ChatGPT answers, unedited

If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to my site”, these are the easiest options:

1. Ahrefs — probably the easiest for serious gap analysis

ahrefs.com lets you enter your domain and up to 10 competitors, then identifies referring domains that link to competitors but not you. You can also analyze referring pages, not just domains, and filter by metrics such as DR and traffic. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

A particularly useful workflow is:

Your domain + 5–10 organic competitors → links to 3+ competitors → dofollow → DR/traffic filter → manually assess relevance.

Ahrefs specifically recommends prioritizing domains that link to multiple competitors, since those are often stronger prospects. Ahrefs

2. Semrush — easiest if you already use Semrush

semrush.com is very straightforward: enter your domain and competitors, and it surfaces referring domains that link to competitors but not you. It has Best, Weak, Strong, Shared, and Unique filters, plus exporting to Excel/CSV. Semrush

The Best filter is particularly useful because it identifies domains linking to all your competitors but not your site. Semrush also lets you select competitors from its Organic Competitors data. Semrush

3. Moz Pro — good simpler alternative

Moz's Link Intersect does essentially the same thing: identify sites linking to competitors but not you. You can compare up to five competitors and sort opportunities by Domain Authority, Spam Score, and intersection count. Cloudfront

My practical recommendation

If you're doing this for SEO link-building at scale, I'd choose:

Ahrefs → best overall for backlink gap research
Semrush → best if you already live in the Semrush ecosystem
Moz → good if you want a simpler interface

One important distinction: don't just compare your domain against your known competitors. First identify your actual organic SERP competitors for the keywords/pages you're targeting, then run the backlink gap. Ahrefs, for example, can identify organic competitors and feed them into Link Intersect. Ahrefs Help Center

If you give me your domain + 3–10 competitor domains, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis (including which filters I'd use to separate high-priority link prospects from junk/irrelevant domains).

For finding backlink gaps between your domain and top organic competitors, the easiest tools are the ones with a dedicated Link Gap / Backlink Gap / Link Intersect feature. The main options:

Semrush Ahrefs## My practical shortlist

1. Semrush — easiest for most SEO teams

Use Backlink Gap:

• Enter your domain
• Add 3–5 organic competitors
• Get domains that link to competitors but not you
• Filter by authority, traffic, and how many competitors share the same link source

This is probably the fastest route from “I need link opportunities” → “here are 100 prospects to review.” Semrush

2. Ahrefs — best if backlinks are your main focus

Use Link Intersect:

• Add your domain as the “doesn’t link to” target
• Add competitor domains
• Find referring domains linking to competitors but missing from your profile

A useful workflow is to prioritize domains that link to multiple competitors, because they have already shown they publish links in your niche. Ahrefs

3. Moz — easiest learning curve

Moz’s Link Explorer is a good fit if you mainly need:

• competitor link comparisons
• domain authority metrics
• simpler exports

It is less feature-heavy than Ahrefs/Semrush but easier for occasional audits. BacklinkTower

Recommended workflow

1. Pick 3–5 true organic competitors

• Same search intent
• Similar content type
• Ranking for the keywords you care about
• Run backlink gap analysis.
• Export referring domains.
• Prioritize:

• Links shared by 2+ competitors
• Topically relevant sites
• Pages with editorial links (articles, resource pages, reviews)
• Sites with real organic traffic
• Ignore:

• spam directories
• irrelevant sites
• sitewide footer/sidebar links

If you only want one tool:

• Agency / advanced SEO: Ahrefs
• SEO team doing content + links together: Semrush
• Budget-conscious: SE Ranking or Moz

A common approach is to run the same competitor set through both Ahrefs and Semrush, then merge the exports, because each has its own backlink index and will surface different opportunities. linkpanda.com

If you tell me your industry, domain size, and whether you already use Ahrefs/Semrush/Moz, I can suggest the most efficient setup and filters.

If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, the easiest options are:

My practical take

Ahrefs is probably the best fit if link-gap analysis is a major part of your SEO work. Its Link Intersect lets you enter your domain plus up to 10 competitors, then find referring domains or individual referring pages that link to competitors but not you. You can also filter by metrics such as DR and traffic and export the results. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

ahrefs.com

Semrush is arguably the easiest interface for a quick gap report. Backlink Gap compares up to five sites total and lets you quickly filter for domains linking to competitors but not your site, with export functionality. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

The workflow I'd use

1. Identify your 5–10 actual organic competitors, rather than just business competitors.
2. Put your domain + competitors into Ahrefs Link Intersect.
3. Start with “linking to all competitors but not me.”
4. Filter for dofollow, reasonable authority/traffic, and relevant topical categories.
5. Click into the competitor links to see which pages earned those links.
6. Classify the opportunities:

• Resource/list pages
• Industry directories
• Guest/editorial links
• Digital PR/news
• Statistics/research
• Product/service comparisons
• Partner/supplier links
• Broken-link opportunities
• Export the prospects and prioritize them based on relevance + authority + likelihood of acquisition, rather than simply chasing the highest DR.

One particularly useful distinction: domain-level gaps tell you who links to competitors, while page-level gaps tell you why/how they're getting those links. Ahrefs supports both, which makes it useful when you want to turn the gap analysis into an actual link-building plan. Ahrefs Help Center

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitor domains, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis and the filters I'd use.

Semrush is arguably the easiest interface for a quick gap report. Backlink Gap compares up to five sites total and lets you quickly filter for domains linking to competitors but not your site, with export functionality.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to my site”, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Semrush

Semrush Backlink Gap is probably the easiest if you're starting with a list of organic competitors. You enter your domain plus competitors, and it surfaces referring domains that link to competitors but not you. It has useful Best / Weak / Strong / Shared / Unique filters and can export the results. Semrush Semrush

The workflow I'd use is:

1. Put your domain in the first slot.
2. Add your top 4 organic competitors.
3. Start with Best — domains linking to all competitors but not you.
4. Move to Weak — domains linking to you, but substantially more often to competitors.
5. Filter/prioritize by authority, relevance, and whether the link is realistically obtainable.
6. Export the prospects into your outreach sheet.

Ahrefs is arguably better for deeper analysis

Ahrefs Link Intersect lets you compare your site against up to 10 competitors, and importantly, it can work at both the referring-domain and referring-page level. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

That makes Ahrefs particularly good when you want to go beyond:

“Which domains link to my competitors?”

and get to:

“Which exact pages are linking to my competitors, and what kind of link could I potentially replicate?”

You can also filter by how many competitors share the referring domain and export the opportunities. Ahrefs Help Center

Moz

Moz Link Intersect provides the same basic competitor-gap workflow: sites linking to competitors but not you. Moz It's a reasonable choice if you're already paying for Moz, but I wouldn't buy it specifically for backlink-gap analysis over Semrush or Ahrefs.

What I'd choose

• Want the easiest, fastest workflow: Semrush
• Want the strongest backlink research/SEO platform: Ahrefs
• Already use Moz: Moz Link Intersect
• Doing serious link prospecting: Ahrefs + Semrush can be complementary, because their link indexes won't be identical.

One important point: don't simply export every domain your competitors have that you don't. The useful analysis is to identify shared competitor links—e.g. domains linking to 3–5 of your organic competitors. Those are usually much stronger prospects than a domain linking to only one competitor.

If you give me your domain + 3–5 organic competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis and prioritize the resulting backlink prospects.

You can also filter by how many competitors share the referring domain and export the opportunities.

Moz

For easy backlink gap analysis (finding sites that link to your organic competitors but not your domain), these are the strongest options:

1. ahrefs.com — Best overall for link gaps

• Use Link Intersect to compare your domain against competitors.
• Finds referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you.
• Good filters for authority, traffic, and number of competitors sharing the link. Ahrefs Help Center
• semrush.com — Easiest workflow for most SEO teams

• Backlink Gap tool compares your domain with up to five competitors.
• Simple prospect lists, filters, exports, and integrates well with keyword/content gap research. Semrush Semrush
• moz.com — Good beginner-friendly option

• Link Explorer includes competitor link comparisons.
• Better if your team already uses Domain Authority as a reporting metric.
• majestic.com — Best for validating link quality

• Useful for checking trust/authority signals after you find gaps.

My usual shortlist:

• Agency / serious link building: Ahrefs + Semrush cross-check
• In-house SEO team: Semrush (fastest workflow)
• Smaller budget: Moz or a limited Ahrefs/Semrush trial

For the analysis itself, prioritize domains that link to multiple competitors but not you—those are usually the highest-probability outreach targets. ahrefs.com

Yes. If your goal is specifically “which sites link to my organic competitors but don’t link to me?”, a few tools make this much easier than doing it manually.

Best options

1. Semrush — easiest dedicated backlink-gap workflow

• Its Backlink Gap tool compares your domain with up to five competitors.
• It automatically surfaces referring domains that link to competitors but not you.
• You can filter for Best, Weak, Shared, Unique, etc., and export the results to CSV/Excel. Semrush Semrush
• Best for: quick prospecting and an easy-to-understand gap report.

semrush.com

2. Ahrefs — best if backlink analysis is a major part of your SEO work

• Ahrefs' Link Intersect finds referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not your site.
• You can identify your actual organic competitors first, then run the link intersection against them.
• It also lets you prioritize opportunities by things like links shared across multiple competitors, dofollow status, DR, and traffic. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs
• Best for: deeper link-quality analysis and serious link-building campaigns.

ahrefs.com

3. Moz Pro — easiest for a less technical SEO team

• Moz has competitor backlink analysis and link-intersection functionality, and generally has a gentler learning curve than Ahrefs.
• Best for: teams that want straightforward SEO tooling rather than maximum backlink-data depth.

My pick

If you're asking “I have my domain + 3–5 organic competitors; give me a clean list of backlink opportunities”, I'd choose:

Semrush → Backlink Gap for simplicity.

If you're going to actually qualify and prioritize the prospects for outreach, I'd lean toward:

Ahrefs → Link Intersect, because you get more useful backlink-level intelligence for deciding which gaps are genuinely worth pursuing. Ahrefs specifically recommends looking for domains linking to multiple competitors, then filtering for things like dofollow links, DR, and traffic. Ahrefs

One important distinction: don't confuse “Content Gap” with backlink gap. Content Gap finds keywords competitors rank for that you don't; Link Intersect/Backlink Gap finds websites linking to competitors that aren't linking to you. Ahrefs Semrush

If you tell me your domain and 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis and which filters I'd use to turn the raw backlink gap into a prioritized outreach list.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, a few tools make this very easy.

Best options

• ahrefs.com — best overall for backlink-gap work. Its Link Intersect tool lets you enter your domain plus up to 10 competitors and immediately find referring domains/pages linking to competitors but not you. You can filter by metrics such as DR and traffic and export the results. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center
• semrush.com — easiest “plug in competitors and go” alternative. Backlink Gap compares up to five competing sites and provides filters specifically for domains linking to competitors but not your site. It also supports CSV/Excel exports. Semrush
• moz.com — good if you already use Moz. Its link research is straightforward, particularly if your team already uses Domain Authority as its primary authority metric.
• seranking.com — worth considering for a lower-cost SEO suite. It has a backlink-gap workflow alongside its broader rank-tracking/SEO functionality.
• majestic.com — useful as a second backlink index. I'd consider it more for validating prospects and looking at Trust Flow/Citation Flow than for the simplest gap-analysis UX.

