SEOquake link prospecting: what it does and its limits
How to use the free SEOquake extension for link prospecting: SERP overlay, CSV export and link analysis, where it stops and how to qualify at scale.
SEOquake does not have a feature called "link prospecting", but it is a handy free tool for the first part of the job. Its SERP overlay puts Semrush metrics, including backlink counts, under every Google result, so you can search for prospect pages ("best invoicing tools", "freelancer resources"), sort the results by those metrics and export the list to CSV. Its external links report then shows who a prospect page already links to.
What SEOquake does not do is the rest of prospecting: comparing competitor backlink profiles, qualifying dozens of domains at once, finding contacts or drafting outreach. This guide shows the SEOquake workflow step by step, where it stops, and how to run the full process with SEO Sauna's backlink data and Link Prospecting skill.
For the method itself, independent of tools, read link prospecting: a practical process.
What SEOquake is
SEOquake is a free browser extension from Semrush Inc., around since 2006, available for Chrome and Firefox. According to its Chrome Web Store listing (checked October 2026), it offers:
- an on-page summary: title, meta description, headings, canonical, indexability and word count
- a page-level SEO audit for content, mobile and technical issues
- a SERP overlay with position numbers and Semrush metrics under each Google result, in the country and language you choose
- AI Overview sources: which pages Google's AI Overviews cite, with Semrush traffic and backlink metrics
- the SEObar, which keeps traffic estimates and backlink counts visible as you browse
- internal and external link analysis: URLs, anchor text, follow status, HTTP status and broken links
- a keyword density report and side-by-side URL and domain comparison
- CSV export of SERP, AI Overview source, keyword, link and comparison data
Core reports and the built-in Semrush metrics (Semrush Rank, estimated US organic traffic, traffic cost and backlink data) work without an account. Connecting a free Semrush account adds Authority Score, referring domains and IPs, deeper backlink analysis and Traffic Analytics.
That makes it a quick way to judge a page while you browse, which is exactly what early-stage prospecting needs.
How to do link prospecting with SEOquake
1. Write prospecting searches
Start from the page you want links to and the reason someone would reference it. Then search for the pages that already link to things like it:
[topic] resourcesbest [category] tools[competitor] alternatives[topic] statistics[topic] for [audience]intitle:"resources" [topic]
2. Turn on the SERP overlay
With SEOquake enabled, each Google result gets its position and a bar of Semrush metrics underneath. Backlink counts and traffic estimates are a rough way to put stronger sites first, and with a free Semrush account you also see Authority Score. If the query shows an AI Overview, the AI Overview sources view lists the pages it cites, which are worth a look too.
3. Export and merge
Export each search's results to CSV and merge them in a spreadsheet. Remove duplicates, your own site, direct competitors and obvious junk.
4. Check each page's outbound links
Open a promising prospect page and run SEOquake's link analysis. The external links list shows URLs, anchor text and follow status. A resource page that links out to ten useful tools is a better prospect than one that links nowhere. You also see whether a competitor is already listed, which is often the best outreach angle.
5. Find the contact and write the email
This part happens outside SEOquake: author bylines, contact pages, editorial guidelines. Record where each contact came from and write a short, specific email tied to that page.
Where SEOquake stops
SEOquake is good at what it was built for: page-level metrics while you browse. For link prospecting, it leaves gaps. None of these is a flaw in the extension; they are simply outside its scope.
| Prospecting job | SEOquake | What you need instead |
|---|---|---|
| Find pages for a search | Yes, via SERP overlay | |
| Show backlink counts per result | Yes, Semrush backlink metrics | |
| Export results | Yes, CSV | |
| See who links to a site | Backlink counts; referring domains with a free Semrush account | A full backlink list per domain |
| Find sites that link to competitors but not you | No | A backlink gap report |
| Qualify many domains at once | One page or SERP at a time | Bulk domain data |
| Find contacts | No | Manual research or a contact tool |
| Draft outreach | No | Your own writing, or an assistant |
| Track campaign status | No | A spreadsheet or outreach CRM |
Semrush itself covers some of these in its paid app, such as Backlink Gap and the Link Building Tool, which collects prospects and manages outreach. If you already pay for Semrush, use them. If you do not, the question is how to do the rest without a large suite.
