SEO Backlink Gap

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

• DataForSEO MCP server connected.
• Claude's WebFetch tool available (used for prospect scoring and topical relevance checks).
• User provides: (a) target domain, (b) 3 to 5 competitor domains, and optionally (c) minimum referring-domain rank (default: 250 on the 0–1000 scale), (d) dofollow-only filter (default: true), (e) minimum intersection count (default: linked by at least 2 of the N competitors).

Process

1. Baseline target backlinks mcp__dataforseo__backlinks_referring_domains, mcp__dataforseo__backlinks_summary

   • Pull the target domain's existing referring domains to build an exclusion set.
   • Save count and summary metrics for the report.

2. Competitor intersection mcp__dataforseo__backlinks_domain_intersection (with mcp__dataforseo__backlinks_competitors to validate competitor set)

   • Use backlinks_domain_intersection to pull referring domains that link to the competitors. Apply a dofollow filters clause and a rank floor of {threshold} to narrow.
   • Collect as a dict keyed by referring domain with the list of competitors linking to it.

3. Intersection

   • Retain referring domains that link to at least the minimum number of competitors.
   • Exclude any domain already in the target's backlink set.

4. Enrichment mcp__dataforseo__backlinks_bulk_ranks, mcp__dataforseo__backlinks_anchors

   • For each candidate, pull: domain rank, page rank 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.

5. Relevance scoring

   • Score each candidate on: (a) topical overlap (use domain homepage title/meta via WebFetch), (b) rank, (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.

6. 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 referring-domain rank: {n}
- Min intersection: links to at least {n} of {total} competitors

## Top 25 prospects

| # | Referring domain | Rank | Links to | Sample anchor | Link type | Angle | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | example.com | 680 | {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_rank,links_to_count,links_to_competitors,sample_anchor,link_type,outreach_angle,score

Tips

• DataForSEO allows up to 2,000 calls/min, 30 concurrent. Skills pace sequentially. With 5 competitors, expect a handful of intersection + enrichment calls. DataForSEO bills per call; use limit/filters to cap large referring-domain lists.
• 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 rank thresholds (cross-check with mcp__dataforseo__backlinks_bulk_spam_score). 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.