Somewhere, a website links to three of your competitors but not to you. The publisher clearly cares about your topic. They’ve already decided to link to similar content. You just haven’t given them a reason to include your site.
Link gap analysis systematically identifies these overlooked opportunities. Instead of prospecting blindly for link targets, you find sites that already link to competitors and position your content as worthy of inclusion.
Nashville businesses often discover local gaps this way: regional publications, chamber of commerce listings, and Tennessee industry directories linking to competitors create clear acquisition targets. These sources already link in your space; they just need to know about your site.
Understanding Link Gaps
A link gap exists when a domain links to one or more competitors but not to you. The gap itself doesn’t guarantee opportunity. Context determines whether the gap represents a replicable opportunity or an unreachable target.
True opportunities arise when:
- The linking site accepts submissions, guest posts, or resource suggestions
- The link exists within content where your site would fit naturally
- No exclusive relationship prevents additional links
- Your content quality meets or exceeds what they’ve linked to
False opportunities appear when:
- The link came from a business partnership or investment
- The content specifically features only that competitor
- The linking site has policies against linking to additional similar sources
- The link exists within sponsored or paid content
Raw gap data requires filtering to isolate actionable opportunities from theoretical ones. A gap report showing five hundred domains linking to competitors but not you might yield only thirty to fifty genuinely pursuable targets after proper qualification.
Running Link Gap Reports
Major SEO tools provide dedicated link gap functionality. The process involves comparing your backlink profile against competitors to identify domains linking to them but not you.
Tool selection considerations:
| Tool | Gap Feature | Export Limits | Historical Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs | Link Intersect | Plan dependent | Extensive |
| Semrush | Backlink Gap | Plan dependent | Good |
| Moz | Link Intersect | Plan dependent | Limited |
Setup parameters:
- Enter your domain as the comparison target
- Add three to five competitor domains
- Configure to show domains linking to competitors but not your site
- Export results for detailed analysis
Filtering the export removes noise from raw data. Apply minimum domain authority thresholds (typically DA 25+), exclude obviously spammy domains, and filter for domains with reasonable traffic estimates.
The initial export might contain thousands of domains. Systematic filtering reduces this to a manageable working list.
Interpreting Gap Data
Raw domain lists require interpretation to become strategic insights. Look beyond individual opportunities to understand patterns.
Gap concentration analysis reveals where your profile most significantly lags. If most gaps exist in industry-specific publications while you match competitors in general media, your strategy should prioritize industry outreach.
| Source Category | Gap Count | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Industry publications | 47 | High |
| Resource/directory | 32 | High |
| Educational (.edu) | 18 | Medium |
| News/media | 15 | Medium |
| Blogs | 89 | Variable |
Competitor intersection analysis identifies sites linking to multiple competitors. A site linking to four of your five competitors strongly suggests they accept links in your space. Conversely, a site linking to only one competitor might have a unique relationship.
For each gap domain, note how many competitors it links to:
| Competitor Links | Opportunity Signal |
|---|---|
| All competitors | Very strong |
| Most competitors (3-4) | Strong |
| Some competitors (2) | Moderate |
| Single competitor | Weaker |
Page-level analysis examines the specific URLs providing competitor links. Are they resource pages listing multiple tools? Blog posts mentioning solutions? News coverage of industry events? The page type determines your approach.
Categorizing Gap Opportunities
Different gap types require different pursuit strategies. Categorization organizes your approach.
Resource page gaps exist on curated lists and directories. These pages specifically compile resources in a topic area. Getting added requires having quality content that belongs on the list and finding the right contact to request inclusion.
Characteristics:
- Page title includes “resources,” “tools,” “directory,” or similar
- Multiple external links to different domains
- Organized by category or use case
- Often part of institutional or authoritative sites
Content gaps appear within editorial content where competitors earned mentions. Blog posts, articles, and guides mentioning competitors could potentially mention you too, though this requires either content updates or future coverage.
Characteristics:
- Links embedded within paragraph text
- Often tied to specific topics or comparisons
- Harder to replicate directly
- Better pursued through relationship building
News and PR gaps stem from media coverage competitors received. Journalists who cover your industry link to companies when reporting on relevant topics. These gaps suggest PR opportunities rather than direct link requests.
Characteristics:
- Links from news publications
- Often tied to announcements, research, or commentary
- Pursue through media relationships
- Require newsworthy angles to earn
Partnership gaps result from business relationships producing links. Integration partner pages, client listings, and vendor directories fall into this category. Replicating requires actual business relationships.
Characteristics:
- Links from company pages rather than editorial
- Often accompanied by product integrations
- Require commercial relationships to pursue
- May not be achievable through outreach alone
Prioritizing Which Gaps to Close
Limited resources require prioritization. Not every gap deserves equal attention.
Domain authority provides a baseline quality filter. Higher DA sites pass more link equity and typically indicate more rigorous editorial standards. Prioritize gaps on DA 40+ sites before lower-authority opportunities.
Relevance determines topical alignment. A gap on a highly relevant industry site matters more than a gap on a general site with minimal topical connection.
Replicability assesses whether you can realistically close the gap. Resource pages you can apply to score higher than news coverage requiring newsworthy events.
