How to Tell if Someone is Running a Link Building Campaign in Ahrefs

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Over the years, I have spent countless hours studying backlink profiles, analyzing patterns, and developing strategies to increase search engine rankings.

Using Ahrefs as my go-to tool, I’ve developed an approach to spot when someone is running an intentional link building campaign. Today, I’ll share my experience and how you, too, can use these methods to decipher your competitors’ strategies.

Clue number one: Backlink profiles tell a story
Every investigation starts with a backlink profile. It's like examining a website's relationship with the rest of the internet. By entering a site's URL into Ahrefs' Site Explorer, I can instantly see who's linking to them and why.

I remember one particular instance where a competitor’s backlink france email list graph showed a sudden spike in referring domains. At first glance, it seemed natural — perhaps they had published some great content. But when I dug deeper, patterns emerged. Many of these new links were coming from high-DR blogs with similar content topics. This wasn’t a coincidence; it was a clear sign of a link building campaign in action.

The key was analyzing the quality and type of links . I noticed that these weren’t just random mentions. The links were from authoritative sites, and the anchors pointed to specific high-converting pages on their site. This intentional placement was a sign of a well-organized campaign.

The Role of Link Speed: When Growth Speaks for Itself
One of the most telling signs of a link building campaign is how quickly new links are acquired – a concept known as link velocity. During one investigation, I noticed that a competitor’s backlink acquisition graph was more like a steep hill than a gentle slope. In just a few weeks, they had acquired hundreds of backlinks.

Interestingly, I compared this spike to their historical data. Before the spike, their backlink growth was slow and steady. Such a sudden change in pace was unusual unless they had recently launched a viral campaign. But when I searched for any noteworthy content or news, there was nothing. This rapid growth was not organic; it was the result of aggressive outreach efforts.

However, context is everything. In some cases, I’ve seen natural events like a press release or a viral product launch explain a spike in backlinks. But when there’s no such trigger, it’s almost always a link building campaign.

Distribution of anchor text
If backlinks are the pieces of a puzzle, anchor text is the glue that holds them together. One day, while analyzing a site, I noticed an unusual pattern. The anchor text of their new backlinks was overwhelmingly keyword-heavy — phrases like “best CRM software” or “affordable project management tool.” It felt unnatural, as if someone had forced these keywords into place.

Natural backlinks tend to be more diverse, such as brand names or general terms. But when a particular keyword is repeated in multiple links, it’s often because the site owner is actively pursuing those anchors to rank for certain terms. After reviewing Ahrefs’ Anchors report, my suspicions were confirmed. Their link building campaign was heavily focused on targeting high-value keywords with exact match anchors.

Connecting referral traffic
Sometimes links aren’t just for SEO; they also drive referral traffic. Using Google Analytics in conjunction with Ahrefs, I noticed patterns that further reveal the nature of the campaign. In one case, a competitor suddenly started getting significant traffic from obscure sites that weren’t very relevant to their industry. These weren’t natural links ; they were carefully placed to boost their authority scores.