What I'd choose

If link gap analysis is the main job, I'd narrow it to:

My pick: Ahrefs if you're doing serious link prospecting. Its Link Intersect workflow is almost exactly the task you're describing: put in your site + competitors → identify common referring domains → prioritize the ones linking to several competitors. Ahrefs

One important tip: compare referring domains rather than raw backlink counts. If five competitors all receive links from the same industry publication, directory, association, or resource page, that's usually a much more interesting prospect than a competitor having 500 additional links from 20 domains.

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you the exact backlink-gap workflow and filters I'd use to turn the output into a prioritized outreach list.

If your goal is specifically “show me websites linking to my organic competitors that don’t link to me”, I’d shortlist these:

1. Ahrefs — my pick for pure link-gap work

Ahrefs' Link Intersect is almost exactly your use case: enter your domain, add your competitors, and it surfaces referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. You can compare up to 10 competitors, filter by metrics such as DR and traffic, and export the results. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

A particularly useful workflow is:

Your domain + top 5–10 organic competitors → “links to all competitors but not me” → filter DR/traffic → inspect linking pages → outreach list.

ahrefs.com

2. Semrush — arguably the easiest interface

Semrush's Backlink Gap is excellent if you want the tool to do more of the prioritization for you. It compares up to five competing websites, lets you filter for Best, Weak, Strong, Shared, and Unique opportunities, and can export the results to Excel/CSV. Semrush

The Best filter is particularly useful: domains linking to all your competitors but not you. Semrush also sorts opportunities around authority/relevance, which makes it convenient when you're turning the gap analysis into an outreach prospecting list. Semrush Semrush

What I'd choose

• Already use Ahrefs: use Link Intersect. It's probably the cleanest tool for this exact job.
• Already use Semrush: use Backlink Gap. No reason to buy another platform just for this.
• Starting from scratch: I'd lean Ahrefs if backlink analysis is your main priority; Semrush if you also want broader SEO/competitor research in the same platform.

One important distinction: domain-level gaps tell you who links to competitors, while page-level gaps tell you which specific pages are earning those links. For actual link acquisition, I would prioritize the latter when possible. Ahrefs' Link Intersect supports both referring-domain and referring-page analysis. Ahrefs Help Center

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitor domains, I can also show you the exact workflow I'd use to turn the gap report into a prioritized “links to pursue first” list.

Your domain + top 5–10 organic competitors → “links to all competitors but not me” → filter DR/traffic → inspect linking pages → outreach list.

ahrefs.com

2. Semrush — arguably the easiest interface

Semrush's Backlink Gap is excellent if you want the tool to do more of the prioritization for you. It compares up to five competing websites, lets you filter for Best, Weak, Strong, Shared, and Unique opportunities, and can export the results to Excel/CSV.

If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but don’t link to me”, I’d shortlist these:

1. ahrefs.com — my pick

This is probably the cleanest option if link-gap analysis is a major part of your SEO work. You enter your domain plus competitors and it identifies referring domains/pages linking to competitors but not you. You can also filter by how many competitors a domain links to and export the results. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

A particularly useful workflow is:

Your domain + 3–5 actual SERP competitors → “links to competitors but not target” → prioritize domains linking to multiple competitors.

Ahrefs also lets you work at the page level, which is useful for finding specific listicles, resource pages, reviews, etc., rather than just domains. Ahrefs

2. semrush.com — easiest for a marketing team

Semrush's Backlink Gap is arguably the most straightforward UI for this exact job. You can compare your site against up to four competitors and quickly filter for referring domains that link to competitors but not you. It also provides filters and CSV/Excel export. Semrush

The nice part is that Semrush can suggest competitors from its Organic Competitors data, so you don't necessarily have to figure out your competitor set manually. Semrush

3. moz.com

Moz has a dedicated Link Intersect feature that compares your site against up to five competitors and identifies sites linking to competitors but not you. CloudFront

I'd put it behind Ahrefs/Semrush if backlink-gap research is your primary requirement, but it's worth considering if you're already using Moz.

What I'd choose

• Best backlink research: Ahrefs
• Easiest all-around workflow: Semrush
• Already using Moz: Moz Pro
• Budget-conscious: SE Ranking or a free gap analyzer for initial research
• Serious link-building campaign: Ahrefs

One important distinction: don't simply look for domains linking to one competitor. The highest-value gap is usually a domain that links to 2–4 of your competitors but not you. That's evidence the site is already willing to link within your market, making it a much warmer prospect.

For example:

                    Links to
Prospect             Comp A   Comp B   Comp C   You
-----------------------------------------------------
Industry publication    ✓        ✓        ✓      ✗   ← HOT
Niche directory         ✓        ✓        ✗      ✗   ← GOOD
Random blog             ✓        ✗        ✗      ✗   ← LOWER

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also suggest a practical link-gap scoring system (authority × relevance × number of competitors linking × likely linkability) so you can turn the raw gap into a prioritized outreach list.

2. semrush.com — easiest for a marketing team

Semrush's Backlink Gap is arguably the most straightforward UI for this exact job. You can compare your site against up to four competitors and quickly filter for referring domains that link to competitors but not you. It also provides filters and CSV/Excel export. semrush.com

The nice part is that Semrush can suggest competitors from its Organic Competitors data, so you don't necessarily have to figure out your competitor set manually.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, there are two standout tools:

1. Ahrefs — my pick for serious link-gap work

ahrefs.com

Ahrefs' Link Intersect is almost exactly what you're describing: enter your domain and up to 10 competitors, and it finds referring domains/pages linking to competitors but not you. You can then filter by metrics such as DR and traffic and export the opportunities. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

The particularly useful part is that you can switch between:

• Referring domains → “Which websites link to competitors but not me?”
• Referring pages → “Which specific pages link to competitors but not my corresponding page?”
• Links to all competitors → excellent for finding highly repeatable link opportunities.
• DR / traffic / dofollow filters → quickly remove junk prospects. Ahrefs

For your use case, I'd probably start with 3–5 competitors that actually rank for the same commercial keywords, rather than simply the biggest sites in your industry.

2. Semrush — easiest “set it and get prospects” workflow

semrush.com

Semrush's Backlink Gap lets you compare your backlink profile against up to five competing websites and filter for referring domains that link to competitors but not you. It also supports exporting the results. Semrush

I particularly like it if your workflow is:

Find organic competitors → run Backlink Gap → filter by authority/relevance → export prospects → outreach.

Semrush also lets you enter domains, subdomains, or URLs, which is useful when you're doing page-level link gap analysis rather than just comparing entire domains. Semrush

Which one I'd choose

If backlink gap analysis is a major part of your SEO work: → Ahrefs.

Its Link Intersect is more flexible, especially because it handles referring pages as well as referring domains and allows up to 10 competitors. Ahrefs Help Center

If you want the easiest all-in-one SEO workflow: → Semrush.

Its Backlink Gap report is very straightforward and is designed specifically around identifying missing competitor links and turning them into outreach prospects. Semrush Semrush

A useful way to run the analysis

Don't just export every missing backlink. I'd structure it like this:

1. Identify your top 5–10 true organic competitors.
2. Run the domain-level gap.
3. Prioritize domains linking to 2+ competitors.
4. Filter for relevant sites + meaningful authority/traffic.
5. Inspect the actual linking page.
6. Categorize the opportunity: directory, listicle, guest post, resource page, PR, industry association, supplier/partner, etc.
7. Then run a page-level gap against your most important pages.

That last step is where Ahrefs becomes particularly useful: you can find pages linking to competing articles/products but not to your equivalent page. Ahrefs

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the backlink-gap analysis and what filters I'd use to separate real link opportunities from competitor backlink noise.

Find organic competitors → run Backlink Gap → filter by authority/relevance → export prospects → outreach.

Semrush also lets you enter domains, subdomains, or URLs, which is useful when you're doing page-level link gap analysis rather than just comparing entire domains. Semrush

Which one I'd choose

If backlink gap analysis is a major part of your SEO work: → Ahrefs.

Its Link Intersect is more flexible, especially because it handles referring pages as well as referring domains and allows up to 10 competitors. Ahrefs Help Center

If you want the easiest all-in-one SEO workflow: → Semrush.

Its Backlink Gap report is very straightforward and is designed specifically around identifying missing competitor links and turning them into outreach prospects.

A useful way to run the analysis

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to my site”, several tools make this pretty easy.

Best options

1. ahrefs.com — my first choice

Ahrefs is probably the cleanest option if backlink gap analysis is the primary job.

You enter:

• Your domain
• Your top organic competitor #1
• Competitor #2
• Competitor #3, etc.

It then shows referring domains that link to competitors but not you. You can compare up to 10 competitors and filter by metrics such as DR and traffic. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

The particularly useful part is that you can switch between:

• Referring domains → “Which websites should I try to get links from?”
• Referring pages → “Which specific pages are linking to competitors?”

That second view is excellent for finding things like listicles, resource pages, industry roundups, and articles where your competitors are already being cited. Ahrefs

2. semrush.com — easiest alternative

Semrush's Backlink Gap is arguably the most straightforward UI for this particular task.

You can compare your domain against up to five competitors and quickly filter for domains linking to competitors but not you. It also supports exports and sorting/filtering to identify the strongest opportunities. Semrush

I'd lean toward Semrush if you're already using it for:

• Organic competitor identification
• Keyword Gap
• Position tracking
• Backlink analysis
• Link Building/outreach

That gives you a nice keyword gap → backlink gap → outreach workflow.

3. Moz Pro

Moz is worth considering if you want something relatively approachable and you're already using Domain Authority/Spam Score as part of your SEO reporting.

Its backlink data and competitor-link comparison are useful, although I'd generally put Ahrefs and Semrush ahead of it for serious competitor link-gap work.

What I'd actually do

If you're trying to build a link acquisition list, don't just export every backlink your competitors have.

I'd run the analysis like this:

1. Identify your 5–10 strongest organic competitors.
2. Run Ahrefs Link Intersect with your domain + competitors.
3. Filter for domains linking to 2+ competitors.
4. Prioritize dofollow + relevant + authoritative + real organic traffic domains.
5. Click through to see which competitor pages earned the links.
6. Categorize the opportunities: - Resource/list pages
7. Guest/editorial opportunities
8. Industry directories
9. Digital PR
10. Statistics/research citations
11. Product/service comparisons
12. Linkable assets
13. Export the resulting prospects into your outreach workflow.

The key insight is links shared by multiple competitors are much more interesting than links belonging to only one competitor. Ahrefs specifically recommends looking for domains linking to all competitors as a way to identify higher-priority opportunities. Ahrefs

My ranking for your use case: Ahrefs > Semrush > Moz > SE Ranking > Majestic.

