Can You Find Competitor Backlinks with Ahrefs? Yes! Here’s How
Let’s cut to the chase: Can you find competitor backlinks with Ahrefs? Absolutely. In fact, it’s one of the platform’s greatest superpowers—especially if you’re a business owner who wants to understand exactly where your competition is getting their SEO juice from.
But here’s the thing: most people just scratch the surface. They look at a list of backlinks, maybe export a spreadsheet, and call it a day. But Ahrefs has way more to offer if you’re willing to dig a little deeper—and that’s what we’re getting into today. By the end of this post, you’ll know not just how to find competitor backlinks with Ahrefs but also how to use that data to beat them at their own game.
Let’s go.
Why Competitor Backlink Research Is a Game-Changer
If you’re running a business, you’ve probably already been told that backlinks are gold. That’s not just marketing fluff. According to a Backlinko study of 11.8 million Google search results, backlinks are still one of the top ranking factors on Google’s algorithm. Pages with more backlinks consistently outranked those with fewer. Source.
But what if you don’t have time to “build backlinks” the slow way? Enter competitor research.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, you can use tools like Ahrefs to reverse engineer what’s working for your competitors. You get the benefit of seeing:
- Which websites are linking to them
- What kind of content is attracting links
- How recent those links are
- Which pages are performing best
And you don’t have to guess. Ahrefs gives you hard data so you can replicate what’s working—and even improve on it.
Getting Started: Finding Competitor Backlinks with Ahrefs
First things first: you’ll need a paid Ahrefs account to unlock the full power of backlink research. If you’re serious about SEO, it’s worth the investment.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Plug in a Competitor’s Domain
Go to the Site Explorer tool and enter a competitor’s domain. For example, if you’re a plumber in Milton, Ontario, search for a successful local competitor.
You’ll land on an overview page showing metrics like Domain Rating (DR), backlink profile, organic traffic, and top pages.
Now, we dive in.
2. Go to the Backlinks Tab
Click on the “Backlinks” tab in the left sidebar. This shows you every site linking to your competitor—sorted by factors like DR, traffic, and context.
But don’t just glance over it. Look for patterns:
- Are they getting links from directories? Local blogs?
- Is the anchor text branded or keyword-rich?
- Are the links in guest posts, citations, or resource pages?
This is where you start seeing opportunities.
Pro Tips Most Sites Don’t Talk About
Alright, here’s where we go deeper than the average blog post. Let’s talk about the less obvious tactics for squeezing every drop out of Ahrefs.
1. Use the “Link Intersect” Tool
This one’s a goldmine.
Go to More > Link Intersect in Ahrefs. You can enter up to 10 competitor domains and find out which websites are linking to all of them—but not to you.
Think about that for a second. These are websites that have already linked to similar businesses—and are statistically more likely to link to yours, too.
That’s warm outreach, not cold.
2. Check for “Lost” Backlinks
Backlinks disappear all the time. Content gets removed, pages break, or businesses rebrand. But when your competitor loses a backlink, you can swoop in and take it.
In the “Backlinks” tab, filter by Lost and set a date range (like the last 90 days). These are links that used to point to your competitor but are now gone. You can contact those websites with updated content or a new resource of your own.
3. Filter by “DoFollow” and “DR” for High-Value Targets
Not all backlinks are equal. A nofollow comment on a blog from 2007 isn’t worth much. What you want are DoFollow links from sites with high DR (Domain Rating).
Ahrefs lets you filter backlinks this way so you can focus on what matters. Aim for DR 40+ sites with decent traffic. These are the heavy hitters that can actually move the needle.
Turning Data into Strategy: What to Do with Competitor Backlinks
Okay, so you have a list of backlinks. Now what?
Here are four actionable ways to use that data to your advantage:
1. Build a Local Citation List
If your competitors are getting backlinks from local directories, business listings, or city-specific blogs—make a list. You can submit your business to the same platforms and close the gap fast.
2. Guest Post Where They Guest Post
If you see a blog post from your competitor on a niche site, reach out to that same site with your own article idea. There’s a good chance they’ll accept your pitch—especially if it brings a fresh perspective.
3. Create Better Content on the Same Topic
Found a competitor’s page that got tons of backlinks? Use Ahrefs’ Top Pages tab to see what’s doing well. Then write a 10x better version—more detailed, better design, more recent stats—and start promoting it to the same backlink sources.
4. Offer a Replacement Resource
Did a competitor’s link go dead? Offer a similar (or better) resource and ask the linking site to swap the broken link for yours. This works best for resource pages and educational content.
A Word on Outsourcing: Why Click Typhoon Can Help
If all this feels overwhelming, you’re not alone. Most business owners don’t have time to analyze backlinks, run outreach campaigns, and write SEO content every week.
That’s where Click Typhoon comes in.
We specialize in SEO for businesses just like yours, and our Milton SEO service is tailored to help you outrank competitors using smart backlink strategies—including all the advanced Ahrefs tactics we’ve covered today.
Our team stays up-to-date with the latest SEO tools, trends, and best practices, so you don’t have to. We’ll handle the research, outreach, and optimization so you can focus on running your business.
Key Takeaways
- Yes, you can find competitor backlinks with Ahrefs, and it’s one of the fastest ways to improve your SEO.
- Use features like Link Intersect, Lost Backlinks, and filters for DoFollow + DR to go beyond surface-level data.
- Repurpose and outperform your competitors’ backlink strategies using outreach, guest posting, and content upgrades.
- Don’t ignore lesser-known backlink opportunities, like expired links and local citations.
- Consider outsourcing to a trusted SEO agency like Click Typhoon if you want to scale faster and smarter.
Ready to Boost Your SEO the Smart Way?
If you’re serious about beating your competitors on Google, don’t just sit on that backlink goldmine. Let Click Typhoon help you tap into it.
We’ll do the heavy lifting—from analyzing your top competitors to finding link-building opportunities they missed. Our Milton SEO service is custom-built to help local businesses win online.
Contact us today, and let’s start building a backlink profile that turns browsers into buyers.
Don’t just follow the competition—outrank them. Let’s make your business the one everyone else is trying to catch. We’ve got the tools. We’ve got the team.
And now, you’ve got the strategy. Let’s get to work.
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