Backlink Analyzer

Backlink Analyzer

Analyzes backlink profiles for quality, risk, competitive gaps, and link-building opportunities.

Quick Start

Analyze backlink profile for [domain]

Find link building opportunities by analyzing [competitor domains]

Skill Contract

Expected output: a backlink report or delta summary plus the standard handoff summary for memory/monitoring/.

• Reads: target domain, backlink/referring-domain exports, competitor domains, anchor data, and any user-provided or tool metrics.
• Writes: a user-facing monitoring deliverable and reusable summary.
• Promotes: significant changes, confirmed anomalies, follow-up actions, and pending decisions to memory/open-loops.md.
• Done when: referring domains, anchor mix, and toxic-link share are reported with each metric source-tagged (or N/A); toxic ratio is computed; and at least 3 link-building or disavow actions are named.
• Primary next skill: domain-authority-auditor when toxicity or authority concerns need formal scoring.

Handoff Summary

Emit the standard shape from skill-contract.md §Handoff Summary Format.

Data Sources

All integrations optional (see CONNECTORS.md). With tools, pull backlink profiles from ~~link database and competitor data from ~~SEO tool. Without tools, ask for backlink CSVs, referring domains, competitor domains, and link changes. Respect robots.txt and TOS per SECURITY.md.

Decision Gates

Stop and ask the user when:

• No backlink data is provided and no ~~link database is connected — link counts cannot be measured. Offer: (1) paste a backlink/referring-domain export, (2) connect a tool, (3) cancel. Do not estimate referring-domain volume from the domain alone.

Continue silently (never stop for):

• Which of several competitors to deep-dive — analyze the top 3 by overlap and note the rest.
• Missing optional fields (geography, link velocity) — mark N/A and proceed.

Instructions

When a user requests backlink analysis:

1. Generate Profile Overview — output key metrics, link velocity, authority distribution, and profile health score, with each metric carrying its source tag (tool export / user-provided / estimated). 2. Analyze Link Quality — top backlinks, link type mix, anchor text distribution, and geography. 3. Identify Toxic Links — risk indicators, links to review, and disavow recommendations; report the toxic ratio as a labeled figure. 4. Compare Against Competitors — profile comparison, link intersection, and top linked competitor content. 5. Find Link Building Opportunities — intersection prospects, broken links, unlinked mentions, resource pages, guest posts, and effort-vs-impact priorities. 6. Track Link Changes — new and lost links, net change, and recovery priorities, each delta labeled against its baseline. 7. Generate Backlink Report — executive summary, strengths, concerns, opportunities, competitive position, recommended actions, and KPIs, with every figure source-tagged.

Label every metric Measured (tool/export), User-provided, or Estimated (model inference); never present an estimate as measured; if a required metric is unavailable, mark it N/A — do not invent it.

Reference: See Analysis Templates for the compact output templates used in all seven steps.

CITE Item Mapping

When running domain-authority-auditor after this analysis, the following data feeds directly into CITE scoring:

Example

Sample outcome: a link-intersection table, top immediate opportunities, and an estimated impact model. Keep the full structure in Analysis Templates.

Tips for Success

Prioritize quality, monitor regularly, diversify anchors and link types, and disavow cautiously.

Link Quality and Strategy Reference

Reference: See Link Quality Rubric for the scoring matrix, toxic-link criteria, benchmarks, and disavow guidance.

Reference: See Outreach Templates for outreach frameworks, subject lines, response benchmarks, follow-up sequences, and templates.

Save Results

Ask "Save these results?" If yes, write to memory/monitoring/ — see Skill Contract §Save Results Template. If toxic ratio exceeds 15%, recommend domain-authority-auditor.

Reference Materials

• Link Quality Rubric — Quality and toxicity rubric
• Outreach Templates — Outreach frameworks and examples

Next Best Skill

Toxic ratio > 15% → domain-authority-auditor. Otherwise → Terminal. Visited-set rule applies per skill-contract.md.

Backlink Analysis -- Output Templates

Compact copy-start templates for the backlink-analysis workflow. Use placeholders until real tool exports are available.

1. Profile Overview

## Backlink Profile Overview
**Domain**: [domain] | **Period**: [period] | **Data date**: [date]

| Metric | Current | Prior / Benchmark | Status |
|--------|---------|-------------------|--------|
| Total backlinks | [X] | [Y] | [status] |
| Referring domains | [X] | [Y] | [status] |
| DA / DR | [X] | [Y] | [status] |
| Dofollow ratio | [X]% | [Y]% | [status] |
| Net velocity | [+/-X] | [prior] | [status] |

**Authority mix**: DA 80-100 [X]% | 60-79 [X]% | 40-59 [X]% | 20-39 [X]% | 0-19 [X]%
**Geo mix**: [top countries + share]
**Profile health score**: [X]/100 because [main drivers]

2. Quality, Anchors, And Toxicity

## Link Quality Analysis

| Source Domain | DA/DR | Link Type | Follow | Anchor | Target | Quality Notes |
|---------------|-------|-----------|--------|--------|--------|---------------|
| [domain] | [X] | [editorial/resource/etc.] | dofollow/nofollow | [anchor] | [URL] | [reason] |

| Anchor Type | Count | Share | Risk / Note |
|-------------|-------|-------|-------------|
| Brand | [X] | [Y]% | [note] |
| Exact match | [X] | [Y]% | [note] |
| Partial match | [X] | [Y]% | [note] |
| URL / naked | [X] | [Y]% | [note] |
| Generic | [X] | [Y]% | [note] |

