| name | backlink-analyzer |
| description | Analyzes backlink profiles to understand link authority, identify toxic links, discover link building opportunities, and monitor competitor link acquisition. Essential for off-page SEO strategy. |
| geo-relevance | low |
Backlink Analyzer
This skill helps you analyze, monitor, and optimize your backlink profile. It identifies link quality, discovers opportunities, and tracks competitor link building activities.
When to Use This Skill
- Auditing your current backlink profile
- Identifying toxic or harmful links
- Discovering link building opportunities
- Analyzing competitor backlink strategies
- Monitoring new and lost links
- Evaluating link quality for outreach
- Preparing for link disavow
What This Skill Does
- Profile Analysis: Comprehensive backlink profile overview
- Quality Assessment: Evaluates link authority and relevance
- Toxic Link Detection: Identifies harmful links
- Competitor Analysis: Compares link profiles across competitors
- Opportunity Discovery: Finds link building prospects
- Trend Monitoring: Tracks link acquisition over time
- Disavow Guidance: Helps create disavow files
How to Use
Analyze Your Profile
Analyze backlink profile for [domain]
Find Opportunities
Find link building opportunities by analyzing [competitor domains]
Detect Issues
Check for toxic backlinks on [domain]
Compare Profiles
Compare backlink profiles: [your domain] vs [competitor domains]
Data Sources
See CONNECTORS.md for tool category placeholders.
With ~~link database + ~~SEO tool connected:
Automatically pull comprehensive backlink profiles including referring domains, anchor text distribution, link quality metrics (DA/DR), link velocity, and toxic link detection from ~~link database. Competitor backlink data from ~~SEO tool for gap analysis.
With manual data only:
Ask the user to provide:
- Backlink export CSV (with source domains, anchor text, link type)
- Referring domains list with authority metrics
- Competitor domains for comparison
- Recent link gains/losses if tracking changes
- Any known toxic or spammy links
Proceed with the full analysis using provided data. Note in the output which metrics are from automated collection vs. user-provided data.
Instructions
When a user requests backlink analysis:
-
Generate Profile Overview
## Backlink Profile Overview
**Domain**: [domain]
**Analysis Date**: [date]
### Key Metrics
| Metric | Value | Industry Avg | Status |
|--------|-------|--------------|--------|
| Total Backlinks | [X] | [Y] | [Above/Below avg] |
| Referring Domains | [X] | [Y] | [status] |
| Domain Authority | [X] | [Y] | [status] |
| Domain Rating | [X] | [Y] | [status] |
| Dofollow Links | [X] ([Y]%) | [Z]% | [status] |
| Nofollow Links | [X] ([Y]%) | [Z]% | [status] |
### Link Velocity
| Period | New Links | Lost Links | Net Change |
|--------|-----------|------------|------------|
| Last 30 days | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
| Last 90 days | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
| Last year | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
### Authority Distribution
DA 80-100: ████ [X]%
DA 60-79: ██████ [X]%
DA 40-59: ████████████ [X]%
DA 20-39: ████████████████ [X]%
DA 0-19: ██████████ [X]%
**Profile Health Score**: [X]/100
-
Analyze Link Quality
## Link Quality Analysis
### Top Quality Backlinks
| Source Domain | DA | Link Type | Anchor | Target Page |
|---------------|-----|-----------|--------|-------------|
| [domain 1] | [DA] | Editorial | [anchor] | [page] |
| [domain 2] | [DA] | Guest Post | [anchor] | [page] |
| [domain 3] | [DA] | Resource | [anchor] | [page] |
### Link Type Distribution
| Type | Count | Percentage | Assessment |
|------|-------|------------|------------|
| Editorial | [X] | [Y]% | ✅ High quality |
| Guest posts | [X] | [Y]% | ✅ Good |
| Resource pages | [X] | [Y]% | ✅ Good |
| Directory | [X] | [Y]% | ⚠️ Moderate |
| Forum/Comments | [X] | [Y]% | ⚠️ Low quality |
| Sponsored/Paid | [X] | [Y]% | ⚠️ Risky |
### Anchor Text Analysis
| Anchor Type | Count | Percentage | Status |
|-------------|-------|------------|--------|
| Brand name | [X] | [Y]% | ✅ Natural |
| Exact match | [X] | [Y]% | ⚠️ [Warning if >30%] |
| Partial match | [X] | [Y]% | ✅ Natural |
| URL/Naked | [X] | [Y]% | ✅ Natural |
| Generic | [X] | [Y]% | ✅ Natural |
**Top Anchor Texts**:
1. "[anchor 1]" - [X] links
2. "[anchor 2]" - [X] links
3. "[anchor 3]" - [X] links
### Geographic Distribution
| Country | Links | Percentage |
|---------|-------|------------|
| [Country 1] | [X] | [Y]% |
| [Country 2] | [X] | [Y]% |
| [Country 3] | [X] | [Y]% |
CITE Item Mapping
When running domain-authority-auditor after this analysis, the following data feeds directly into CITE scoring:
| Backlink Metric | CITE Item | Dimension |
|---|
| Referring domains count | C01 (Referring Domain Volume) | Citation |
| Authority distribution (DA breakdown) | C02 (Referring Domains Quality) | Citation |
| Link velocity | C04 (Link Velocity) | Citation |
| Geographic distribution | C10 (Link Source Diversity) | Citation |
| Dofollow/Nofollow ratio | T02 (Dofollow Ratio Normality) | Trust |
| Toxic link analysis | T01 (Link Profile Naturalness), T03 (Link-Traffic Coherence) | Trust |
| Competitive link intersection | T05 (Profile Uniqueness) | Trust |
Validation Checkpoints
Input Validation
Output Validation
Example
User: "Find link building opportunities by analyzing HubSpot, Salesforce, and Mailchimp"
