The Dispensary Ranking Above You Left a Map of Every Backlink That's Working in Your Market.
The dispensary sitting in the top 3 map pack positions in your city has already done the research. They found the chambers, the local press outlets, the brand pages, and the directories that move rankings in your specific market. All of that is visible in Ahrefs right now. Here is the exact process to read it and take what is theirs.
Grab the Free GBP Checklist →
"the dispensary murdering you on Google Maps right now literally left you a map of every backlink that's working in your city. it's all in Ahrefs. go take what's yours, no cap."
"here's the thing nobody tells you: your competitor didn't find those links by accident. they either did this exact research themselves or hired someone who did. a chamber membership, a local press mention, a brand manufacturer page that lists them but not you. every one of those links is a gap in your profile you can close. the full authority playbook covers every lane, but this analysis tells you exactly where to start in your specific market."
Why Competitor Analysis Is the Highest-ROI Starting Point in Link Building
Generic link building advice tells you to build chamber links, get local press, get in directories. All of that is correct. But it does not tell you which sources are actually moving rankings in your specific market, in your specific city, against your specific competitors. Competitor backlink analysis does. Every referring domain linking to your top-ranked competitor has already proven it is willing to link to a cannabis dispensary in your area. That eliminates the prospecting phase entirely and turns outreach into a targeted list of confirmed opportunities.
This is the same technique the agency behind your top competitor probably used to build their profile. It works in both directions. Run it on them first.
The Complete Competitor Backlink Analysis Process.
Seven steps from finding competitors to sending outreach. Work through them in order.
Identify Your Top 3 Map Pack Competitors
Search "dispensary near me" and "dispensary [your city]" in Google Maps using an incognito window to remove personalization. Note the top 3 results. Also run the organic Google search for your primary keywords and note which dispensary websites appear on page one. These are the domains you will analyze. Focus on the dispensaries consistently appearing in both map pack and organic results, these have the strongest combined authority signals.
Run Each Competitor Domain Through Ahrefs Site Explorer
Enter each competitor URL into Ahrefs Site Explorer. Navigate to the Backlinks section and then Referring Domains. This shows every unique domain currently linking to their site, along with DA scores, do-follow vs no-follow status, and the specific pages being linked to. Export the referring domains list for each competitor to a spreadsheet.
Filter for DA 40 and Above, Do-Follow Only
From the exported list, filter to show only do-follow links from domains with DA 40 or higher. This removes noise and focuses your attention on the links that are actually passing meaningful authority. In most dispensary markets, this filter takes a list of hundreds of referring domains down to 20 to 50 high-quality targets. That is a manageable, actionable list.
- Do-follow only: confirms link equity is being passed
- DA 40 minimum: confirmed threshold for meaningful local impact
- Ignore blog comments, forum links, and press release wires
Sort by Local Relevance and Cannabis Relevance
From your filtered list, manually sort into three categories. Local and replicable: chamber of commerce pages, local press coverage, nonprofit sponsor pages, city event listings, business award pages. Cannabis-relevant and replicable: brand manufacturer pages, cannabis directories, industry association listings. Hard to replicate quickly: major editorial features in national publications. Focus first on the local and replicable category, these have the fastest timeline and highest map pack impact.
Run the Backlink Gap Analysis in SEMrush
SEMrush has a dedicated Backlink Gap tool that compares your domain directly against up to 4 competitors simultaneously. It outputs a prioritized list of domains linking to competitors but not to you. This is the fastest way to find your highest-priority targets without manually cross-referencing multiple spreadsheets. Ahrefs Link Intersect provides the same function. Run both if you have access to both tools.
Build Your Targeted Outreach List
From your filtered, sorted, gap-analyzed list, identify the 10 to 15 highest-DA replicable links. For each one, research the specific contact or submission process. Chamber memberships have a join page. Local press outlets have editorial contact info. Brand reps have email addresses. Nonprofit sponsor pages have contact forms. Build a spreadsheet with domain, DA, contact, outreach method, and status column. This becomes your link building pipeline.
