seo-backlinks — Backlink Analysis & Outreach Strategy

Backlink Profile Analysis

Key Metrics

Anchor Text Distribution

Ideal distribution to avoid over-optimization penalties:

Link Attribute Distribution

Competitor Backlink Discovery

Inspired by automated competitor backlink monitoring workflows.

Discovery Process

1. Identify competitors — 3-5 direct competitors + 2-3 aspirational
2. Fetch new backlinks — Weekly lookback window via Backlinks API
3. Quality filter — Apply minimum thresholds:
   • DR ≥ 30 (adjustable by industry)
   • Organic traffic ≥ 500/month
   • Relevance score: same industry/topic
   • Exclude known PBNs, link farms, directories
4. Gap analysis — Identify domains linking to competitors but not you
5. Prioritize — Rank by: authority × relevance × acquisition feasibility

Competitor Backlink Matrix

              | Your Site | Comp A | Comp B | Comp C |
|-------------|-----------|--------|--------|--------|
| Total Refs  |    450    |  1200  |   800  |   600  |
| DR 60+      |     45    |   180  |   120  |    80  |
| Common Refs |     --    |   120  |    95  |    78  |
| Unique Refs |     --    |   280  |   150  |   110  |
| Link Gap    |     --    |   280  |   150  |   110  |

Common Referring Domains

Domains linking to 2+ competitors but not you = highest priority prospects.

Outreach Strategy Generation

Strategy Types by Source

Outreach Email Template Structure

1. Subject line — Personalized, reference their content
2. Opening — Specific compliment about their work (not generic)
3. Value proposition — What's in it for them
4. The ask — Clear, specific, low-friction
5. Social proof — Brief credibility signal

Follow-up Cadence

Prioritization Formula

Priority Score = (DR / 100) × Relevance × (1 / Difficulty)

Where: Relevance = 0-1 topic match, Difficulty = 1(easy) to 5(hard)

Link Quality Scoring

Single Link Quality Score (0-100)

Toxic Link Indicators

• Gambling, adult, pharma sites linking without context
• PBN patterns (same IP range, thin content, reciprocal networks)
• Paid link networks (footer-wide, sidebar widgets)
• Redirect chains (301 → 301 → target)
• Foreign language sites with no topical relevance

Internal Link Analysis

Orphan Page Detection

Pages with zero internal links pointing to them — invisible to crawlers navigating via links.

Link Depth Analysis

Internal Link Optimization

• Important pages should have 5+ internal links pointing to them
• Use descriptive anchor text (not "click here")
• Distribute PageRank from high-authority pages to target pages
• Create topic clusters: pillar page ↔ cluster pages with bidirectional links

Link Building ROI Projection

By Strategy

Monthly Target Setting

Based on competitive gap and current growth rate:

• Aggressive: Close 50% of competitor gap in 6 months
• Moderate: Match competitor link velocity
• Maintenance: Preserve current position, focus on quality

Reference Files

Load on-demand: references/backlink-metrics.md for DR/DA/AS cross-reference tables, industry benchmarks, and DataForSEO API endpoint reference.

Cross-reference: seo-data-tools skill for third-party API integration details.

Scoring

Output Format

Generate backlink report with:

1. Backlink Health Score (0-100)
2. Profile Summary (total links, referring domains, DR, link velocity)
3. Anchor Text Audit (distribution vs ideal, over-optimization risk)
4. Toxic Link Report (flagged domains with disavow recommendations)
5. Competitor Gap Analysis (link opportunities sorted by priority)
6. Internal Link Map (orphan pages, depth issues, optimization targets)
7. Outreach Strategy (prioritized prospect list with email templates)
8. ROI Projection (monthly targets, expected DR growth, timeline)