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis and what filters I'd use to turn it into a prioritized backlink prospect list.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me sites that link to my top organic competitors but not to my domain”, these are the easiest options:

1. Ahrefs — my first choice

ahrefs.com

This is probably the cleanest dedicated workflow for what you're describing. You enter your domain plus your competitors, and Link Intersect identifies referring domains/pages that link to competitors but don't link to you. You can compare up to 10 competitors, filter by metrics such as DR and traffic, and export the results. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

A particularly useful workflow is:

Your domain + 5–10 organic competitors → “link to all competitors” → dofollow → minimum DR/traffic → export.

That gives you a much more useful prospect list than simply looking at which competitor has the most backlinks.

2. Semrush — easiest alternative

semrush.com

Semrush's Backlink Gap is arguably the most straightforward UI. It compares up to five domains and has a quick filter for backlinks your site is missing. You can also export the results to Excel/CSV. Semrush

I'd choose Semrush if you're already using it for keyword gap + organic competitor research, because you can go:

Organic competitors → Keyword Gap → Backlink Gap → outreach prospects

without switching platforms.

3. Moz Pro

Moz is worth considering if you want something relatively easy to understand and don't need the deepest backlink research workflow. It's particularly convenient if your team already reports on Domain Authority (DA).

4. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is worth looking at if cost is important. It has competitor backlink comparison/gap functionality without requiring one of the larger premium SEO suites.

What I'd pick

• Best overall for serious link-gap work: Ahrefs
• Best all-in-one SEO workflow: Semrush
• Best simpler/cheaper alternative: SE Ranking
• Best if your reporting revolves around DA: Moz
• Best supplementary backlink index: Majestic

One important distinction: don't just look for domains linking to one competitor. The really valuable opportunities are often domains linking to 2–5 of your competitors but not you. That intersection is a strong signal that the site covers your market and is willing to link to businesses/content like yours. Ahrefs explicitly supports filtering for these multi-competitor intersections. ahrefs.com

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis—which filters to use, how to prioritize the prospects, and how to separate easy wins from high-value editorial links.

A particularly useful workflow is:

Your domain + 5–10 organic competitors → “link to all competitors” → dofollow → minimum DR/traffic → export.

That gives you a much more useful prospect list than simply looking at which competitor has the most backlinks.

2. Semrush — easiest alternative

semrush.com

Semrush's Backlink Gap is arguably the most straightforward UI. It compares up to five domains and has a quick filter for backlinks your site is missing. You can also export the results to Excel/CSV. semrush.com

I'd choose Semrush if you're already using it for keyword gap + organic competitor research, because you can go:

Organic competitors → Keyword Gap → Backlink Gap → outreach prospects

without switching platforms.

3. Moz Pro

Moz is worth considering if you want something relatively easy to understand and don't need the deepest backlink research workflow. It's particularly convenient if your team already reports on Domain Authority (DA).

4. SE Ranking

For finding backlink gaps between your domain and top organic competitors, the easiest tools are the ones with a dedicated Link Intersect / Backlink Gap feature. These automatically show domains linking to competitors but not to you. Ahrefs Semrush

Best backlink gap analysis tools

Ahrefs Semrush Stay Digital Marketers## My practical picks

Best overall: Ahrefs

Use this if link building is a major SEO channel. Its Link Intersect report is built specifically to find sites that link to competitors but not you. You can compare your domain against multiple competitors and prioritize referring domains by authority and relevance. Ahrefs

Workflow:

1. Add your domain.
2. Add 3–10 organic competitors.
3. Filter for: - “Links to all competitors but not my site”
4. Dofollow links
5. Relevant industries/topics
6. High Domain Rating / organic traffic

Easiest for most marketers: Semrush

If you already use Semrush for keyword research, its Backlink Gap tool is probably the smoothest workflow. It lets you compare your site with competitors and filter referring domains that link to competitors but not you. Semrush

A good process:

1. Put your domain + 4 competitors into Backlink Gap.
2. Export “Missing” referring domains.
3. Sort by: - Authority Score
4. Number of competitors they link to
5. Traffic
6. Relevance

Best budget option: SE Ranking

If Ahrefs/Semrush pricing is too high, SE Ranking gives you competitor backlink comparisons at a lower cost. It is usually enough for smaller sites doing quarterly link gap audits. Stay Digital Marketers

What I would avoid

• Free backlink checkers for serious gap work — they usually expose only a sample of links.
• Looking only at total backlinks — the better signal is unique referring domains that repeatedly link to your competitors. Neil Patel

A simple stack I’d use

• Semrush → identify your actual organic competitors + run the first gap report.
• Ahrefs → deeper validation of the best link prospects.
• Spreadsheet → score opportunities: - Relevance (1–5)
• Authority (1–5)
• Traffic (1–5)
• Outreach difficulty (1–5)

If you’re doing this for a specific domain, I can also suggest the best competitor set and filtering criteria.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me websites that link to my organic competitors but not to my domain”, several tools make this very easy.

Best options

Ahrefs is probably the cleanest fit. Its Link Intersect lets you enter your domain plus competitors and identify referring domains that link to competitors but not you. You can also switch between referring domains and referring pages, and filter by how many competitors share the link. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

Semrush is similarly straightforward. Backlink Gap compares up to five competitors and has useful filters for Best, Weak, Strong, Shared, and Unique opportunities. It also lets you export the results to Excel/CSV. Semrush

SE Ranking has a dedicated Backlink Gap Analyzer that compares domains/URLs and finds sites linking to competitors but not your site. SE Ranking Help Center

What I'd use for your workflow

If you already know your top organic competitors, I'd rank them:

1. Ahrefs — best for a serious link-gap campaign.
2. Semrush — easiest if you're already using Semrush for keyword/organic competitor research.
3. SE Ranking — worth considering if cost is important.

For Ahrefs, a particularly useful workflow is:

Your domain → 5–10 genuine organic competitors → Link Intersect → “links to all/most competitors but not me” → dofollow → filter for relevant/high-authority domains.

That gives you a much more actionable list than simply comparing total backlink counts. Ahrefs specifically recommends prioritizing domains linking to all your selected competitors, then expanding to domains linking to two or more. ahrefs.com

If you give me your domain + 3–10 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis and which filters I'd use to turn it into a prioritized outreach list.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “which sites link to my organic competitors but not to me?”, I’d shortlist these:

1. Ahrefs — my first choice

ahrefs.com

Ahrefs' Link Intersect is almost exactly what you're describing. You enter your domain and up to 10 competitor domains or URLs, and it identifies referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. You can also filter by things such as DR, traffic, and dofollow status, then export the opportunities. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

A particularly useful workflow is:

Your domain + 5–10 true organic competitors → “linking to all competitors” → dofollow → DR/traffic filters → inspect the actual linking pages.

That tends to produce a much more actionable list than simply downloading every competitor backlink.

2. Semrush — probably the easiest UI

semrush.com

Semrush has a dedicated Backlink Gap tool. You can compare your domain with up to five sites simultaneously, and it surfaces referring domains that link to competitors but not you. Its filters are designed specifically for finding these missing opportunities, and you can export the results to Excel/CSV. Semrush Semrush

I especially like it if your workflow goes from:

competitor discovery → backlink gap → prospect qualification → outreach

because Semrush makes that progression fairly straightforward.

3. Ahrefs vs. Semrush for your use case

If I were choosing one specifically for link-gap analysis, I'd lean Ahrefs because you can compare more competitors (10 vs. 5) and its Link Intersect lets you work at both referring-domain and referring-page level. Ahrefs Help Center

Semrush is a very close second and may feel more intuitive if you're already using its broader competitor-research/outreach ecosystem.

One important distinction

Don't confuse keyword/content gap with backlink gap.

You want something like:

Sites linking to Competitor A + B + C, but NOT linking to MyDomain

rather than:

Keywords Competitor A + B + C rank for, but MyDomain doesn't.

Both Ahrefs and Semrush have tools for the latter too, but Link Intersect / Backlink Gap are the features you want for link acquisition. Ahrefs Help Center Semrush

My recommendation: If you give me your domain + 3–10 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis—e.g. which filters to use, how to identify the highest-value link opportunities, and how to separate realistic prospects from junk directories/low-quality links.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “which sites link to my organic competitors but not to me?”, a few tools make this much easier than doing it manually.

My recommendation: Ahrefs or Semrush

Ahrefs is probably the strongest fit if you want to identify gaps against your top organic competitors. Its Link Intersect can compare your domain with up to 10 competitors and surface referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. You can also filter by metrics such as DR, traffic, and dofollow status. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

ahrefs.com

Semrush is arguably the simplest if you just want to plug in your domain + competitors and get a prioritized list. Its Backlink Gap compares up to five competitors and lets you filter for domains linking to competitors but not you, with export options. Semrush

semrush.com

For your particular use case

I'd run the analysis like this:

1. Identify your 5–10 strongest organic SERP competitors—not necessarily the companies you consider business competitors.
2. Put your domain + those competitors into Ahrefs Link Intersect.
3. Start with “linking to all competitors, but not me.”
4. Filter for: - Dofollow
5. Relevant topical sites
6. High-authority domains
7. Meaningful organic traffic
8. Then inspect the actual referring pages, not just domains. This tells you why the competitor earned the link and whether you have a realistic equivalent opportunity. Ahrefs specifically supports both referring-domain and referring-page analysis. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

One important distinction: don't simply chase every backlink your competitors have. The useful output is the intersection of competitor links × relevance × authority × replicability. A directory, industry publication, resource page, association, or listicle linking to 3 of your competitors is usually much more actionable than an arbitrary low-quality link.

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the backlink-gap analysis and which filters/opportunities I'd prioritize.

Semrush is arguably the simplest if you just want to plug in your domain + competitors and get a prioritized list. Its Backlink Gap compares up to five competitors and lets you filter for domains linking to competitors but not you, with export options. semrush.com

For finding link gaps between your domain and top organic competitors, the easiest tools are the ones with a built-in Link Intersect / Backlink Gap report. These automatically show domains that link to competitors but not to you. Semrush Ahrefs

Best backlink gap analysis tools

My shortlist by use case

• Fastest “show me who links to competitors but not me” workflow: Semrush Backlink Gap Semrush
• Deepest link prospecting: Ahrefs Link Intersect Ahrefs
• Budget-conscious SEO team: SE Ranking or Moz Stay Digital Marketers
• Agency doing competitive link campaigns: Ahrefs + Semrush together (their indexes differ, so combining results can uncover more prospects). LinkPanda

A practical workflow

1. Pick your top 3–5 organic competitors (not just business competitors).
2. Run a backlink gap report.
3. Export domains that: - link to 2+ competitors
4. have relevant topical alignment
5. have decent authority/traffic
6. link with editorial content rather than directories or spam
7. Prioritize: - sites linking to all competitors but not you (highest signal)
8. competitor pages with many backlinks that you could improve or replace
9. broken-link opportunities

If you already use an SEO suite, I’d start with its gap feature rather than buying a new tool just for this. For most teams, Semrush is the easiest interface; Ahrefs is the strongest dedicated backlink research tool. Semrush Ahrefs

For finding backlink gaps between your domain and your top organic competitors, the easiest tools are the ones with a dedicated Link Gap / Backlink Gap / Link Intersect feature. The main options:

Ahrefs Semrush## My shortlist

1. Best overall: Ahrefs Link Intersect

Use this if your goal is: “Show me websites that link to my competitors but not me.”

