ChatGPT answers, unedited

For competitive backlink research, I’d focus on tools that expose the actual referring pages, not just referring-domain counts. The strongest options are:

• Ahrefs — probably the most straightforward for this use case. Its Backlinks report shows the referring page, target page, anchor text, link attributes, and historical links. You can also use Best by links to identify competitors’ most-linked pages and Link Intersect to find pages/domains linking to competitors but not you. Ahrefs Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center

ahrefs.com

• Semrush — particularly useful if you want to combine backlink research with broader competitor analysis. Its Backlinks tools expose competitors' backlinks, referring domains, recent links, backlink gaps, and important partnerships. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

• Majestic — especially interesting when you want to understand how the link is positioned on the referring page, rather than merely knowing that a link exists. Its Link Context data identifies link location, nearby links, link density, and surrounding context; its Top Pages and Referring Domains reports are useful for finding high-value pages and sources. Majestic Majestic Blog Majestic Blog

majestic.com

What I'd extract from each competitor

A useful competitive-research spreadsheet would have:

For your specific goal, I'd use Ahrefs + Majestic together: Ahrefs for finding which pages and domains are driving competitors' links, and Majestic for inspecting the context and placement strategy behind those links. Ahrefs itself specifically recommends examining multiple referring pages, different contexts, anchors/target URLs, and when links first appeared to understand a competitor's linking relationships. Ahrefs

A particularly useful workflow is Competitor → Best by Links → top linked pages → inspect referring pages → classify the acquisition tactic (editorial mention, data citation, guest contribution, resource page, digital PR, partnership, etc.). That gets you from a raw backlink list to an actual link-building strategy map.

For competitive backlink research, I’d focus on tools that expose the actual referring pages, not just referring domains. The useful question is: “Which pages link to competitors, what content are they linking to, and what pattern explains why?”

Strong options

• Ahrefs — particularly strong for this use case. Its Backlinks report shows the individual referring pages, anchor text, target URL, link type, and estimated organic traffic to the linking page. Its Link Intersect can specifically identify referring pages that link to competitors but not you. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center

ahrefs.com

• Semrush — good if you want backlink research integrated with broader competitive SEO analysis. Backlink Analytics exposes competitor backlink/referring-domain data, while Backlink Gap compares your profile with up to five competitors to find domains linking to them but not you. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

• Majestic — worth considering when your research is heavily link-focused and you want its proprietary link metrics and historical perspective. It is more specialized than an all-in-one SEO suite.
• Moz — useful for straightforward backlink and authority analysis, particularly if your team already uses Moz Pro. For deep competitor link-strategy investigation, I'd generally pair it with one of the larger link indexes above.

What I'd actually use

For the specific research question “How are competitors earning links?”, an Ahrefs workflow is especially direct:

1. Put each competitor into Backlinks and sort/filter the referring pages.
2. Look at their most-linked pages using Best by links to identify content formats that consistently attract links. Ahrefs
3. Examine the linking page + anchor + target page together. This reveals whether links are coming from studies, listicles, resource pages, reviews, news coverage, tools, directories, etc.
4. Run Link Intersect to find pages linking to multiple competitors but not you. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs
5. Compare new/lost backlinks over time to distinguish a competitor's historical authority from tactics they're actively using now. Ahrefs specifically supports filtering for newly added links. Ahrefs

One important caveat: don't treat backlink counts from different platforms as directly comparable. Each provider maintains its own crawl/index, so the same competitor can show substantially different link totals across tools. Search Scientists

If your primary goal is identifying the actual pages and tactics behind competitors' links, I'd shortlist Ahrefs and Semrush first, with Ahrefs particularly well suited to page-level link-intersection research.

For competitive research, these backlink checkers are strongest for finding top referring pages, link patterns, and competitor link-building strategies: Backly Buy Backlinks for SEO

• Ahrefs — Best overall for competitor backlink research. Use Site Explorer → Backlinks → Best by links → Link Intersect to find:

• Top referring pages
• Pages earning the most links
• Competitor link gaps
• Anchor text patterns
• Broken-link opportunities

Its Link Intersect feature is specifically designed to uncover domains/pages linking to competitors but not you. Ahrefs Help Center

• Semrush — Best if you want backlink data combined with broader SEO research. Useful reports:

• Backlinks Analytics → referring domains/pages
• Backlink Gap → shared and missing links
• Top linked pages
• New/lost backlinks

It also surfaces source page details such as linking URL, anchor text, and authority metrics. Semrush

• Majestic — Strong for understanding link quality and historical patterns:

• Trust Flow / Citation Flow
• Topical link relationships
• Historical backlink growth
• Competitor link networks

Good for deeper authority analysis. Buy Backlinks for SEO

• Moz Link Explorer — Useful for quick competitor comparisons:

• Linking domains
• Anchor text
• Domain Authority
• Spam indicators

Better for simpler audits than large-scale link prospecting. Buy Backlinks for SEO

A practical competitive workflow:

1. Put 3–5 competitors into Ahrefs or Semrush.
2. Export their top linked pages.
3. Group links by strategy:

• Guest posts
• Digital PR/news mentions
• Resource pages
• Statistics/research citations
• Partnerships
• Tools/templates
• Run Link Intersect to find sites linking to competitors but not you. Ahrefs Help Center

For most SEO teams: Ahrefs + Semrush together gives the clearest view of competitor referring pages and link-building tactics. Backly

For competitive backlink research, the best tools are the ones that let you move beyond “how many backlinks does this competitor have?” and answer:

• Which pages are earning links?
• Who is linking to those pages?
• What content/link-building tactic attracted those links?
• Can we replicate or improve the strategy?

The strongest options are: LinkVetted Backly

Backly Backly## Best workflow for finding competitor linking strategies

1. Find their “link magnets”

Use Top Pages / Best by Links reports.

Look for:

• Research studies and original data
• Ultimate guides
• Free tools/calculators
• Templates/checklists
• Statistics pages
• Product comparisons
• Industry resources

Example insight:

“Competitor X gets 40% of its backlinks from a single annual research report.”

That suggests a content-led PR strategy rather than a traditional outreach strategy.

2. Analyze referring pages, not just referring domains

A domain-level backlink count can hide the real tactic.

Look at:

• The exact article/page linking
• Anchor text used
• Whether links are editorial or directory/resource links
• Placement context (intro paragraph, citation, sidebar, author bio)
• Traffic of the linking page

3. Use link gap analysis

Compare:

• Your domain vs. 2–5 competitors
• Domains linking to competitors but not you

This reveals:

• Industry sites you can pitch
• Resource pages you missed
• Partnerships competitors have built

4. Study anchor text patterns

Look for:

• Branded anchors → likely PR/brand mentions
• Exact-match anchors → possible targeted link campaigns
• “Statistics,” “research,” “guide,” etc. → content assets attracting citations

Tool recommendations by situation

• Agency doing serious competitor research: Ahrefs + Semrush
• Content strategy research: Ahrefs
• Finding outreach targets: Ahrefs Link Intersect or Semrush Backlink Gap
• Investigating old/large link profiles: Majestic
• Lower budget: Moz Link Explorer or free tiers, but expect less depth

No backlink index is complete; different tools discover different links, so for high-value research it is common to compare at least two datasets. Search Scientists Mojo Links

A practical competitive research template:

1. Export competitor top linked pages
2. Sort by referring domains gained
3. Categorize the page type (guide, study, tool, PR, guest post, resource)
4. Identify repeatable patterns
5. Build a content/outreach plan around the patterns

For most SEO teams, Ahrefs is usually the starting point for “which pages earned links and why?”, while Semrush is especially useful when you want backlink data combined with keyword, traffic, and broader SEO analysis. Backly Backly

For competitive research, the best backlink checkers are the ones that let you move beyond “how many backlinks does this competitor have?” and uncover:

• Top referring pages (which competitor URLs attract links)
• Top referring domains (who links to them repeatedly)
• Link acquisition patterns (PR, guest posts, partnerships, resources, directories, citations)
• Anchor text strategies
• Content formats that earn links
• Link gaps (sites linking to competitors but not you)

No single index sees every backlink, so many SEO teams compare data from more than one tool. LinkVetted

Best backlink checkers for competitor research

Backly Backly## My picks by research goal

1. Find competitors’ highest-performing link magnets

Use:

• Ahrefs — look at Best by Links / top linked pages
• Semrush — analyze indexed pages receiving backlinks

Look for:

• Research reports
• Statistics pages
• Free tools/calculators
• Templates
• Original studies
• Comparison pages
• Ultimate guides

Example insight:

“Competitor A gets 40% of its referring domains from a single industry report. Creating a better updated version may be a viable link acquisition play.”

2. Identify where competitors are earning editorial links

Filter referring pages by:

• High authority domains
• Dofollow links
• Relevant topical categories
• Recently acquired links

Analyze:

• Why the page linked
• What content format earned the mention
• Whether the link came from PR, outreach, partnerships, or organic discovery

3. Discover link gaps

Use:

• Ahrefs Link Intersect
• Semrush Backlink Gap

Workflow:

1. Enter 3–5 competitors.
2. Find domains linking to multiple competitors.
3. Remove irrelevant/spam sites.
4. Prioritize sites that already cover your niche.

4. Reverse-engineer anchor strategy

Review:

• Branded anchors
• Exact-match anchors
• Topic-based anchors
• Naked URLs

Watch for:

• Over-optimized anchor profiles
• Heavy guest-post footprints
• Sitewide links
• Private blog network patterns

A practical competitive backlink workflow

1. Export competitor backlinks

• Referring URL
• Target URL
• Anchor text
• Domain authority metric
• Traffic estimates
• Link type
• Group links by strategy

• Digital PR
• Guest posts
• Resource pages
• Partnerships
• Product mentions
• Communities/forums
• Find repeatable opportunities

• Sites linking to multiple competitors
• Content formats that repeatedly earn links
• Pages with unusually high referring-domain counts
• Prioritize

Score opportunities by:

• Relevance
• Authority
• Traffic
• Editorial likelihood
• Effort required

Recommended stack

• Serious SEO competitive research: Ahrefs + Semrush
• Agency reporting: Semrush + Moz
• Link-quality investigations: Ahrefs + Majestic
• Budget research: Semrush free backlink checker + limited free tools Semrush

For most competitor backlink strategy work, I’d start with Ahrefs for discovering link patterns and Semrush for broader market comparisons, then manually inspect the top 50–100 referring pages rather than chasing raw backlink volume. Backly Semrush

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that expose not just referring domains, but the exact referring pages, linked-to pages, anchors, and patterns across competitors.

My picks

If you want one tool: Ahrefs.
Its combination of Site Explorer + Referring Pages + Link Intersect makes it particularly useful for answering “Which pages are giving my competitors links, and which of those opportunities am I missing?” Ahrefs Help Center

If your focus is content strategy: Semrush.
Its Top Pages report lets you identify the competitor pages attracting the most referring domains, while anchors can reveal the topics/products competitors are actively promoting through links. Semrush

If your focus is reverse-engineering how competitors earned links: Majestic.
Link Context is unusually useful because it shows the environment around a backlink—not merely that a link exists. You can investigate whether links are editorial, where they're positioned, how link-dense the page is, and what other sites are being linked to nearby. Majestic

A good competitive workflow

1. Put your site and 3–5 competitors into Ahrefs or Semrush.
2. Identify top referring pages—not just referring domains.
3. Group those pages by tactic: - editorial articles
4. statistics/research citations
5. guest contributions
6. product reviews
7. resource/list pages
8. digital PR/news
9. directories/partnerships
10. Look for link intersections: sites/pages linking to multiple competitors but not you.
11. Examine the anchor + target URL to understand what competitors are getting links for.
12. Use Majestic Link Context on the highest-value prospects to understand the actual placement and surrounding linking pattern.
13. Turn the patterns into tactics—for example, “Competitors consistently earn links by publishing original industry data” is much more actionable than “Competitor has 20,000 backlinks.”

One important caveat: backlink counts will differ substantially between tools because each maintains a different web index. Treat the absolute number as directional and use the tools primarily to identify patterns and opportunities. Search Scientists

If you tell me your industry/site type, I can also give you a competitor-backlink research framework showing exactly which reports and filters to use in Ahrefs vs. Semrush.

For competitive backlink research, the best tools are the ones that let you move beyond “how many backlinks does a competitor have?” and answer:

• Which pages attract the most links?
• Who links to competitors but not us?
• What content formats earn links?
• What anchor text and outreach strategies are working?
• Which referring pages are high-value vs. low-quality?

Here are the strongest options:

My recommended workflow for competitor backlink research

1. Find their “link magnets”

Use Ahrefs Best by Links or Semrush’s top linked pages reports.

Look for:

• Ultimate guides
• Research studies
• Free tools/calculators
• Templates
• Statistics pages
• Original data
• Interactive content

Questions to answer:

• “What pages earned 500+ referring domains?”
• “Are links going to product pages or content?”
• “What topics repeatedly attract citations?”

2. Analyze top referring pages, not just referring domains

A domain may link once from a powerful editorial page or hundreds of times from low-value pages.

Review:

• Linking page URL
• Page topic/context
• Anchor text
• Whether the link is editorial
• Traffic/authority of the linking page
• Placement type (resource list, review, mention, guest post, citation)

Ahrefs and Semrush both expose source-page details and link attributes useful for this type of analysis. Ahrefs Semrush

3. Run a link gap analysis

Compare:

• Your site
• 3–5 competitors

Find:

• Sites linking to competitors but not you
• Pages that attract links across your niche
• Partnerships or publications repeatedly covering competitors

Ahrefs’ Link Intersect is specifically designed for finding referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not your site. Ahrefs Help Center

4. Reverse-engineer their link strategy

Create categories:

Best picks by scenario

• Serious SEO team / agency: Ahrefs + Semrush combination
• Content strategy research: Ahrefs
• Finding outreach prospects: Ahrefs Link Intersect or Semrush backlink gap
• Historical competitor investigation: Majestic
• Budget-conscious research: Moz or SEO SpyGlass

For most competitive research projects, I would start with Ahrefs for discovering the winning pages and referring sources, then use Semrush to validate broader competitor patterns and link gaps. Ahrefs Semrush

Best picks by scenario

• Serious SEO team / agency: Ahrefs + Semrush combination
• Content strategy research: Ahrefs
• Finding outreach prospects: Ahrefs Link Intersect or Semrush backlink gap
• Historical competitor investigation: Majestic
• Budget-conscious research: Moz or SEO SpyGlass

For most competitive research projects, I would start with Ahrefs for discovering the winning pages and referring sources, then use Semrush to validate broader competitor patterns and link gaps. Ahrefs Semrush

For competitive research, the best backlink checkers are the ones that let you move beyond “how many links does this competitor have?” and answer:

• Which pages attract the most links?
• Who is linking to them?
• What type of content earns links?
• What anchor text and outreach strategies are working?
• Which referring domains could be link prospects for you?

