BacklinksBacklink IndexActive in MCP

Compare Backlink Gap

compare_backlink_gap(domain: string, competitors: string[])

Backlink gap / link intersect: referring domains that link to N competitors, ranked by true authority, spam-filtered, earned-flagged.

Discovers referring domains linking to competitors but not to your domain. Automatically filters out spam domains (spam_score > 30) and flags earned links.

Input Parameters

2 arguments
ParameterTypeRequirementDefault / ConstraintsDescription
domainstringrequired
none
Your domain to compare.
competitorsstring[]required
Array of 1 to 5 competitor domains
Competitor domains to find link gaps against.

Return Envelope (OFE / 1.0)

Open Fact Envelope

Every response adheres to the strict ofe/1.0 envelope schema, returning verified data, typed facts, entity references, and follow-up tool suggestions:

data Payload

Discovers referring domains linking to competitors but not to your domain. Automatically filters out spam domains (spam_score > 30) and flags earned links.

coverage & Freshness

Reports returned count vs total items, observation timestamp as_of, and scope notes. Evaluated live per request.

resources (Dataset Exports)

If a query yields high row counts (e.g. >1,000 queries in Search Console), full unpaginated tables are persisted to R2 and linked as an mcpseo:// URI for follow-up retrieval via export_dataset.

next_actions

Provides suggested follow-up tool calls with pre-filled arguments so your AI agent can navigate from discovery to detailed inspection autonomously.

Emitted Facts & Entities

Knowledge Graph

Typed Facts

Facts emitted in the facts[] array with provenance receipts:

Fact TypeClaim DescriptionEmitted Data Fields
backlinks.link_gapA site linking to a competitor but not to your domain, with its rank and spam score.
referring_domainreferring_domain_rankbacklinks_to_competitorspam_scorefirst_seencompetitor_domain

Registered Entities

Entities registered in the entities[] array to establish subject relationships:

domain

Your domain, competitors, and discovered referring domains.

Request & Response Examples

Live MCP Payloads

Exact JSON schemas transmitted over Model Context Protocol (stdio or HTTP SSE transport):

1. Client Tool Invocation

compare_backlink_gap request.json
{
  "tool": "compare_backlink_gap",
  "arguments": {
    "domain": "vouchedhq.com",
    "competitors": [
      "semrush.com"
    ]
  }
}

2. Server Envelope Response

compare_backlink_gap response.json
{
  "schema_version": "ofe/1.0",
  "domain": "backlinks",
  "data": {
    "domain": "vouchedhq.com",
    "competitors": [
      "semrush.com"
    ]
  },
  "facts": [
    {
      "type": "backlinks.link_gap",
      "subject": [
        "urn:domain:vouchedhq.com",
        "urn:domain:semrush.com",
        "urn:domain:techcrunch.com"
      ],
      "data": {
        "referring_domain": "techcrunch.com",
        "referring_domain_rank": 88,
        "backlinks_to_competitor": 12,
        "spam_score": 2,
        "first_seen": "2025-03-14 00:00:00 +00:00",
        "competitor_domain": "semrush.com"
      },
      "provenance": {
        "source_class": "backlink_index",
        "method": "link_gap",
        "confidence": 0.8,
        "observed_at": "2026-09-24T00:00:00Z",
        "cache_hit": false
      }
    }
  ],
  "entities": [
    {
      "id": "urn:domain:vouchedhq.com",
      "kind": "domain",
      "label": "vouchedhq.com"
    },
    {
      "id": "urn:domain:semrush.com",
      "kind": "domain",
      "label": "semrush.com"
    },
    {
      "id": "urn:domain:techcrunch.com",
      "kind": "domain",
      "label": "techcrunch.com"
    }
  ],
  "coverage": {
    "returned": 1,
    "total": null,
    "as_of": "2026-09-24T00:00:00Z",
    "scope_note": "Filtered out domains with spam score > 30."
  },
  "deltas": [],
  "resources": [],
  "next_actions": []
}

LLM Agent Workflow

Claude & Cursor Integration
Step 1

Prompt Trigger

"Find high-authority websites that link to semrush.com but not to vouchedhq.com."
Step 2

Agent Decision & Reasoning

The agent runs compare_backlink_gap to identify reputable outreach and PR opportunities, trusting Vouched's built-in spam filter to purge low-quality directories.

Step 3

Recommended Follow-up Tools

Provenance Guarantees & Error Handling

Reliability
Source Classbacklink_index
Inspection Methodlink_gap
OFE Calibration Score0.80 (OFE 1.0 scale)
Cache DurationNone (Live)

Every fact emitted by Vouched includes source_class, method, observed_at ISO timestamp, and a published confidence score. LLM agents can inspect these citations to distinguish first-party verified facts (e.g. Search Console) from modeled competitor estimates.

Billing & API Keys

Paid market data, on Pro and Team. A call typically costs about $0.028 per competitor of market data, so Pro's included $4 covers roughly 142 calls with one competitor. Self-hosted, it uses your own DataForSEO key and bills you directly, with nothing added. See pricing for what each tool costs.

More Backlinks Tools

1 sibling tools
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