## Toxic Link Review
**Toxic score**: [X]/100 | **Action required**: [none / monitor / outreach / disavow candidate]

| Risk Signal | Count | Evidence | Recommended Action |
|-------------|-------|----------|--------------------|
| Spam / link farm | [X] | [examples] | [action] |
| PBN suspected | [X] | [pattern] | [action] |
| Irrelevant or hacked site | [X] | [evidence] | [action] |
| Manipulative anchor | [X] | [anchor pattern] | [action] |

3. Competitive And Opportunity Analysis

## Competitive Backlink Analysis

| Metric | You | Comp 1 | Comp 2 | Comp 3 | Gap |
|--------|-----|--------|--------|--------|-----|
| Referring domains | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [gap] |
| DA / DR | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [gap] |
| Link velocity | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [gap] |
| Avg link DA/DR | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [gap] |

| Prospect / Content | Evidence | Approach | Effort | Impact | Priority |
|--------------------|----------|----------|--------|--------|----------|
| [domain or page] | [links to competitors / broken link / unlinked mention] | [outreach angle] | L/M/H | L/M/H | P0/P1/P2 |

**Top competitor-linked assets**: [asset] -- [why links accrue]
**Recommended asset gap**: [asset to build or update]

4. Change Tracking And Recovery

## Link Change Tracking
**Window**: [30/90 days] | **Net change**: [+/-X]

| Change | Source | DA/DR | Anchor | Target | Date | Action |
|--------|--------|-------|--------|--------|------|--------|
| New / Lost | [domain] | [X] | [anchor] | [URL] | [date] | [monitor/reclaim/thank] |

### Recovery Priorities
| Lost Link | Value | Likely Cause | Recovery Strategy |
|-----------|-------|--------------|-------------------|
| [domain] | High/Med/Low | [reason] | [outreach/update/redirect] |

5. Summary Report

# Backlink Analysis Report
**Domain**: [domain] | **Date**: [date] | **Period**: [period]

## Executive Summary
- Referring domains: [X] ([+/-Y] vs prior)
- Average authority: [X]
- Net velocity: [X]
- Toxic link share: [X]%
- Highest-value opportunity: [summary]

## Strengths
- [strength + evidence]

## Concerns
- [concern + evidence + risk]

## Recommended Actions
| Timing | Action | Owner | Expected Impact |
|--------|--------|-------|-----------------|
| Immediate | [action] | [owner] | [impact] |
| 30 days | [action] | [owner] | [impact] |
| 90 days | [action] | [owner] | [impact] |

## KPIs To Track
Referring domains, average authority, toxic link share, anchor mix, net link velocity, reclaimed lost links.

Link Quality Rubric

Use this reference to score individual backlinks, audit link profiles, find competitive link gaps, and prepare disavow files without mistaking weak links for toxic links.

1. Individual Link Quality Score

Score each link across six factors, multiply by weight, then sum the weighted values for the final Link Quality Score (LQS). Use scores 4 and 2 for cases between the table anchors.

Rating scale

Healthy anchor/follow distribution

2. Link Profile Calibration

Use these archetypes to interpret thresholds by site maturity.

3. Competitive Link Gap Analysis

Opportunity priority

4. Disavow File Safety Guide

Only disavow links when there is clear evidence of risk. Unnecessary disavow can hurt rankings.

Review workflow before upload

File format

# Disavow file for [domain]
# Generated: [date]
# Reason: [toxic link cleanup / negative SEO / paid links not removable]

# Individual URLs when only one page is toxic
https://spam-site.example/toxic-page

# Entire domains only when multiple pages are toxic
domain:pbn-network.example
domain:spam-directory.example

Best practices

5. Link Profile Health Benchmarks

Authority expectations vary by vertical:

Use industry ranges as context, not hard pass/fail rules. Keyword competition and topical relevance decide the real bar.

Outreach Templates

Copy-start templates for link building. Personalize every email, lead with the recipient's value, keep the first note to 100-150 words, make one clear ask, use a real domain email, and never attach files in the first email.

Operating Rules

Template Matrix

Base Email Shape

Hi [Name],

I was reading [specific page/article] and noticed [specific observation].

[One sentence of value: broken link, useful resource, original data, quote, or relevant angle.]

[One clear ask tied to their reader benefit.]

No pressure either way. Thanks for the useful work on [topic].

[Name]

Scenario Starters

Broken Link

I noticed the link to [description] in [section] returns a 404.
We recently published [resource] covering [overlap]. It may work as a replacement: [URL].
Either way, wanted to flag the broken link.

Guest Post

I'd like to contribute:
Title: [proposed title]
Angle: [unique POV]
Reader value: [why their audience cares]
Samples: [URL 1], [URL 2]
Would this be a fit?

Digital PR / Research

We just published [study] and found [headline stat].
Key findings: [finding 1]; [finding 2]; [finding 3].
Full report: [URL]. Happy to provide quotes or raw cuts.

HARO / Source Request

Source: [name], [title], [company]
Credentials: [why credible]
Response: [2-3 concise paragraphs]
Key quote: "[one standalone quote]"
Available at [email/phone].

Follow-Up Sequence

Response Handling

Subject Line Guardrails

Use: specific topic, article title, stat, or resource. Keep under 60 characters.

Avoid: Link exchange opportunity, SEO partnership, I'd love a backlink, fake Re:, all caps, vague "quick question" subjects.