Example output: examples/seo-backlink-gap-linear-app-20260514/REPORT.md
Backlink Gap
Produce an actionable link-prospecting list: domains linking to your top competitors but not to you, filtered by authority and relevance, enriched with anchor samples and a suggested outreach angle.
Prerequisites
- SE Ranking MCP server connected.
- Claude's
WebFetchtool available (used for prospect scoring and topical relevance checks). - User provides: (a) target domain, (b) 3 to 5 competitor domains, and optionally (c) minimum Domain Trust (default: 25), (d) dofollow-only filter (default: true), (e) minimum intersection count (default: linked by at least 2 of the N competitors).
Process
-
Baseline target backlinks
DATA_getBacklinksRefDomains,DATA_getBacklinksSummary- Pull the target domain's existing referring domains to build an exclusion set.
- Save count and summary metrics for the report.
-
Per-competitor referring domains
DATA_getBacklinksRefDomains- For each competitor, pull referring domains with
dofollow_only=trueandmin_domain_trust={threshold}. - Collect as a dict keyed by referring domain with the list of competitors linking to it.
- For each competitor, pull referring domains with
-
Intersection
- Retain referring domains that link to at least the minimum number of competitors.
- Exclude any domain already in the target's backlink set.
-
Enrichment
DATA_getBacklinksAuthority,DATA_getBacklinksAnchors- For each candidate, pull: Domain Trust, Page Trust of the linking page, linking-to-competitor anchor samples (top 3 anchors), and country if available.
- Classify by link type: editorial, resource list, directory, forum/UGC.
-
Relevance scoring
- Score each candidate on: (a) topical overlap (use domain homepage title/meta via WebFetch), (b) DT, (c) intersection count, (d) link-type preference.
- Suggest an outreach angle per row: local fit, topical fit, competitive parity, resource-list inclusion, broken link, etc.
-
Produce the prospect list (see Output Format).
Output format
Create a folder seo-backlink-gap-{target-slug}-{YYYYMMDD}/ with:
seo-backlink-gap-{target-slug}-{YYYYMMDD}/
├── 01-target-baseline.md
├── 02-competitor-{domain}-refs.md # one per competitor
├── 03-intersection-raw.md
├── prospects.csv # machine-readable output
└── REPORT.md
REPORT.md follows this shape:
# Backlink Gap: {target} vs {competitors}
## Filters applied
- Dofollow only: yes
- Min Domain Trust: {n}
- Min intersection: links to at least {n} of {total} competitors
## Top 25 prospects
| # | Referring domain | DT | Links to | Sample anchor | Link type | Angle | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | example.com | 68 | {3 of 5} | "best yoga studios" | Resource list | Topical fit | 92 |
| 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
## Outreach brief
- Segment these prospects into 3 batches by link type and pitch each batch with a tailored template.
- For editorial links: pitch a unique-angle comparison or original research.
- For resource lists: suggest inclusion with a specific anchor.
- For directories: apply directly.
- For forums/UGC: engage before pitching; these are not cold-outreachable.
## Counts
- Total unique referring domains across competitors: {n}
- Passed filters: {n}
- Already linking to {target}: {n} (excluded)
- Final prospects: {n}
## Files
- prospects.csv: import to Hunter.io, Pitchbox, or your outreach tool
- Per-competitor raw data: 02-competitor-*.md
prospects.csv columns:
rank,referring_domain,domain_trust,links_to_count,links_to_competitors,sample_anchor,link_type,outreach_angle,score
Tips
- Data API rate limit: 10 requests per second. With 5 competitors, expect 5-10 seconds of sequential API time plus enrichment.
- Do not include subdomains of already-linked domains in the prospect list. If news.example.com links to the target but blog.example.com links only to competitors, treat as already-linked unless the user asks otherwise.
- The "Angle" column is the most important output for outreach. Keep it specific: "Their 'best X tools' list from 2024 is out of date and doesn't include you" beats "topical fit".
- Exclude obvious spam/low-quality domains even if they pass DT thresholds. Use the WebFetch step to sanity-check any prospect scoring above 80.
- If the target already outranks all competitors for branded terms, prioritise non-branded editorial placements over parity directories.