Effort estimation weighs resource requirements against potential value. Some gaps close with a simple email; others require months of relationship building or significant content creation.
A weighted scoring model:
| Factor | Weight | Scoring Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Domain authority | 30% | DA 60+ = 10, DA 40-59 = 7, DA 25-39 = 4 |
| Relevance | 25% | High = 10, Medium = 6, Low = 2 |
| Replicability | 25% | Easy = 10, Moderate = 6, Hard = 2 |
| Competitor coverage | 20% | All = 10, Most = 7, Some = 4, One = 2 |
Multiply each score by its weight, sum results, and rank opportunities. Focus effort on top-scoring gaps first.
Planning Gap Closure Campaigns
Organized campaigns systematically close prioritized gaps. Each campaign targets a specific gap category with appropriate tactics.
Resource page campaign:
- Identify all resource page gaps
- Audit each page for inclusion criteria
- Prepare appropriate content for submission
- Draft personalized outreach for each target
- Send requests and track responses
- Follow up on non-responses
Content creation campaign:
- Analyze content gaps where you lack matching assets
- Prioritize content creation based on gap concentration
- Create superior content addressing gap topics
- Develop promotion strategy for new content
- Conduct outreach to gap sites with new assets
Relationship development campaign:
- Identify gaps requiring relationship investment
- Research key contacts at target organizations
- Engage through social media, events, or mutual connections
- Build familiarity before making link requests
- Propose collaborations that include natural linking
PR campaign:
- Analyze news and media gaps
- Identify journalists covering competitors
- Develop newsworthy angles for your company
- Build media lists from gap analysis
- Pitch stories that could generate coverage
Document each campaign with:
- Target list (specific domains and URLs)
- Strategy for each target
- Required resources and content
- Timeline and milestones
- Success metrics
Executing Gap Outreach
Gap-informed outreach differs from cold outreach because you know the target site already links in your space.
Reference competitor links without being negative. “I noticed you’ve linked to [similar resource]. We’ve published something complementary that might interest your readers.” This demonstrates relevance without disparaging competitors.
Demonstrate value fit by explaining why your content belongs alongside what they’ve already featured. If a resource page lists tools for a specific use case, show how your tool addresses that use case.
Provide specific placement suggestions when appropriate. For resource pages, indicate which category fits. For content pieces, suggest where a link would naturally integrate.
Make action easy by providing exact URLs, brief descriptions, and any other information needed for quick addition.
Sample outreach structure (adapt, don’t copy):
- Reference their page and its value to readers
- Note the relevant topic area they cover
- Introduce your resource and its relevance
- Explain the specific value for their audience
- Request consideration for inclusion
- Provide all necessary details
Track all outreach in a system that captures:
- Target domain and URL
- Contact information
- Outreach date
- Response received
- Outcome (added, declined, no response)
- Follow-up schedule
Tracking Gap Closure Progress
Measure campaign effectiveness through systematic tracking.
Gap closure rate shows what percentage of targeted gaps resulted in links. Realistic expectations range from five to fifteen percent depending on gap type and outreach quality.
| Campaign Type | Targets | Closes | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource pages | 35 | 7 | 20% |
| Content outreach | 48 | 4 | 8% |
| PR pitches | 22 | 2 | 9% |
| Partnership | 12 | 1 | 8% |
Time to closure tracks how long successful closes take from initial outreach. Resource pages often close quickly; relationship-dependent gaps take months.
Quality of closes evaluates whether closed gaps meet expectations. A gap closure rate means little if closes come from lower-priority targets while high-value gaps remain open.
Profile improvement compares your link profile to competitors over time. As gaps close, the competitive distance should shrink.
Run fresh gap reports quarterly to:
- Measure progress against previous gaps
- Identify new gaps from competitor link building
- Adjust prioritization based on what’s working
- Discover emerging opportunities
Common Gap Analysis Mistakes
Pursuing all gaps equally wastes resources on low-value targets. The purpose of analysis is prioritization, not comprehensive pursuit.
Ignoring context leads to inappropriate outreach. Understanding why a gap exists prevents embarrassing pitches to sites that clearly won’t link to you.
Over-relying on tools misses nuance that manual review reveals. Tool-reported gaps sometimes reflect data limitations rather than actual opportunities.
Neglecting content quality before outreach fails predictably. If your content doesn’t match or exceed what competitors offer, closing gaps through better outreach alone rarely works.
One-and-done analysis misses the dynamic nature of link building. Competitor profiles change; new gaps emerge; priorities shift. Regular analysis maintains strategic relevance.
Link gap analysis transforms competitive intelligence into targeted action. Instead of broad prospecting, you focus on sites demonstrably willing to link in your space. That focus dramatically improves outreach efficiency and accelerates link acquisition.
Sources
- Ahrefs Blog: “Link Intersect: How to Find Link Opportunities” (https://ahrefs.com/blog/link-intersect/)
- Semrush Blog: “Backlink Gap Analysis: Find Untapped Link Building Opportunities” (https://www.semrush.com/blog/backlink-gap/)
- Moz: “Competitive Link Analysis” (https://moz.com/blog/competitive-link-analysis)
- Search Engine Journal: “How to Perform a Link Gap Analysis” (https://www.searchenginejournal.com/link-gap-analysis/)