The strongest options are: Buy Backlinks for SEO Backly

Top backlink checkers for competitor research

LinkVetted Semrush## How to use them for competitive backlink research

1. Find competitor “link magnets”

Look at:

• Top linked pages
• Pages with the most referring domains
• Recently acquired links

You’re looking for patterns such as:

• Research reports attracting citations
• Free tools/calculators earning natural links
• Ultimate guides getting referenced
• Templates/checklists being shared
• Product comparisons ranking in editorial articles

Example workflow:

1. Enter competitor domain.
2. Sort backlinks by referring domains.
3. Filter to pages with the highest number of unique linking sites.
4. Analyze what made those pages link-worthy.

2. Identify their link-building strategies

Review:

Content strategy

• Are links mostly going to blog posts, landing pages, tools, studies, or product pages?

Acquisition strategy

• Guest posts?
• Digital PR?
• Resource page placements?
• Partnerships?
• Industry directories?
• Expert quotes?

Anchor strategy

• Branded anchors
• Exact-match keywords
• URL anchors
• Generic anchors (“click here,” “learn more”)

3. Use competitor link gap analysis

This is one of the highest-value tactics.

Compare:

• Your domain
• 2–5 competitors

Find domains that link to competitors but not you.

Those sites become your outreach prospect list.

Tools like Ahrefs’ Link Intersect and Semrush’s Backlink Gap are designed for this type of research. Buy Backlinks for SEO Semrush

Recommended tool stack by budget

If you do serious SEO research

• Ahrefs + Semrush - Ahrefs for deep link discovery
• Semrush for broader SEO competitor workflows

If you only need one paid tool

• Ahrefs: best choice when backlinks are the main focus
• Semrush: better if you also need keywords, rankings, PPC, and site audits

Lower-cost approach

• Moz Link Explorer + free versions of Ahrefs/Semrush
• Add Majestic when you need historical link investigation

LinkVetted Mojo Links## Metrics I would export during competitive research

For each competitor’s important backlinks, collect:

A good competitive backlink study usually focuses less on total backlinks and more on which pages repeatedly earn high-quality referring domains and why. Backly

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that expose both the linking page and the destination page, not just referring domains.

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question “Which pages are sending my competitors the most valuable links, and what strategy are they using?”, Ahrefs is probably the strongest starting point.

Its Backlinks report shows the referring page and destination page, and lets you filter/search by referring-page title, URL, anchor text, surrounding text, and target URL. That makes it particularly useful for identifying why a competitor earned a link rather than simply seeing that they have one. Ahrefs

Its Link Intersect feature is especially useful for competitive research: you can compare your site against up to 10 competitors and identify referring pages or domains that link to competitors but not you. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

Semrush is a very close second

Semrush's Backlinks Overview specifically surfaces Top Pages, showing which competitor pages have attracted the most referring domains. It also provides top anchors, referring-domain authority, backlink types, and competitor comparisons. Semrush

That makes it particularly good for answering:

• Which competitor content attracts the most links?
• Which sites repeatedly link to them?
• What anchor text/topics are associated with those links?
• Which referring domains do competitors have that I don't?
• Are they gaining links through partnerships, PR, resources, reviews, or content?

Semrush also has Backlink Gap, which is useful for turning competitor research into a prospect list. Semrush Semrush

What I'd actually analyze

Don't just sort competitors by total backlinks. Build a table like:

Competitor → Top linked page → Referring page → Referring domain → Anchor → Link type → Why they linked

Then classify the links into strategies:

• Data/research: original studies, statistics, surveys
• Linkable assets: tools, calculators, templates, infographics
• Editorial: articles naturally citing their content
• Resource pages: curated industry lists
• PR/news: media coverage
• Partnerships: vendors, integrations, associations
• Guest contributions: author/content placements
• Product/review links: reviews, comparisons, directories
• Broken-link replacement: competitor link replaced with their content

One particularly useful Ahrefs technique is identifying “serial linkers”—domains that repeatedly link to a competitor. Those can reveal not just individual link opportunities but the relationships and distribution channels behind the competitor's strategy. Ahrefs

Bottom line: If you're buying/using one tool specifically for this research, I'd choose Ahrefs for depth. If you're already heavily invested in Semrush, its Top Pages + Backlink Gap + Referring Domains workflow is more than sufficient. Using both can be worthwhile because backlink indexes differ between providers. searchscientists.com

Semrush's Backlinks Overview specifically surfaces Top Pages, showing which competitor pages have attracted the most referring domains. It also provides top anchors, referring-domain authority, backlink types, and competitor comparisons.

That makes it particularly good for answering:

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize these tools:

• ahrefs.com — best overall for competitor link strategy. Its Best by links report shows which competitor pages attract the most backlinks, while Link Intersect finds referring domains/pages linking to competitors but not you. You can also inspect the exact referring page, anchor, target URL, and link history. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Ahrefs
• semrush.com — best for combining backlink research with competitive SEO data. Backlink Analytics exposes source-page details, referring domains, anchors, link attributes, new/lost links, and competitor comparisons. Its Backlinks Competitors report is particularly useful for finding sites that repeatedly link to competing brands. Semrush Semrush
• majestic.com — best for understanding how links are placed. Its Link Context feature can show whether a link is editorial, directory-like, near other relevant links, its position on the page, and link density. That's especially useful for reverse-engineering competitors' actual linking tactics rather than simply counting links. Majestic Majestic Blog
• moz.com — good simpler alternative. Link Explorer is useful for discovering linking domains and evaluating link authority, although I'd generally choose Ahrefs or Semrush when detailed competitor-page analysis is the primary objective.

What I'd use for competitive research

If your goal is “Which competitor pages earn links, who links to them, and what strategy produced those links?”, I'd use Ahrefs + Majestic:

1. Put each competitor into Ahrefs Best by links → identify their top link-attracting pages. Ahrefs
2. Examine the backlinks to those specific pages → categorize the sources as PR, editorial articles, resource pages, statistics/research, guest posts, directories, partnerships, etc.
3. Run Link Intersect across 3–10 competitors → find sites/pages that repeatedly link to competitors but not you. Ahrefs Help Center
4. Use Majestic Link Context on the highest-value opportunities → determine where and in what context competitors are getting links. Majestic
5. Look for patterns rather than individual links: content type + referring-site type + anchor + destination page + placement + timing.

If you only want one tool: I'd pick Ahrefs. It has the strongest combination of top-linked-page discovery, individual referring-page analysis, and competitor link-gap research. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you move from “who links to them?” → “which pages attract those links?” → “why/how did they earn them?”

Best options

1. ahrefs.com — best overall for link-strategy research

• Referring Domains shows who links to a competitor and how many times.
• Backlinks exposes the actual referring page, anchor text, target URL, surrounding text, and link attributes.
• Best by Links identifies the competitor's pages that attract the most backlinks.
• You can filter for new links, dofollow links, specific words in referring-page titles/URLs, resource pages, etc. Ahrefs Ahrefs Ahrefs
• Particularly useful for finding “serial linkers”—sites that repeatedly link to a competitor—which can reveal relationship/partnership strategies. Ahrefs
• semrush.com — best for competitive gap analysis

• Shows top backlinks, referring domains, source-page details, anchor text, Authority Score, and new/lost links.
• Its Backlink Gap and competitor reports are particularly useful for finding domains that link to competitors but not you. Semrush Semrush
• Good choice if you want to combine backlink research with broader competitive SEO data.
• majestic.com — strong for link-focused analysis

• Worth considering when the research is heavily focused on the link graph itself rather than broader SEO research.
• Its historical link data and proprietary link metrics can be useful for assessing the strength and topical relevance of referring sites.
• moz.com — good simpler alternative

• Useful for quickly examining competitor backlinks, linking domains, and link-authority metrics.
• I’d generally choose Ahrefs or Semrush for deep competitive research, though.

What I'd actually use

If your goal is to reverse-engineer a competitor's link-building strategy, I'd use Ahrefs + Semrush rather than relying on one checker.

For each competitor:

• Find their most-linked pages: Ahrefs → Best by Links. Ahrefs
• Identify the pages actually sending those links: Ahrefs → Backlinks → inspect Referring page and Target URL. Ahrefs
• Look at the linking context: analyze anchor text, surrounding text, page topic, and whether the link is editorial, resource-list, citation, partner, etc.
• Find repeat relationships: sort referring domains by number of links to uncover serial linkers. Ahrefs
• Find linkable content patterns: compare competitors' most-linked pages—e.g., original research, statistics, tools, templates, guides, studies, or data visualizations.
• Run a backlink gap: Semrush can identify referring domains shared by competitors that don't currently link to you. Semrush
• Study timing: look at newly acquired links to determine whether competitors are running ongoing digital PR, guest-posting, partnerships, content campaigns, or link reclamation. Ahrefs

Bottom line: If you only want one, pick Ahrefs for the deepest “which pages are getting links and exactly where are those links coming from?” analysis. If you're doing serious competitive research, Ahrefs for link-level investigation + Semrush for backlink-gap/competitor comparison is the strongest combination. Ahrefs Semrush

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you go beyond “who links to the competitor?” and see which pages earn links, why they earn them, and whether the tactic is replicable.

Best options

1. Ahrefs — my first choice

ahrefs.com is particularly strong for answering “Which competitor pages are actually attracting links?”

Its Best by links report ranks a competitor's pages by backlinks, letting you identify link magnets and the content formats/topics that consistently attract links. Ahrefs

More importantly, Link Intersect can compare your site against up to 10 competitors and show referring domains or individual referring pages that link to competitors but not you. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

For each promising backlink, I'd examine:

• Referring page
• Destination/target page
• Anchor text
• Whether it's dofollow
• Estimated traffic to the referring page
• When the link appeared
• Whether multiple competitors receive links from the same page/domain

Ahrefs also explicitly exposes the referring page and target URL in its Backlinks report. Ahrefs

Best workflow: Competitor → Best by Links → Backlinks → Link Intersect → classify the linking tactic.

2. Semrush — excellent for competitive gap analysis

semrush.com is especially useful if your competitive research already happens inside Semrush.

Its backlink reports provide source-page title/URL, anchor text, Authority Score, link attributes, referring domains, and new/lost status. Semrush

The Backlink Gap functionality is useful for finding domains that link to competitors but not you, while the Backlinks Competitors report can help identify competitors based on shared referring domains. Semrush Semrush

I particularly like Semrush for answering:

“What relationships or link-building channels does this competitor have that we don't?”

Its own documentation recommends examining competitors' top partnerships, attractive indexed pages, and anchors to identify the topics and relationships behind their links. Semrush

3. Majestic — excellent for understanding quality and context

majestic.com is worth adding when you care about topical relevance and the context surrounding a link, rather than just link counts.

Its Site Explorer includes Referring Domains, Linking URLs, Topical Trust Flow, Link Context, Anchor Text, and Pages reports. Majestic

The Pages report can identify powerful pages on a competitor's site, while Link Context helps you understand where a competitor's link sits relative to other links on the referring page. Majestic

How I'd use them for serious competitive research

Don't simply export 10,000 backlinks and count them. Build a link-strategy map:

1. Find competitor link magnets — which URLs have unusually high numbers of referring domains?
2. Open the referring pages — determine why they linked.
3. Classify the tactic, e.g.: - Digital PR/news coverage
4. Original research/data
5. Statistics/resource pages
6. Guest contributions
7. Product reviews
8. Listicles/comparisons
9. Partnerships
10. Directories
11. Broken-link reclamation
12. Naturally earned editorial links
13. Look for repeat patterns — if 20 competitors are repeatedly getting links from the same type of publication, that's much more actionable than one isolated backlink.
14. Run a link intersection — find sites/pages linking to several competitors but not you.
15. Prioritize by relevance + traffic + authority, rather than raw backlink count.

Ahrefs even recommends looking for serial linkers—sites that repeatedly link to a competitor—and examining the different pages, contexts, anchors, and time periods involved. Ahrefs

Bottom line: If you only want one tool, choose Ahrefs for this particular research task. If you're doing a broader SEO competitive study, Ahrefs + Semrush is a particularly strong combination, with Majestic as a useful third tool when topical relevance and link context matter.

The Backlink Gap functionality is useful for finding domains that link to competitors but not you, while the Backlinks Competitors report can help identify competitors based on shared referring domains. Semrush Semrush

I particularly like Semrush for answering:

“What relationships or link-building channels does this competitor have that we don't?”

Its own documentation recommends examining competitors' top partnerships, attractive indexed pages, and anchors to identify the topics and relationships behind their links. Semrush

3. Majestic — excellent for understanding quality and context

majestic.com is worth adding when you care about topical relevance and the context surrounding a link, rather than just link counts.

Its Site Explorer includes Referring Domains, Linking URLs, Topical Trust Flow, Link Context, Anchor Text, and Pages reports.

The Pages report can identify powerful pages on a competitor's site, while Link Context helps you understand where a competitor's link sits relative to other links on the referring page.

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you move beyond “who links to them?” and answer “which pages link to them, what kind of links are they, and what tactic produced them?”

Best options

1. Ahrefs — my first choice

Ahrefs is particularly strong for what you're describing because its Link Intersect can compare competitors at the referring-page level, not just domain level. You can identify pages that link to several competitors but don't link to you. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

For each competitor, I'd examine:

• Referring pages → exactly which articles/resources are generating links
• Target URL → which competitor assets attract links
• Anchor text → how they're positioning the link
• Dofollow vs. nofollow
• Referring-page traffic/authority
• First-seen date → whether the tactic is actively working
• Link Intersect → opportunities shared by multiple competitors

Ahrefs also specifically recommends looking for serial linkers—sites that repeatedly link to a competitor across multiple pages—which can reveal relationship-driven link building rather than one-off links. Ahrefs

2. Semrush — excellent second tool

Semrush's Backlinks Overview is designed for competitor research and surfaces recent links, important partnerships, and referring domains. Its Backlink Gap identifies valuable domains linking to competitors but not you. Semrush Semrush

I'd use it particularly to answer:

“Which websites consistently endorse my competitors, and which of those haven't mentioned us?”

That's useful for building a prospect list and spotting PR, partnership, directory, guest-content, and resource-page opportunities.

3. Majestic — best when you want to understand how the link works

Majestic is especially interesting for your “linking strategies” question. Its Link Context shows the link's position on the referring page, surrounding content, nearby links, and link density. Majestic Blog Majestic

That lets you distinguish, for example:

• Editorial mention inside an article
• Resource-page link
• Directory/listing placement
• Footer/sidebar link
• Link surrounded by dozens of other outbound links
• Contextually relevant link embedded in a strong topical section

Its Pages and Top Backlinks reports can also help identify which competitor URLs are accumulating the strongest links. Majestic Majestic

4. Moz — good for a simpler workflow

Moz Link Explorer is useful if you want a less complicated interface for examining top links from particular referring domains, including follow links and Page Authority. Rankious

It's not my first pick for deep competitive strategy analysis, but it's a useful validation tool.

