Backlink gap analysis

Find the websites that link to your competitors but not to you

The best link building prospects are websites already linking to businesses like yours. WPCentrify finds the ones that link to your competitors and not to you, and keeps track of who you asked and who said yes.

Get early access How it works

Included on Studio, Agency and Scale. Each look uses AI credits.

Updated 9 November 2026

The WPCentrify Link opportunities screen for an example plumbing website, listing websites that link to its competitors but not to it, with authority, spam risk and outreach progress

What is a backlink gap analysis?

A backlink gap analysis finds the websites that link to your competitors but not to you. They write about your trade, list businesses like yours, or sponsor them, so they are the most likely to link to you too. Some tools call it a link intersect.

Link building usually starts with a cold list. Finding warm prospects by hand means exporting every competitor's backlinks and comparing spreadsheets. WPCentrify does it for you and finds every website linking to two or more of your competitors, which is a far longer and more useful list than those linking to all of them.

Websites already linking to you are left out, and a competitor's own subdomains never count as a linking website. Then you work through the list and mark each one.

Backlink gap analysis at a glance

Two to four competitors, with your tracked ones chosen for you.
Every website linking to two or more of them, and not to you.
Which competitors each website links to, and how many links.
Authority and spam risk for each website.
Asked, won or not a fit, kept through every later look.
A mark when a website starts linking to you.
Filters, sorting, branded CSV and PDF.
Each look uses AI credits; marking and exporting are free.

See who links to whom

Each website shows which of your competitors it links to and how many links it gives each, with its authority and spam risk.

A website linking to three businesses like yours has shown it links to your trade. Spend your time on the ones with real authority and a low spam risk, and leave the rest.

Which competitors each website links to
How many links to each
Authority and spam risk
Competitors' own subdomains never counted

A WPCentrify card for one prospect website showing which of three competitors it links to and how many links, with its authority and spam risk — Which competitors one website links to. Example data.

Track your outreach in the same place

Mark each website asked, won or not a fit, one at a time or in bulk. The marks are kept through every later look and recorded in the Activity feed.

When a website on the list starts linking to you, it is marked Links to you now, so you see the outreach paying off. Filter to the websites not marked yet, linking to the most competitors, with a low spam risk, and you have your next ten emails.

Asked, won and not a fit
Marks kept through every later look
Links to you now, when a website starts linking
Recorded in the Activity feed

A WPCentrify outreach view with counts of opportunities, asked, won and not a fit, and the next websites to ask filtered by competitors and spam risk — Outreach progress and the next websites to ask. Example data.

What you get

Link prospects, and the work that follows

Finding prospects is half the job. These parts cover the other half.

Two to four competitors

Your tracked competitors are chosen for you; change them any time.

Who links to whom

Each website shows which competitors it links to, and how often.

Authority and spam risk

Spend your time on the websites worth a link.

Track your outreach

Asked, won, not a fit, kept through every later look.

Links to you now

A website that has started linking to you is marked for you.

Branded exports

A CSV with your brand and the filters on screen, and a PDF of the same rows.

Which prospects to ask first

A simple order works for most local and service businesses.

A suggested order for working through link opportunities.
Prospect	Why it is a good bet	How to approach it
Links to three or four competitors	It has shown, more than once, that it links to businesses like yours.	Ask to be listed or mentioned beside them.
A local directory or chamber	It lists local businesses as its whole purpose.	Join or submit your listing.
A local news or community site	It writes about local businesses and events.	Offer a story, a tip or an expert comment.
A trade association or supplier	It links to members and customers.	Ask about a member or customer listing.
High spam risk	A link from it may do more harm than good.	Mark it not a fit and move on.

How to find link building opportunities from your competitors

You need the website connected to WPCentrify and a few competitors in mind, or tracked already.

Choose your competitors
Pick two to four competitors; your tracked ones are chosen for you.
Look for opportunities
WPCentrify lists every website linking to two or more of them and not to you.
Filter to the best
Not marked yet, linking to the most competitors, with good authority and low spam risk.
Reach out and mark
Contact each website, then mark it asked, won or not a fit.
Look again later
Your marks are kept, and websites that now link to you are marked.

How to ask for a link and get a yes

The websites on this list already link to businesses like yours, so the question is not whether they link to your trade but why they would add you.

Be specific. Say which page of theirs you are writing about and why your business belongs on it.
Offer something useful. A local tip, a correct phone number for their listing, a photo, an expert answer for an article.
Keep it short. Three or four sentences, one clear ask.
Follow up once. Then mark it and move on.

Before building new links, win back the ones you already have with the broken backlink checker, and see which searches your competitors win with the keyword gap.

What it does not do

Send emails for you. It finds the prospects and tracks your progress; you reach out.
Promise a link. A website that links to your competitors is a good bet, not a sure thing.
Count a competitor's own subdomains. They never count as linking websites.

Answers

Questions about backlink gap analysis

What people ask before they turn it on.

A backlink gap analysis finds the websites that link to your competitors but not to you. Because they already link to businesses like yours, they are the most likely to link to you too.

Yes. Link intersect is another name for the same idea: the websites where your competitors' backlinks overlap and yours are missing.

Two to four. Your tracked competitors are chosen for you, and you can change them.

A website linking to all four of your competitors is rare, so that list is short. Websites linking to any two of them are far more numerous and still good prospects.

They are not opportunities: they already link to you. Leaving them out keeps the list to websites worth asking.

Spam risk is an estimate of how likely a website is to be low quality. A link from a high risk website is rarely worth asking for.

No. It finds the prospects and keeps track of who you asked, who said yes and who was not a fit. You do the outreach.

Yes. Asked, won and not a fit are kept through every later look and recorded in the Activity feed.

Each look uses AI credits from your workspace balance. Reading, marking, filtering and exporting are free. Each plan includes AI credit every month: $1 on Solo, $10 on Studio, $30 on Agency and $75 on Scale, and you can buy more in $15 packs.

Early access open

Find the links your competitors have and you do not

Connect a site, choose two competitors and work through the list.

Get early access All AI and SEO tools

Plan prices to be revealed. Keep your data, export any time.

Find the websites that link to your competitors but not to you