Key takeaways
- A link intersect finds sites that link to one or more competitors but not to you, so they already link within your space.
- Sites linking to several competitors are your best targets, and the competitor pages they link to show what content earns links.
- Targeted beats mass outreach: BuzzStream’s study of 31 million PR emails found campaigns of 51 to 100 emails averaged about 12 links, while campaigns of 1,001 to 5,000 earned 70% fewer.
- Most outreach goes unanswered; a Backlinko and Pitchbox study of 12 million emails found an 8.5% reply rate, so relevance counts.
- Refresh the analysis quarterly as competitors earn new links.
A link intersect analysis compares your backlink profile with your competitors’ and lists the sites that link to them but not to you. These are warm prospects: they have shown they link to content in your industry. This Emulent guide covers how to run the analysis, rank the results, approach each type of site and use the data beyond outreach.
How do you run a link intersect analysis?
Use a backlink tool’s gap feature and then study the results by hand.
- Pick three to five competitors that rank for your most important queries.
- Run Ahrefs Link Intersect, Semrush Backlink Gap or Moz’s link intersect tool with your domain and theirs.
- Sort by how many competitors each domain links to.
- Filter out spam, irrelevant sites and pages with no real audience.
- Open the specific competitor pages each site links to, and note the content type and topic.
The last step is where the value is. A site that linked to a competitor’s salary survey will respond to different content than one that listed a competitor in a vendor roundup.
How do you rank intersect opportunities?
Score them on fit and likelihood.
| Criterion | How to apply it |
|---|---|
| Intersection count | a site linking to four of five competitors beats one linking to a single competitor. |
| Relevance and audience | real readers in your field count for more than third-party authority scores. |
| Page type | resource pages, roundups and comparison articles are easier to join than tightly edited features. |
| Recency | sites that linked to competitors in the past six months are likely still maintained. |
| Gaps | if the competitor page they link to is broken or outdated, your offer gets stronger. |
How do you do outreach for intersect link opportunities?
Match the pitch to why the site linked in the first place. The BuzzStream campaign study found smaller, targeted campaigns earned more coverage than mass sends, and the Backlinko and Pitchbox analysis found personalized bodies lifted response rates.
- Resource pages and lists: suggest your resource as an addition, naming the exact page and section.
- Articles citing competitor data: offer your newer or complementary data as an additional source.
- Comparison and “best of” articles: explain briefly what your offering does differently and provide facts the writer can check.
- Sites with contributed content: pitch an article with original insight for their readers.
Acknowledging the existing competitor link honestly, and showing what yours adds, usually lands better than pretending you did not notice. Never offer payment for a followed link; Google’s spam policies treat paid links that pass ranking credit as link spam.
How do you use intersect data beyond outreach?
Intersect data doubles as market research.
- Content gaps: if competitors earn links with research, tools or guides you lack, those formats belong in your content strategy.
- Relationship mapping: sites linking to many competitors are the publishers worth knowing in your industry.
- Gap tracking: the count of intersect domains over time shows whether you are closing the link gap.
- Topic signals: the subjects that earn competitors links show where demand exists.
How can the Emulent team help?
Emulent runs link intersect analyses within competitive research and enterprise SEO engagements, turning the results into content plans and targeted outreach. A caveat: backlink tools sample the web differently and miss some links, so treat intersect lists as a starting point and verify each prospect by hand. Contact the Emulent team to run an intersect analysis.