The workflow I'd use

If the goal is competitive intelligence rather than simply collecting backlinks, I'd do this:

1. Ahrefs: Find each competitor's top referring pages and target URLs.
2. Ahrefs Link Intersect: Find pages/domains linking to 2–5 competitors but not you.
3. Group the links by tactic: - Digital PR
4. Data/research
5. Linkable tools
6. Guest contributions
7. Resource pages
8. Listicles
9. Partnerships
10. Directories
11. Product reviews
12. Broken-link reclamation
13. Majestic: Inspect the actual link context for high-value examples.
14. Semrush: Validate the competitive gap and prioritize domains.
15. Build a spreadsheet with competitor → referring page → linked asset → anchor → link type → tactic → authority/traffic → replication difficulty.

The key insight is to analyze the competitor's linked-to assets, not just their referring domains. If five competitors are repeatedly earning links to original research, calculators, templates, or statistics pages, that's much stronger evidence of a successful linkable-asset strategy than simply seeing that they have 10,000 referring domains. Ahrefs explicitly frames competitor backlink analysis around identifying the tactics that are actually working. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

If you tell me your industry/site type, I can also give you a concrete competitor-backlink research template with the exact filters and columns I'd use.

For competitive backlink research, I’d shortlist these:

My pick for your specific use case

Start with Ahrefs + Majestic.

Use Ahrefs to answer:

• Which competitor pages get the most referring domains?
• Which websites repeatedly link to competitors?
• Which content formats attract links—research, statistics, tools, guides, templates, etc.?
• Are competitors actively acquiring links?
• Which referring domains link to multiple competitors? Ahrefs Ahrefs

Then use Majestic Link Context to answer the more strategic question:

“Why did this particular page link to my competitor, and what kind of link did they earn?”

You can examine whether the link is embedded editorially, surrounded by relevant text, placed alongside competitor links, or sitting in a high-density/navigation area. Majestic

A practical competitive-research workflow

1. Put 3–5 competitors into Ahrefs.
2. Export their Best by links pages.
3. Group those pages by content type: data study, how-to, product comparison, statistics, tool, resource page, etc.
4. Look at Referring Domains and identify domains linking to multiple competitors.
5. Prioritize domains with multiple relevant links rather than domains that gave a competitor one random mention.
6. Open the highest-value referring pages and inspect the actual link context with Majestic.
7. Classify the acquisition strategy: editorial mention, digital PR, guest contribution, resource inclusion, partnership, directory, sponsorship, broken-link replacement, etc.
8. Build your outreach/content strategy around the patterns—not simply around copying the competitor's backlinks.

One particularly useful Ahrefs tactic is finding “serial linkers”—domains that repeatedly link to a competitor. Ahrefs specifically recommends examining how often they link, the different referring pages/contexts, and when those links appeared. Ahrefs

If you're choosing only one: Ahrefs.
If your goal is to understand the linking strategy and placement in depth: Ahrefs + Majestic is the stronger combination.

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you move beyond “who links to them?” and answer “which pages link, what do they link to, and what tactic earned the link?”

Best options

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question of “which referring pages are driving my competitors' links, and what strategy are they using?”, Ahrefs is particularly strong.

Its Backlinks report exposes the referring page, destination URL, anchor, link attributes and historical data. It also has Best by links, which lets you identify competitors' pages that attract the most backlinks. Ahrefs Ahrefs

The especially useful feature is Link Intersect. You can compare your site against up to 10 competitors and find referring domains or individual pages that link to competitors but not you. That makes it much easier to distinguish a competitor's one-off link from a repeatable acquisition strategy. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

How I'd use them for competitive research

1. Find competitors' most-linked pages.

Look for recurring formats: original research, statistics pages, tools, guides, comparisons, studies, templates, etc.

2. Inspect the actual referring pages.

Don't just record the domain. Ask where on that site the competitor earned the link and what context surrounds it.

3. Classify the link strategy.

For example:

• Editorial mentions → PR/content marketing
• Listicles → product/content outreach
• Resource pages → resource-link building
• Guest contributions → relationship/outreach strategy
• Data citations → original research strategy
• Directories/associations → citation/partnership strategy
• Multiple links from the same site → ongoing partnership
• Run a link-gap analysis.

Semrush's Backlink Gap compares up to five sites and identifies referring domains linking to competitors but not you. Semrush

5. Look for “serial linkers.”

Ahrefs specifically recommends finding domains that link to a competitor repeatedly. Multiple links from different pages and contexts can reveal relationships that are more strategically valuable than a single backlink. Ahrefs

Bottom line: If you're buying/choosing just one tool for this purpose, I'd choose Ahrefs. If you're doing serious competitive research, Ahrefs + Semrush is a particularly useful combination: Ahrefs for granular referring-page/link analysis and Semrush for broader competitor-gap comparison. Semrush Semrush

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question of “which referring pages are driving my competitors' links, and what strategy are they using?”, Ahrefs is particularly strong.

Its Backlinks report exposes the referring page, destination URL, anchor, link attributes and historical data. It also has Best by links, which lets you identify competitors' pages that attract the most backlinks.

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you move from “who links to them?” → “which pages earn those links?” → “what kind of outreach/content strategy produced them?”

Best options

• ahrefs.com — best overall for competitor link strategy. Its Best by Links report surfaces the competitor’s most-linked pages, while Referring Domains lets you inspect the actual pages linking to them. Link Intersect can identify referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not you. Ahrefs Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center

Best for: finding linkable content, recurring linkers, competitor gaps, and outreach targets.

• semrush.com — best for combining backlink research with broader competitive SEO research. Backlink Analytics provides top backlinks, referring domains, source-page details, anchors, follow/nofollow status, new/lost links, and Top Pages. Its competitor reports also identify sites sharing common referring domains with you. Semrush Semrush Semrush

Best for: understanding how competitors acquire links and connecting that to their overall SEO performance.

• majestic.com — excellent for deep link-profile analysis. Site Explorer includes referring domains, backlinks, top pages, Link Context, anchor text, Topical Trust Flow, and Link Graph. Its Link Context is particularly useful for understanding where a link sits on the referring page and what other links surround it. Majestic Majestic Blog

Best for: assessing link quality/relevance and reverse-engineering editorial linking patterns.

What I'd use for competitive research

If you have access to only one, Ahrefs is probably my first choice. A useful workflow is:

1. Enter 3–5 competitors.
2. Use Best by Links to identify their most-linked pages. Ahrefs
3. For each high-performing page, inspect Referring Domains/Referring Pages.
4. Look for patterns: original research, statistics, tools, guides, digital PR, resource pages, guest contributions, partnerships, etc.
5. Use Link Intersect to find sites linking to multiple competitors but not you. Ahrefs Help Center
6. Look for serial linkers—sites repeatedly linking to a competitor—which can reveal relationship-based opportunities rather than one-off links. Ahrefs
7. Compare new vs. established links to distinguish an ongoing acquisition strategy from links accumulated over years.

For a two-tool setup: Ahrefs + Majestic is particularly complementary: Ahrefs is strong for finding competitive opportunities and linked-to content, while Majestic's Link Context and topical metrics help evaluate the nature and relevance of those links. Ahrefs Majestic Blog

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you go beyond “how many backlinks?” and answer which pages are attracting links, who is linking, and what tactic earned the link.

Best options

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question “What referring pages are driving my competitors' link acquisition, and how can I replicate the strategy?”, Ahrefs is particularly strong.

Its Best by Links report identifies the competitor's pages with the most backlinks, letting you see what types of content naturally attract links. Ahrefs

Then use Backlinks → Referring pages to inspect the actual pages linking to those assets. Ahrefs also provides estimated organic traffic for the linking page, along with filters for dofollow/nofollow, DR, UR, platform, etc. Ahrefs Ahrefs

Most importantly for competitive research, Link Intersect can show referring pages that link to competitors but not to you. You can compare up to 10 competitors and filter the opportunities by metrics such as DR and traffic. Ahrefs Help Center

How I'd use them for strategy research

For each competitor:

1. Find their most-linked pages

Look for studies, original data, tools, templates, guides, statistics pages, etc.

2. Open the referring pages

Don't just record the domain. Examine where and why the competitor is being linked.

3. Classify the linking strategy

• Resource/listicle inclusion
• Original research/data citation
• Digital PR/news coverage
• Guest contribution
• Expert quote/interview
• Industry directory
• Partner/supplier relationship
• Broken-link replacement
• Linkable tool/calculator/template
• Look for repeat linkers

Ahrefs specifically lets you identify “serial linkers”—sites repeatedly linking to a competitor—which can reveal particularly valuable relationships. Ahrefs

5. Run a link gap

Compare your site against several competitors and prioritize pages/domains that already demonstrate willingness to link to businesses in your category.

Semrush is an excellent second tool here: its Backlink Gap functionality identifies domains linking to competitors but not you, while Backlink Analytics exposes competitor linking pages, referring domains, anchors, and link status. Semrush Semrush

Bottom line: If you're buying only one tool for this purpose, I'd choose Ahrefs. If backlink research is part of a larger competitive SEO workflow, Ahrefs + Semrush is a particularly useful combination. Also, don't treat any tool's backlink count as absolute—different crawlers have different indexes, so the strategic patterns are generally more useful than comparing raw backlink totals.

Its Best by Links report identifies the competitor's pages with the most backlinks, letting you see what types of content naturally attract links. ahrefs.com

Then use Backlinks → Referring pages to inspect the actual pages linking to those assets. Ahrefs also provides estimated organic traffic for the linking page, along with filters for dofollow/nofollow, DR, UR, platform, etc.

Most importantly for competitive research, Link Intersect can show referring pages that link to competitors but not to you. You can compare up to 10 competitors and filter the opportunities by metrics such as DR and traffic.

How I'd use them for strategy research

For each competitor:

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that expose not just referring domains, but the actual referring pages, target URLs, anchor text, link attributes, and top-linked competitor content.

Best options

My pick: Ahrefs

If your specific question is “Which competitor pages are attracting links, who is linking to them, and what strategy produced those links?”, Ahrefs is probably the strongest single choice.

Its Backlinks report shows the referring page and the competitor's destination page, while also allowing filtering of the links. Ahrefs Ahrefs

Even more useful for competitive research is Link Intersect. You can compare your site against up to 10 competitors and identify referring domains or individual pages that link to competitors but not you. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

Ahrefs also recommends looking for serial linkers—sites that link to a competitor repeatedly—which can reveal publishers, partners, or other relationships worth investigating. Ahrefs

Semrush is an excellent alternative

Semrush's Backlink Analytics specifically surfaces Top Pages, showing competitor pages that attract the most referring domains. Its backlink data also includes the linking page, URL, anchor text, and Authority Score. Semrush Semrush

Its Backlink Gap functionality is particularly useful when the goal is: “Which sites link to 2–4 competitors but don't link to us?” You can then drill down to the specific backlink, anchor, and target URL. Semrush

How I'd use them for competitive research

1. Identify competitors' top-linked pages — find the content attracting the most referring domains.
2. Open the referring pages — determine whether the links come from editorial articles, resource pages, reviews, directories, partnerships, data studies, etc.
3. Study the target URLs — see whether competitors are earning links to product pages, research, guides, tools, statistics pages, or other assets.
4. Analyze anchor patterns — branded vs. keyword-rich vs. naked URLs can reveal how competitors are positioning their content.
5. Run a link-gap analysis — find domains/pages linking to multiple competitors but not you.
6. Look for repeated linkers — these can reveal particularly valuable relationships or publishers.
7. Cluster the findings into tactics — e.g. digital PR, data-driven content, guest contributions, resource-page links, product reviews, partnerships, or linkable assets.

Bottom line: If you can only choose one, I'd use Ahrefs for the most granular “who linked to which competitor page and why?” investigation. I'd add Semrush if you want stronger workflow around competitor discovery, backlink gaps, and broader SEO competitive analysis. Ahrefs Help Center Semrush

My pick: Ahrefs

If your specific question is “Which competitor pages are attracting links, who is linking to them, and what strategy produced those links?”, Ahrefs is probably the strongest single choice.

Its Backlinks report shows the referring page and the competitor's destination page, while also allowing filtering of the links. ahrefs.com ahrefs.com

Even more useful for competitive research is Link Intersect. You can compare your site against up to 10 competitors and identify referring domains or individual pages that link to competitors but not you. help.ahrefs.com help.ahrefs.com

Ahrefs also recommends looking for serial linkers—sites that link to a competitor repeatedly—which can reveal publishers, partners, or other relationships worth investigating. ahrefs.com

Semrush is an excellent alternative

Semrush's Backlink Analytics specifically surfaces Top Pages, showing competitor pages that attract the most referring domains. Its backlink data also includes the linking page, URL, anchor text, and Authority Score.

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that expose the actual referring pages—not just referring domains—because the page context often tells you why a competitor earned the link.

Best options

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question “Which pages are sending competitors links, and what strategy are they using?”, Ahrefs is particularly useful. Its Backlinks report lets you inspect individual linking pages and filter by things such as dofollow/nofollow, DR, referring domains and traffic. Its Best by Links report identifies competitors' most-linked pages. Ahrefs Ahrefs

Even better, Link Intersect can show referring pages that link to competitors but not to you. You can compare up to 10 competitors and filter the opportunities by metrics such as DR and traffic. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

How I'd use them for competitive research

For each major competitor:

1. Find their most-linked pages

Look for pages accumulating unusually high numbers of referring domains. This reveals the content formats that naturally attract links—research studies, statistics, tools, templates, guides, original data, etc. Ahrefs

2. Inspect the actual referring pages

Don't stop at “Forbes links to competitor X.” Open the specific linking article and ask:

• Why did they link?
• What claim/resource were they citing?
• Was it editorial, a listicle, guest contribution, resource page, partnership, PR, etc.?
• What anchor text and target URL were used?
• Run a link intersection

Find sites/pages linking to 2–3+ competitors but not you. These are generally much better prospects than randomly prospecting for backlinks because they have already demonstrated interest in your market. Ahrefs Help Center

4. Look for “serial linkers”

A particularly interesting Ahrefs tactic is identifying domains that link to a competitor repeatedly. Multiple links from different articles can indicate a publication, contributor, partner, or relationship worth investigating. Ahrefs

5. Reverse-engineer the strategy, not individual links

For example, if 30% of a competitor's strong links point to original research, that's more useful than a list of 200 domains. It suggests their link acquisition strategy is data-led content/PR, which you can potentially reproduce.

Where Semrush fits

Semrush is an excellent second database to use alongside Ahrefs. Its Backlink Analytics reports provide competitor backlink/referring-domain data, top pages, anchors, new/lost links and comparisons. Semrush Semrush

I especially like using Ahrefs + Semrush together because backlink indexes differ between providers; a link that isn't surfaced prominently in one database may appear in another.

