Short answer: pick one real competitor, list the sites that link to them, sort those links into simple groups, and compare the groups with your own. The gaps tell you where effort is likely to count. You do not need special training to do a first pass, and this is how to go about it.
Step 1: Pick the right competitor
Search for your main service plus your city, from a spot inside your service area. Choose a business that appears near the top, offers the same services and serves the same area. Skip national brands and large directories, because a business of a very different size teaches you little. If two or three qualify, start with the one that shows up most often.
Step 2: List their links
A backlink checking tool can list the sites that link to a domain. Free versions usually show only a sample, so you will see part of the picture and not all of it. Write down each linking site and the page it points to. A spreadsheet or a plain notebook is enough. Then do the same for your own site.
Step 3: Sort the links into groups
Raw lists are hard to read. Sort each link into one of these groups.
- Listings and directories, which are your citations.
- Local organizations, such as a chamber of commerce, a trade group, a school or a sponsored team.
- Local media and community sites, such as a news page or a neighborhood guide.
- Industry sites and suppliers, where your trade is the common thread.
- Everything else, meaning links with no clear connection to place or trade.
Count roughly how many sit in each group for both sites. Exact numbers do not matter. You are looking for a group where they have several and you have none.
Step 4: Separate gaps you can close from gaps you cannot
Some links can be matched. You can join the same trade group, claim the same listing or sponsor a similar event. Others cannot be copied, such as a news story about a one-time event. Mark each gap as closable or not. Also note any links of theirs that look odd or unrelated. Do not copy those. A competitor can carry risky links and still rank, and that is not a reason to take the same risk.
Step 5: Look beyond links
Before you decide that links explain the difference, compare other basics. How many reviews does each business have, and how recent are they? Is the Business Profile complete? Does their website have a clear page for each service and each city they serve? A rival may be ahead mainly because of reviews or a better profile, and a link plan will not fix that. Sometimes an honest gap review ends with the advice to fix the basics first.
Step 6: Write a short plan
Pick three to five actions from the gaps you can close. Put them in order, starting with the cheapest and most certain, such as consistent listings. Write down the date you started each one. Keep a simple change log so that, later, you know what you did and when.
What this comparison cannot tell you
A link comparison shows what a competitor has. It does not show why Google ranks them where it does. Tools see only part of the web, links change over time, and Google does not publish how much each link counts. Treat the result as a map of options, not a forecast.
If you would rather have someone else run the comparison, send your site, your city and one competitor through the request form or WhatsApp. We reply with a gap review and a plan, and you can read how that works for local SEO backlinks before you write. Any fee is quoted in writing first.
Search guidelines and tactics change over time, and no result can ever be promised. Links are one signal among many, and outcomes depend on your site, your competition and your category.