Competitor Backlink Analysis Workflow

Start by creating a broad list of individual doctors who could compete with the client in the same specialty and location.

For our example client, drrohitbhandari.com, use the competitor research prompt to find around 40–50 individual doctors.

Exclude hospital websites, Practo, Lybrate, generic directories, marketplaces, duplicate doctors and duplicate domains.

Before checking backlink data, verify that every candidate is a genuine individual doctor with a relevant standalone website.

• Doctor actually practices the required specialty.
• Website belongs to the individual doctor or doctor-led brand.
• Website is working.
• City is correctly associated with the doctor.
• No duplicate doctor.
• No duplicate domain.

Now check whether the candidate website has enough SEO strength and backlink activity to make it useful for competitor research.

Use available reliable SEO tools such as Ahrefs, Moz, Ubersuggest or Semrush. Check:

• DA
• PA / homepage authority
• Total backlinks

Use the project's agreed screening threshold. A practical starting range can be DA 10–20+, but DA alone should not decide the competitor shortlist.

After verification and SEO metric screening, remove weak or irrelevant websites.

The final number can vary by niche. Do not keep a weak website just to reach a target number.

For each qualified competitor, collect backlink data before doing additional Google discovery.

Keep the original export separately. Work on a cleaned copy so the raw data is always available.

Use Google Search Operators to find additional third-party mentions and possible backlink sources that may not be obvious in the tool export.

The competitor export can contain a large amount of noise. Filter it before manually researching every source.

1. Filter by DA and Spam Score using the project's agreed thresholds.
2. Remove obvious automated backlink and link-farm websites.
3. Remove obvious low-value SEO directories and bookmarking sites.
4. Separate generic social media and profile links.
5. Separate PR and syndicated pages from genuine editorial opportunities.
6. Keep relevant medical, local, professional and editorial sources for deeper checking.

Before moving a source forward, check whether the actual backlink source page is indexed.

Use an appropriate Google search check or URL inspection workflow where available. Treat search visibility as a verification signal, not as absolute proof of indexing.

Even when DA and PA look good, inspect the website itself. We want genuine websites, not sites that only look strong through third-party metrics.

• Is there real organic traffic?
• Is the traffic relevant to the website's niche?
• Does the site publish genuine content?
• Does the website look active and legitimate?
• Does it appear to be a spam or PBN-style network?

Only sources with acceptable reputation and genuine traffic should continue to the next stage.

Now find out whether the backlink opportunity is actually available to us.

• Does the website accept new listings?
• Is there a registration or onboarding option?
• Is there a submission form?
• Is email outreach required?
• Is an official email required?
• Is Google login required?
• Is the opportunity free or paid?
• Does the website require editorial approval?

Once the source has passed the quality and creation checks, classify the opportunity so the final database is easy to use.

This is where the source becomes a clearly defined backlink opportunity rather than just a competitor backlink record.

Add only sources that have passed the complete process.