Execute Outreach at Natural Velocity
Work through your list at 3 to 5 new link attempts per month. This velocity keeps your link acquisition pattern looking natural to Google, which scrutinizes cannabis sites more than most niches. Track every outreach in your pipeline spreadsheet: date contacted, response received, link status. Follow up once after one week on non-responses. After two attempts with no response, move to the next target. Revisit non-responsive targets in 60 days.
"the backlink gap analysis in SEMrush is the cheat code for this. you put in your domain and your top 3 competitors and it spits out a list of every domain linking to them but not to you. that list is your link building roadmap. sorted by DA. confirmed cannabis-dispensary-friendly because they already link to one. start at the top, work down, fr."
Four Tools. Each Does Something Different.
Ahrefs Site Explorer
The most comprehensive backlink analysis tool available. Run any competitor domain through Site Explorer to see their full referring domain list, DA scores, do-follow status, anchor text distribution, and which specific pages are attracting the most links. The Link Intersect feature finds domains linking to competitors but not to you.
- Full referring domain exports
- Link Intersect for gap analysis
- Best broken link identification
- Historical link data available
SEMrush Backlink Gap
The dedicated Backlink Gap tool compares your domain against up to 4 competitors in one view. It outputs a prioritized list of domains linking to competitors but not to you, making it faster than manual cross-referencing for identifying your highest-priority outreach targets. Also tracks link building campaign progress over time.
- Multi-competitor gap view in one screen
- Backlink campaign tracking
- Faster for initial gap identification
- Toxic backlink detection included
Google Search Console
Free. Shows your own backlinks under the Links report. Use this before investing in paid tools to understand your current baseline. It does not show competitor backlinks, but it gives you your starting point: how many referring domains you currently have, which pages are attracting links, and which anchor text is most common in your current profile.
- Free, no subscription required
- Your own backlinks only
- Best for establishing baseline
- Pairs with Ahrefs or SEMrush for competitor data
Majestic
Provides Trust Flow and Citation Flow metrics alongside topical authority mapping. Useful as a supplementary view when you want to understand the topical relevance of competitor backlinks, not just DA. A cannabis-relevant Trust Flow score provides a different perspective than DA alone on link quality.
- Trust Flow and Citation Flow scoring
- Topical authority mapping
- Good supplementary perspective on link quality
- Not a replacement for Ahrefs or SEMrush
Important distinction: None of these tools manage citations. For NAP consistency audits across directories, use Whitespark or BrightLocal separately. The directory backlinks guide covers exactly how citations and backlinks work together as separate but complementary strategies.
"when you pull your competitor's backlink profile, the thing that jumps out most is always the local stuff. a chamber page. a local news article. a nonprofit sponsor list. an event recap that mentions them. those are the links most agencies don't even look for because they're not in a tool. they're out in the real community."
"and then there's the brand rep pages. go check how many of their product brands have a 'Where to Buy' page that lists your competitor but not you. that's a do-follow backlink from a cannabis-relevant domain and all it takes is one email to the brand rep. that gap right there is probably worth 5 to 10 new backlinks before you even look at anything else. deadass."
Five Categories of Competitor Backlinks Worth Targeting.
Not every competitor backlink is worth pursuing. These five categories represent the highest-probability, highest-impact targets for a cannabis dispensary competing in a local market.
Local Press Outlets That Covered Them
If a local newspaper, city magazine, or community news site covered your competitor, they cover cannabis businesses in your market. Pitch the same outlet with a different story angle. Build a relationship with the journalist who wrote the piece. See the industry backlinks guide for pitching approach.
Event Sponsorship Pages They Appear On
If your competitor sponsored a local event and got a backlink from the event website, that event organizer runs future events where you can sponsor instead. Find the organizer, reach out, and get on the sponsor list for the next event. Same domain, different year.
Brand Manufacturer Pages Listing Them
Every brand they stock that has a "Where to Buy" page listing them is a backlink you can earn with one email. If you carry the same brand, you have the same right to be listed. This is often the fastest category to close because brand reps actively want their retail partners listed.
