npx skills add ...
npx skills add openclaudia/openclaudia-skills --skill backlink-audit
Audit a domain's backlink profile using the SemRush API. Use when the user says "audit backlinks", "check my backlinks", "backlink analysis", "link profile", "toxic links", "disavow", "link building opportunities", "referring domains", "anchor text", or asks about a site's link authority.
npx skills add openclaudia/openclaudia-skills --skill backlink-audit
You are an expert link building strategist and backlink auditor. Use the SemRush API to analyze a domain's backlink profile, identify toxic links, and find link building opportunities.
This skill requires either SEMRUSH_API_KEY or AHREFS_API_KEY (or both). Check for them in environment variables or in ~/.claude/.env.global. Prefer whichever is available; if both are present, use SemRush as primary and Ahrefs to cross-reference. If neither is found, inform the user:
Use curl via the Bash tool. Base URL: https://api.semrush.com/analytics/v1/
1. Backlinks Overview
2. Backlinks List (individual links)
3. Referring Domains
4. Anchor Text Distribution
5. Indexed Pages (pages receiving links)
6. Competitor Backlinks (for comparison)
7. Referring Domain Authority Score Domain Authority Score (domain_ascore) is returned with referring domains and ranges 0-100.
If AHREFS_API_KEY is available (and SemRush is not), use the Ahrefs API v3 endpoints below. All endpoints require the Bearer token header.
1. Backlinks Overview (Stats)
Returns: live_backlinks, all_time_backlinks, live_refdomains, all_time_refdomains, live_refpages, dofollow_backlinks, nofollow_backlinks.
2. Referring Domains
Returns: Array of referring domains with domain, domain_rating, backlinks, first_seen, last_seen, dofollow, nofollow. Sort by domain_rating to see highest-authority referrers first.
3. Backlinks List
Returns: Individual backlinks with url_from, url_to, anchor, domain_rating, first_seen, last_seen, nofollow, redirect, edu, gov.
4. Anchors
Returns: Anchor text distribution with anchor, backlinks, refdomains.
5. Pages by Backlinks (Best by Links)
Returns: Top linked pages with url, backlinks, refdomains, dofollow.
6. Domain Rating
Returns: domain_rating (0-100) and ahrefs_rank.
When using Ahrefs instead of SemRush, map the fields as follows:
| SemRush Field | Ahrefs Equivalent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
domain_ascore | domain_rating | Both are 0-100 authority scores |
total (backlinks) | live_backlinks | Ahrefs separates live vs. all-time |
domains_num | live_refdomains | Referring domains count |
follows_num | dofollow_backlinks | Dofollow link count |
nofollows_num | nofollow_backlinks | Nofollow link count |
first_seen / last_seen | first_seen / last_seen | Same concept, both available |
The audit process (Steps 1-7 below) works identically regardless of which API you use. Simply substitute the corresponding endpoints and field names.
Fetch the backlink overview and summarize:
Pull the top referring domains sorted by authority score. Evaluate:
Domain Quality Tiers:
| Tier | Authority Score | Quality | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 80-100 | Excellent | Protect and nurture |
| Tier 2 | 60-79 | Good | Maintain relationship |
| Tier 3 | 40-59 | Average | Monitor |
| Tier 4 | 20-39 | Low quality | Review for relevance |
| Tier 5 | 0-19 | Suspicious | Investigate for toxicity |
Domain Quality Distribution: Calculate the percentage of referring domains in each tier. A healthy profile should have:
Diversity Analysis:
Pull anchor text data and classify each anchor:
| Anchor Type | Healthy Range | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branded | 30-50% | Brand name or domain | "Acme Corp", "acme.com" |
| Naked URL | 10-20% | Raw URL | "https://acme.com/product" |
| Generic | 10-15% | Non-descriptive text | "click here", "read more", "this website" |
| Topic/Keyword | 10-20% | Natural topic reference | "project management software" |
| Exact Match | 1-5% | Exact target keyword | "best project management tool" |
| Partial Match | 5-10% | Includes target keyword variation | "top tools for project management" |
| Compound | 5-10% | Brand + keyword | "Acme project management" |
| Image (no alt) | < 5% | Images without alt text | [image] |
Red flags in anchor text:
Score each backlink for toxicity based on these signals:
Toxicity Signals (each adds to a toxicity score 0-100):
| Signal | Weight | Detection Method |
|---|---|---|
| Source domain AS < 10 | +15 | From referring domains data |
| Source is known link farm/PBN pattern | +30 | Domain name patterns: keyword-keyword-keyword.com, random strings |
| Anchor text is exact match keyword | +10 | From anchor text analysis |
| Source page has 100+ external links | +20 | From external_num column |
| Source is irrelevant niche | +15 | Compare source domain topic to target |
| Source has no organic traffic | +15 | Check via domain_organic if budget allows |
| Link from sitewide (footer/sidebar) | +10 | Same domain, many links to same target |
| Link from non-indexed page | +20 | Page not in Google (manual check) |
| Redirect chain to target | +10 | From redirect column |
| Foreign language + irrelevant | +15 | From anchor text + domain TLD |
Toxicity Rating:
Analyze the first_seen and last_seen dates to determine:
Healthy velocity patterns:
Pull backlink overview for 2-3 competitors and compare:
Link Gap Analysis: Find domains that link to competitors but not to the target:
If toxic links are found, generate a Google Disavow file:
Disavow rules: