Backlinks form networks around entities, topics, and sources of expertise. LLM analytics make it possible to extract and analyze these networks in a structured way. This turns competitor backlink profiles into actionable strategic data.
Let’s see how you can use LLM analytics to deconstruct competitor backlink profiles at a semantic level and turn them into concrete growth opportunities.
Step 1. Decompose Competitor Content and Links Into Entities
Backlink analysis typically treats links as isolated URLs rather than as semantic signals connected to entities and topics. LLMs see the big picture, including:
- Entities (brands, tools, people, concepts)
- Relationships between those entities
- Repeated co-occurrences across sources
Run a small sample of competitor pages and their top linking articles through an LLM. Start by asking it to break their content and backlinks into entity layers:
- Core entities: brands, products, platforms, standards
- Expert entities: authors, organizations, institutions
- Conceptual entities: methods, frameworks, problems, regulations
For example, instead of noting that a competitor has links from marketing blogs, an LLM will surface patterns like repeated references to the same research institutions, citations from a narrow group of niche experts, or, say, consistent co-mentioning of specific frameworks or terminology. This will tell you how they built authority on top of where they got links.
Step 2. Identify Borrowed Expertise Signals
One of the most powerful things LLMs can do is answer an uncomfortable question: whose credibility is propping this site up?
The thins is, competitors rarely build authority alone. They inherit it through:
- Citations
- Interviews
- Expert roundups
- References to trusted third parties
Use LLM to track competitors across the following:
- Which external entities are cited repeatedly
- Which sources appear across multiple backlinking pages
- Which names, brands, or institutions are consistently associated with the competitor’s content
This tells you, which experts Google associates with the topic, what kind of publications act as credibility hubs, and even which voices shape the narrative of the niche. With these insights as hand, you can start entering the same credibility network.
Step 3. Map Semantic Gaps in the Competitor’s Authority
This step is especially useful, since LLMs are pretty good at spotting what’s missing in your competitors’ link-building approach.
Ask an LLM to compare:
- Their linked entities vs. yours
- Their cited concepts vs. uncovered ones
- Their authority sources vs. adjacent but unused ones
This will give you solid info on:
- Overlooked sub-communities within the niche
- Under-cited experts with strong topical relevance
- Entire conceptual angles competitors haven’t claimed yet
These gaps are often far easier to close than fighting over the same overused publications.
Step 4. Find New Entry Points Into the Niche
This one is not rocket science. Simply ask your LLM:
“What other entities logically belong to this topic but aren’t being cited yet?”
LLMs will instantly suggest:
- Adjacent industries with overlapping problems
- Supporting disciplines that naturally reference your topic
- Non-obvious publications that speak the same conceptual language
These often have lower competition, higher semantic impact, and more durable long-term signals. This is how newer sites outrank older ones: by expanding the topic graph in directions competitors ignored.
Step 5. Translate LLM Insights Into Scalable Link Filters with Serpzilla
After extracting entities and recurring sources from competitor profiles, you need to apply those signals across a wider set of sites. Serpzilla enables this by filtering available placements based on topic, category, and consistency of outbound links.
Specifically, it lets you:
1. Filter competitor links by topical category. Instead of evaluating backlinks one by one, you can group placements by niche and content type, making it easier to spot semantic patterns and repetition.
2. Isolate consistent link sources. You can quickly see which sites repeatedly link to competitors, which reveals their core authority feeders.
3. Exclude semantically weak donors. By filtering out overly generic or mixed-topic sites, you avoid copying links that inflate metrics but dilute topical focus.
4. Discover adjacent placement opportunities. Once you understand where competitors get cited, Serpzilla helps you locate similar but unused sites within the same semantic neighborhood. This turns competitor analysis into a scalable system.
Step 6. Launch an Actionable Link Strategy
LLM analytics only matter if they change what you do next. A modern competitor backlink strategy should result in:
- Fewer but more semantically aligned links
- A clearer authority narrative around your site
- Entry into credibility networks competitors already benefit from
- Expansion into underutilized topical areas
Start by turning your LLM findings into 2–3 fixed link criteria (recurring entities, source types, or topic angles). Use those criteria to prioritize placements that reinforce specific pages or content clusters, and review new links in batches to confirm they strengthen the same semantic patterns rather than drifting toward generic authority sites.
Pro tip: Use Serpzilla as to source backlink placements that match those rules, focusing on context, topic alignment, and existing citation patterns.
