How to find competitor backlinks on Ahrefs

intermediate 8 min read Updated 2026-03-13

Quick Answer

Enter your competitor's domain into Ahrefs Site Explorer's Backlinks report to view all their backlinks, then use Link Intersect with up to 10 competitors to find sites linking to them but not you. Filter by dofollow, DR 20-70, and traffic >1,000 for quality prospects, export to Sheets, and refine for outreach.

Prerequisites

Active Ahrefs subscription (Lite or higher)
List of 3-10 competitor domains
Google Sheets for data refinement
Basic familiarity with Ahrefs interface

Step-by-Step Instructions

Sign up and access Ahrefs Site Explorer

Sign up for an Ahrefs account (Lite plan or higher required for full access) and log in. Open Site Explorer and enter your competitor's root domain (e.g., example.com) into the search field to analyze their link profile.

Navigate to Backlinks report

In Site Explorer, click Backlinks in the left sidebar to view a complete list of the competitor's backlinks, including metrics like DR, traffic, and link type. Switch to Referring domains view for a summary of new and lost links in a cleaner format.

Use 'Links to target' to examine contextual anchors and page metrics for each backlink.

Apply filters for quality backlinks

Narrow results using filters for language (e.g., English), dofollow/nofollow links, website traffic >1,000, and DR 20-70 to focus on high-value opportunities. This helps identify relevant, authoritative sites.

Identify competitors if needed

If you lack competitors, enter your own site into Site Explorer and check the Organic competitors report for sites ranking on similar keywords, or use Keywords Explorer's Traffic share by domains.

Aim for 3-10 competitors for effective analysis.

Use Link Intersect for opportunities

Open the Link Intersect report, enter your target domain/URL (select 'Exact URL' for single pages), add up to 10 competitor URLs, and click Show link opportunities. Review sites linking to competitors but not you.

Eyeball results for directories, guest post sites, or niche-relevant domains.

Find directory links

In Link Intersect results, manually scan for niche/local directories. Click the caret icon to check referring pages, anchors, and context to confirm directory status.

Hunt guest posts via Content Explorer

Go to Content Explorer and search for topic + author:"competitor marketer name", then filter to one page per domain. Most results will be guest posts ripe for replication via outreach.

Search listicles with multiple competitors: <code>"competitor1" "competitor2" -"your site"</code>.

Detect broken backlinks

In Site Explorer for a competitor domain, go to Best by links report and filter by 404 not found HTTP code. Use Wayback Machine to recreate content and pitch to linkers.

Export and refine data

Export backlinks or intersect data to Google Sheets. Remove duplicates by referring domain, sort by intersect count (>5), filter out spammy/low-DR sites, and categorize for outreach (e.g., niche directories, vendors).

Use Sheets filters: DR <50 for locals, Organic traffic type.

Analyze anchors and tactics

In Backlinks or Anchors report, look for branded anchors, quotes, or stats. Replicate tactics like linkable assets (facts, infographics) seen in competitor profiles.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

"No data available" or empty results

Verify root domain entry (e.g., example.com not www), switch to Referring domains tab, wait 24-48 hours for crawl, or upgrade from free trial limits (capped at 100 rows).

Low crawl coverage on low-traffic sites

Use paid plan for deeper data; check Organic competitors report first for validated domains with sufficient traffic.

Too many irrelevant results

Apply strict filters (dofollow, DR 20-70, traffic >1,000); export to Sheets and dedupe/sort by intersect count, manually remove spammy sites.

Free Webmaster Tools lacks depth

Upgrade to Lite or higher Ahrefs subscription for full Site Explorer and Link Intersect access.

Unsure if site is directory/guest post

Click caret in Link Intersect to view anchor, target URL, and referring page context; cross-check in Content Explorer.

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