tool and negotiated exclusive discount codes.

I emailed 30 sites linking to the old one. I landed 4 high-quality links in the first week.

The difference? I provided undeniable, massive value. Don’t just be longer. Be better.

Method 2: What About Their Guest Posts? Can I Write for Those Sites Too?

This is often the lowest-hanging fruit and my personal favorite strategy.

As you scan your competitor’s backlinks, you’ll start to see a pattern. You’ll see links from other blogs with anchor text like “by [Competitor’s Name]” or “a guest post from our friends at [Competitor Company].”

You’ve just struck gold.

You have found a list of high-authority blogs that:

1. Are perfectly relevant to your niche.
2. Clearly accept guest posts.
3. Are already linking to your direct competition.

The hard part is done. The site is already vetted. Now, all you have to do is become a contributor yourself. Go to that website. Find their “write for us” or “guest post guidelines” page. Read them carefully.

Then, pitch them your own unique, valuable article idea. Don’t pitch the same topic your competitor wrote about. Pitch something new, something fresh that their audience will love. This is a simple, repeatable way to build powerful, relevant links.

But Isn’t Guest Posting Dead?

No. Absolutely not.

Spammy, low-quality guest posting is dead. The practice of writing a 500-word, generic article and blasting it to 100 low-quality “guest post farms” is dead. And good riddance.

But writing a genuinely valuable, in-depth, original article for a real, authoritative website in your industry? That is, and always will be, one of the most powerful strategies in marketing.

Think about it. You’re not just getting a link. You’re building your brand. You’re establishing your (or your company’s) authority on a topic. And you’re getting your content in front of a brand new, highly-relevant audience. The backlink is almost just a bonus.

Method 3: I Found a Broken Link on Their List. What Now?

Get excited. You’ve just found one of the warmest outreach opportunities possible: “Broken Link Building.”

Here’s how it works. As you analyze links, you’re looking for one of two things:

1. A third-party site (let’s call it Blog.com) links to an article on your competitor’s site, but that page on your competitor’s site is dead. It’s a 404 error. They deleted the page, changed the URL without a redirect, or went out of business.
2. You’re analyzing a competitor’s own article (like a resource list) and find they are linking out to a dead page. (This is a variation, but the principle is the same).

Let’s focus on #1. You’ve found that Blog.com is linking to a dead resource. You’ve just discovered a problem on their website!

Your pitch is now incredibly easy and helpful:

1. First, you must have a piece of content on your own site that is a perfect replacement for the dead one. If you don’t, you need to create it.
2. You email the webmaster of Blog.com.
3. “Hey [Name], I was just browsing your excellent article on [Topic] and noticed the link to [Competitor’s dead page] seems to be broken—it’s leading to a 404 error.”
4. “I actually have a similar resource on that exact topic, if you’re looking for a replacement. It’s [Your Link].”
5. “Just a heads-up to help you fix the broken link!”

You’re not a salesperson; you’re a helpful web citizen. You’re fixing their website for them. The conversion rate on this kind of outreach can be incredibly high.

Method 4: They’re Getting Links from “Resource” Pages. How Do I Get on That List?

You’ll find these as you dig. They are pages with titles like “Best Resources for [Topic],” “Helpful Links,” or “Further Reading.” They are pages that exist to link out to other high-quality content.

Your competitor is on that list. Why aren’t you?

This is perhaps the simplest pitch of all. You’re not asking them to replace a link, and you’re not pitching a full guest post. You’re just asking for an addition.

1. Email the site owner or editor.
2. “Hi [Name], I was just looking at your excellent resource page for [Topic]. I absolutely love the links you’ve curated—I’ve already bookmarked it.”
3. “I recently published an in-depth guide on [Your Topic] that I think would be a fantastic addition to your list. It covers [X, Y, and Z] and might be really helpful for your audience. Here’s the link: [Your Link].”
4. “No pressure at all, but thought I’d suggest it!”

This is a numbers game. Many will ignore you. But it’s a low-effort, high-reward strategy. And your competitor’s backlink profile gives you the perfect list of pages to target.

What if My Content Isn’t a “Resource”?

Then make one.

This is where the analysis pays off. You’re not just finding links; you’re finding content gaps in your own strategy.

Look at what your competitors are doing. Are they getting dozens of links from resource pages because they built a free calculator? A free tool? An in-depth, original case study? A comprehensive glossary of terms?

If everyone in your industry has a “glossary” and you don’t, you are actively missing out on all the links from “Industry Glossary” resource pages.

