Yes, if backlinks are the backbone of SEO success, then prospecting targets for backlinks is the key to building a strong pipeline.
Link-building prospecting is the process of identifying and evaluating opportunities to acquire high-quality backlinks that drive authority and traffic to your website.
Our agency uses three proven strategies for successful prospecting: competitor backlink analysis, using advanced search operators in search engines, and the skyscraper technique.
Each method is designed to help you streamline your process, identify the best opportunities, and secure impactful backlinks.
Link Building Prospecting Is Just another Funnel
One way to view prospects is to see them as part of another funnel. It’s similar to sales and lead generation funnels, even a cold B2B outreach email funnel or distributing flyers. There are always factors of quality and quantity involved. The more your prospect, the higher the likelihood of getting a good linking opportunities.
Method 1) Competitor Backlink Analysis
Competitor backlink analysis is studying your competitor’s backlink profiles, you can uncover many opportunities and gain insights into SEO strategies that drive results in your niche.
How Competitor Backlink Analysis Works
When you analyze competitor backlinks, you’re essentially identifying:
- Outreach Targets: Sites that are already linking to your competitors and could link to you. Potential partners for collaboration or guest posting.
- Successful content types: Topics or formats that attract backlinks in your niche.
Step-by-Step Guide to Competitor Backlink Analysis
- Identify Your Key Competitors
- Search Google for your target keywords to identify top-ranking sites.
- Extract Their Backlink Profiles
- Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Majestic SEO to analyze their backlinks.
- Export the data for filtering
- Evaluate the Backlinks
- Our team filters using metrics like relevant traffic and trust flow
Method 2) Search Operators and The Power of Google
Google is more than a search engine; it is a powerful tool for prospecting backlinks. Search operators allow you to refine results and find the perfect sites to target for backlink prospecting.
Google and Advanced Search Operators
Advanced search operators are commands you can use in Google searches to narrow down your results. They help you bypass irrelevant pages.
How to Use Search Operators for Link Building Prospecting
Here are some practical ways to apply search operators:
- Find Guest Posting Opportunities
- Use intitle:”write for us” [your niche] to locate blogs that accept guest posts
- Use intitle:”guest posts” [your niche] to locate blogs that accept guest posts
I’ll then scrape the top 100 results, filter them accordingly to traffic, relevancy, trust flow and the usual metrics.
Method 3) The Skyscraper Technique
The skyscraper technique is a content-driven strategy that leverages superior resources to earn backlinks. It is simple in concept but highly effective when executed well.
This technique involves three key steps:
Step 1: Research
Identify popular content in your niche with many backlinks pointing to it. Use tools like BuzzSumo or Ahrefs Content Explorer. Look for outdated, incomplete or poorly formatted content you can improve.
Step 2: Create Outstanding Content
Create and add unique insights, data, visuals and case studies in your new “Skyscraper content”.
Step 3: Reach Out to Relevant Sites
Pitch and outreach to existing sites that already linked to existing content. Use tools like Hunter.IO to find contact information for site owners. Then use Mailshake or lemlist for outreach.
The Caveat for Skyscraper Technique in 2025 and Beyond
These days, every single site owner has been pitched at least once with the Skyscraper technique. I rather open the email conversation with a direct pitch, and then pivot to a guest article, ethical link swap. There’s no way you’re getting free links today. It just is. However, this doesn’t discount the Skyscraper technique as a powerful way to get backlink prospects.
Tools to Simplify Link Building Prospecting
I use excel sheets to filter my prospects. I look at organic traffic. I use Semrush or Ahrefs to pull that data. I then look at topical trust flow, a metric by Majestic SEO. Ultimately, I don’t want to be spamming the internet with outreach emails. This way, my email deliverability isn’t affected.
Investing in the right tools can make your prospecting process faster and more effective.
- Ahrefs or Semrush: For competitor insights backlink analysis and keyword research
- Majestic SEO: For trust flow metrics
- Hunter.IO: To locate email addresses for outreach.
- Mailshake or Lemlist: To automate and track email outreach campaigns
- Google Sheets: To organize and manage your prospecting data.
- Excel: For simple filtering
- Upwork: For hiring of VAs
These tools help you stay organized, save time and scale your prospecting efforts.
Conclusion: Make Prospecting Your Superpower
In conclusion, you can use competitor backlink analysis to find high-quality opportunities. Leverage advanced search operators for precision and speed. Look at skyscraper content to get prospects.
Combining these strategies, there is no shortage of backlink targets. The cool part? You can train a virtual assistant and outsource the entire process once you’ve mastered it.