Workflow:

1. Add your domain.
2. Add 3–10 organic competitors.
3. Run Link Intersect.
4. Filter by: - number of competitors linking to the domain
5. Domain Rating (DR)
6. organic traffic
7. relevance to your niche

Ahrefs specifically supports finding referring domains that link to competitors but not your site, including comparisons against multiple competitors. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center

Best output: a prioritized outreach list.

2. Best for a marketing team: Semrush Backlink Gap

Use this if you also care about:

• keyword gaps
• competitor rankings
• content opportunities
• outreach workflows

Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool compares your backlink profile against competitors and highlights referring domains that link to competitors but not you. It supports comparing multiple competing sites at once and filtering prospects. Semrush Semrush

Best output: a broader SEO competitor intelligence workflow.

3. Best budget/simple option: SE Ranking

Good if you need a repeatable monthly process without paying for a large enterprise SEO suite.

How I’d run the analysis

1. Identify your true organic competitors (not just business competitors).

• Use competitors ranking for the same keywords.
• Avoid huge brands unless they compete directly.
• Export gap domains from Ahrefs or Semrush.
• Prioritize:

• Links pointing to 3+ competitors
• Relevant industry sites
• Pages with real organic traffic
• Editorial links (articles, resources, guides)
• Ignore:

• spam directories
• irrelevant guest-post farms
• obvious paid link networks

A useful rule: a domain linking to several of your competitors is usually a stronger prospect than one linking to only one competitor, because it has already shown interest in your topic area. Ahrefs

If you already have Ahrefs or Semrush, use that one rather than adding another tool. If you’re choosing from scratch, I’d pick:

• Ahrefs → best pure backlink gap research
• Semrush → best all-in-one SEO workflow
• SE Ranking → best lower-cost option

I can also give you a step-by-step process for turning the gap export into a prioritized outreach list.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my top organic competitors but not to my site”, there are two tools I’d put at the top:

My recommendation: Ahrefs

Ahrefs Link Intersect is probably the cleanest fit for what you're describing. You enter your domain and your competitors, and it surfaces websites/pages linking to competitors but not you. You can compare up to 10 competitors, filter by metrics such as DR and traffic, and export the opportunities. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center

The particularly useful part for your use case is that Ahrefs can work at both the referring-domain and referring-page level. So you can answer:

• “Which websites link to 3+ of my competitors but not me?”
• “Which exact articles link to competitors but haven't linked to me?”
• “Which high-DR sites are common linkers across my competitors?”
• “Which links point to competitor pages similar to my pages?”

Ahrefs also has an Organic Competitors report that can identify competitors based on overlapping organic keywords, which makes it easier to go from “who actually competes with me in Google?” → “what links do those competitors have that I don't?” Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center

Semrush is the closest alternative

Semrush Backlink Gap is arguably even simpler for a quick analysis. You enter your domain plus competitors, and it identifies referring domains linking to competitors but not you. It supports up to five competing sites, filters, and CSV/Excel exports. Semrush

Semrush is particularly nice if you're already using it for keyword research because you can keep the workflow in one platform:

Organic competitors → Backlink Gap → filter opportunities → export → outreach.

What I'd choose

If you're doing this seriously for SEO/link building:

Ahrefs > Semrush > Moz/Majestic

I'd pick Ahrefs if you want the most flexible gap analysis, especially the ability to analyze specific referring pages, not just domains. I'd pick Semrush if you want the simplest interface and you're already paying for Semrush.

One important tip: don't just export every missing backlink. The highest-value analysis is usually “sites linking to multiple of my organic competitors but not me.” Those repeated intersections are much stronger prospects than a random competitor backlink.

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the backlink-gap analysis and which filters I'd use to turn it into a prioritized outreach list.

If your main goal is “show me websites that link to my organic competitors but don’t link to me”, there are three tools I’d put at the top of the list:

1. ahrefs.com — my first choice

Ahrefs has a dedicated Link Intersect report specifically for this job. You enter your domain and your competitors, and it surfaces referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. It supports up to 10 competitors, and you can filter by metrics such as DR and traffic and export the results. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

The particularly useful part is that you can analyze either:

• Referring domains → “Which sites should I try to get a link from?”
• Referring pages → “Which exact articles/pages already link to competitors?”

That makes Ahrefs very good for turning a gap report directly into an outreach list.

ahrefs.com

2. semrush.com — probably the easiest alternative

Semrush's Backlink Gap is arguably the most straightforward UI if you're already using Semrush. It compares up to five competitors simultaneously, shows domains linking to competitors but not you, and lets you filter the results to isolate missing backlinks. It also supports Excel/CSV export. Semrush

A nice advantage is that Semrush explicitly sorts/filter results around authority and relevance, which is useful when you're trying to prioritize hundreds or thousands of potential gaps rather than simply collect them. Semrush

semrush.com

3. majestic.com — best for deeper link intelligence

Majestic has Site Comparator and Clique Hunter, which identify opportunities where competitors have links that you don't. Site Comparator can analyze up to 10 competing websites, while Clique Hunter is specifically designed to find sites linking to competitors but not your site. Majestic Majestic

I'd choose Majestic if you're less interested in a simple “gap list” and more interested in analyzing Trust Flow, topical relevance, link context, and historical link growth. Majestic

My recommendation

For your specific use case, I'd rank them:

Ahrefs > Semrush > Majestic

If you're doing a serious competitor backlink gap campaign, I'd use Ahrefs like this:

1. Identify your top 5–10 organic competitors.
2. Put your domain in Link Intersect.
3. Add the competitors.
4. Start with “All competitors” / domains linking to multiple competitors.
5. Filter for dofollow + meaningful authority + organic traffic.
6. Inspect the actual linking page.
7. Categorize the opportunity: guest post, resource page, listicle, PR, industry directory, partnership, unlinked mention, etc.
8. Export the qualified prospects into your outreach workflow.

The key insight is not to chase every competitor backlink. A site linking to 6 of your competitors is generally a much more interesting prospect than a random low-quality domain linking to only one competitor.

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis and prioritize the resulting link opportunities.

semrush.com

3. majestic.com — best for deeper link intelligence

Majestic has Site Comparator and Clique Hunter, which identify opportunities where competitors have links that you don't. Site Comparator can analyze up to 10 competing websites, while Clique Hunter is specifically designed to find sites linking to competitors but not your site. majestic.com majestic.com

I'd choose Majestic if you're less interested in a simple “gap list” and more interested in analyzing Trust Flow, topical relevance, link context, and historical link growth.

My recommendation

For your specific use case, I'd rank them:

Ahrefs > Semrush > Majestic

If you're doing a serious competitor backlink gap campaign, I'd use Ahrefs like this:

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to my site”, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Semrush vs. Ahrefs

Semrush is probably the easiest if you're starting from scratch. Its Backlink Gap report lets you enter your domain plus competitors, then quickly filter for domains that link to competitors but not you. It also supports exports and lets you identify competitors through its organic-competitor data. Semrush Semrush

Ahrefs is my pick if you want to go beyond a basic domain-level gap. Its Link Intersect supports up to 10 competitors and lets you analyze either referring domains or individual referring pages, with filters for things such as DR and traffic. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

One particularly useful Ahrefs workflow is:

Your domain → automatically identify organic competitors → Link Intersect → filter to links shared by multiple competitors.

Ahrefs specifically supports using its organic-competitor data to feed Link Intersect, which is excellent for finding links that are more likely to be replicable. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

What I'd actually do

If you're doing SEO competitor backlink gap analysis regularly, I'd use Ahrefs if budget allows.

Set up something like:

• Your domain
• Top 5–10 organic competitors
• Referring domains rather than raw backlinks
• Filter to 2+ competitors linking to them
• Prioritize dofollow links
• Sort/filter by DR + organic traffic
• Then inspect the actual linking pages before doing outreach

That last step matters: a domain linking to 5 competitors is generally a much stronger prospect than one that happens to link to only one competitor.

If you tell me your domain + your industry/country, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the competitor set and filters to find the highest-value link gaps.

One particularly useful Ahrefs workflow is:

Your domain → automatically identify organic competitors → Link Intersect → filter to links shared by multiple competitors.

Ahrefs specifically supports using its organic-competitor data to feed Link Intersect, which is excellent for finding links that are more likely to be replicable.

What I'd actually do

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my top organic competitors but not to my site”, I’d narrow it to these:

1. ahrefs.com — my first choice

Ahrefs' Link Intersect is almost exactly what you're describing: enter your domain and your competitors, and it surfaces referring domains/pages that link to competitors but don't link to you. You can compare up to 10 competitors, filter by metrics such as DR and traffic, and export the opportunities. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

A particularly useful workflow is:

1. Identify your actual organic SERP competitors.
2. Put your domain in Link Intersect.
3. Add 5–10 competitors.
4. Filter for domains linking to all or several competitors.
5. Filter to dofollow + meaningful DR/traffic.
6. Inspect the actual linking pages before outreach.

That "links to multiple competitors" filter is powerful because it separates likely industry-relevant link prospects from random backlinks. Ahrefs

2. semrush.com — probably the easiest

Semrush calls this Backlink Gap. You can compare your site with up to five competitors, then quickly filter for referring domains that link to competitors but not you. It also supports CSV/Excel export. Semrush

Its Best tab is particularly convenient: it identifies domains linking to all the competitors you've entered but not your site. Semrush

I'd choose Semrush if your team already uses it for keyword/SERP competitor research and you want the fewest moving parts.

3. Moz Pro

moz.com is worth considering if you already have a Moz subscription. Its Link Explorer is good for comparing backlink profiles, but for pure competitor backlink-gap discovery, I'd generally put Ahrefs and Semrush ahead of it.

My recommendation

If you're starting from scratch:

Ahrefs > Semrush > Moz

And there's an important distinction: don't just compare against competitors you've manually chosen. Since you said “top organic competitors,” I'd first identify the competitors that actually overlap with your highest-value keywords/SERPs, then run the backlink gap against those domains. Ahrefs can surface organic competitors and then feed them into its competitive analysis workflow. Ahrefs

If you tell me your domain + 3–10 competitor domains, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the backlink-gap analysis (including which filters to use so you don't end up with thousands of junk link prospects).

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, there are a few good options.

My picks

1. Ahrefs — best dedicated link-gap workflow

ahrefs.com

Ahrefs' Link Intersect is almost exactly what you're describing: enter your domain and competitor domains, and it identifies referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. You can compare up to 10 competitors, filter by metrics such as DR and traffic, and export the results. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center

A particularly useful workflow is:

• Find your actual organic/SERP competitors
• Add 5–10 of them
• Filter for sites linking to all or several competitors
• Prioritize relevant, dofollow domains
• Then inspect the actual competitor pages receiving the links

That last step matters because a domain-level gap doesn't necessarily mean there's an easy link opportunity. Ahrefs lets you drill into the actual backlinks/referring pages. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center

2. Semrush — probably the simplest UI

semrush.com

Semrush's Backlink Gap compares up to five competing websites and gives you a filtered view of referring domains that link to competitors but not your site. It also supports exports and lets you see backlink-profile trends. Semrush

The nice part is that Semrush can suggest competitors from its Organic Competitors data, so the workflow can be:

your domain → organic competitors → Backlink Gap → missing referring domains

That's especially convenient if you don't already have a competitor list.

