Backlink sites: find where to get links with an agent

Search for backlink sites and you get long lists of directories, forums and blog platforms. Most of those lists are copied from older lists. Some of the sites have closed. Many give links that search engines ignore, and a few can hurt you.

There is a better source than any list. The sites that link to your competitors already show you what works in your niche. This post shows how to pull those sites with an agent, how to sort them into ones worth pursuing, and where the method stops.

What are backlink sites?

Backlink sites are websites that can carry a link to yours. The term covers very different things: a directory that accepts submissions, a forum where you can post a profile, a news site that quotes sources, a blog that takes guest posts, a partner page, a resource list. The value of a link depends on the site's relevance to yours and how the link is placed, not on the site being on a list.

Two facts shape everything below. Links you can place yourself, such as a profile or a directory entry, are easy for everyone to get, so they carry little weight. Links someone chose to give you are harder to get and matter more. A useful list for your niche has more of the second kind.

Why do generic backlink site lists disappoint?

They are written for every site at once. A list of free backlink sites that suits a plumber does not suit a developer tool. They also age fast, because sites change their rules, add the nofollow attribute or close.

The second problem is that a list tells you nothing about who else uses the site. If a thousand pages use the same directory, a link there says nothing about your page. You want sites that link to the pages that already rank for your topic, since those are proven to be relevant.

How do I find backlink sites for my niche?

Look at who links to the sites that rank. The method has four steps, and an agent can run all of them.

1. Pick three to five competitors that rank for your main topic.
2. Pull the referring domains for each one: the sites that link to them.
3. Keep the domains that link to two or more competitors but not to you. That overlap is called a link gap.
4. Sort what is left by how the link was earned and whether you can ask for the same.

The data for steps 2 and 3 comes from a backlink index. looot lists endpoints from DataForSEO for referring domains and domain summaries, and the live table below shows the price of each call today. The backlink checker free tool shows one site's profile if you only want a look, and the competitor backlink audit recipe walks through the longer job.

How do I sort the sites into ones worth pursuing?

Open the list the agent returns and sort the domains into four groups. This is a judgment you make, and the agent prepares the evidence.

Skip anything that looks like a link farm: pages with hundreds of outbound links, unrelated topics on one domain, or a profile that exists only to carry a link. The agent can flag domains with a high count of outbound links, and you decide.

Are free backlinks worth chasing?

Some are, and most are not. A free link from a relevant, active site is useful. A free link from a site that accepts anything is cheap and carries little weight. The skill is telling them apart, and the link gap method does that for you because it starts from sites that already link to ranking pages.

Where I would spend effort first is the editorial and resource page groups. They are slower than a submission form, but they are also the links that other sites in your niche cannot copy by filling in a form.

What does this cost an agent to run?

It costs a few calls per competitor, priced as shown in the table above. A run for five competitors needs five referring-domain calls and a handful of summary calls. Read the price in the table, multiply by the number of competitors, and ask the agent to report the total before it starts.

The agent can read the price of every endpoint before it runs, so you can set a ceiling. What 1,000 lookups cost shows how to read and multiply prices.

How do I check a source before I pitch it?

Open each shortlisted site and look at five things before you write to anyone. Is the site active, with recent posts? Does it cover your topic, or is your link out of place? Does the page that would carry your link already hold dozens of outbound links? Does it link to your competitors in the body of an article or only in a footer list? Is there a named person you can write to?

A site that fails the first two checks is not worth a message. A site that passes all five goes to the top of your list. Five good sources beat fifty doubtful ones, since each real outreach message takes a person's time and each weak link adds little.

The agent can gather the first four checks for you. Ask it to open each page with a page-as-markdown endpoint, count the outbound links and report the topic of the page in one line. That adds one call per candidate, so read the price first and cap the number of candidates at a figure you are happy to pay for. Then you spend your own time only on the names that survive.

How many competitors should I compare?

Three to five. With one competitor you copy their profile, including their weak links. With ten the overlap shrinks to a handful of giant sites that link to everyone. Three to five rivals that rank for your main topic give you a useful overlap without the noise.

Try it: a prompt for your agent

Replace the domains with your own and three competitors you know.

The first run is the price check, and nothing is charged until you reply.

What it cannot do

• It does not tell you whether a link is followed or ranks a page. Check the link attributes on the page yourself.
• It does not contact the sites. Outreach is a separate step, and a human should write the first message.
• It does not guarantee any ranking. A link is one signal among many.
• It does not rerun on a timer. Watching for new links over time needs scheduled runs, not available yet.

Last checked 2026-10-03 against the live catalog and the looot skill file. Author: the looot team.