Cannabis Directories They Are In That You Are Not
Cross-reference their referring domains against the directory backlinks list. Any DA 40+ cannabis directory listing them but not you is a straightforward gap. Most directory listings require only a free or low-cost submission. Close every directory gap before pursuing harder outreach targets.
Local Organization Memberships
Chamber of commerce, Cannabis Chamber regional chapter, local nonprofit boards, business associations. If they have a chamber link, you should have a chamber link. Any local .org or .com membership page linking to them is a membership you can join. See the full local backlinks playbook for every source.
Unlinked Mentions You Can Convert
Competitor backlink analysis sometimes surfaces articles that mention your dispensary without linking, or mentions you were unaware of. These cross over into unlinked mention recovery territory: find the contact, send a one-sentence ask, most sites add the link immediately.
"build 3 to 5 quality links per month from your outreach list. not 20 in a week. Google watches link acquisition velocity on cannabis sites harder than almost any other niche. a natural pace that looks like organic relationship-building is what passes the test. patience here is literally part of the strategy. no shortcuts."
"competitor analysis tells you where to aim. the GBP checklist tells you whether the target you're aiming at is actually ready to receive the traffic. building a backlink profile on top of a weak GBP is like upgrading the engine on a car with no wheels. run the checklist first. lock in every GBP signal. then go take your competitor's links."
"this is the sequence. foundation, then authority, then compounding. skip the foundation and the authority doesn't stick. fr."
Get the Free GBP Checklist →Competitor Backlink Analysis Questions Answered.
Everything dispensary owners ask about running competitor backlink analysis and building an outreach pipeline.
What tools do I need to run competitor backlink analysis?
Ahrefs Site Explorer is the most comprehensive option. It shows every referring domain, DA scores, do-follow status, and includes Link Intersect for gap analysis. SEMrush Backlink Gap is faster for side-by-side multi-competitor comparison. Google Search Console is free and shows your own backlinks only, useful for establishing your baseline before running competitor analysis. Majestic provides supplementary Trust Flow metrics. You do not need all four: Ahrefs alone handles the core analysis workflow.
How do I identify my top competitors for backlink analysis?
Search "dispensary near me" and "dispensary [your city]" in incognito mode in Google Maps. The top 3 results are your primary targets. Also run organic Google search for your main keywords and note which dispensary websites appear on page one. Focus analysis on dispensaries appearing consistently in both map pack and organic results, these have the strongest combined authority profiles and the most valuable backlink data to reverse-engineer.
What competitor backlinks can I realistically replicate?
The most replicable are directory listings you are missing, local press outlets that covered them, event sponsorship pages they appear on, brand manufacturer Where to Buy pages listing them, and local chamber or nonprofit sponsor pages. The hardest to replicate quickly are editorial features in major national publications, which require building media relationships over time. Focus on the local and replicable category first for the fastest map pack impact. See the local backlinks playbook for the full source list.
What is backlink gap analysis and how does it work?
Backlink gap analysis compares your backlink profile directly against one or more competitors to identify domains linking to them but not to you. SEMrush has a dedicated Backlink Gap tool for this. In Ahrefs, the Link Intersect feature provides the same output. The result is a prioritized list of domains that have already demonstrated willingness to link to cannabis dispensaries in your market, eliminating the prospecting phase and giving you a direct outreach list of confirmed opportunities.
How many competitor backlinks should I try to build per month?
Three to five quality links per month is the right velocity. Google scrutinizes cannabis site link acquisition more than most niches. A burst of 20 links in two weeks looks manipulative even when every individual link is legitimate. Build a pipeline spreadsheet, work through your outreach list systematically, and track status. The compounding effect of 3 to 5 quality links per month for 12 months is dramatically more powerful than an aggressive burst that triggers manual review. Patience is literally part of the link building strategy in cannabis.
The Exact Playbook the Top-Ranked
Dispensaries in Your Market
Are Using Right Now.
"Right now, someone in your city is searching 'dispensary near me.' One of your competitors is getting that customer. I can show you exactly why and exactly how to take it back."