What I'd choose

• Want the strongest backlink-gap research: Ahrefs
• Already use Semrush: Semrush Backlink Gap
• Want inexpensive competitive SEO tooling: SE Ranking
• Need serious link-index/flow analysis beyond basic gaps: Majestic

For most SEO teams, I'd go Ahrefs > Semrush for this particular job. Ahrefs' ability to compare up to 10 competitors and then move from missing referring domain → exact linking page → link opportunity makes it particularly good for building an actionable outreach list. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you the exact link-gap analysis workflow and filters I'd use to separate 500 junk opportunities from the 20–50 links actually worth pursuing.

Yes. If your main goal is “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, the easiest options are:

1. Ahrefs — my pick for serious link-gap work

ahrefs.com lets you enter your domain plus competitor domains and find referring domains that link to competitors but not you. You can compare up to 10 competitors and filter the intersection to find sites linking to multiple competitors. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

What makes it particularly useful is that you can switch between:

• Referring domains — best for building an outreach prospect list.
• Referring pages — best for finding the specific articles/pages where competitors earned links.
• Dofollow filtering
• DR/traffic filtering
• Exporting the opportunities

Ahrefs also has a good workflow for finding your actual organic competitors first, rather than guessing who your competitors are. Ahrefs

Best if: you want to go from competitor → missing referring domain → exact linking page → outreach target.

2. Semrush — probably the easiest UI

semrush.com has a dedicated Backlink Gap report. You can compare your site with up to five competitors and quickly filter for domains linking to competitors but not your site. It also supports CSV/Excel exports. Semrush

A nice feature is that Semrush can suggest competitors from its backlink/organic competitor data, so you don't necessarily have to manually assemble your competitor list. Semrush

Best if: you want a very straightforward dashboard and you're already using Semrush for keyword research.

3. Majestic — good for deeper link-network analysis

Majestic's approach is more oriented toward analyzing link relationships and link networks than giving you the simplest “here are 47 domains you're missing” workflow.

I'd choose it if backlink analysis itself is a major part of your SEO work, rather than if you just want an easy gap report.

What I'd use

If you're doing this for a real SEO campaign, I'd rank them:

Ahrefs > Semrush > Majestic > Moz

The important distinction is that you don't just want to count backlinks. You want to identify shared competitor referring domains.

For example, if:

• Competitor A → 500 referring domains
• Competitor B → 700
• Competitor C → 450
• You → 300

The useful output isn't simply “you need 400 more backlinks.” It's more like:

87 domains link to all three competitors but don't link to you.

Those 87 are your highest-priority link-gap prospects. Ahrefs makes this particularly easy to isolate; its own guidance recommends starting with domains linking to all competitors, then expanding to domains linking to two or more. Ahrefs

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you the exact workflow I'd use to turn the backlink gap into a prioritized outreach list.

Majestic's approach is more oriented toward analyzing link relationships and link networks than giving you the simplest “here are 47 domains you're missing” workflow.

I'd choose it if backlink analysis itself is a major part of your SEO work, rather than if you just want an easy gap report.

What I'd use

If you're doing this for a real SEO campaign, I'd rank them:

Ahrefs > Semrush > Majestic > Moz

The important distinction is that you don't just want to count backlinks. You want to identify shared competitor referring domains.

For example, if:

• Competitor A → 500 referring domains
• Competitor B → 700
• Competitor C → 450
• You → 300

The useful output isn't simply “you need 400 more backlinks.” It's more like:

87 domains link to all three competitors but don't link to you.

Those 87 are your highest-priority link-gap prospects. Ahrefs makes this particularly easy to isolate; its own guidance recommends starting with domains linking to all competitors, then expanding to domains linking to two or more.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to my site”, these are the easiest options:

My recommendation

1. Ahrefs — best if backlink gap analysis is a major part of your SEO work.
Its Link Intersect lets you enter your domain plus up to 10 competitors, then shows referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. You can filter by metrics such as DR and traffic and export the opportunities. help.ahrefs.com

The particularly useful part is that you can switch between referring domains and referring pages. The latter is excellent for finding specific articles/listicles where competitors got links and you didn't. ahrefs.com

2. Semrush — probably the easiest UI for a quick gap report.
Its Backlink Gap compares up to five sites and has a quick filter specifically for backlinks your site is missing. It also lets you export the results to Excel/CSV. www.semrush.comahrefs.com

Semrush can also suggest competitors from its Organic Competitors data, which is useful if you don't already have your competitor list. www.semrush.comahrefs.com

If you're trying to find your true organic competitors

I'd use this workflow:

Google/SEO competitor discovery → Ahrefs/Semrush organic competitors → backlink gap → prioritize opportunities.

Don't simply throw in the biggest sites in your industry. Ideally use competitors that:

• rank for many of the same keywords as you
• have similar search intent/business model
• are reasonably close to your site's authority
• have backlinks you could realistically replicate

Then look for domains linking to 2+ of your competitors but not you. Those are usually much more interesting than domains linking to only one competitor.

For example:

Competitor A ← Forbes
Competitor B ← Forbes
Competitor C ← Forbes
You ← no link

That's a much stronger prospect than a site that happens to link to only one competitor.

If you already use either Ahrefs or Semrush, I wouldn't buy another tool just for this. Both have a dedicated gap workflow. Ahrefs gets my edge for deeper backlink analysis; Semrush gets my edge for a straightforward, visual competitor-gap workflow. www.semrush.comahrefs.com

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the backlink-gap analysis and which filters I'd use to separate high-value link opportunities from junk.

For finding link gaps between your domain and top organic competitors, the easiest tools are the ones with a dedicated Backlink Gap / Link Intersect feature. The best options are: Stay Digital Marketers

Link Building Journal Stay Digital Marketers## My picks by use case

Easiest for most SEO teams: Semrush

The Backlink Gap tool is probably the quickest workflow:

1. Add your domain.
2. Add 3–5 organic competitors.
3. See domains linking to competitors but not you.
4. Filter by authority, follow links, traffic, and relevance.
5. Export prospects for outreach.

Semrush specifically lets you compare multiple competitors and filter for referring domains your site is missing. Semrush

Best data depth: Ahrefs

Use Ahrefs if link building is a major growth channel. Its Link Intersect workflow is excellent for finding:

• Sites linking to multiple competitors
• High-authority referring domains
• Industry resource pages
• Guest post opportunities
• Competitor content that attracts links

Ahrefs is often preferred for deeper backlink research because of its large link database and filtering options. Astro SEO Blog Rank Like A Hero

Best budget option: SE Ranking

If you need basic competitor gap analysis without paying for a premium suite, SE Ranking is worth considering. It covers the core workflow: compare domains → find missing referring domains → prioritize outreach. Stay Digital Marketers

What I’d actually do for a backlink gap audit

1. Pick your top 3–5 competitors ranking for your target keywords (not just business competitors).
2. Run the gap report.
3. Export domains where: - They link to 2+ competitors
4. Domain authority/rating is reasonable
5. The site is topically relevant
6. The link is editorial (not directories/spam)
7. Prioritize: - Industry publications
8. Resource pages
9. Expert roundups
10. Partner/supplier pages
11. Digital PR opportunities

A good shortcut is to focus on domains linking to multiple competitors but not you — those are usually the highest-probability prospects. Stay Digital Marketers

If you already know your competitors, I can also suggest the best tool/workflow for your specific niche (SaaS, ecommerce, local SEO, affiliate, etc.).

Yes. If your goal is specifically “which domains/pages link to my organic competitors but not to me?”, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Semrush vs. Ahrefs

Semrush is probably the easiest if you just want to run:

My domain + 4 competitors → show domains linking to competitors but not me → prioritize prospects → export.

Its Backlink Gap report explicitly compares up to five domains, identifies referring domains you're missing, lets you filter by metrics such as Authority Score and traffic/category, and exports to Excel/CSV. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

Ahrefs is my choice if you want to go beyond the basic domain gap. Its Link Intersect can compare up to 10 competitors and lets you analyze either referring domains or referring pages. That page-level capability is particularly useful when you want to figure out exactly which article/listicle/resource page is linking to competitors. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

ahrefs.com

For your use case, I'd do this

1. Identify your 5–10 actual organic competitors, rather than just industry competitors.
2. Run Semrush Backlink Gap for the quick prospect list.
3. Run Ahrefs Link Intersect for the higher-value prospects.
4. Prioritize domains that link to multiple competitors but not you.
5. Filter toward dofollow + relevant + meaningful organic traffic/authority.
6. Then inspect the actual referring page to determine why your competitor got the link—listicle, directory, resource page, guest article, supplier page, digital PR, etc.

Ahrefs specifically recommends prioritizing domains that link to all competitors, then those linking to at least two competitors, and filtering for dofollow links and authority/traffic. Ahrefs

Bottom line: If you want the easiest UI → Semrush. If you want the best combination of gap discovery + digging into the actual links → Ahrefs.

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also lay out exactly how I'd structure the backlink-gap analysis and which filters I'd use.

semrush.com

Ahrefs is my choice if you want to go beyond the basic domain gap. Its Link Intersect can compare up to 10 competitors and lets you analyze either referring domains or referring pages. That page-level capability is particularly useful when you want to figure out exactly which article/listicle/resource page is linking to competitors. help.ahrefs.com help.ahrefs.com

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me the domains linking to my organic competitors but not to me”, there are two standout tools:

My recommendation

1. Semrush — easiest for what you're describing

Its Backlink Gap tool lets you enter your domain plus up to five competitors and immediately surfaces referring domains that link to competitors but not you. You can filter by Authority Score, traffic, category, etc., and export the results. Semrush Semrush

This is probably the best choice if you want:

My domain + 4 top organic competitors → give me the best missing link opportunities.

2. Ahrefs — best if backlink analysis is a major part of your SEO work

Ahrefs' Link Intersect is particularly flexible. You can compare your site against up to 10 competitors, analyze either referring domains or individual referring pages, and filter the opportunities by metrics such as DR, traffic, and dofollow status. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

That's useful when you want to go beyond simply finding domains and answer:

“Which specific pages are linking to my competitors and could potentially link to this particular page on my site?”

Ahrefs also makes it easy to prioritize domains linking to multiple competitors—usually much stronger prospects than sites linking to only one competitor. Ahrefs

What I'd use for your workflow

If you're doing SEO competitor backlink gap analysis, I'd go:

Semrush → fastest/easiest prospect list
Ahrefs → deeper validation + finding the actual linking pages

A good process is:

1. Identify your 5–10 actual organic competitors rather than just business competitors.
2. Run the domains through Semrush Backlink Gap or Ahrefs Link Intersect.
3. Filter for domains linking to 2+ competitors.
4. Prioritize dofollow + relevant + authoritative domains.
5. Check the actual page where the competitor earned the link.
6. Determine whether you can realistically earn the same type of link—guest article, resource page, citation, digital PR, data study, partner page, etc.
7. Export the resulting prospects into your outreach workflow.