Output:
## Link Intersection Analysis
### Sites linking to 2+ competitors (not you)
| Domain | DA | HubSpot | Salesforce | Mailchimp | Opportunity |
|--------|-----|---------|------------|-----------|-------------|
| g2.com | 91 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Get listed/reviewed |
| capterra.com | 89 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Submit for review |
| entrepreneur.com | 92 | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Pitch guest post |
| techcrunch.com | 94 | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | PR/news pitch |
### Top 5 Immediate Opportunities
1. **G2.com** (DA 91) - All competitors listed
- Action: Create detailed G2 profile
- Effort: Low
- Impact: High authority + referral traffic
2. **Entrepreneur.com** (DA 92) - 2 competitors have links
- Action: Pitch contributed article
- Effort: High
- Impact: High authority + brand exposure
3. **MarketingProfs** (DA 75) - All competitors featured
- Action: Apply for expert contribution
- Effort: Medium
- Impact: Relevant audience + quality link
### Estimated Impact
If you acquire links from top 10 opportunities:
- New referring domains: +10
- Average DA of new links: 82
- Estimated ranking impact: +2-5 positions for competitive keywords
Tips for Success
- Quality over quantity - One DA 80 link beats ten DA 20 links
- Monitor regularly - Catch lost links and toxic links early
- Study competitors - Learn from their link building success
- Diversify your profile - Mix of link types and anchors
- Disavow carefully - Only disavow clearly toxic links
Link Quality Assessment Framework
Link Quality Scoring Matrix
| Factor | Weight | Score 1 (Low) | Score 3 (Medium) | Score 5 (High) |
|---|
| Domain Authority | 25% | DR <20 | DR 20-50 | DR 50+ |
| Topical Relevance | 25% | Unrelated niche | Broadly related | Same niche/topic |
| Traffic to Page | 15% | No traffic | Some traffic | Significant traffic |
| Link Position | 15% | Footer/sidebar | Body (generic) | Body (contextual, editorial) |
| Anchor Text | 10% | Generic/naked URL | Partial match | Descriptive, natural |
| Follow Status | 10% | Nofollow/UGC | Sponsored (disclosed) | Dofollow, editorial |
Link Quality Score = Sum(Factor x Weight) — High (4-5), Medium (2.5-3.9), Low (<2.5)
Toxic Link Identification Criteria
| Red Flag | Risk Level | Action |
|---|
| From PBN (Private Blog Network) | Critical | Disavow |
| Paid link without nofollow | Critical | Contact webmaster, then disavow |
| From hacked/spam site | Critical | Disavow |
| Exact match anchor from low-quality site | High | Monitor, consider disavow |
| From link farm / directory network | High | Disavow |
| From irrelevant foreign language site | Medium | Monitor |
| Sitewide footer/sidebar link | Medium | Request removal or nofollow |
| From scraper/auto-generated content | Medium | Disavow |
| Reciprocal link schemes | Low-Medium | Reduce reciprocal ratio |
Link Building Strategy Matrix
Strategy Comparison
| Strategy | Difficulty | Scalability | Link Quality | Time to Results | Best For |
|---|
| Guest Posting | Medium | Medium | Medium-High | 1-3 months | Building relationships + links |
| Digital PR | High | High | Very High | 2-6 months | Brand authority + high-DR links |
| Broken Link Building | Low-Medium | Medium | Medium | 1-2 months | Quick wins at scale |
| Resource Page Links | Low | Low | Medium | 1-2 months | Niche-relevant links |
| HARO/Source Pitching | Medium | Medium | High | 1-3 months | Authority + press mentions |
| Original Research | High | Very High | Very High | 3-6 months | Long-term link magnet |
| Free Tools/Calculators | Very High | Very High | Very High | 6-12 months | Passive link acquisition |
| Skyscraper Technique | Medium | Low | Medium-High | 2-4 months | Outranking specific content |
| Unlinked Mentions | Low | Low | High | 1-2 weeks | Converting existing brand mentions |
| Community Engagement | Low | Low | Low-Medium | Ongoing | Niche authority building |
Link Building Cadence
| Site Stage | Monthly Link Target | Strategy Focus |
|---|
| New site (0-6 months) | 5-10 quality links | Guest posts, resource pages, HARO |
| Growing (6-18 months) | 10-25 quality links | Digital PR, original research, skyscraper |
| Established (18+ months) | Maintenance + strategic | Passive from content, digital PR campaigns |
Outreach Best Practices
Email Outreach Framework
Subject Line Formulas:
- "Quick question about [their article title]"
- "Resource for your [topic] page"
- "[Mutual connection] suggested I reach out"
- "Found a broken link on [their page]"
Email Structure:
- Personal hook (reference their specific content — prove you read it)
- Value proposition (what's in it for them, not you)
- The ask (specific, easy to act on)
- Social proof (brief — one line max)
- Easy opt-out (no pressure)
Outreach Response Rate Benchmarks
| Approach | Average Response Rate | Average Link Win Rate |
|---|
| Broken link building | 8-12% | 3-5% |
| Guest post pitching | 5-10% | 2-4% |
| Resource page outreach | 6-10% | 2-4% |
| Unlinked mention | 15-25% | 10-15% |
| HARO pitching | 3-8% | 1-3% |
| Digital PR campaign | 5-15% | 2-8% |
Reference Materials
- Link Quality Rubric — Quality scoring matrix with weighted factors and toxic link identification criteria
- Outreach Templates — Email frameworks, subject line formulas, and response rate benchmarks
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