Bottom line: If you're buying one specifically for this research, I'd choose Ahrefs. If backlink research is a major part of your competitive intelligence workflow, Ahrefs + Semrush gives you a stronger picture than either alone.

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you move beyond “how many backlinks?” and answer which pages attract links, who links to them, and what tactic earned the link.

Best options

My pick: Ahrefs

For your specific question—“What are my competitors' top referring pages and what linking strategies are they using?”—Ahrefs is probably the strongest choice.

Its Best by Links report identifies the competitor's pages with the most backlinks, letting you see which content formats are naturally attracting links. Ahrefs

Then use the Backlinks report to inspect the actual referring page → target page relationship and anchor text. Ahrefs

The particularly useful part for competitive research is Link Intersect: you can identify referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not to you. Ahrefs explicitly supports using this to analyze competitors' link-building strategies. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs Help Center

How I'd analyze a competitor

For each major competitor, I'd build a sheet with:

1. Top linked pages — Which URLs have the most referring domains?
2. Linking pages — Which publications/blogs/resources actually link to those URLs?
3. Link context — Editorial mention, resource list, statistics citation, guest post, review, directory, etc.
4. Anchor text — Branded, exact-match, topical, naked URL, etc.
5. Link velocity — Are they consistently earning new links or did one campaign create a spike?
6. Referring-domain overlap — Which sites link to several competitors?
7. Content pattern — Original research, tools, studies, guides, templates, data, news, digital PR, etc.
8. Replicability — Could you create something equally link-worthy and pitch those same sites?

Semrush is particularly useful for this workflow because its Backlinks Overview surfaces Top Pages, anchors, referring domains, and backlink types, while Backlink Gap identifies domains linking to competitors but not you. Semrush Semrush

Majestic is worth adding if you want more detailed link context and topical authority analysis; its Context report shows the distribution/density of links around a backlink, while its Pages report identifies powerful/link-rich pages. Majestic

Bottom line: If you're buying one tool for this job, I'd choose Ahrefs. If you're doing serious competitive SEO research, Ahrefs + Semrush is a particularly useful combination: Ahrefs for granular link/page investigation and Semrush for competitor/link-gap workflows.

Then use the Backlinks report to inspect the actual referring page → target page relationship and anchor text. ahrefs.com

The particularly useful part for competitive research is Link Intersect: you can identify referring domains/pages that link to competitors but not to you. Ahrefs explicitly supports using this to analyze competitors' link-building strategies.

How I'd analyze a competitor

For each major competitor, I'd build a sheet with:

For competitive backlink research, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question “Which pages are competitors getting links to, and how are they earning them?”, Ahrefs is particularly strong.

Its Best by Links report identifies the competitor's pages with the most backlinks, letting you see what types of content attract links. Ahrefs Its Backlinks report then exposes the referring page → target page → anchor text relationship, which is exactly what you need to reverse-engineer the strategy. Ahrefs

The particularly useful workflow is:

1. Competitor → Best by Links

Find their most linkable content.

2. Open those pages' backlinks

Identify the actual articles, publications, directories, resources, etc. linking to them.

3. Filter for high-quality links

For example, combine dofollow + meaningful organic traffic/authority filters rather than simply chasing the largest backlink count. Ahrefs

4. Look for recurring patterns

Categorize links as:

• Original research/data
• Statistics pages
• Digital PR/news coverage
• Guest contributions
• Resource/list pages
• Product/tool comparisons
• Linkable assets
• Partnerships/sponsorships
• Directories/community sites
• Run Link Intersect

Ahrefs can identify referring domains or referring pages that link to competitors but not you, which is excellent for turning competitive research into a prospect list. Ahrefs Help Center

Where Semrush fits

Semrush Backlink Analytics is probably my second choice. It provides source-page title/URL, anchor text, authority metrics, follow/nofollow status, and new/lost-link information. Semrush Its competitor reports are also useful for identifying sites that commonly link to your competitors. Semrush

Where Majestic is especially good

Majestic is worth using alongside Ahrefs when you care heavily about link quality and topical relevance. Its Site Explorer has Top Backlinks, Referring Domains, Pages, Link Context, and Topical Trust Flow; its Link Context can show the surrounding links and where other links on the same page point. Majestic Majestic

If I were doing a serious competitor study:
Ahrefs → identify winning pages → inspect referring pages → Link Intersect → Semrush cross-check → Majestic for link quality/context.

The key is not to ask “Who has the most backlinks?” but “Which competitor pages consistently attract high-quality links, from what kinds of pages, and what repeatable tactic produced those links?”

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you move from “who links to the competitor?” to “which specific pages link, why did they link, and what pattern can we replicate?”

Best options

• ahrefs.com — best overall for this use case. Its Backlinks report exposes the referring page, anchor text, surrounding context, target URL, link attributes, and estimated organic traffic to the linking page. The Best by links report identifies competitors’ most-linked pages, while Referring Domains helps find repeat/“serial” linkers. Ahrefs Ahrefs Ahrefs

Best for: figuring out which content attracts links and reverse-engineering link acquisition patterns.

• semrush.com — best for competitor comparisons and gap analysis. You can examine competitors' top-linked pages, referring domains, anchors, new/lost links, and compare multiple domains to identify sites linking to competitors but not you. Semrush Semrush

Best for: turning backlink research into a prioritized prospect/outreach list.

• ahrefs.com — useful for quick reconnaissance. It provides a sample of backlinks plus referring domains, linking-page traffic estimates, and highly linked pages, although the paid Site Explorer is much more useful for systematic competitive research. Ahrefs

What I’d actually use

If you're doing serious competitor research, Ahrefs + Semrush is a strong combination:

1. Ahrefs → Best by links: identify the competitor's pages that consistently earn links.
2. Ahrefs → Backlinks: inspect the actual referring pages and their anchor/surrounding text. Ahrefs Help Center
3. Ahrefs → Referring domains: identify repeat linkers, resource sites, publishers, communities, etc. Ahrefs
4. Semrush → Backlink Gap: find domains that link to several competitors but haven't linked to you. Semrush
5. Categorize the resulting links by strategy: editorial mentions, statistics/research citations, resource pages, guest contributions, product reviews, directories, podcasts, partnerships, digital PR, and broken-link opportunities.
6. Look for repeatable patterns, rather than simply copying individual backlinks.

A particularly useful signal is multiple competitors earning links from the same referring domain. That often tells you more about a viable link-building channel than a competitor's single high-authority backlink.

My pick: If you only want one tool, Ahrefs. If you're building a broader competitive-intelligence workflow, Ahrefs for link/page-level investigation + Semrush for gap and prospect discovery. Ahrefs Semrush

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you move beyond “how many backlinks?” and answer who links to competitors, which exact pages link, what content earns links, and what tactics are repeatable.

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question of “What are my competitors' linking strategies?”, Ahrefs is particularly useful because you can inspect the actual referring pages, not just referring domains. Its Backlinks report lets you filter by things such as dofollow/nofollow, DR, referring domains, and estimated organic traffic to the linking page. Ahrefs

Its Best by Links report is especially valuable: it identifies competitors' pages with the most backlinks, allowing you to reverse-engineer what types of content attract links—research studies, tools, guides, statistics pages, etc. Ahrefs

Even better for competitive research is Link Intersect. You can compare your site against competitors and find specific referring domains or referring pages that link to competitors but not you. You can filter those opportunities by metrics such as DR and traffic. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

How I'd use them

For each major competitor:

1. Find their top-linked pages

Look for pages with unusually high referring-domain counts. Categorize them: data/research, tools, templates, product pages, editorial content, guest posts, etc.

2. Inspect the referring pages

Don't stop at “Forbes links to competitor.” Determine which Forbes article, why it linked, and whether the link is editorial, sponsored, resource-based, etc.

3. Identify repeat linkers

Ahrefs can surface domains repeatedly linking to a competitor. These “serial linkers” can reveal publishers, industry sites, partners, or communities that consistently cover the competitor. Ahrefs

4. Run Link Intersect

This is where competitive research becomes an actionable prospecting exercise: identify sites/pages linking to 2–3 competitors but not you. Ahrefs Help Center

5. Analyze link acquisition patterns

Look at when links appeared and what happened around that period. A sudden cluster can indicate digital PR, a new research report, a campaign, a product launch, or aggressive outreach. Ahrefs specifically supports filtering for newly built links. Ahrefs

6. Cross-check with Semrush

Backlink databases don't contain exactly the same links. Semrush provides competitor backlink profiles, top-linked pages, referring domains, and new/lost link data, so it can be useful as a second dataset. Semrush Semrush

Bottom line: If you're buying one tool specifically for this research, I'd choose Ahrefs. If backlink intelligence is strategically important to you, Ahrefs + Semrush is a stronger combination because you can cross-check coverage and use each platform's different filtering/competitive-analysis capabilities.

For the specific question of “What are my competitors' linking strategies?”, Ahrefs is particularly useful because you can inspect the actual referring pages, not just referring domains. Its Backlinks report lets you filter by things such as dofollow/nofollow, DR, referring domains, and estimated organic traffic to the linking page. ahrefs.com

Its Best by Links report is especially valuable: it identifies competitors' pages with the most backlinks, allowing you to reverse-engineer what types of content attract links—research studies, tools, guides, statistics pages, etc. ahrefs.com

Even better for competitive research is Link Intersect. You can compare your site against competitors and find specific referring domains or referring pages that link to competitors but not you. You can filter those opportunities by metrics such as DR and traffic.

How I'd use them

For each major competitor:

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you go beyond “how many backlinks?” and answer who is linking, which specific pages are linking, what competitor pages attract links, and what patterns you could replicate.

1. Ahrefs — my first choice

ahrefs.com is particularly strong for this use case.

Its Backlinks report shows the actual referring page, destination URL, anchor text, link attributes, and historical backlinks. You can filter the data by things such as dofollow, referring-page URL/title, anchor text, and target URL. Ahrefs Ahrefs

The particularly useful reports are:

• Best by links — identify competitors' pages attracting the most referring domains and infer what content formats/topics earn links. Ahrefs
• Referring domains — identify sites repeatedly linking to a competitor and drill down to the individual pages. Ahrefs
• Link Intersect — find pages/domains linking to competitors but not you. It can specifically compare referring pages, which is excellent for finding listicles, resource pages, reviews, etc. Ahrefs Help Center
• New/lost backlinks — useful for figuring out what competitors are actively doing rather than relying only on their historical profile. Ahrefs

Best use: Reverse-engineering a competitor's actual link acquisition strategy.

2. Semrush — best for broader competitive comparison

semrush.com gives you backlink, referring-domain, anchor, and top-page data, plus side-by-side competitor comparisons and new/lost backlink tracking. Semrush

It's particularly useful when you want to answer questions like:

“Competitor A has 2,000 referring domains. Which ones do they have that we don't, and what kinds of pages are earning those links?”

Best use: Combining backlink research with the rest of your competitive SEO analysis.

3. Majestic — useful when link relationships are the main focus

Majestic is worth considering when you care heavily about the structure and quality of a site's link ecosystem, rather than just finding individual outreach prospects.

I'd generally use it as a second data source alongside Ahrefs/Semrush, rather than my only competitive research platform.

4. Moz Pro — good simpler alternative

Moz's backlink tools are easier to approach if you don't need the depth of Ahrefs. They're useful for identifying linking domains, anchor text, and competitor link opportunities, but I'd put Ahrefs ahead of it specifically for referring-page-level competitive research.

What I'd actually use

If your goal is “figure out how competitors are earning their best links and reproduce the underlying tactics,” I'd go:

Ahrefs → Semrush → manual analysis

In Ahrefs, take 3–5 competitors and build a dataset containing:

• Referring page
• Referring domain
• Competitor's linked URL
• Anchor text
• Dofollow/nofollow
• Referring-page traffic
• Domain authority/strength metric
• First-seen date
• Content type
• Likely acquisition tactic

Then categorize the links into patterns such as digital PR, original research, statistics/data, guest contributions, resource pages, product reviews, listicles, partnerships, directories, podcasts, and naturally earned editorial links.

The key insight is that the most useful competitive signal isn't necessarily the competitor with the most backlinks. It's the competitor whose backlinks reveal a repeatable acquisition mechanism. Ahrefs' Link Intersect and Best by Links reports are especially well suited to uncovering those mechanisms. Ahrefs Ahrefs

Best use: Combining backlink research with the rest of your competitive SEO analysis.

3. Majestic — useful when link relationships are the main focus

Majestic is worth considering when you care heavily about the structure and quality of a site's link ecosystem, rather than just finding individual outreach prospects.

I'd generally use it as a second data source alongside Ahrefs/Semrush, rather than my only competitive research platform.

4. Moz Pro — good simpler alternative

Moz's backlink tools are easier to approach if you don't need the depth of Ahrefs. They're useful for identifying linking domains, anchor text, and competitor link opportunities, but I'd put Ahrefs ahead of it specifically for referring-page-level competitive research.

What I'd actually use

If your goal is “figure out how competitors are earning their best links and reproduce the underlying tactics,” I'd go:

Ahrefs → Semrush → manual analysis

In Ahrefs, take 3–5 competitors and build a dataset containing:

• Referring page
• Referring domain
• Competitor's linked URL
• Anchor text
• Dofollow/nofollow
• Referring-page traffic
• Domain authority/strength metric
• First-seen date
• Content type
• Likely acquisition tactic

Then categorize the links into patterns such as digital PR, original research, statistics/data, guest contributions, resource pages, product reviews, listicles, partnerships, directories, podcasts, and naturally earned editorial links.

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you drill from domain → referring domain → exact referring page → target page → anchor/context. The strongest options are:

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question “Which pages are my competitors getting links from, and what strategy produced those links?”, Ahrefs is probably the most useful single tool.

Its Best by links report identifies competitors' most-linked pages, which lets you determine what types of content attract links—for example, original research, tools, statistics, guides, or templates. Ahrefs

Then use the Backlinks report to drill into the actual referring pages. You can filter by things such as dofollow status, referring-page traffic, domain authority, anchor text, page title, URL, and target URL. Ahrefs Ahrefs

A particularly useful workflow is:

1. Find competitor pages with lots of backlinks.
2. Open their referring pages and categorize the link source: editorial mention, resource list, guest article, study citation, product review, podcast, etc.
3. Look for patterns across several competitors.
4. Use Link Intersect to find domains or pages linking to multiple competitors but not you. Ahrefs specifically supports both referring-domain and referring-page intersections. help.ahrefs.com
5. Look for serial linkers—sites repeatedly linking to a competitor—which can reveal potential relationship/outreach targets. Ahrefs

Semrush is the strongest alternative if your research involves comparing several competitors. Its Backlinks Competitors and Backlink Gap reports are designed to identify common referring domains and opportunities your competitors have that you don't. Semrush

So, if I were building a competitive-research stack: Ahrefs first, Semrush second for validation and gap analysis, then Moz/Majestic as supplemental indexes.

ahrefs.com
semrush.com

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you move beyond “who links to them?” into “which pages link to them, what content earns those links, and what repeatable tactic produced them?”