One important distinction: don't optimize for raw backlink count. A domain that links to 4 of your competitors is generally a much more interesting prospect than 20 low-quality domains that happen to link to one competitor.

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis and which filters/prioritization rules I'd use.

This is probably the best choice if you want:

My domain + 4 top organic competitors → give me the best missing link opportunities.

2. Ahrefs — best if backlink analysis is a major part of your SEO work

Ahrefs' Link Intersect is particularly flexible. You can compare your site against up to 10 competitors, analyze either referring domains or individual referring pages, and filter the opportunities by metrics such as DR, traffic, and dofollow status. help.ahrefs.com ahrefs.com

That's useful when you want to go beyond simply finding domains and answer:

“Which specific pages are linking to my competitors and could potentially link to this particular page on my site?”

Ahrefs also makes it easy to prioritize domains linking to multiple competitors—usually much stronger prospects than sites linking to only one competitor.

What I'd use for your workflow

If you're doing SEO competitor backlink gap analysis, I'd go:

If your goal is specifically “which sites link to my organic competitors but don’t link to me?”, I’d shortlist these:

1. Ahrefs — my first choice

Ahrefs Link Intersect is almost exactly what you're describing. You enter your domain plus competitor domains and it surfaces referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. Ahrefs currently allows up to 10 competitors in Link Intersect. ahrefs.comhelp.ahrefs.com

The nice part is that you can switch between:

• Referring domains → “Which websites should I try to get a link from?”
• Referring pages → “Which specific articles/pages already link to competitors?”

You can also filter for things like dofollow links and higher Domain Rating, making it easier to turn the raw gap into an outreach list. ahrefs.com

2. Semrush — probably the easiest UI

Semrush Backlink Gap is arguably the most straightforward if you want a visual competitor comparison → filter → export workflow.

You can compare your site against up to five domains, identify referring domains you're missing, filter by metrics such as Authority Score and traffic/category, and export the results to Excel/CSV. www.semrush.com

What I'd choose

If you're doing serious link-gap research: Ahrefs.

If you're doing SEO reporting/outreach and want something very easy for a team/client to understand: Semrush.

A particularly useful workflow is:

Google organic competitors → identify 5–10 genuine SERP competitors → run Link Intersect/Backlink Gap → filter for domains linking to 2+ competitors → prioritize authoritative/relevant domains → inspect the actual linking pages → build outreach targets.

That “links to multiple competitors” filter is important. A site linking to 4 of your competitors is generally a much stronger prospect than one that happens to link to only one. Ahrefs explicitly supports filtering by the number of intersecting targets. ahrefs.comhelp.ahrefs.com

If you tell me your domain + industry/country, I can also suggest the best way to identify the right organic competitors before running the backlink gap—rather than accidentally comparing yourself against irrelevant sites.

If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to my site”, I’d shortlist these:

1. Semrush — easiest for a straightforward gap analysis

My pick if you want speed. Backlink Gap lets you enter your domain plus up to five competitors, then surfaces referring domains that link to competitors but not you. You can filter by things like Authority Score, traffic and category, then export the results. www.semrush.com

A useful workflow is:

Your domain + 3–5 top organic competitors → “Best”/missing domains → filter for authority/relevance → export → outreach list.

Semrush also has a free backlink checker for quick competitor reconnaissance, although the full Backlink Gap workflow is more useful for systematic prospecting. www.semrush.com

2. Ahrefs — best if you want more control

Ahrefs Link Intersect does essentially the same core job: identify sites linking to competitors but not you. It supports up to 10 competitors, and you can analyze either referring domains or individual referring pages. help.ahrefs.com

The referring-page option is particularly useful. For example, you can find:

• competitor mentions in listicles
• resource pages
• industry articles
• pages linking to multiple competitors
• specific pages where your competitor earned a link

You can also filter by metrics such as DR and traffic and export the results. ahrefs.com

My recommendation

If you're doing this regularly:

Semrush → easiest operational workflow
Ahrefs → strongest for digging into why/how competitors earned the links

If you already have both subscriptions, I'd actually use Ahrefs to discover the gaps and Semrush to prioritize/validate prospects, rather than treating the two databases as interchangeable.

One important distinction: don't just look for domains linking to one competitor. The highest-value opportunities are often domains linking to 3–5 of your competitors but not you. That's a strong signal that the site is relevant to your niche and already willing to link to businesses/content like yours. Ahrefs explicitly recommends this filtering approach. ahrefs.com

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also lay out exactly how I'd structure the backlink-gap analysis (including which filters to use and how to turn the output into an outreach priority list).

Yes. If your main goal is “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, I’d narrow it to these:

1. Semrush — best if you want the simplest workflow

Semrush Backlink Gap

You enter your domain + up to 5 competitors, and it surfaces referring domains that link to competitors but not you. You can filter by things like Authority Score, traffic and category, then export the opportunities to CSV/Excel. www.semrush.com

I'd pick this if: you want an outreach-ready list quickly without much analysis.

2. Ahrefs — best for serious competitive link research

Ahrefs Link Intersect

Ahrefs' Link Intersect does essentially the same core job, but lets you compare up to 10 competitors. Importantly, you can analyze either referring domains or referring pages, which is useful when you want to know exactly which competitor pages earned the link. help.ahrefs.com

You can also filter for things such as dofollow links and higher-DR sites. www.semrush.comahrefs.com

I'd pick this if: you're doing a more sophisticated link-building campaign and want to investigate why competitors earned particular links.

My recommendation

If you're starting from scratch:

Semrush → fastest/easiest gap report
Ahrefs → best depth and competitor-page investigation

One particularly useful workflow is:

1. Identify your actual organic competitors rather than just companies you consider competitors.
2. Put your domain + 5–10 of the strongest competitors into Link Intersect/Backlink Gap.
3. First filter for domains linking to multiple competitors — those are often the strongest prospects.
4. Filter out obviously irrelevant directories/spam.
5. Look at the specific competitor page receiving the link.
6. Classify the opportunity: directory, resource page, editorial mention, guest post, digital PR, linkable asset, etc.
7. Prioritize domains that link to 2+ competitors and have relevant traffic/authority.

Ahrefs can actually identify organic competitors based on overlapping top-10 keywords, which is useful for step 1. ahrefs.com

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also suggest the exact filters I'd use to turn the raw backlink gap into a prioritized link-prospect list.

If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my top organic competitors but not to me”, I’d shortlist these:

1. Ahrefs Link Intersect — my pick

Ahrefs' Link Intersect is almost exactly what you're describing: enter your domain plus competitors and it surfaces referring domains that link to competitors but don't link to you. You can compare up to 10 competitors, filter the results, inspect the actual linking pages, and export the opportunities. help.ahrefs.com

The particularly useful part is that you can analyze either referring domains or referring pages. That lets you go beyond “who links to my competitors?” and identify the specific pages where the competitor earned the link. help.ahrefs.comwww.semrush.com

Best if: backlink analysis is a major part of your SEO workflow.

2. Semrush Backlink Gap — easiest for beginners

Semrush has a dedicated Backlink Gap report. Put in your domain and up to five competitors, and it identifies referring domains you're missing. You can filter by things such as Authority Score, traffic and category, then export the results to CSV/Excel. www.semrush.com

I'd probably choose Semrush if your workflow is:

Find competitors → identify missing links → prioritize prospects → hand them to outreach.

It makes that progression particularly straightforward.

3. Majestic Site Comparator — excellent for deeper comparison

Majestic's Site Comparator can compare backlink profiles for up to 10 competing websites, including referring domains, backlinks, Trust Flow, Citation Flow and Topical Trust Flow. Its Clique Hunter functionality is useful for finding sites that link to multiple competitors. majestic.com

It's more of a backlink-intelligence platform than a “give me a simple gap list” experience, so I'd put it behind Ahrefs/Semrush for ease of use.

My recommendation

If you're choosing one tool specifically for competitor link-gap analysis:

Ahrefs > Semrush > Majestic

I'd pick Ahrefs if you want the deepest analysis and up to 10 competitors. I'd pick Semrush if you want the most straightforward, marketing-friendly workflow.

One important distinction: don't just look for domains where all competitors have links. Also examine domains linking to 2–3 of your competitors. Those are often more realistic prospects than sites that happen to link to every competitor.

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis (including which filters to use and how to prioritize the resulting link prospects).

If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, the easiest options are:

My pick: Semrush if you want “easy”

Semrush Backlink Gap is probably the cleanest UI for your use case. You enter your domain + up to four competitors, and it directly surfaces referring domains that link to competitors but not you. You can filter by Authority Score, traffic, category, etc., then export the prospects. www.semrush.com

Open Semrush Backlink Gap

Ahrefs if you want more granular analysis

Ahrefs Link Intersect is arguably better if you're doing serious link prospecting. It supports up to 10 competitors and lets you analyze either referring domains or referring pages. You can also filter by DR, traffic, dofollow status, and other metrics. help.ahrefs.com

Open Ahrefs Link Intersect

A particularly useful workflow is:

1. Identify your actual organic competitors.
2. Put your domain first.
3. Add 5–10 competitors.
4. Filter for domains linking to multiple competitors, rather than just one.
5. Filter out low-quality/irrelevant domains.
6. Prioritize high-DR/high-traffic/relevant sites.
7. Click through to see which competitor pages earned the link.
8. Build your outreach list from there.

Ahrefs specifically supports filtering by the number of competitors receiving links, which makes it easy to identify sites that appear to be willing to link to businesses like yours. help.ahrefs.com

One important distinction

Don't confuse backlink gap with keyword/content gap. If you're trying to find:

“Competitors rank organically for these keywords, but my site doesn't.”

that's a Keyword/Content Gap analysis. Both Semrush and Ahrefs have dedicated tools for that too. www.semrush.com

Bottom line:

• Easiest: Semrush
• Most flexible/deep: Ahrefs
• Best for an SEO agency doing lots of competitor link prospecting: Ahrefs
• Best if you already use Semrush for keyword/organic competitor research: Semrush

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the backlink-gap analysis and which filters I'd use to turn it into a prioritized outreach list.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains linking to my organic competitors but not to me”, there are two standouts:

My recommendation

1. Semrush — easiest for a straightforward competitor link gap

Its Backlink Gap tool is almost exactly what you're describing: enter your domain plus up to four competitors, and it identifies referring domains that link to competitors but not you. You can filter by Authority Score, traffic, category, etc., and export the results. www.semrush.com

Semrush Backlink Gap

2. Ahrefs — best if you want to dig deeper

Ahrefs' Link Intersect does the same basic job, but lets you compare up to 10 competitors and choose between referring domains and referring pages. You can also filter by things such as DR, traffic and dofollow status. help.ahrefs.comahrefs.com

Ahrefs Link Intersect

The referring-pages capability is particularly useful if you want to answer something more actionable than “who links to competitors?” For example: “Which exact articles/listicles link to 3 of my competitors but don't mention me?” help.ahrefs.comahrefs.com

If I were doing your analysis

I'd use Ahrefs if you have access to it, otherwise Semrush.

