How often should you perform a backlink gap analysis?

The frequency of performing a backlink gap analysis really depends on your specific situation and goals. There's no one-size-fits-all recommendation, but here are some general guidelines:

If you're operating in a moderately competitive niche, doing a gap analysis every quarter or twice per year can make sense. This gives you enough time between analyses to actually implement link-building tactics based on the findings.

However, if you're in a hyper-competitive space where link building is make-or-break for ranking, you may want to do gap analyses monthly. This more frequent analysis keeps you super up-to-date on emerging link opportunities compared to competitors.

It's also a smart idea to do an analysis shortly after any major search engine algorithm updates that impact link evaluation or scoring. These updates can shake up the backlink landscape, so reassessing the gaps after one rolls out is wise.

If you have a concentrated link-building campaign, doing a gap analysis before kicking that off is crucial for strategy. Repeating it periodically during the campaign lets you identify promising new opportunities as you go.

The frequency ultimately depends on your specific priorities and resources for link building. Just don't treat the gap data as the ultimate authority to follow blindly. It's one tool in your SEO kit that still requires human evaluation and a smart, sustainable link-earning strategy.