I worked for a small B2B SaaS company, and our main competitor had this simple, honestly-kind-of-ugly free “ROI calculator.” I checked its backlinks. It had over 50 referring domains, many from “Best Free Tool” resource pages. We spent two days building a much sleeker, more functional, better-looking version.

We then emailed all 50 of those resource pages. We got 12 links in a month. Easiest links we ever built. We just filled a gap they had already proven existed.

Method 5: My Competitor Is Always in the News. How Can I Do That?

This is “Digital PR.” You’ll see these links in your analysis. They’re from news outlets, online magazines, and high-end industry blogs. The anchor text is often just their brand name or an executive’s name.

They’re getting these links from interviews, being quoted as an expert, or by providing data. Here’s how you replicate it.

• HARO (Help a Reporter Out): This is the big one. It’s a free service that sends you queries from journalists three times a day. These journalists are on a deadline and need a quote from an expert right now. Here’s a great guide from the University of Florida on using it effectively. You sign up, monitor queries in your niche, and provide fast, high-quality answers. When they use your quote, they link to your site.
• Expert Roundups: You’ll find posts titled, “We Asked 20 Experts About [Topic].” Your competitor is one of them. Find out who runs those roundups. It’s often a specific editor or blogger. Connect with them on LinkedIn or Twitter. Introduce yourself and offer to be a source for their next roundup.

This method builds massive authority. These are some of the highest-quality links you can get.

What About Their Podcast and Video Links?

This is a huge opportunity many people miss. In your backlink analysis, you might see that your competitor is appearing on a bunch of podcasts. In the “show notes” for that podcast episode, there’s almost always a link back to the guest’s website.

This is another “proven list” handed to you on a silver platter.

1. Make a list of every podcast your competitor has been a guest on.
2. Go to those podcast websites and find their “Be a Guest” application or contact info.
3. Pitch your unique angle. What can you talk about that’s different? What’s your unique story or expertise? Don’t just say, “I want to be on your podcast.” Say, “I’d love to talk about the 3-step framework I used to double my revenue, which I think your audience of entrepreneurs would love.”

This is a double win. You get the high-quality backlink, and you get to build your personal brand and authority by speaking directly to a relevant audience.

A Word of Warning: Which Links Should I Not Bother With?

This is just as important as knowing which links to target. You will find a lot of junk in your competitor’s backlink profile. Chasing bad links is a waste of your valuable time and, in a worst-case scenario, can even hurt your site if you replicate a spammy strategy.

Actively ignore these:

• Spammy Directories: Any “web directory” that looks like it was made in 1999. If it’s not a highly-curated, niche-specific directory (like a local chamber of commerce), ignore it.
• Blog Comments: 99.9% of blog comment links are “nofollow” and worthless. Even if they’re “dofollow,” Google sees them as low-value. Don’t waste your time.
• Forum Signatures: Pure, 100% spam. Ignore.
• PBNs (Private Blog Networks): This is a black-hat tactic. If you see a bunch of links from low-quality, weirdly-named blogs that all look identical, run. This is a house of cards that Google will find and penalize. You do not want to replicate this.

Your guiding question should always be: “Does this link come from a real, legitimate website that a real human would actually read?” If the answer is no, move on.

This Sounds Like a Ton of Work. Is It Really Worth It?

Yes.

I won’t sugarcoat it. Link building is the hardest, most time-consuming, and most frustrating part of SEO. That is exactly why it’s also the most powerful and durable competitive advantage.

Your competitors are not ranking #1 by accident. They are executing a strategy. They are doing this work.

By analyzing their backlink profile, you are not just copying them. You’re learning from them. You’re finding what works, what doesn’t, and—most importantly—finding opportunities to do it better. This isn’t just about “how to get competitor’s backlinks.” It’s about building a sustainable, long-term, scalable link-building engine for your own business.

It’s the difference between blindly throwing darts in a dark room and having someone hand you a spotlight and a proven bullseye.

It’s not about “stealing.” It’s about “earning.”

Your competitor’s backlink profile is the single best piece of market research you have access to. It tells you who links to content in your niche, why they link, and what kind of content they link to.

The process is simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple.

Find their best links. Identify the strategy behind that link (guest post, resource page, broken link, PR). And then, execute that same strategy, only better than they did.

It takes time. It takes effort. But it’s the most reliable path to out-ranking them.

I still check my top competitors’ new links every single month. Not to copy them, but to understand the new opportunities they’ve found. It’s my favorite, and most valuable, form of market research.

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