A good workflow is:

1. Identify your 5–10 true organic competitors rather than simply your business competitors.
2. Run the backlink gap/intersect against all of them.
3. First filter to domains linking to multiple competitors.
4. Prioritize dofollow + relevant + high-authority domains.
5. Look at the actual referring page, not just the domain.
6. Categorize opportunities: guest posts, resource pages, directories, product comparisons, listicles, digital PR, etc.
7. Export the shortlist for outreach.

Ahrefs specifically recommends starting with domains linking to all competitors, then expanding to domains linking to two or more competitors; it also suggests filtering by dofollow, DR and domain traffic. ahrefs.com

One important distinction: don't confuse backlink gap with content/keyword gap. If you also want to find keywords your competitors rank for but you don't, both Ahrefs and Semrush have separate Content/Keyword Gap tools. ahrefs.com

If you tell me your domain + 3–10 competitors, I can also lay out exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis and prioritize the link opportunities.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, I’d shortlist these:

1. Semrush — easiest “gap” workflow

Semrush Backlink Gap is probably my first choice if you want something your team can use without much explanation.

You enter your domain + up to 4 competitors, and it identifies referring domains that link to competitors but not you. It also has filters for things like Authority Score and traffic, plus CSV/Excel export. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com

A particularly useful feature is the Best / Weak / Shared / Unique classification:

• Best = competitors have links, you don't
• Weak = you have fewer links than competitors
• Shared = both you and competitors have links
• Unique = only one competitor has the link

That makes it very easy to turn a huge backlink dataset into an outreach prospect list. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com

2. Ahrefs — best if you want more sophisticated analysis

Ahrefs Link Intersect is arguably the strongest dedicated link-gap feature.

You can compare up to 10 competitors, and importantly, you can analyze either referring domains or referring pages. help.ahrefs.com

The referring-page option is particularly valuable. For example, you can find:

Pages that link to Competitor A + Competitor B, but don't link to your equivalent page.

That can uncover very specific opportunities such as listicles, resource pages, reviews, and industry articles rather than just giving you a giant list of domains. Ahrefs also lets you filter by metrics such as DR and traffic and export the results. ahrefs.com

My recommendation

If you're choosing one tool solely for backlink gap analysis:

Semrush → easiest and fastest
Ahrefs → best for deeper prospecting

If you're doing serious link building, I'd lean Ahrefs because the ability to switch between referring domains and referring pages gives you more actionable opportunities. If you want a straightforward report that you can hand to an outreach team, Semrush Backlink Gap is exceptionally easy.

One important point: don't automatically use your business's generic “SEO competitors.” For the best gap analysis, use the actual domains ranking organically for your important keywords. Then prioritize domains linking to 2+ of those competitors but not you—those are often your highest-probability link prospects.

If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Ahrefs

Ahrefs Link Intersect is probably the cleanest option if backlink gaps are your main objective. You enter your domain plus up to 10 competitors, then it identifies referring domains/pages linking to competitors but not you. You can filter by metrics such as DR and traffic and export the opportunities. help.ahrefs.com

The particularly useful workflow is:

Your domain + 5–10 top organic competitors → “link to all competitors” → filter for dofollow/high-DR/high-traffic domains → export → prospect for outreach.

Ahrefs also has an Organic Competitors report, so you can use it to identify competitors rather than manually guessing them. ahrefs.com

Semrush is a very close second

Semrush Backlink Gap is arguably even easier for a quick comparison. It supports up to 5 competitors, has straightforward Best / Weak / Strong / Shared / Unique filters, and lets you export to Excel/CSV. www.semrush.com

The Best filter is particularly useful: domains linking to all your competitors but not your site. Those are often the highest-confidence outreach prospects.

What I'd choose

• Serious link-building / SEO team: Ahrefs
• Want the simplest visual gap report: Semrush
• Already paying for one of them: use its native gap tool rather than buying another platform
• Large competitor set: Ahrefs has the advantage with up to 10 competitors in Link Intersect. help.ahrefs.com

One important distinction: don't just compare against competitors you think are competitors. For a useful gap analysis, first identify your actual organic SERP competitors, then run the backlink intersection against those domains. That gives you much more relevant link prospects.

If you give me your domain + industry/country, I can also help you build the exact competitor set and a backlink-gap workflow (including which filters to use).

Yes. If your goal is specifically “which sites link to my organic competitors but not to me?”, there are two standout tools:

1. Ahrefs Link Intersect — my pick for link gaps

Ahrefs' Link Intersect directly finds domains/pages that link to your competitors but don't link to you. You can compare your domain against multiple competitors and filter the results—for example, by dofollow links and Domain Rating. ahrefs.comahrefs.com

What I particularly like for your use case:

• Referring domains → find websites linking to competitors but not you.
• Referring pages → find the actual articles/pages where competitor links appear.
• Filter to domains linking to all competitors, which is often a very strong prospecting signal.
• Good for turning the gap directly into an outreach list. ahrefs.com

Best choice if link building is the main reason you're buying the tool.

2. Semrush Backlink Gap — probably the easiest UI

Semrush's Backlink Gap lets you compare up to five domains simultaneously and identifies referring domains that link to competitors but not you. It also gives you Authority Score and filtering options, then lets you export the results to CSV/Excel. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com

I'd choose this if you already use Semrush for:

• keyword research
• organic competitor identification
• rank tracking
• content gaps
• reporting

The workflow is particularly convenient because Semrush can suggest competitors from its organic-competitor data. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com

My recommendation

If you're primarily doing backlink gap analysis: Ahrefs.

If you're doing broader SEO competitor analysis and want one platform: Semrush.

One important distinction: don't just export every competitor backlink and call it a gap. The useful list is closer to:

Competitors' referring domains − your referring domains + relevance/quality filters

I'd prioritize domains that link to 2–3+ of your competitors, are topically relevant, have meaningful organic traffic/authority, and have links that are editorial rather than obvious directories/spam.

If you tell me how many competitors you want to compare (e.g. 3, 5, or 10) and whether you're doing agency/client SEO or your own site, I can recommend the cheapest practical setup and a gap-analysis workflow.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “which sites link to my organic competitors but not to me?”, I’d narrow the field to these:

My pick: Ahrefs

Ahrefs Link Intersect is probably the cleanest match for what you're describing. You enter your domain plus competitor domains, and it surfaces referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. You can also filter for things like dofollow links and higher-DR domains. help.ahrefs.com

urlOpen Ahrefs Link Intersectturn0search1

The particularly useful workflow is:

Your domain + 5–10 top organic competitors → “linking to all competitors but not me” → filter by authority/traffic → export → outreach list.

Ahrefs also lets you analyze referring domains versus referring pages, which is useful because a domain-level gap can be very different from an individual-page opportunity. help.ahrefs.com

Semrush is an excellent alternative

Semrush's Backlink Gap is arguably even easier for a quick competitive report. You can compare up to five competing websites, then filter for Best, Weak, Shared, Unique, etc. links. It also lets you export the results to Excel/CSV. www.semrush.com

urlSemrush Backlink Gapturn0search5

I'd choose Semrush over Ahrefs if you're already using Semrush for keyword research/rank tracking, because you can combine your organic competitors and backlink gaps in the same workflow. Semrush specifically supports using its Organic Competitors report to identify competitors for the backlink-gap analysis. www.semrush.com

What I'd use for your exact task

If you're doing this regularly:

1. Identify organic competitors
→ Semrush Organic Competitors or Ahrefs competing domains

2. Run backlink gap
→ Ahrefs Link Intersect or Semrush Backlink Gap

3. Prioritize gaps

• Links to 3+ competitors → highest priority
• High-authority referring domains
• Relevant topical sites
• Dofollow links
• Sites with real organic traffic
• Editorial links rather than directories/spam

4. Separate opportunities into

• Competitor mentions/listicles
• Resource pages
• Guest/editorial opportunities
• Industry directories
• Digital PR/news
• Broken-link opportunities

Bottom line: If backlink gap analysis is the main thing you care about, I'd start with Ahrefs. If you want SEO + keywords + competitors + backlinks in one platform, Semrush is probably the better overall choice.

If you give me your domain + 3–5 competitor domains, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the gap analysis and what filters I'd use to turn it into a prioritized link-building list.

If your goal is specifically “show me websites linking to my top organic competitors but not to my domain”, there are two standouts:

My pick: Ahrefs

Ahrefs Link Intersect is probably the cleanest tool if backlink-gap analysis is the primary job. You enter your domain plus competitor domains, and it identifies referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. It currently supports up to 10 competitors, and you can filter by metrics such as DR and traffic and export the results. ahrefs.com

urlAhrefs Link Intersectturn0search0

Semrush is arguably easier for an end-to-end workflow

Semrush Backlink Gap lets you compare up to five domains and has straightforward filters for things like Authority Score, traffic, and category. Its particularly useful feature is that Semrush can help identify your organic competitors first, based on shared Google rankings, and then feed those competitors into Backlink Gap. www.semrush.com

urlSemrush Backlink Gapturn0search1

What I'd use for your workflow

If you're doing this for SEO prospecting, I'd run:

Your domain → identify top 5–10 organic competitors → backlink gap → prioritize domains linking to 2+ competitors → filter for relevant/high-authority sites → export → outreach list.

A particularly valuable filter is “links to all competitors but not me.” Those sites are much stronger prospects than a site that happens to link to only one competitor. Ahrefs explicitly supports filtering by the number of intersecting targets, while Semrush has a Best category for domains linking to all competitors but not you. www.semrush.comhelp.ahrefs.com

Bottom line:

• Best pure link-gap tool: Ahrefs
• Best easiest all-in-one: Semrush
• If you already use Semrush for keyword/organic competitor research: I'd stick with Semrush rather than buying another platform.

If you tell me your domain + industry/country, I can also suggest a practical competitor set and a filtering methodology for finding the highest-value link gaps.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me domains that link to my organic competitors but not to me”, these are the easiest options:

My picks

1. Ahrefs — best if backlinks are the main job.
Its Link Intersect specifically finds referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not your site. You can compare multiple competitors and use the results to identify repeat linkers—often the strongest outreach prospects. ahrefs.com

2. Semrush — best if you also need organic competitors.
Its Backlink Gap lets you compare up to five competing websites and filter for domains linking to competitors but not you. It also lets you use its Organic Competitors data to help identify which competitors to analyze. www.semrush.com

For your exact use case, I'd lean Semrush if you're starting from “who are my actual organic competitors?”, and Ahrefs if you already know the competitors and want to mine their backlink profiles deeply.

A practical workflow

1. Identify your top 3–5 organic competitors based on the keywords/pages you actually care about.
2. Put your domain + those competitors into Ahrefs Link Intersect or Semrush Backlink Gap.
3. Prioritize domains that link to 2+ competitors, rather than sites linking to only one.
4. Filter for relevant/high-authority referring domains.
5. Examine the specific page where the competitor earned the link—resource page, comparison article, supplier directory, editorial mention, guest contribution, etc.
6. Build an outreach list from the opportunities that are realistically replicable.