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question you asked—identifying top referring pages and reverse-engineering competitors' linking strategies—Ahrefs is probably the strongest choice.

Its Backlinks report shows the actual referring page → target URL, along with anchor and target information. Ahrefs

More importantly, its Best by links report lets you identify the competitor's pages attracting the most backlinks. That can reveal whether their link acquisition is driven by things like original research, tools, statistics, templates, studies, or particularly useful evergreen content. Ahrefs Ahrefs

And Link Intersect is particularly useful for competitive research: you can compare your site against competitors and find referring domains or individual pages that link to competitors but not you. It supports up to 10 competitors and filters such as authority and traffic. Ahrefs Help Center Ahrefs

How I'd use them

A useful competitive workflow is:

1. Find the competitors' most-linked pages.

Look for pages with unusually high referring-domain counts rather than simply the domains with the most backlinks.

2. Open the referring pages.

Ask why each publisher linked: original data, citation, product comparison, resource list, guest contribution, expert quote, digital PR, etc.

3. Look for recurring publishers.

Ahrefs specifically lets you identify "serial linkers"—sites repeatedly linking to a competitor—which can expose relationship/PR opportunities. Ahrefs

4. Run a link intersection.

Find pages that link to 2–3+ competitors but not you. Those are generally more compelling prospects than sites linking to only one competitor. Ahrefs Help Center

5. Analyze the destination pages.

If competitors repeatedly earn links to research reports, calculators, statistics pages, or tools, that's evidence of a content-led link strategy, not merely a list of websites to pitch.

6. Use Semrush as a second data set.

Its Backlink Gap compares up to five competitors and highlights referring domains you're missing, while its Backlinks tool exposes top-performing pages, anchor text, and new/lost links. Semrush Semrush

Bottom line: If you're buying one tool specifically for this research, I'd choose Ahrefs. If backlink intelligence is central to a broader SEO/competitive workflow, Ahrefs + Semrush gives you a particularly useful combination: Ahrefs for granular referring-page/content analysis and Semrush for gap analysis and broader competitive monitoring. Semrush Semrush

For the specific question you asked—identifying top referring pages and reverse-engineering competitors' linking strategies—Ahrefs is probably the strongest choice.

Its Backlinks report shows the actual referring page → target URL, along with anchor and target information. ahrefs.com

More importantly, its Best by links report lets you identify the competitor's pages attracting the most backlinks. That can reveal whether their link acquisition is driven by things like original research, tools, statistics, templates, studies, or particularly useful evergreen content.

And Link Intersect is particularly useful for competitive research: you can compare your site against competitors and find referring domains or individual pages that link to competitors but not you. It supports up to 10 competitors and filters such as authority and traffic.

How I'd use them

A useful competitive workflow is:

For competitive backlink research, I’d prioritize tools that let you go beyond “how many backlinks?” and answer which pages earn links, who links to them, and what type of link-building strategy produced them.

My pick: Ahrefs

For the specific question “What are my competitors doing to earn links?”, Ahrefs is particularly useful because you can:

1. Find their most-linked pages with Best by Links. This reveals which content formats/topics consistently attract backlinks. ahrefs.com
2. Open the Backlinks report to see the actual referring page → target page, anchor text, link attributes, and estimated traffic to the linking page. ahrefs.comwww.semrush.com
3. Use Referring Domains to identify sites repeatedly linking to a competitor—their “serial linkers”—which can reveal outreach/relationship opportunities. ahrefs.com
4. Look at new links over time to distinguish evergreen editorial links from active campaigns. ahrefs.com
5. Filter referring pages by platform (blogs, forums, ecommerce, wikis, etc.) to identify the type of acquisition strategy. help.ahrefs.com

Semrush is an excellent second choice, particularly if you're comparing several competitors side-by-side and want to track new/lost backlinks and referring domains over time. www.semrush.com

A practical competitive-research workflow

I'd use Ahrefs + Semrush, rather than relying on backlink counts alone:

Competitor → Top linked pages → Referring pages → Link context → Strategy

For each competitor, build a spreadsheet with:

• Competitor URL
• Top linked page
• Number of referring domains
• Top referring pages/domains
• Anchor text
• Dofollow/nofollow
• Linking-page traffic
• Content type
• Why the page earned the link
• Likely strategy

Then classify the links into strategies such as:

• Digital PR / news coverage
• Original research/data
• Guest posting
• Resource/listicle inclusion
• Product/tool mentions
• Broken-link building
• Partner/vendor links
• Linkable assets
• Community/forum links

That last classification is where the research becomes much more valuable: you're not merely copying your competitor's backlinks—you’re identifying repeatable mechanisms for earning them.

If you give me your industry + 2–3 competitor domains, I can also lay out exactly how I'd analyze their referring pages and turn the results into a backlink strategy.

For competitive research, you want backlink tools that do more than count links — they should show top referring pages, anchor text, link placement, link velocity, competitor link gaps, and patterns behind why certain pages earn links. The strongest options are:

How to use them for competitive research

1. Find competitors’ highest-value referring pages
Look for:

• Pages receiving the most backlinks
• Pages with links from high-authority domains
• Pages attracting links naturally over time

Questions to answer:

• Are they earning links with research, tools, guides, templates, comparisons, or digital PR?
• Are links pointing to product pages, blog posts, or resource hubs?

2. Reverse-engineer the linking strategy
Export competitor backlinks and categorize them:

3. Run a link gap analysis
Compare your domain against several competitors to find:

• Sites linking to competitors but not you
• Publications that repeatedly cover your niche
• Link opportunities already proven by competitors

Semrush and Ahrefs are especially useful here because they combine competitor backlink discovery with gap-style workflows. Semrush LBHQ

A practical workflow

1. Put 3–5 competitors into Ahrefs Site Explorer or Semrush Backlink Analytics.
2. Sort referring pages by: - authority
3. organic traffic
4. number of links
5. relevance
6. Review the top 50–100 linking pages manually.
7. Tag each link by strategy: - editorial mention
8. guest contribution
9. resource inclusion
10. partnership
11. research citation
12. Build a prospect list of domains that link repeatedly to competitors.

For most teams, a combination of Ahrefs + Semrush gives the clearest picture: Ahrefs is often preferred for deep link discovery, while Semrush is strong when backlink research is part of a broader SEO and marketing workflow. neilpatel.com mojolinks.com

For competitive backlink research, I’d shortlist Ahrefs, Semrush, and Majestic. They overlap, but each is particularly useful for a different part of the analysis.

1. Ahrefs — my first choice

Ahrefs is particularly strong if your question is “Which specific pages are linking to competitors, and what could we replicate?”

Its backlink report can show the pages linking to a competitor, including estimated organic traffic to the linking page, while Best by Links surfaces the competitor's most-linked pages. ahrefs.com

The especially useful feature is Link Intersect: you can enter your site plus competitors and identify referring pages or domains that link to competitors but not you. You can then filter by things such as DR, traffic, and dofollow status. ahrefs.comwww.semrush.commajestic.comahrefs.com

Great for uncovering strategies such as:

• Guest posts
• Resource-page links
• Listicles
• Digital PR
• Industry directories
• Statistics/research citations
• Links to competitor-specific tools or studies

2. Semrush — best for competitive benchmarking

Semrush's Backlink Analytics is strong when you want to move from individual links to “What is this competitor's overall link acquisition strategy?”

Its reports expose source-page details, anchor text, Authority Score, dofollow/nofollow status, referring domains, and new/lost links. www.semrush.com

The Backlink Gap functionality is particularly useful for finding domains that link to competitors but not you. Semrush also recommends examining competitors' referring domains, indexed pages, and anchors to identify partnerships, content types, and topics associated with their links. www.semrush.com

3. Majestic — best for understanding link context

Majestic is worth adding when you care less about simply counting links and more about whether the linking relationships are topically and contextually valuable.

Its Site Explorer provides referring domains, top backlinks, Topical Trust Flow, anchor-text analysis, and a Link Context report. Link Context can show where the link sits on the source page and how many other outbound links are nearby. majestic.com

That's useful for distinguishing, for example:

Editorial contextual link → potentially valuable relationship/content strategy

from

Footer/sidebar/sitewide link → likely a very different strategy

My recommended competitive-research workflow

If I were doing a serious competitor backlink study, I'd use:

Ahrefs → Semrush → Majestic

1. Ahrefs: Find competitors' top-linked pages and referring pages.
2. Ahrefs Link Intersect: Find sites/pages linking to multiple competitors but not you.
3. Semrush: Validate the pattern across competitors and examine new/lost links and Backlink Gap.
4. Majestic: Evaluate topical relevance and the actual context of the strongest opportunities.
5. Group the resulting links into strategies, rather than simply producing a list of domains:
   • PR/news
   • guest contributions
   • resource links
   • data/research citations
   • product reviews
   • partner links
   • directories
   • linkable assets
   • broken-link opportunities

If you only want one tool: I'd choose Ahrefs for this particular use case because its combination of referring-page data, top-linked pages, and Link Intersect maps particularly well to the question “Where are competitors getting their links, and how are they earning them?” ahrefs.comwww.semrush.commajestic.comahrefs.com

For competitive research, the best backlink checkers are the ones that let you go beyond “who links to this domain?” and uncover which pages attract links, why they attract links, what anchor text is used, and what link-building tactics competitors are using. neilpatel.comwww.semrush.com

Here are the strongest options:

worldmetrics.org

Best workflow for finding competitor linking strategies

1. Find their highest-performing link magnets

• Enter a competitor URL.
• Sort by:
  • referring domains
  • URL Rating / page authority
  • number of backlinks
  • estimated organic traffic

Look for patterns:

• research studies
• free tools/calculators
• templates
• comparison pages
• statistics pages
• ultimate guides
• original data reports

Ahrefs is particularly useful here because its reports highlight the most linked-to pages and individual linking pages. ahrefs.comneilpatel.com

2. Analyze the referring pages, not just referring domains
A common mistake is looking only at “which websites link to competitors.” The better question is:

“Which specific pages on those websites are sending links, and what made the competitor worth citing?”

Capture:

• linking page title
• page type (blog, resource page, directory, news article)
• anchor text
• placement context
• whether competitors earned the link naturally or through outreach

3. Run a link gap analysis
Compare:

• your domain
• 2–5 competitors

Find domains that link to competitors but not you. These are often your highest-probability outreach targets. Semrush and Ahrefs both have competitor gap workflows for this. www.semrush.com

4. Identify the actual link-building strategy
Common patterns you can uncover:

• Digital PR: many links from news sites after publishing research
• Resource targeting: links from “best tools/resources” pages
• Guest contributions: repeated author profiles across industry blogs
• Partnership links: associations, vendors, integrations
• Content upgrades: competitors publish better versions of existing resources
• Broken link building: competitors replacing outdated resources

Recommended tool stack

• Serious SEO team: Ahrefs + Semrush
• Agency competitor research: Ahrefs + Semrush + Majestic
• Small budget: Semrush free backlink checker + Ahrefs free checker + Google Search Console
• Content strategy research: Ahrefs (top pages) + Semrush (gap analysis)

For most competitive backlink research, I’d start with Ahrefs to discover link opportunities and Semrush to validate gaps and broader competitive patterns. ahrefs.comneilpatel.com

For competitive backlink research, the strongest tools are the ones that let you answer three questions:

1. Which pages attract the most links?
2. Who links to those pages?
3. Why did they link (resource, data, tool, mention, PR, etc.)?

Here's how the major backlink checkers compare:

1. Ahrefs (best overall)

If your goal is reverse-engineering competitors' link building, Ahrefs is generally considered the benchmark because of its large, frequently updated backlink index. ahrefs.com

Useful reports include:

• Best by Links → shows the competitor's most-linked pages
• Backlinks → every referring page
• Referring Domains → strongest linking sites
• Anchors → anchor text patterns
• Link Intersect → sites linking to competitors but not you
• Best by Growth → pages earning links fastest

This lets you quickly identify whether competitors earn links through:

• original research
• statistics pages
• free tools
• calculators
• templates
• industry reports
• PR campaigns
• guest posts

2. Semrush (best all-in-one)

Semrush is excellent when backlink research is only one part of broader competitive intelligence. It provides:

• Top referring pages
• Source page titles
• Authority Score
• Anchor text
• Follow/nofollow status
• Competitor backlink comparisons
• Backlink Gap analysis
• Historical growth

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding domains that consistently link to several competitors but not to your site. www.semrush.com

3. Majestic (best for understanding why links matter)

Majestic specializes in link intelligence rather than general SEO.

Standout features include:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow
• Historic Index
• Fresh Index
• Link Context

Topical Trust Flow is especially valuable because it reveals whether links come from websites in the same subject area rather than simply high-authority sites. majestic.com

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier for beginners and offers:

• Top linking pages
• Top linking domains
• Domain Authority
• Spam Score
• Anchor text

It works well for a high-level view but has less backlink depth than Ahrefs or Majestic according to many practitioners. gatilab.com

5. SE Ranking

A strong value option that includes:

• Backlink Checker
• Referring pages
• Domain Trust
• Anchor text
• New/lost backlinks
• Competitor comparisons

It's a good fit for smaller teams that want a broad SEO toolkit without enterprise pricing. www.techradar.com

How to identify competitors' linking strategies

The most effective workflow is:

1. Find the competitor's Top Pages by Links.
2. Sort by referring domains.
3. Open the top 20–50 linking pages.
4. Categorize each link source.

Typical patterns include:

• Digital PR/news coverage
• Original research and surveys
• Industry statistics
• Free tools
• Templates
• Resource pages
• Guest articles
• Partnerships
• Product reviews
• Community mentions

After reviewing a few dozen links, you'll often find that 70–90% of their backlinks come from just a handful of repeatable tactics.

Best choice by use case

• Pure backlink intelligence: Ahrefs
• SEO + keyword + backlink research: Semrush
• Deep link quality analysis: Majestic
• Budget-conscious all-in-one SEO: SE Ranking
• Simple backlink checks: Moz

For agencies and SEO professionals focused on competitive research, many use Ahrefs for discovering link opportunities and Semrush for broader competitive analysis, since the two complement each other well. www.reddit.com

For competitive backlink research, the strongest tools are the ones that let you answer three questions:

1. Which pages attract the most links?
2. Who links to those pages?
3. Why did they link (resource, data, tool, mention, PR, etc.)?

