Side by side
Free competitor backlink checker: read the gap in one table
Rivals rank above you and you want to know why. Put four domains side by side, read one table once a month, and resist the urge to copy anybody's entire link list.
What to expect
A gap is a clue, not a to-do list
Links explain part of a ranking difference. Sometimes a rival with very few backlinks and a low DR still beats you, because their page answers the search better. The table tells you which case you are in.
- Use up to 20 domains in a single compare call for 1 credit
- Use intersect, 2 credits, to see who links to two to ten sites at once
- Expect depth below Ahrefs or Semrush on huge sites
Your monthly side-by-side, with made-up numbers
| Domain | Referring domains | DR | Gap to you | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| you.example | 120 | 29 | none | Your baseline |
| rival-a.example | 150 | 30 | +30 domains | Within reach; look at how they earned the extras |
| rival-b.example | 900 | 40 | +780 domains | Different league; links are not your next step |
| rival-c.example | 35 | 21 | -85 domains | Ranks above you with fewer links; study their page, not their links |
How to read the made-up rows
Rival A is the sort of gap that rewards patience. Thirty extra domains can come from a few local mentions and a couple of useful guides, not a purchase.
Rival B is a warning against envy. Eight hundred more domains cannot be matched in a season, so chase a different search phrase where you can stand out.
Rival C is the most interesting row. Study it. When a thinner link profile outranks yours, the cause is usually the page itself, its match to the question, or a change in what searchers want, so look with your own eyes before you spend another credit.
Run intersect on yourself and your two closest rivals when you want names. It lists domains that link to all of them, which are the likeliest places to be mentioned next.
Before you copy anybody's links
- Open five of the pages that link to the rival and ask whether a human would click them.
- Check whether the link sits inside real content or in a footer, sidebar or comment.
- Note whether the linking site covers your topic or only the rival's town.
- Ask what you could offer that site: a guide, a figure, a correction, a local story.
- Write down the answer in your notebook, with the date, before you contact anyone.
When the gap is not about links
Sometimes the table says you are level and you still lose. Breathe.
A newer company can beat an established one with the same services when its page answers the question more directly, loads faster, or matches what people in your town actually type. No link count captures that, and nobody should sell you the idea that it does.
If your numbers are flat and rivals are flat, read the traffic-drop checklist to see whether the cause sits elsewhere, such as indexing or a Google update like the March 2024 core update.
The two calls behind the table
Both need a key from the free Google sign-in. Replace the placeholders with your domains.
# 1 credit: DR and counts for many domains
curl "https://rankdose.com/api.php?action=compare&domains=you.example,rival-a.example,rival-b.example&key=sk_live_..."
# 2 credits: who links to the rivals you list
curl "https://rankdose.com/api.php?action=intersect&domains=rival-a.example,rival-c.example&key=sk_live_..."We cannot tell you whether a rival's links are indexed by Google or whether anyone clicks them. A link that is never indexed or never visited may carry little. Treat the table as a map of who links to whom, then check a few of the pages by hand.