If you tell me your domain + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the backlink-gap analysis and which filters I'd use.

For finding backlink (link) gaps between your domain and top organic competitors, the easiest tools are the ones with a dedicated “Link Gap” / “Backlink Gap” workflow rather than requiring manual exports.

Here are the strongest options:

My usual picks by scenario

Fastest workflow (most teams):

1. Add your domain.
2. Add 3–5 competitors ranking for the same keywords.
3. Export domains that link to competitors but not you.
4. Prioritize:
   • relevant industry sites
   • high-authority domains
   • links from competitor pages that rank well
   • sites linking to multiple competitors

Best overall choice: Semrush if you want a clean visual gap report.

Best for SEO specialists: Ahrefs because Link Intersect + Content Explorer gives more ways to evaluate whether a link is actually worth pursuing.

A simple prioritization formula:

• 5+ competitors have the link → high opportunity
• Topical relevance → higher priority
• Competitor got a link from a ranking page → stronger signal
• Low-quality directories/sitewide links → usually ignore

If you already know your competitors, you can also build a tighter gap list by comparing only the competitors ranking in the same SERPs rather than broad industry competitors.

For finding backlink gaps between your domain and top organic competitors, the easiest tools are the ones with a dedicated Link Intersect / Backlink Gap feature. These are the strongest options:

Best picks

1. Semrush Backlink Gap — easiest for most teams

• Add your domain + 2–4 competitors.
• It shows domains linking to competitors but not you.
• Filters include:
  • Authority Score
  • Follow/nofollow
  • New/lost links
  • Multiple competitors linking to the same source
• Good for turning gaps into outreach targets quickly.

2. Ahrefs Link Intersect — best for serious SEO work

• Compare:
  • “Linking to these competitors”
  • “But not linking to my site”
• Strong filters:
  • Domain Rating (DR)
  • Traffic
  • Link type
  • One link per domain
• Usually better for identifying genuinely valuable link opportunities rather than just collecting lists.

3. Moz Link Intersect — easiest if you already use Moz

• Good for smaller teams.
• Less data depth than Ahrefs/Semrush but straightforward.

A practical workflow

1. Identify your top 3–5 true organic competitors (not just business competitors).
2. Run backlink gap analysis.
3. Prioritize domains that:
   • Link to 2+ competitors
   • Have relevant topical alignment
   • Have strong authority/trust signals
   • Link with editorial context (articles, resources, guides)
4. Export opportunities into outreach categories:
   • Resource pages
   • Guest contributions
   • Industry directories
   • Partner mentions
   • Digital PR opportunities

If you only want one tool for this task:

• Semrush → easiest interface and quickest wins.
• Ahrefs → best data quality for advanced link building.

For agencies or in-house SEO teams doing this regularly, using both together is common: Semrush for discovery, Ahrefs for validation.

If your goal is specifically finding link gaps between your site and your organic competitors (sites that link to them but not you), these SEO tools make that workflow straightforward:

1. Ahrefs (my top recommendation)

Pros:

• Probably the easiest workflow.
• Huge backlink database.
• Finds domains linking to multiple competitors but not you.
• Can filter by DR, traffic, dofollow, language, new/lost links, etc.

Typical workflow:

1. Enter your domain.
2. Add 3–10 competitors.
3. Open Link Intersect.
4. Sort by:
   • Domain Rating
   • Traffic
   • Number of competitors linked
5. Export opportunities.

This is excellent for building an outreach list.

2. Semrush

Semrush's Backlink Gap tool is similarly polished.

It shows:

• Domains linking to all competitors
• Domains linking to some competitors
• Domains linking only to one competitor
• Toxicity metrics
• Authority Score

One advantage is that it integrates nicely with Semrush's outreach and link-building tools if you're already using that ecosystem.

3. SE Ranking

A strong budget-friendly option.

You get:

• Shared referring domains
• Missing backlinks
• Referring pages
• Anchor text
• Domain quality metrics

It's significantly cheaper than Ahrefs or Semrush while covering most needs.

4. Moz Pro

Moz's Link Intersect is easy to understand and suitable if you're focused on:

• Local SEO
• Smaller sites
• Simpler reports

The backlink index isn't as extensive as Ahrefs'.

5. Majestic

Majestic's Clique Hunter is powerful but geared more toward experienced SEOs.

It excels at finding:

• Networks of sites linking to competitors
• Industry-specific linking patterns
• Trust Flow/Citation Flow comparisons

The interface is less beginner-friendly.

If you're doing serious link building

I'd rank them:

1. Ahrefs – best backlink index and gap analysis
2. Semrush – best all-around SEO suite
3. SE Ranking – best value
4. Majestic – best for deep backlink research
5. Moz – easiest for casual users

A useful workflow

Rather than just exporting every missing link, prioritize opportunities by:

• Sites linking to 3+ competitors (strong relevance signal)
• High-authority domains
• Real editorial pages (not directories)
• Recent backlinks (last 6–12 months)
• Pages that are still actively updated

Those tend to produce higher-quality outreach targets than simply chasing the highest authority domains.

If you're managing multiple clients or a large site (100k+ backlinks), Ahrefs and Semrush remain the most efficient choices. For occasional audits or a tighter budget, SE Ranking offers much of the same functionality at a lower cost.

If your goal is specifically to identify link gaps (sites linking to competitors but not to you), the SEO tools below all support it, but they vary quite a bit in ease of use and data quality.

1. Ahrefs (my top recommendation)

Pros:

• One of the largest backlink indexes
• Very intuitive Link Intersect tool
• Compare your domain against up to 10 competitors
• Filter by:
  • Domain Rating
  • Follow/Nofollow
  • Traffic
  • New/Lost links
  • Language
• Export prospects directly for outreach

Typical workflow:

1. Enter your domain.
2. Add 3–5 organic competitors.
3. View domains linking to competitors but not you.
4. Sort by authority or traffic.
5. Prioritize outreach.

Best if you're actively building links.

2. Semrush

Their Backlink Gap tool is one of the easiest for beginners.

Strengths:

• Visual overlap charts
• Color-coded opportunities
• Toxicity indicators
• Outreach integration
• Can compare five domains simultaneously

Especially useful if you're already using Semrush for keyword tracking and site audits.

3. SE Ranking

One of the better values.

Includes:

• Backlink Gap analysis
• Competitor monitoring
• Historical backlinks
• Anchor text comparison

The interface is simpler than Ahrefs, making it good for freelancers or smaller teams.

4. Moz Pro

Offers a Link Intersect feature with:

• Domain Authority metrics
• Spam Score
• Linking domain analysis

Its backlink database is generally smaller than Ahrefs or Semrush, but it's straightforward to use.

5. Majestic

Best when you want to dig into backlink quality.

Highlights:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow
• Historical index

Less beginner-friendly, but valuable for evaluating link quality rather than just quantity.

Which tool has the easiest gap analysis?

If ease is your priority:

1. 🥇 Ahrefs
2. 🥈 Semrush
3. 🥉 SE Ranking
4. Moz
5. Majestic

What to look for in the gap report

The highest-value opportunities are domains that:

• Link to multiple competitors but not to you.
• Have strong authority or trust metrics.
• Are topically relevant to your niche.
• Send referral traffic.
• Publish resource pages, industry directories, or editorial content where your site could realistically earn a link.

Rather than pursuing every missing backlink, focus first on sites that link to several of your competitors. Those are often the most attainable opportunities because they've already demonstrated a willingness to reference businesses like yours.

For finding backlink gaps between your domain and top organic competitors, the easiest tools are the ones with a dedicated Link Intersect / Backlink Gap feature. These are the strongest options:

Best picks by workflow

1. Fastest “who links to competitors but not me?” analysis

• Semrush Backlink Gap
• Add your domain + 2–4 competitors.
• Filter for:
  • “Missing” backlinks
  • High Authority Score domains
  • Relevant industry sites
  • Dofollow links

2. Best for serious link building

• Ahrefs Link Intersect
• Compare:
  • “All competitors but not your site”
  • Referring domains
  • Domain Rating (DR)
  • Traffic potential
  • Link type

3. Budget-friendly option

• SE Ranking Backlink Checker

Good if you want competitor backlink data without paying for a premium enterprise tool.

A practical gap-analysis workflow

1. Pick your true organic competitors (not just business competitors).
   • Use the domains ranking for your target keywords.
2. Run a link intersect report.
3. Export referring domains that link to:
   • 2+ competitors → highest priority
   • 1 competitor → secondary opportunities
4. Remove:
   • spam directories
   • irrelevant sites
   • paid/sponsored placements (unless part of your strategy)
5. Prioritize:
   • topical relevance
   • organic traffic
   • editorial links
   • pages that already link to similar content

A simple scoring model:

Opportunity score = relevance × competitor count × domain quality

If you already know your competitors, Ahrefs and Semrush will usually get you to a usable outreach list fastest.

If your goal is specifically backlink gap analysis (finding domains that link to competitors but not to you), some tools make this much easier than others.

1. Ahrefs (my top recommendation)

Ahrefs' Link Intersect report is widely considered one of the best.

You enter:

• Your domain
• 2–10 competitors

It returns:

• Sites linking to all competitors but not you
• Domain Rating (DR)
• Estimated traffic
• Number of competitors receiving the link
• Context for the backlinks

You can prioritize domains that link to multiple competitors, which often represent your highest-probability outreach opportunities.

Best if you care about quality over quantity.

2. Semrush

Semrush's Backlink Gap tool is similarly powerful.

Advantages:

• Visual overlap between competitors
• Filters by authority score
• Follow/nofollow filtering
• New vs. lost links
• Easy export into outreach lists

It's especially useful if you're already using Semrush for keyword tracking and site audits.

3. Moz Pro

Moz's Link Intersect is straightforward and less overwhelming.

Good for:

• Finding obvious opportunities
• Smaller link-building campaigns
• Agencies working with local businesses

Its index isn't as large as Ahrefs', but the workflow is clean.

4. Majestic

Majestic excels at analyzing:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Link neighborhoods
• Historical backlink data

It's excellent for experienced SEOs but has a steeper learning curve.

5. SE Ranking

One of the best value options.

It offers:

• Competitor backlink comparison
• Missing referring domains
• Anchor text analysis
• Affordable pricing

Many freelancers choose it because it's significantly cheaper than Ahrefs or Semrush.

Which tool finds the best opportunities?

If your competitors have thousands of referring domains:

1. Ahrefs
2. Semrush
3. Majestic

If they have only a few hundred:

1. Semrush
2. Ahrefs
3. SE Ranking

What to look for in a link gap report

Rather than simply collecting every missing link, prioritize domains that:

• Link to 2 or more competitors
• Have relevant topical authority
• Send organic traffic
• Are editorial (not directories or spam)
• Are still actively publishing content

Those tend to convert into successful outreach much more often than random one-off backlinks.

If you're building links at scale (e.g. hundreds or thousands of prospects), Ahrefs Link Intersect is generally regarded as the fastest and most efficient workflow, while Semrush Backlink Gap offers the strongest all-around experience if you're already using its broader SEO toolkit.