From local-seo-audit
Analyzes backlink profiles, referring domains, anchor text distribution, and toxic links. Useful for link building audits and off-page SEO strategy.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/local-seo-audit:backlink-auditThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Backlinks remain a top-3 ranking factor in 2025, but quality has radically displaced quantity since Google's Helpful Content System (HCS, integrated March 2024) reduced the value of thin, low-traffic sites linking out indiscriminately. A single editorial link from a local newspaper (DA 60–80) is worth more than 100 directory submissions. In 2025, the link-AIO connection is direct: Google AI Ove...
Backlinks remain a top-3 ranking factor in 2025, but quality has radically displaced quantity since Google's Helpful Content System (HCS, integrated March 2024) reduced the value of thin, low-traffic sites linking out indiscriminately. A single editorial link from a local newspaper (DA 60–80) is worth more than 100 directory submissions. In 2025, the link-AIO connection is direct: Google AI Overviews preferentially cite domains with strong topical authority and editorial links from trusted sources — earning high-quality local/industry links now functions as both a ranking signal AND an AIO citation trigger. For local businesses, the highest-ROI link building activities are: (1) Chamber of Commerce membership (DA 60–70, 1 hr effort), (2) BBB listing (DA 90, free/paid), and (3) local press mentions via digital PR — all achievable within 30 days.
2025 link building benchmarks:
Read {AUDIT_DIR}/intake-data.md — business name, URL, location, industry.
Read {AUDIT_DIR}/competitor-profiles.md — competitor authority benchmarks.
Read {AUDIT_DIR}/technical-findings.md — redirect issues affecting link equity.
Tools for this phase:
| Tool | Purpose | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs | Referring domains, DR, anchor text distribution, link history, content gap | Paid |
| SEMrush | Backlink Audit (Toxic Score), Link Building Tool, Backlink Gap | Paid |
| Majestic | Trust Flow (TF) / Citation Flow (CF) ratio — quality vs. quantity signal | Paid/Free |
| Moz Link Explorer | Domain Authority, Spam Score, link profile overview | Paid/Free (limited) |
| Google Search Console | Top linking sites, anchor text, disavow file management | Free (requires access) |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Comprehensive inbound link data — often shows links GSC misses | Free |
| OpenLinkProfiler | Free link analysis up to 200K links | Free |
2025 Link Building Context: Google's Helpful Content System (March 2024) reduced the value of thin, low-traffic links while increasing the weight of editorial, topical-relevance links. AI Overviews cite topically authoritative domains — earning topical links from local news and industry publications now doubles as both ranking signal AND AIO citation trigger.
Pull data from Ahrefs (Site Explorer → Overview) and GSC (Links report):
| Metric | Client | Industry Avg | Comp 1 | Comp 2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total referring domains | |||||
| Total backlinks | |||||
| Dofollow referring domains | |||||
| Nofollow referring domains | |||||
| Domain Rating / DA | |||||
| Majestic Trust Flow (TF) | |||||
| Majestic Citation Flow (CF) | |||||
| TF:CF ratio (target ≥0.5) | |||||
| Link velocity (new RDs/month) | |||||
| % links from niche-relevant sites |
TF:CF ratio interpretation:
| Type | Count | % | SEO Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Editorial (in-content, earned) | High | ||
| Directory listings | Medium | ||
| Social profiles | Low-Medium | ||
| Forum / comment links | Low | ||
| Press releases / news citations | High | ||
| Guest posts | Medium-High | ||
| Sponsorships / events | Medium | ||
| Sitewide footer/sidebar | Low | ||
| Unknown / misc | Unknown |
Over-optimized anchor text = unnatural link pattern = algorithmic penalty risk.
