Using Competitors’ Lost Backlinks

Every website loses backlinks over time. Pages get deleted, domains expire, and content gets restructured. When a competitor loses a backlink, that link still exists somewhere on the web, pointing to a dead or changed URL. That represents an open opportunity. You can step in, offer something better, and earn that link for yourself.

This strategy is called lost backlink reclamation, and it works because the linking site already showed interest in a specific topic. They linked once. They may link again, especially if you give them a good reason.

Find Competitors’ Lost Backlinks at Scale

To find lost backlinks, you need to identify URLs that once pointed to a competitor’s content but now lead to a 404 error, a redirect chain, or a removed page.

Step 1: Pull your competitor’s backlink profile.

Use a tool like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz. Enter a competitor’s domain and navigate to their backlinks report. Filter specifically for broken backlinks or lost backlinks. Most tools let you sort by date lost and by domain rating, so you can prioritize high-authority opportunities first.

Step 2: Identify the original content topic.

Look at the anchor text and the URL slug of the lost page. These two signals tell you what the page was about. For example, if the lost URL reads /best-accounting-software-2021 and the anchor text says “accounting tools comparison,” you know exactly what kind of content once lived there.

Step 3: Check the linking page.

Before investing time in outreach, visit the page that contains the broken link. Ask three questions. Is the page still live? Is the content relevant to your niche? Does the site look like a legitimate, maintained publication? If the answers are yes, this is a valid target.

Step 4: Group opportunities by topic.

After pulling 50 to 200 lost backlink opportunities from several competitors, group them by content theme. You may find that 15 sites are once linked to competitor articles about a specific topic. That tells you one strong content piece could replace all those links at once.

Step 5: Prioritize by authority and relevance.

Not all lost links carry equal weight. A link from a domain with a rating of 70 is worth more effort than one from a domain rated 12. Sort your list and work from the top down. Focus on links that are contextually placed within editorial content, not from footers, sidebars, or low-quality directories.

One underused tactic here is checking archive.org for the original content. Paste the dead URL into the Wayback Machine. You can often read exactly what the original page contained. This gives you a clear template to build something better.

Outreach That Actually Works

Finding the opportunity is the easy part. Getting the link requires communication that is direct, useful, and easy to act on.

Lead with the problem, not your content.

Most outreach fails because it starts with self-promotion. Instead, open your email by pointing out the broken link on their page. Tell the recipient that one of their links is broken and that it may be affecting their user experience. This is a genuine service. You are helping them fix their site.

Keep the email short.

A contact form or email with five paragraphs gets ignored. A message with three short paragraphs gets read. The structure should be: identify the broken link, explain what it was linking to, and offer your content as a replacement. That is the entire message.

Personalize beyond the name.

Using someone’s first name is not personalization. Reference the specific article on their site. Mention the exact anchor text or the section where the broken link appears. This shows you actually read their content, and it makes your request harder to dismiss.

Offer exact replacement value.

If their original link pointed to a 2021 resource guide and you have a 2024 version with updated data, say that explicitly. Tell them what changed and why your version is more useful for their readers today. Give them a concrete reason to update the link.

Follow up once.

Send one follow-up email three to five days after your first message. Keep it short. Reference your previous message and ask if they had a chance to review it. Do not send more than two emails. Persistent over-contact damages your reputation.

Build your outreach list with care.

Find the right contact using the site’s contact page, LinkedIn, or tools like Hunter.io. Emailing a generic info address reduces your reply rate significantly. Reaching the editor, content manager, or webmaster directly increases it.

One area where this strategy performs especially well is for businesses targeting a specific geographic market. If you offer local seo services, look for broken links on local business directories, regional news sites, and city-specific resource pages.

These sites often have outdated links and maintain active editorial teams who are willing to update content when someone points out an issue.

Track your reply rate and adjust.

If you send 50 outreach emails and receive no replies, something in your message is not working. Test different subject lines, different opening sentences, or different content offers. Treat outreach like any other process you want to improve over time.

Tools To Track Results

Outreach campaigns without tracking are hard to improve. You need to know which links were placed, which sites replied, and how your new backlinks are affecting rankings.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is the most commonly used tool for backlink tracking. It’s backlink index updates frequently, and it sends alerts when your domain gains or loses links. You can also use it to monitor when a newly placed backlink gets indexed or removed.

Set up a project for your domain. Enable new backlink alerts. Each time a link goes live, Ahrefs will notify you, giving you a real-time view of your campaign progress.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console shows you which external domains link to your site from Google’s perspective. It does not update in real time, but it gives you an accurate picture of which links Google has discovered and values. Check the Links report monthly to see new referring domains.

A simple CRM or spreadsheet

For outreach tracking, you do not need expensive software. A spreadsheet with columns for target URL, contact name, email address, date contacted, date followed up, and outcome is enough to manage a campaign of several hundred targets. Tools like Notion or Airtable offer more flexibility if your team scales up.

BuzzStream or Pitchbox

If you run outreach at volume, a dedicated outreach tool saves time. BuzzStream and Pitchbox both let you manage contact lists, send personalized emails in bulk, and track replies and link placements in one place. They also help prevent sending duplicate emails to the same contact.

Rank tracking tools

After earning new backlinks, monitor whether targeted pages move up in search rankings. Tools like SE Ranking, AccuRanker, or Ahrefs’ rank tracker let you assign keywords to specific pages and watch their position over time. This connects your backlink work to measurable SEO outcomes.

Monthly reporting

Set aside time each month to review three numbers: total new backlinks earned, total outreach emails sent, and ranking changes on target pages. This review helps you understand your conversion rate from outreach to placement and whether the links you earn are actually moving rankings.

Competitors’ lost backlinks are not a secret tactic. They are a practical, repeatable process. You find what broke, you build something better, and you offer it to the right person at the right time. The sites doing this consistently build stronger backlink profiles than those waiting passively for links to appear.

Start with one competitor. Pull their lost links. Build or update one piece of content. Send 20 outreach emails. Track what happens. Then repeat.