Playbook: Harvest a Competitor's Broken Backlinks in One Sitting
Goal: convert a rival's dead pages into your prospect list.
1. Pull the competitor's top 200 URLs by referring domains (Ahrefs Best by Links).
2. Filter to HTTP 404/410/5xx only — ignore live 200s.
3. For each dead URL, export its referring pages and anchor text.
4. Drop links from the dead domain's own subfolders (self-references waste outreach).
5. Tag each prospect by topic match to a live page you already own.
6. QA gate: confirm the dead URL truly 404s for crawlers, not just a geo-redirect.
— Automation fits at steps 1–3: schedule a weekly export, pipe to a sheet keyed on referring domain.
Definition of done: a deduped sheet of referring domains, each mapped to one of your replacement URLs, ready for outreach.
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В @CleanTrafficDesk такого lead rejection reasons ещё много
Goal: convert a rival's dead pages into your prospect list.
1. Pull the competitor's top 200 URLs by referring domains (Ahrefs Best by Links).
2. Filter to HTTP 404/410/5xx only — ignore live 200s.
3. For each dead URL, export its referring pages and anchor text.
4. Drop links from the dead domain's own subfolders (self-references waste outreach).
5. Tag each prospect by topic match to a live page you already own.
6. QA gate: confirm the dead URL truly 404s for crawlers, not just a geo-redirect.
— Automation fits at steps 1–3: schedule a weekly export, pipe to a sheet keyed on referring domain.
Definition of done: a deduped sheet of referring domains, each mapped to one of your replacement URLs, ready for outreach.
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В @CleanTrafficDesk такого lead rejection reasons ещё много
The 3-Tier 404 Triage Framework
Not every dead link is worth chasing. Sort before you outreach.
1. Pull all 404s pointing to a competitor's domain (Ahrefs broken backlinks export).
2. Tag each by referring page traffic:
— Tier A: 50+ organic visits/mo and DR 40+. Outreach today.
— Tier B: indexed, some traffic, DR 20-40. Batch weekly.
— Tier C: zero traffic or DR under 20. Archive, do not pitch.
3. Only Tier A and B enter the outreach queue.
4. Automation fits at step 2: a sheet formula that auto-tiers on traffic + DR columns.
Definition of done: every exported 404 carries a tier tag and only A/B rows sit in the active pipeline.
Not every dead link is worth chasing. Sort before you outreach.
1. Pull all 404s pointing to a competitor's domain (Ahrefs broken backlinks export).
2. Tag each by referring page traffic:
— Tier A: 50+ organic visits/mo and DR 40+. Outreach today.
— Tier B: indexed, some traffic, DR 20-40. Batch weekly.
— Tier C: zero traffic or DR under 20. Archive, do not pitch.
3. Only Tier A and B enter the outreach queue.
4. Automation fits at step 2: a sheet formula that auto-tiers on traffic + DR columns.
Definition of done: every exported 404 carries a tier tag and only A/B rows sit in the active pipeline.
Replacement Content Spec Sheet
Before outreach, confirm your page can actually replace the dead one. Run this gate.
1. Open the dead URL in Wayback Machine, read what it covered.
2. Score your replacement against 4 criteria:
— Topic match: same primary subject, not adjacent.
— Depth parity: equal or greater word count and sections.
— Format match: if dead page was a tool/PDF/stat, yours matches the format.
— Freshness: published or updated within 18 months.
3. Any criterion failing = build a closer match before pitching.
4. Automation fits at step 1: a script that auto-pulls the latest Wayback snapshot.
Definition of done: replacement scores 4/4 and the archived original is screenshotted for the pitch.
Before outreach, confirm your page can actually replace the dead one. Run this gate.
1. Open the dead URL in Wayback Machine, read what it covered.
2. Score your replacement against 4 criteria:
— Topic match: same primary subject, not adjacent.
— Depth parity: equal or greater word count and sections.
— Format match: if dead page was a tool/PDF/stat, yours matches the format.
— Freshness: published or updated within 18 months.
3. Any criterion failing = build a closer match before pitching.
4. Automation fits at step 1: a script that auto-pulls the latest Wayback snapshot.
Definition of done: replacement scores 4/4 and the archived original is screenshotted for the pitch.