Use Ahrefs → Site Explorer → Anchors:
| Anchor Type | Current % | Healthy Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand name (exact: "Acme Plumbing") | % | 40–55% | |
| Domain URL (acmeplumbing.com) | % | 20–30% | |
| Generic ("click here", "this site", "website") | % | 10–15% | |
| Exact-match keyword ("chicago plumber") | % | <10% — ❌ if >15% | |
| Partial-match keyword ("best plumber near me") | % | <10% | |
| Brand + keyword ("Acme Plumbing Chicago") | % | <10% (natural) | |
| Naked URL (https://...) | % | <5% | |
| Other / compound | % | Remainder |
Red flags:
For top 50 referring domains (Ahrefs → Top 100 Referring Domains → sort by DR):
| Domain | DR/TF | Relevance | Link Type | Dofollow? | Traffic? | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [domain] | High/Med/Low | Editorial/Dir | ✅/❌ | Yes/No | High/Med/Low |
Quality signals checklist (assess each top domain):
| Referring Domain | DR | Linked Page | Anchor | Editorial? | Acquired How? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [domain] | [page] | [anchor] | Yes/No |
Use SEMrush Backlink Audit (Toxic Score) and Majestic (TF:CF) to identify risk:
| Toxic Pattern | Risk Level | Detection | Count | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBN networks (sites existing only to sell links) | Critical | Ahrefs → Links from same IP blocks | Disavow | |
| Foreign gambling/pharma spam | Critical | Anchor text analysis | Disavow | |
| Link farms (1000s of outbound links) | High | Majestic CF >> TF | Disavow | |
| Auto-generated spun content sites | High | Low TF, high CF, random content | Disavow | |
| Comment spam (at scale) | Medium | Blog comment pattern | Disavow | |
| Exact-match anchor overdose | High | Anchor distribution | Monitor | |
| Links from deindexed sites | High | site:domain.com returns nothing | Disavow | |
| Sitewide links from unrelated sites | Medium | Ahrefs link type filter | Evaluate |
Use Ahrefs Content Gap (switch to "Backlinks" mode) or SEMrush Backlink Gap:
| Metric | Client | Comp 1 | Comp 2 | Comp 3 | Gap to Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Referring domains | |||||
| Average RD Domain Rating | |||||
| Local/niche relevant RDs | |||||
| Links from local news | |||||
| Industry directory links | |||||
| Link velocity (RDs/month) |
These are minimum table-stakes links client must acquire:
| Site | Why It Matters | How to Get It | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBB (bbb.org) — DA 90 | Trust signal, AIO citation | Membership application | 1 hr, $X/yr |
| Chamber of Commerce | DA 60+, local relevance | Membership | 1–2 hrs |
| [Local newspaper].com | High-trust local editorial | Pitch news angle | 2–4 hrs |
| [Industry directory] | Niche relevance | Listing submission | 30 min |
| Competitor | Unique High-Value Link | How Earned | Replication Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comp 1 | [authoritative site] | [article/sponsorship] | [strategy] |
| Comp 2 | [local news piece] | [newsworthy event] | [pitch angle] |
1. Local Authority Links (Highest Impact per effort)
| Opportunity | Target DA | Effort | Timeline | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamber of Commerce | 60–70 | 1–2 hrs | Week 1 | 5×5=25 |
| BBB membership | 90 | 1 hr | Week 1 | 5×5=25 |
| City government vendor directory | 70–80 | 1 hr | Week 1 | 5×5=25 |
| Local business association | 50–60 | 2–4 hrs | Week 2 | 4×5=20 |
| Local newspaper feature | 60–80 | 4–8 hrs | Month 1 | 5×3=15 |
2. Industry Directory Links Use Whitespark Citation Finder to identify top 10 industry directories:
| Directory | Niche | DA | Listed? | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Angi/HomeAdvisor] | Home services | 80 | Yes/No | Submit |
| [Houzz] | Home/decor | 90 | Yes/No | Submit |
| [Thumbtack] | Services | 75 | Yes/No | Submit |
3. Digital PR (Link-Earning Content)
| Angle | Target Publications | Links Expected | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local statistics: "[X%] of [city] homeowners..." | Local news, [City] magazine | 3–8 links | 8–16 hrs |
| Expert commentary for local journalists | Local TV/newspaper | 2–5 links | 2–4 hrs |
| Community sponsorship (charity, little league) | Event + local coverage | 2–4 links | $X + 2 hrs |
| Original local market research | Industry publications | 5–15 links | 20–40 hrs |
4. Unlinked Brand Mentions
Search "[Business Name]" -site:[domain] in Google and Ahrefs Alerts:
5. Broken Link Building
From Ahrefs → New/Lost Referring Domains → chart view:
| Period | New RDs | Lost RDs | Net | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last 30 days | ||||
| 31–60 days ago | ||||
| 61–90 days ago | ||||
| 6 months ago |
Flags:
External authority distributes through internal links. Cross-reference {AUDIT_DIR}/technical-findings.md:
Run Ahrefs → Site Explorer → Pages → filter by Internal Links count — flag pages with 0 or 1 internal link.