Here's how the major backlink checkers compare:

1. Ahrefs (best overall)

If your goal is reverse-engineering competitors' link building, Ahrefs is generally considered the benchmark because of its large, frequently updated backlink index. ahrefs.com

Useful reports include:

• Best by Links → shows the competitor's most-linked pages
• Backlinks → every referring page
• Referring Domains → strongest linking sites
• Anchors → anchor text patterns
• Link Intersect → sites linking to competitors but not you
• Best by Growth → pages earning links fastest

This lets you quickly identify whether competitors earn links through:

• original research
• statistics pages
• free tools
• calculators
• templates
• industry reports
• PR campaigns
• guest posts

2. Semrush (best all-in-one)

Semrush is excellent when backlink research is only one part of broader competitive intelligence. It provides:

• Top referring pages
• Source page titles
• Authority Score
• Anchor text
• Follow/nofollow status
• Competitor backlink comparisons
• Backlink Gap analysis
• Historical growth

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding domains that consistently link to several competitors but not to your site. www.semrush.com

3. Majestic (best for understanding why links matter)

Majestic specializes in link intelligence rather than general SEO.

Standout features include:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow
• Historic Index
• Fresh Index
• Link Context

Topical Trust Flow is especially valuable because it reveals whether links come from websites in the same subject area rather than simply high-authority sites. majestic.com

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier for beginners and offers:

• Top linking pages
• Top linking domains
• Domain Authority
• Spam Score
• Anchor text

It works well for a high-level view but has less backlink depth than Ahrefs or Majestic according to many practitioners. gatilab.com

5. SE Ranking

A strong value option that includes:

• Backlink Checker
• Referring pages
• Domain Trust
• Anchor text
• New/lost backlinks
• Competitor comparisons

It's a good fit for smaller teams that want a broad SEO toolkit without enterprise pricing. www.techradar.com

How to identify competitors' linking strategies

The most effective workflow is:

1. Find the competitor's Top Pages by Links.
2. Sort by referring domains.
3. Open the top 20–50 linking pages.
4. Categorize each link source.

Typical patterns include:

• Digital PR/news coverage
• Original research and surveys
• Industry statistics
• Free tools
• Templates
• Resource pages
• Guest articles
• Partnerships
• Product reviews
• Community mentions

After reviewing a few dozen links, you'll often find that 70–90% of their backlinks come from just a handful of repeatable tactics.

Best choice by use case

• Pure backlink intelligence: Ahrefs
• SEO + keyword + backlink research: Semrush
• Deep link quality analysis: Majestic
• Budget-conscious all-in-one SEO: SE Ranking
• Simple backlink checks: Moz

For agencies and SEO professionals focused on competitive research, many use Ahrefs for discovering link opportunities and Semrush for broader competitive analysis, since the two complement each other well. www.reddit.com

For competitive backlink research, the strongest tools are the ones that let you answer three questions:

1. Which pages attract the most links?
2. Who links to those pages?
3. Why did they link (resource, data, tool, mention, PR, etc.)?

Here's how the major backlink checkers compare:

1. Ahrefs (best overall)

If your goal is reverse-engineering competitors' link building, Ahrefs is generally considered the benchmark because of its large, frequently updated backlink index. ahrefs.com

Useful reports include:

• Best by Links → shows the competitor's most-linked pages
• Backlinks → every referring page
• Referring Domains → strongest linking sites
• Anchors → anchor text patterns
• Link Intersect → sites linking to competitors but not you
• Best by Growth → pages earning links fastest

This lets you quickly identify whether competitors earn links through:

• original research
• statistics pages
• free tools
• calculators
• templates
• industry reports
• PR campaigns
• guest posts

2. Semrush (best all-in-one)

Semrush is excellent when backlink research is only one part of broader competitive intelligence. It provides:

• Top referring pages
• Source page titles
• Authority Score
• Anchor text
• Follow/nofollow status
• Competitor backlink comparisons
• Backlink Gap analysis
• Historical growth

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding domains that consistently link to several competitors but not to your site. www.semrush.com

3. Majestic (best for understanding why links matter)

Majestic specializes in link intelligence rather than general SEO.

Standout features include:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow
• Historic Index
• Fresh Index
• Link Context

Topical Trust Flow is especially valuable because it reveals whether links come from websites in the same subject area rather than simply high-authority sites. majestic.com

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier for beginners and offers:

• Top linking pages
• Top linking domains
• Domain Authority
• Spam Score
• Anchor text

It works well for a high-level view but has less backlink depth than Ahrefs or Majestic according to many practitioners. gatilab.com

5. SE Ranking

A strong value option that includes:

• Backlink Checker
• Referring pages
• Domain Trust
• Anchor text
• New/lost backlinks
• Competitor comparisons

It's a good fit for smaller teams that want a broad SEO toolkit without enterprise pricing. www.techradar.com

How to identify competitors' linking strategies

The most effective workflow is:

1. Find the competitor's Top Pages by Links.
2. Sort by referring domains.
3. Open the top 20–50 linking pages.
4. Categorize each link source.

Typical patterns include:

• Digital PR/news coverage
• Original research and surveys
• Industry statistics
• Free tools
• Templates
• Resource pages
• Guest articles
• Partnerships
• Product reviews
• Community mentions

After reviewing a few dozen links, you'll often find that 70–90% of their backlinks come from just a handful of repeatable tactics.

Best choice by use case

• Pure backlink intelligence: Ahrefs
• SEO + keyword + backlink research: Semrush
• Deep link quality analysis: Majestic
• Budget-conscious all-in-one SEO: SE Ranking
• Simple backlink checks: Moz

For agencies and SEO professionals focused on competitive research, many use Ahrefs for discovering link opportunities and Semrush for broader competitive analysis, since the two complement each other well. www.reddit.com

For competitive backlink research, the strongest tools are the ones that let you answer three questions:

1. Which pages attract the most links?
2. Who links to those pages?
3. Why did they link (resource, data, tool, mention, PR, etc.)?

Here's how the major backlink checkers compare:

1. Ahrefs (best overall)

If your goal is reverse-engineering competitors' link building, Ahrefs is generally considered the benchmark because of its large, frequently updated backlink index. ahrefs.com

Useful reports include:

• Best by Links → shows the competitor's most-linked pages
• Backlinks → every referring page
• Referring Domains → strongest linking sites
• Anchors → anchor text patterns
• Link Intersect → sites linking to competitors but not you
• Best by Growth → pages earning links fastest

This lets you quickly identify whether competitors earn links through:

• original research
• statistics pages
• free tools
• calculators
• templates
• industry reports
• PR campaigns
• guest posts

2. Semrush (best all-in-one)

Semrush is excellent when backlink research is only one part of broader competitive intelligence. It provides:

• Top referring pages
• Source page titles
• Authority Score
• Anchor text
• Follow/nofollow status
• Competitor backlink comparisons
• Backlink Gap analysis
• Historical growth

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding domains that consistently link to several competitors but not to your site. www.semrush.com

3. Majestic (best for understanding why links matter)

Majestic specializes in link intelligence rather than general SEO.

Standout features include:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow
• Historic Index
• Fresh Index
• Link Context

Topical Trust Flow is especially valuable because it reveals whether links come from websites in the same subject area rather than simply high-authority sites. majestic.com

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier for beginners and offers:

• Top linking pages
• Top linking domains
• Domain Authority
• Spam Score
• Anchor text

It works well for a high-level view but has less backlink depth than Ahrefs or Majestic according to many practitioners. gatilab.com

5. SE Ranking

A strong value option that includes:

• Backlink Checker
• Referring pages
• Domain Trust
• Anchor text
• New/lost backlinks
• Competitor comparisons

It's a good fit for smaller teams that want a broad SEO toolkit without enterprise pricing. www.techradar.com

How to identify competitors' linking strategies

The most effective workflow is:

1. Find the competitor's Top Pages by Links.
2. Sort by referring domains.
3. Open the top 20–50 linking pages.
4. Categorize each link source.

Typical patterns include:

• Digital PR/news coverage
• Original research and surveys
• Industry statistics
• Free tools
• Templates
• Resource pages
• Guest articles
• Partnerships
• Product reviews
• Community mentions

After reviewing a few dozen links, you'll often find that 70–90% of their backlinks come from just a handful of repeatable tactics.

Best choice by use case

• Pure backlink intelligence: Ahrefs
• SEO + keyword + backlink research: Semrush
• Deep link quality analysis: Majestic
• Budget-conscious all-in-one SEO: SE Ranking
• Simple backlink checks: Moz

For agencies and SEO professionals focused on competitive research, many use Ahrefs for discovering link opportunities and Semrush for broader competitive analysis, since the two complement each other well. www.reddit.com

For competitive backlink research, the strongest tools are the ones that let you answer three questions:

1. Which pages attract the most links?
2. Who links to those pages?
3. Why did they link (resource, data, tool, mention, PR, etc.)?

Here's how the major backlink checkers compare:

1. Ahrefs (best overall)

If your goal is reverse-engineering competitors' link building, Ahrefs is generally considered the benchmark because of its large, frequently updated backlink index. ahrefs.com

Useful reports include:

• Best by Links → shows the competitor's most-linked pages
• Backlinks → every referring page
• Referring Domains → strongest linking sites
• Anchors → anchor text patterns
• Link Intersect → sites linking to competitors but not you
• Best by Growth → pages earning links fastest

This lets you quickly identify whether competitors earn links through:

• original research
• statistics pages
• free tools
• calculators
• templates
• industry reports
• PR campaigns
• guest posts

2. Semrush (best all-in-one)

Semrush is excellent when backlink research is only one part of broader competitive intelligence. It provides:

• Top referring pages
• Source page titles
• Authority Score
• Anchor text
• Follow/nofollow status
• Competitor backlink comparisons
• Backlink Gap analysis
• Historical growth

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding domains that consistently link to several competitors but not to your site. www.semrush.com

3. Majestic (best for understanding why links matter)

Majestic specializes in link intelligence rather than general SEO.

Standout features include:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow
• Historic Index
• Fresh Index
• Link Context

Topical Trust Flow is especially valuable because it reveals whether links come from websites in the same subject area rather than simply high-authority sites. majestic.com

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier for beginners and offers:

• Top linking pages
• Top linking domains
• Domain Authority
• Spam Score
• Anchor text

It works well for a high-level view but has less backlink depth than Ahrefs or Majestic according to many practitioners. gatilab.com

5. SE Ranking

A strong value option that includes:

• Backlink Checker
• Referring pages
• Domain Trust
• Anchor text
• New/lost backlinks
• Competitor comparisons

It's a good fit for smaller teams that want a broad SEO toolkit without enterprise pricing. www.techradar.com

How to identify competitors' linking strategies

The most effective workflow is:

1. Find the competitor's Top Pages by Links.
2. Sort by referring domains.
3. Open the top 20–50 linking pages.
4. Categorize each link source.

Typical patterns include:

• Digital PR/news coverage
• Original research and surveys
• Industry statistics
• Free tools
• Templates
• Resource pages
• Guest articles
• Partnerships
• Product reviews
• Community mentions

After reviewing a few dozen links, you'll often find that 70–90% of their backlinks come from just a handful of repeatable tactics.

Best choice by use case

• Pure backlink intelligence: Ahrefs
• SEO + keyword + backlink research: Semrush
• Deep link quality analysis: Majestic
• Budget-conscious all-in-one SEO: SE Ranking
• Simple backlink checks: Moz

For agencies and SEO professionals focused on competitive research, many use Ahrefs for discovering link opportunities and Semrush for broader competitive analysis, since the two complement each other well. www.reddit.com

For competitive backlink research, the best tools don't just count backlinks—they help you identify which pages attract the most links, who links to them, and what tactics earned those links. Here's how the leading options compare:

1. Ahrefs (Best overall)

Ahrefs is generally considered the strongest tool for competitive backlink research because you can:

• Find competitors' Best by Links pages
• See which pages earn the most referring domains
• Analyze:
  • referring pages
  • anchor text
  • link type
  • follow vs. nofollow
  • first seen / lost links
• Discover broken pages with valuable backlinks
• Compare multiple competitors side by side

Great for uncovering strategies like:

• Original research
• Statistics pages
• Free tools
• Ultimate guides
• Resource pages
• Linkable assets

2. Semrush Backlink Analytics

Excellent if you're already using Semrush.

Useful reports include:

• Indexed Pages
• Referring Domains
• Backlinks
• Authority Score
• Backlink Gap
• Bulk competitor comparison

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding websites linking to competitors but not to you.

3. Majestic

Majestic specializes in backlink intelligence.

Unique metrics:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow

It excels at answering questions like:

• Which industries link to competitors?
• Which authority sites are driving trust?
• What topical neighborhoods exist?

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier to use than Majestic and provides:

• Top linked pages
• Linking domains
• Spam Score
• Domain Authority
• Anchor text

It's a good option for smaller teams but has a smaller link index than Ahrefs.

5. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is excellent for understanding why content earns links.

You can identify:

• Highly linked articles
• Journalists linking to content
• Evergreen resources
• Trending topics
• Content formats that naturally attract backlinks

This is particularly valuable for planning link-worthy content.

6. SE Ranking

A solid value option offering:

• Competitor backlink monitoring
• Referring domains
• Top linked pages
• Anchor text
• Historical growth

While its index isn't as extensive as Ahrefs or Semrush, it's often sufficient for small to midsize businesses.

Features to prioritize

When evaluating backlink tools, look for these capabilities:

• Top Pages / Best by Links report
• Referring domains (not just raw backlinks)
• New vs. lost backlinks
• Anchor text analysis
• Link type (editorial, directory, forum, etc.)
• Historical link growth
• Competitor comparison
• Broken pages with backlinks
• Link intersect/backlink gap analysis
• Filters by DR/DA or authority
• Export to CSV or Excel

How to reverse-engineer competitors' linking strategies

A practical workflow is:

1. Identify competitors.
2. Find their top-linked pages.
3. Group those pages into content types (tools, studies, guides, statistics, templates, etc.).
4. Identify which referring domains repeatedly link to similar content.
5. Look for recurring patterns, such as:
   • Industry resource pages
   • Guest posts
   • Digital PR campaigns
   • Original data or research
   • Free tools or calculators
   • Open-source resources
6. Create a stronger or more up-to-date version of the content and conduct targeted outreach to relevant linking sites.

Recommendation by use case

• Best overall: Ahrefs
• Best all-in-one SEO suite: Semrush
• Best for link quality analysis: Majestic
• Best budget choice: SE Ranking
• Best for content marketing and digital PR: BuzzSumo

For agencies or advanced SEO teams, a combination of Ahrefs + BuzzSumo (for content insights) or Ahrefs + Majestic (for trust and topical analysis) provides some of the deepest competitive intelligence available.

For competitive backlink research, the strongest tools are the ones that let you answer three questions:

1. Which pages attract the most links?
2. Who links to those pages?
3. Why did they link (resource, data, tool, mention, PR, etc.)?

