What is a Backlink Gap?
The backlink gap (or Backlink Gap Analysis) is the difference between the number and quality of backlinks your website has compared to your competitors' sites.
If your competitors have way more backlinks, especially from popular and respected websites in your industry, this backlink gap could be the reason they outrank you in Google search results.
Why Backlink Gaps Matter?
Google treats backlinks as votes of confidence. The more high-quality backlinks a site has, the higher Google tends to rank it.
So if there's a major backlink gap where your competitors dwarf you in the number of great backlinks pointing to their sites, closing that gap can potentially launch your rankings above theirs.
How to Identify Your Gaps?
First, make a list of your top 5-10 competitor websites that are beating you in search rankings for your target keywords. These are the websites you need to analyze.
Next, use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush or Moz to deeply check the backlink profiles of each of those competitors.
Look at how many total backlinks they have, but more importantly, look at the quality and relevance of the websites doing the linking.
Then look at your own website's backlink data from those same tools. Compare the numbers, looking for any glaring gaps.
If competitors have thousands more backlinks than you, or if they have way more links from authoritative, relevant sites in your industry, those are major gaps to fill.
Closing the Backlink Gaps
Once you pinpoint the gaps, you can start getting more high-quality backlinks to your site through tactics like:
Guest blogging on respected industry sites
Asking for links from partners, customers, suppliers
Creating awesome, linkable content assets like guides or tools
Running digital PR campaigns to get mentioned in news articles
The key is focusing on quality over quantity. A few incredible backlinks from trusted, relevant websites are way more powerful than hundreds of random, low-quality links.
Building high-quality backlinks is an ongoing effort, not a one-time thing. Stick with it, analyze your progress periodically, and adapt your link-building tactics as needed based on how quickly you're closing those gaps.
Monitoring Your Progress
Use those same backlink analysis tools every few months to re-check the backlink profiles of your competitors and see how your own backlinks are growing comparatively.
If certain competitors pull even further ahead, you may need to adjust your link-building strategies.
Be patient and consistent with closing backlink gaps. It takes a lot of effort, but shrinking or eliminating that gap can be a huge driver in finally outranking your competitors.