site:[city].gov business directory. Effort: 1 hr. Priority: 20."[Business Name]" -site:[domain] in Google. Find 5 mentions → email webmaster: "Thanks for mentioning us — could you add a link?" Expected: 15–20% response rate. Effort: 30 min/mention.| Link Source | AIO Benefit | SEO Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Local news editorial | AIO citations favor domains mentioned by authoritative local sources | High-DA, topical local relevance |
| Industry association | AI recognizes business entity as industry-certified | Topical authority signal |
| .edu partnerships | AIO trusts .edu domains as authoritative sources | High-trust domain |
| BBB Accredited | AI recommendation thresholds often check BBB status | DA 90, trust signal |
| Google Business Profile | GBP website link counts as citation even if nofollow | Local entity verification |
| Action | Impact (1–5) | Feasibility (1–5) | Priority | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBB membership (DA 90 link) | 4 | 5 | 20 | 1 hr |
| Chamber of Commerce join | 4 | 5 | 20 | 1–2 hrs |
| City government vendor directory | 4 | 5 | 20 | 1 hr |
| Unlinked mention outreach | 3 | 5 | 15 | 30 min/mention |
| Industry directory submissions | 3 | 5 | 15 | 30 min each |
| Local newspaper pitch | 5 | 3 | 15 | 4–8 hrs |
| Digital PR original research | 5 | 2 | 10 | 20–40 hrs |
| Disavow toxic links (if confirmed) | 4 | 4 | 16 | 2–4 hrs |
| Recover lost DA 30+ links (Ahrefs) | 4 | 4 | 16 | 30 min/link |
| Cross-referral partner links | 3 | 4 | 12 | 2 hrs |
| Category | Weight | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Referring domain count vs. competitors | 20% | /20 |
| Link quality (TF:CF ≥0.5, editorial, niche-relevant) | 30% | /30 |
| Anchor text distribution (natural — brand dominant) | 20% | /20 |
| No toxic/manipulative links | 15% | /15 |
| Link velocity (consistent monthly growth) | 15% | /15 |
Veto: Confirmed manual action for unnatural links → maximum 40/100 until resolved.
Write to {AUDIT_DIR}/backlink-findings.md with YAML frontmatter. Also write HTML report to {REPORTS_DIR}/phase-12-backlinks.html and convert to PDF via python3 scripts/generate_pdf.py.
---
skill: strategy/backlink-audit
phase: 12
date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
business: [Business Name]
url: [URL]
score: [X/100]
referring_domains: [X]
domain_rating: [X]
tf_cf_ratio: [X.X]
toxic_links_found: [yes|no|count]
---
Include:
Key consumers:
audit/penalty-check — reads for toxic link and anchor text signalscross-cutting/serp-trust-auditor — Off-Page Authority dimensionoutput/report-generation — backlink score in master report section 12npx claudepluginhub mshahiddigital/agentic-local-seo-auditAudit a backlink profile using Ahrefs MCP data: profile health, anchor text distribution, toxic link identification, lost link reclamation, and gap analysis against competitors.
Analyzes backlink profiles including referring domains, anchors, link quality, link gaps, and competitor link profiles using DataForSEO.
Analyzes competitor backlinks, identifies toxic links, discovers unlinked brand mentions, and generates outreach plans and monthly SEO reports.