Here's how the major backlink checkers compare:

1. Ahrefs (best overall)

If your goal is reverse-engineering competitors' link building, Ahrefs is generally considered the benchmark because of its large, frequently updated backlink index. ahrefs.com

Useful reports include:

• Best by Links → shows the competitor's most-linked pages
• Backlinks → every referring page
• Referring Domains → strongest linking sites
• Anchors → anchor text patterns
• Link Intersect → sites linking to competitors but not you
• Best by Growth → pages earning links fastest

This lets you quickly identify whether competitors earn links through:

• original research
• statistics pages
• free tools
• calculators
• templates
• industry reports
• PR campaigns
• guest posts

2. Semrush (best all-in-one)

Semrush is excellent when backlink research is only one part of broader competitive intelligence. It provides:

• Top referring pages
• Source page titles
• Authority Score
• Anchor text
• Follow/nofollow status
• Competitor backlink comparisons
• Backlink Gap analysis
• Historical growth

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding domains that consistently link to several competitors but not to your site. www.semrush.com

3. Majestic (best for understanding why links matter)

Majestic specializes in link intelligence rather than general SEO.

Standout features include:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow
• Historic Index
• Fresh Index
• Link Context

Topical Trust Flow is especially valuable because it reveals whether links come from websites in the same subject area rather than simply high-authority sites. majestic.com

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier for beginners and offers:

• Top linking pages
• Top linking domains
• Domain Authority
• Spam Score
• Anchor text

It works well for a high-level view but has less backlink depth than Ahrefs or Majestic according to many practitioners. gatilab.com

5. SE Ranking

A strong value option that includes:

• Backlink Checker
• Referring pages
• Domain Trust
• Anchor text
• New/lost backlinks
• Competitor comparisons

It's a good fit for smaller teams that want a broad SEO toolkit without enterprise pricing. www.techradar.com

How to identify competitors' linking strategies

The most effective workflow is:

1. Find the competitor's Top Pages by Links.
2. Sort by referring domains.
3. Open the top 20–50 linking pages.
4. Categorize each link source.

Typical patterns include:

• Digital PR/news coverage
• Original research and surveys
• Industry statistics
• Free tools
• Templates
• Resource pages
• Guest articles
• Partnerships
• Product reviews
• Community mentions

After reviewing a few dozen links, you'll often find that 70–90% of their backlinks come from just a handful of repeatable tactics.

Best choice by use case

• Pure backlink intelligence: Ahrefs
• SEO + keyword + backlink research: Semrush
• Deep link quality analysis: Majestic
• Budget-conscious all-in-one SEO: SE Ranking
• Simple backlink checks: Moz

For agencies and SEO professionals focused on competitive research, many use Ahrefs for discovering link opportunities and Semrush for broader competitive analysis, since the two complement each other well. www.reddit.com

For competitive backlink research, the best tools don't just count backlinks—they help you identify which pages attract the most links, who links to them, and what tactics earned those links. Here's how the leading options compare:

1. Ahrefs (Best overall)

Ahrefs is generally considered the strongest tool for competitive backlink research because you can:

• Find competitors' Best by Links pages
• See which pages earn the most referring domains
• Analyze:
  • referring pages
  • anchor text
  • link type
  • follow vs. nofollow
  • first seen / lost links
• Discover broken pages with valuable backlinks
• Compare multiple competitors side by side

Great for uncovering strategies like:

• Original research
• Statistics pages
• Free tools
• Ultimate guides
• Resource pages
• Linkable assets

2. Semrush Backlink Analytics

Excellent if you're already using Semrush.

Useful reports include:

• Indexed Pages
• Referring Domains
• Backlinks
• Authority Score
• Backlink Gap
• Bulk competitor comparison

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding websites linking to competitors but not to you.

3. Majestic

Majestic specializes in backlink intelligence.

Unique metrics:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow

It excels at answering questions like:

• Which industries link to competitors?
• Which authority sites are driving trust?
• What topical neighborhoods exist?

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier to use than Majestic and provides:

• Top linked pages
• Linking domains
• Spam Score
• Domain Authority
• Anchor text

It's a good option for smaller teams but has a smaller link index than Ahrefs.

5. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is excellent for understanding why content earns links.

You can identify:

• Highly linked articles
• Journalists linking to content
• Evergreen resources
• Trending topics
• Content formats that naturally attract backlinks

This is particularly valuable for planning link-worthy content.

6. SE Ranking

A solid value option offering:

• Competitor backlink monitoring
• Referring domains
• Top linked pages
• Anchor text
• Historical growth

While its index isn't as extensive as Ahrefs or Semrush, it's often sufficient for small to midsize businesses.

Features to prioritize

When evaluating backlink tools, look for these capabilities:

• Top Pages / Best by Links report
• Referring domains (not just raw backlinks)
• New vs. lost backlinks
• Anchor text analysis
• Link type (editorial, directory, forum, etc.)
• Historical link growth
• Competitor comparison
• Broken pages with backlinks
• Link intersect/backlink gap analysis
• Filters by DR/DA or authority
• Export to CSV or Excel

How to reverse-engineer competitors' linking strategies

A practical workflow is:

1. Identify competitors.
2. Find their top-linked pages.
3. Group those pages into content types (tools, studies, guides, statistics, templates, etc.).
4. Identify which referring domains repeatedly link to similar content.
5. Look for recurring patterns, such as:
   • Industry resource pages
   • Guest posts
   • Digital PR campaigns
   • Original data or research
   • Free tools or calculators
   • Open-source resources
6. Create a stronger or more up-to-date version of the content and conduct targeted outreach to relevant linking sites.

Recommendation by use case

• Best overall: Ahrefs
• Best all-in-one SEO suite: Semrush
• Best for link quality analysis: Majestic
• Best budget choice: SE Ranking
• Best for content marketing and digital PR: BuzzSumo

For agencies or advanced SEO teams, a combination of Ahrefs + BuzzSumo (for content insights) or Ahrefs + Majestic (for trust and topical analysis) provides some of the deepest competitive intelligence available.

For competitive backlink research, the best tools don't just count backlinks—they help you identify which pages attract the most links, who links to them, and what tactics earned those links. Here's how the leading options compare:

1. Ahrefs (Best overall)

Ahrefs is generally considered the strongest tool for competitive backlink research because you can:

• Find competitors' Best by Links pages
• See which pages earn the most referring domains
• Analyze:
  • referring pages
  • anchor text
  • link type
  • follow vs. nofollow
  • first seen / lost links
• Discover broken pages with valuable backlinks
• Compare multiple competitors side by side

Great for uncovering strategies like:

• Original research
• Statistics pages
• Free tools
• Ultimate guides
• Resource pages
• Linkable assets

2. Semrush Backlink Analytics

Excellent if you're already using Semrush.

Useful reports include:

• Indexed Pages
• Referring Domains
• Backlinks
• Authority Score
• Backlink Gap
• Bulk competitor comparison

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding websites linking to competitors but not to you.

3. Majestic

Majestic specializes in backlink intelligence.

Unique metrics:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow

It excels at answering questions like:

• Which industries link to competitors?
• Which authority sites are driving trust?
• What topical neighborhoods exist?

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier to use than Majestic and provides:

• Top linked pages
• Linking domains
• Spam Score
• Domain Authority
• Anchor text

It's a good option for smaller teams but has a smaller link index than Ahrefs.

5. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is excellent for understanding why content earns links.

You can identify:

• Highly linked articles
• Journalists linking to content
• Evergreen resources
• Trending topics
• Content formats that naturally attract backlinks

This is particularly valuable for planning link-worthy content.

6. SE Ranking

A solid value option offering:

• Competitor backlink monitoring
• Referring domains
• Top linked pages
• Anchor text
• Historical growth

While its index isn't as extensive as Ahrefs or Semrush, it's often sufficient for small to midsize businesses.

Features to prioritize

When evaluating backlink tools, look for these capabilities:

• Top Pages / Best by Links report
• Referring domains (not just raw backlinks)
• New vs. lost backlinks
• Anchor text analysis
• Link type (editorial, directory, forum, etc.)
• Historical link growth
• Competitor comparison
• Broken pages with backlinks
• Link intersect/backlink gap analysis
• Filters by DR/DA or authority
• Export to CSV or Excel

How to reverse-engineer competitors' linking strategies

A practical workflow is:

1. Identify competitors.
2. Find their top-linked pages.
3. Group those pages into content types (tools, studies, guides, statistics, templates, etc.).
4. Identify which referring domains repeatedly link to similar content.
5. Look for recurring patterns, such as:
   • Industry resource pages
   • Guest posts
   • Digital PR campaigns
   • Original data or research
   • Free tools or calculators
   • Open-source resources
6. Create a stronger or more up-to-date version of the content and conduct targeted outreach to relevant linking sites.

Recommendation by use case

• Best overall: Ahrefs
• Best all-in-one SEO suite: Semrush
• Best for link quality analysis: Majestic
• Best budget choice: SE Ranking
• Best for content marketing and digital PR: BuzzSumo

For agencies or advanced SEO teams, a combination of Ahrefs + BuzzSumo (for content insights) or Ahrefs + Majestic (for trust and topical analysis) provides some of the deepest competitive intelligence available.

For competitive backlink research, the best tools don't just count backlinks—they help you identify which pages attract the most links, who links to them, and what tactics earned those links. Here's how the leading options compare:

1. Ahrefs (Best overall)

Ahrefs is generally considered the strongest tool for competitive backlink research because you can:

• Find competitors' Best by Links pages
• See which pages earn the most referring domains
• Analyze:
  • referring pages
  • anchor text
  • link type
  • follow vs. nofollow
  • first seen / lost links
• Discover broken pages with valuable backlinks
• Compare multiple competitors side by side

Great for uncovering strategies like:

• Original research
• Statistics pages
• Free tools
• Ultimate guides
• Resource pages
• Linkable assets

2. Semrush Backlink Analytics

Excellent if you're already using Semrush.

Useful reports include:

• Indexed Pages
• Referring Domains
• Backlinks
• Authority Score
• Backlink Gap
• Bulk competitor comparison

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding websites linking to competitors but not to you.

3. Majestic

Majestic specializes in backlink intelligence.

Unique metrics:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow

It excels at answering questions like:

• Which industries link to competitors?
• Which authority sites are driving trust?
• What topical neighborhoods exist?

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier to use than Majestic and provides:

• Top linked pages
• Linking domains
• Spam Score
• Domain Authority
• Anchor text

It's a good option for smaller teams but has a smaller link index than Ahrefs.

5. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is excellent for understanding why content earns links.

You can identify:

• Highly linked articles
• Journalists linking to content
• Evergreen resources
• Trending topics
• Content formats that naturally attract backlinks

This is particularly valuable for planning link-worthy content.

6. SE Ranking

A solid value option offering:

• Competitor backlink monitoring
• Referring domains
• Top linked pages
• Anchor text
• Historical growth

While its index isn't as extensive as Ahrefs or Semrush, it's often sufficient for small to midsize businesses.

Features to prioritize

When evaluating backlink tools, look for these capabilities:

• Top Pages / Best by Links report
• Referring domains (not just raw backlinks)
• New vs. lost backlinks
• Anchor text analysis
• Link type (editorial, directory, forum, etc.)
• Historical link growth
• Competitor comparison
• Broken pages with backlinks
• Link intersect/backlink gap analysis
• Filters by DR/DA or authority
• Export to CSV or Excel

How to reverse-engineer competitors' linking strategies

A practical workflow is:

1. Identify competitors.
2. Find their top-linked pages.
3. Group those pages into content types (tools, studies, guides, statistics, templates, etc.).
4. Identify which referring domains repeatedly link to similar content.
5. Look for recurring patterns, such as:
   • Industry resource pages
   • Guest posts
   • Digital PR campaigns
   • Original data or research
   • Free tools or calculators
   • Open-source resources
6. Create a stronger or more up-to-date version of the content and conduct targeted outreach to relevant linking sites.

Recommendation by use case

• Best overall: Ahrefs
• Best all-in-one SEO suite: Semrush
• Best for link quality analysis: Majestic
• Best budget choice: SE Ranking
• Best for content marketing and digital PR: BuzzSumo

For agencies or advanced SEO teams, a combination of Ahrefs + BuzzSumo (for content insights) or Ahrefs + Majestic (for trust and topical analysis) provides some of the deepest competitive intelligence available.

For competitive backlink research, the best tools don't just count backlinks—they help you identify which pages attract the most links, who links to them, and what tactics earned those links. Here's how the leading options compare:

1. Ahrefs (Best overall)

Ahrefs is generally considered the strongest tool for competitive backlink research because you can:

• Find competitors' Best by Links pages
• See which pages earn the most referring domains
• Analyze:
  • referring pages
  • anchor text
  • link type
  • follow vs. nofollow
  • first seen / lost links
• Discover broken pages with valuable backlinks
• Compare multiple competitors side by side

Great for uncovering strategies like:

• Original research
• Statistics pages
• Free tools
• Ultimate guides
• Resource pages
• Linkable assets

2. Semrush Backlink Analytics

Excellent if you're already using Semrush.

Useful reports include:

• Indexed Pages
• Referring Domains
• Backlinks
• Authority Score
• Backlink Gap
• Bulk competitor comparison

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding websites linking to competitors but not to you.

3. Majestic

Majestic specializes in backlink intelligence.

Unique metrics:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow

It excels at answering questions like:

• Which industries link to competitors?
• Which authority sites are driving trust?
• What topical neighborhoods exist?

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier to use than Majestic and provides:

• Top linked pages
• Linking domains
• Spam Score
• Domain Authority
• Anchor text

It's a good option for smaller teams but has a smaller link index than Ahrefs.

5. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is excellent for understanding why content earns links.

You can identify:

• Highly linked articles
• Journalists linking to content
• Evergreen resources
• Trending topics
• Content formats that naturally attract backlinks

This is particularly valuable for planning link-worthy content.

6. SE Ranking

A solid value option offering:

• Competitor backlink monitoring
• Referring domains
• Top linked pages
• Anchor text
• Historical growth

While its index isn't as extensive as Ahrefs or Semrush, it's often sufficient for small to midsize businesses.

Features to prioritize

When evaluating backlink tools, look for these capabilities:

• Top Pages / Best by Links report
• Referring domains (not just raw backlinks)
• New vs. lost backlinks
• Anchor text analysis
• Link type (editorial, directory, forum, etc.)
• Historical link growth
• Competitor comparison
• Broken pages with backlinks
• Link intersect/backlink gap analysis
• Filters by DR/DA or authority
• Export to CSV or Excel

How to reverse-engineer competitors' linking strategies

A practical workflow is:

1. Identify competitors.
2. Find their top-linked pages.
3. Group those pages into content types (tools, studies, guides, statistics, templates, etc.).
4. Identify which referring domains repeatedly link to similar content.
5. Look for recurring patterns, such as:
   • Industry resource pages
   • Guest posts
   • Digital PR campaigns
   • Original data or research
   • Free tools or calculators
   • Open-source resources
6. Create a stronger or more up-to-date version of the content and conduct targeted outreach to relevant linking sites.