Link prospecting with SEO Sauna
SEO Sauna has two routes, and they share the same data and projects.
In the web app: Backlinks and Domain Overview
The Backlinks page shows backlinks, referring domains, target URLs and link quality signals for any domain, including competitors. Put a competitor in, sort referring domains, and you have a list of sites that already link in your niche. Domain Overview shows what a prospect site ranks for, which tells you whether it is topically relevant before you contact it.
A good habit: compare two or three competitors' referring domains and keep the sites that link to more than one of them. Those are sites that link to your category, not a one-off.
With an AI assistant: the Link Prospecting skill
Connect SEO Sauna to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex through the MCP server, and the Link Prospecting skill runs the full process in one conversation:
- It reads your project context: your positioning supplies the reason to link, your saved competitors are the backlink profiles to study.
- It builds 5–10 prospecting searches like the ones above and runs them against live Google results.
- It reads backlink and referring-domain overviews for the strongest competitors.
- It qualifies the best prospect domains with domain data and, where topical fit matters, the keywords they rank for.
- It filters out homepages, login pages, thin affiliate pages, spam and direct competitors.
- It looks for contact paths with your assistant's web tools and records the source URL for every contact. It never invents emails or names.
- It drafts outreach tied to each page and saves a report to your project: the best angle, a prospect table, evidence and two or three reusable drafts.
Example prompts to paste:
Use the Link Prospecting skill for acme.example/freelancer-invoicing-statistics. Use our saved competitors' backlinks and search results for invoicing statistics, freelancer tools and invoicing guides. Prioritise relevance over volume and include source URLs for any contacts.
Compare the referring domains of acme.example and competitor.example. List 20 sites that link to the competitor but not to us, with the page type and a one-line outreach angle for each.
For these 15 URLs I exported from SEOquake, check each domain's organic footprint and tell me which are topically relevant to freelancer invoicing. Drop the rest.
The last prompt is a useful bridge: keep SEOquake for quick browsing and use SEO Sauna to qualify the list in bulk.
ChatGPT custom connections get the tools but not the skill files, so in ChatGPT, paste the steps above as your prompt. See ChatGPT MCP server for SEO.
An honest note on data
SEO Sauna's backlink data comes mainly from DataForSEO. Semrush and Ahrefs have larger link indexes and more link-specific reports. SEO Sauna's advantage is that search results, competitor backlinks, qualification and outreach drafts happen in one place, at a flat price.
What it costs
SEOquake is free. SEO Sauna is €59 a month excluding VAT with 17,000 credits included, and top-ups are €1 per 1,000 credits. New accounts get 1,000 free trial credits with no card. See SEO Sauna 101.
Start a free SEO Sauna account and run your first prospect list.
FAQ
Does SEOquake have a link prospecting tool?
Not one by that name. SEOquake's SERP overlay, CSV export and link analysis support the discovery step of link prospecting. Semrush's paid app has a separate Link Building Tool for managing prospects and outreach.
Is SEOquake free?
Yes. The extension is free for Chrome and Firefox, and its core reports work without an account. A free Semrush account adds Authority Score, referring domains and deeper backlink analysis.
What metrics does SEOquake show for prospects?
Without an account: position, Semrush Rank, estimated organic traffic, traffic cost and backlink counts. With a free Semrush account it adds Authority Score and referring domains. You choose which metrics the SEObar shows.
How do I find sites that link to competitors but not to me?
Use a backlink gap comparison: list the referring domains of two or three competitors and remove the ones that already link to you. SEO Sauna's Backlinks page and Link Prospecting skill do this from competitor backlink data.
How many prospects should I start with?
Thirty well-qualified prospects usually beat a few thousand scraped ones. Relevance to your page decides the reply rate more than any metric does.
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