Recommendation by use case

• Best overall: Ahrefs
• Best all-in-one SEO suite: Semrush
• Best for link quality analysis: Majestic
• Best budget choice: SE Ranking
• Best for content marketing and digital PR: BuzzSumo

For agencies or advanced SEO teams, a combination of Ahrefs + BuzzSumo (for content insights) or Ahrefs + Majestic (for trust and topical analysis) provides some of the deepest competitive intelligence available.

For competitive backlink research, the best tools don't just count backlinks—they help you identify which pages attract the most links, who links to them, and what tactics earned those links. Here's how the leading options compare:

1. Ahrefs (Best overall)

Ahrefs is generally considered the strongest tool for competitive backlink research because you can:

• Find competitors' Best by Links pages
• See which pages earn the most referring domains
• Analyze:
  • referring pages
  • anchor text
  • link type
  • follow vs. nofollow
  • first seen / lost links
• Discover broken pages with valuable backlinks
• Compare multiple competitors side by side

Great for uncovering strategies like:

• Original research
• Statistics pages
• Free tools
• Ultimate guides
• Resource pages
• Linkable assets

2. Semrush Backlink Analytics

Excellent if you're already using Semrush.

Useful reports include:

• Indexed Pages
• Referring Domains
• Backlinks
• Authority Score
• Backlink Gap
• Bulk competitor comparison

Its Backlink Gap report is particularly useful for finding websites linking to competitors but not to you.

3. Majestic

Majestic specializes in backlink intelligence.

Unique metrics:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow

It excels at answering questions like:

• Which industries link to competitors?
• Which authority sites are driving trust?
• What topical neighborhoods exist?

4. Moz Link Explorer

Moz is easier to use than Majestic and provides:

• Top linked pages
• Linking domains
• Spam Score
• Domain Authority
• Anchor text

It's a good option for smaller teams but has a smaller link index than Ahrefs.

5. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is excellent for understanding why content earns links.

You can identify:

• Highly linked articles
• Journalists linking to content
• Evergreen resources
• Trending topics
• Content formats that naturally attract backlinks

This is particularly valuable for planning link-worthy content.

6. SE Ranking

A solid value option offering:

• Competitor backlink monitoring
• Referring domains
• Top linked pages
• Anchor text
• Historical growth

While its index isn't as extensive as Ahrefs or Semrush, it's often sufficient for small to midsize businesses.

Features to prioritize

When evaluating backlink tools, look for these capabilities:

• Top Pages / Best by Links report
• Referring domains (not just raw backlinks)
• New vs. lost backlinks
• Anchor text analysis
• Link type (editorial, directory, forum, etc.)
• Historical link growth
• Competitor comparison
• Broken pages with backlinks
• Link intersect/backlink gap analysis
• Filters by DR/DA or authority
• Export to CSV or Excel

How to reverse-engineer competitors' linking strategies

A practical workflow is:

1. Identify competitors.
2. Find their top-linked pages.
3. Group those pages into content types (tools, studies, guides, statistics, templates, etc.).
4. Identify which referring domains repeatedly link to similar content.
5. Look for recurring patterns, such as:
   • Industry resource pages
   • Guest posts
   • Digital PR campaigns
   • Original data or research
   • Free tools or calculators
   • Open-source resources
6. Create a stronger or more up-to-date version of the content and conduct targeted outreach to relevant linking sites.

Recommendation by use case

• Best overall: Ahrefs
• Best all-in-one SEO suite: Semrush
• Best for link quality analysis: Majestic
• Best budget choice: SE Ranking
• Best for content marketing and digital PR: BuzzSumo

For agencies or advanced SEO teams, a combination of Ahrefs + BuzzSumo (for content insights) or Ahrefs + Majestic (for trust and topical analysis) provides some of the deepest competitive intelligence available.

If your goal is competitive backlink research—finding not just who links to a competitor, but which pages attract the most links and why—the best tools let you analyze referring pages, anchor text, link context, and content patterns.

Here's how the leading options compare:

1. Ahrefs (best overall)

For most SEO professionals, Ahrefs remains the benchmark for backlink analysis.

Useful reports include:

• Best by Links — identifies competitor pages earning the most backlinks.
• Referring Domains — shows which sites link most often.
• Backlinks — reveals the exact pages providing links.
• Anchors — uncovers common anchor text patterns.
• Link Intersect — finds websites linking to competitors but not to you.

You can quickly determine whether competitors earn links through:

• Original research
• Statistics pages
• Free tools
• Industry studies
• Ultimate guides
• Resource pages
• Guest articles
• Digital PR

2. Semrush

Semrush is particularly strong if you're already using it for keyword research.

Helpful features include:

• Backlink Analytics
• Indexed Pages report
• Referring Domains
• Backlink Gap tool
• Authority Score
• Link attributes (follow, sponsored, UGC)

It's effective for comparing multiple competitors side by side.

3. Majestic

Majestic focuses almost entirely on links.

Its strengths are:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow
• Clique Hunter
• Historic Index

This is especially useful for identifying industry-specific linking neighborhoods rather than just counting backlinks.

4. Moz Pro

Moz offers:

• Spam Score
• Domain Authority
• Page Authority
• Linking Domains
• Top Pages

It's easier to learn than some competitors, though its backlink index is generally smaller.

What to look for beyond backlink counts

The most valuable competitive insights often come from identifying recurring patterns:

• Which competitor pages earn the most links?
• What content formats attract links? (studies, calculators, templates, tools)
• Which publications repeatedly link within your niche?
• Are most links editorial or directory-based?
• Which anchor texts appear most often?
• Which industries are linking?
• Are links concentrated on one "link magnet" or spread across many pages?

For example, you might discover:

• A pricing statistics page earns 800 referring domains.
• A free calculator attracts links from universities.
• An annual industry report gets coverage from news outlets.
• A glossary consistently attracts educational links.

These patterns often reveal opportunities to create stronger content rather than simply trying to replicate individual backlinks.

Best workflow for competitive research

A practical process is:

1. Export each competitor's top-linked pages.
2. Sort by referring domains rather than total backlinks.
3. Categorize each page (research, tool, guide, statistics, template, etc.).
4. Identify the websites that link to multiple competitors.
5. Prioritize outreach to those sites and create content that offers additional value or a unique angle.

If you're conducting backlink research regularly, Ahrefs is generally the strongest choice for identifying top referring pages and understanding linking strategies. If you also need keyword research, PPC data, site audits, and rank tracking in one platform, Semrush provides the most comprehensive all-in-one SEO toolkit.

If your goal is competitive backlink research, the most useful tools are the ones that go beyond counting backlinks and help you answer questions like:

• Which pages attract the most links?
• Who links to those pages?
• Why did they link (data, tool, guide, study, etc.)?
• What content formats consistently earn links?

Here's how the leading backlink checkers compare.

1. Ahrefs

One of the strongest options for reverse-engineering competitors.

Useful reports include:

• Best by Links (most-linked pages)
• Referring Domains
• Referring Pages
• Anchors
• New/Lost Backlinks
• Link Intersect

You can quickly identify:

• Statistics pages that attract journalists
• Free tools that earn natural links
• Original research
• Evergreen guides
• Resource pages
• Linkable assets

For each high-performing page, you can inspect:

• Domain Rating of linking sites
• Anchor text patterns
• Context of the link
• Whether links are editorial, directory, resource page, or guest post

2. Semrush

Very strong if you're already using it for keyword research.

Its Backlink Analytics shows:

• Top linked pages
• Referring pages
• Referring domains
• Authority Score
• Link attributes (follow/nofollow/sponsored)
• Competitor comparisons

The Backlink Gap tool is especially useful because it identifies websites linking to competitors but not to you.

3. Majestic

Majestic is more specialized in link analysis than broader SEO.

Strengths include:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow
• Historic Index
• Fresh Index

It's particularly helpful for understanding:

• Whether competitors earn links from highly trusted sources
• Which industries link to them
• Overall link quality

4. Moz Pro

Moz offers:

• Linking Domains
• Top Pages
• Spam Score
• Page Authority

It's easier to learn but has a smaller backlink index than Ahrefs or Semrush.

5. SE Ranking

A good value option that includes:

• Referring domains
• Referring pages
• Top linked pages
• Anchor distribution
• Historical backlink tracking

Suitable for freelancers and small agencies.

What to look for beyond the backlink count

The best competitive insights usually come from asking why a page earned links. For each top-linked page, examine:

• Content type (guide, study, calculator, template, infographic)
• Unique data or original research
• Interactive tools
• Free downloadable resources
• Industry statistics
• Expert contributions
• Update frequency
• Search intent

For example, if a competitor's "2026 Industry Statistics" page has 800 referring domains, the takeaway isn't simply "get more links." It's that publishers consistently cite current statistics, suggesting an annual statistics page could become a repeatable link asset.

Features that matter most

If competitive backlink research is your primary goal, prioritize tools that offer:

• Top linked pages to find the strongest content assets.
• Referring pages so you can see the exact pages linking, not just domains.
• Link context to understand why the link was given.
• Historical link growth to spot successful campaigns.
• Link intersect to identify sites linking to competitors but not you.
• Anchor text analysis to reveal branding and keyword patterns.
• Filters for dofollow links, language, country, and link type.

Overall recommendations

• Best overall: Ahrefs, especially for discovering top referring pages and reverse-engineering successful link-building strategies.
• Best all-in-one SEO suite: Semrush, if you also need keyword, content, and PPC research.
• Best for evaluating link quality: Majestic, thanks to its Trust Flow metrics.
• Best budget choice: SE Ranking, which covers most essential backlink analysis features at a lower cost.

For most SEO professionals focused on competitive analysis, Ahrefs and Semrush provide the most comprehensive combination of top referring pages, backlink context, and strategic insights into why competitors are earning links.

For competitive backlink research, the best backlink checkers are the ones that show which pages attract links, who is linking, anchor text patterns, link velocity, and why competitors earned those links (content, partnerships, PR, resources, etc.).

Here are the strongest options:

Best workflow for competitor backlink research

1. Find competitors’ highest-linked pages
   • Use Ahrefs → Site Explorer → Best by Links
   • Look for:
     • Ultimate guides
     • Research studies
     • Free tools/calculators
     • Templates
     • Statistics pages
     • Comparison pages

2. Analyze the referring pages

For each strong backlink, ask:

• Why did this page earn the link?
• Is it because it is original research?
• A useful resource?
• A partnership?
• A guest contribution?
• A digital PR mention?

3. Study anchor text patterns

Look for:

• Branded anchors → brand authority strategy
• Exact-match anchors → possible SEO targeting
• Generic anchors (“learn more,” “source”) → editorial citations

4. Identify link-building gaps

Compare:

• Pages competitors have links to that you don’t
• Domains linking to multiple competitors but not you
• Topics where competitors have stronger link coverage

My typical tool stack

• Ahrefs → deepest backlink discovery and “why did this rank?” analysis
• Semrush → competitor comparisons and prospect lists
• Majestic → understanding link quality and networks
• Moz → quick checks and validation

For a serious competitive audit, I’d start with Ahrefs + Semrush, export competitor referring domains, then classify links by strategy (content, PR, partnerships, directories, communities, etc.).

For competitive backlink research, the most useful tools go beyond simply listing backlinks—they help you identify which pages attract the strongest links, why those pages earn links, and what outreach or content strategies competitors are using.

Here's how the major backlink checkers compare:

1. Ahrefs (often considered the gold standard)

Best features:

• Best by Links shows competitor pages with the most referring domains.
• View every referring page and anchor text.
• Sort links by:
  • DR (Domain Rating)
  • traffic
  • follow/nofollow
  • first seen
  • link type
• Compare multiple competitors.
• Link Intersect identifies sites linking to competitors but not to you.
• Historical backlink growth.

Example workflow:

1. Enter competitor domain.
2. Open Best by Links.
3. Export pages with 100+ referring domains.
4. Study:
   • content format
   • resource pages
   • statistics pages
   • tools
   • original research
   • outreach angle

This often reveals exactly why those pages earned links.

2. Semrush Backlink Analytics

Strong for competitive SEO.

Useful reports include:

• Indexed Pages
• Referring Domains
• Backlinks
• Anchors
• Authority Score
• Competitor comparison

The Indexed Pages report is especially valuable because it shows:

• pages with the most backlinks
• estimated traffic
• referring domains
• authority

You can often identify:

• linkable assets
• guides
• calculators
• studies
• free tools
• infographics

3. Majestic

Majestic focuses almost entirely on link intelligence.

Key metrics:

• Trust Flow
• Citation Flow
• Topical Trust Flow

Useful reports:

• Best Pages
• Referring Domains
• Link Context
• Clique Hunter

It's especially useful for understanding where links come from rather than traffic.

4. Moz Pro

Moz offers:

• Top Pages
• Linking Domains
• Spam Score
• Anchor Text

Less comprehensive than Ahrefs but easier for beginners.

5. SE Ranking

A strong lower-cost option.

Includes:

• Top-linked pages
• Referring domains
• Anchor analysis
• Historical backlink tracking
• Competitor comparison

Good for agencies or smaller businesses on a budget.

Features that reveal linking strategies

The best tools let you answer questions like:

• Which content earns the most links?
• Which industries link to competitors?
• Which anchors are used?
• Are links editorial or directory-based?
• Which journalists repeatedly link?
• Which resource pages link?
• Which broken pages still attract backlinks?
• Which pages gained links after digital PR campaigns?

Valuable reports to look for

When evaluating any backlink checker, prioritize these reports:

• Top Pages / Best by Links
• Referring Pages
• Referring Domains
• Link Growth Over Time
• New & Lost Links
• Anchor Text
• Link Intersect
• Broken Backlinks
• Internal Best Pages
• Top Linking Content

Pair backlink analysis with content analysis

After identifying a competitor's top-linked page, ask:

• Is it original research?
• Does it include proprietary statistics?
• Is it an interactive tool?
• Is it a comprehensive guide?
• Does it provide templates or checklists?
• Is it frequently updated?
• Does it target journalists or industry publications?

This helps distinguish between pages that earned links because of genuine value versus those that relied primarily on outreach.

Recommendation by use case

• Deep competitive backlink intelligence: Ahrefs
• SEO platform with strong backlink features: Semrush
• Trust and topical authority analysis: Majestic
• Budget-conscious teams: SE Ranking
• Beginner-friendly option: Moz Pro

For identifying top referring pages and reverse-engineering competitors' linking strategies, Ahrefs and Semrush are generally the strongest choices. If your goal is digital PR or link-building campaigns, using Ahrefs' "Best by Links" and "Link Intersect" reports alongside Semrush's competitor and indexed-page reports provides a particularly effective workflow.