Research: What Link-Building Strategies Are Competitors Using in LATAM

What is the competition doing to rank on Google in Spanish-speaking markets? The question is operationally important and methodologically difficult: backlink data is partially public, but interpreting it requires judgment. This article synthesizes identifiable patterns drawn from tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Majestic, public documentation from SEO specialists in LATAM, and sector studies published between 2022 and 2025. The goal is not to deliver a definitive benchmark, but to describe what the available data shows and to flag where conclusions are solid and where they remain provisional.

Why studying competitor strategies in LATAM specifically matters

The Hispanic market is not homogeneous. Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Peru have distinct media ecosystems, different levels of internet penetration, and industry structures that directly affect which types of sites earn links, from which domains, and how frequently. A linkbuilding pattern that works for an e-commerce publication in Mexico may have zero replicability in Chile, where the editorial ecosystem is more concentrated.

On top of that, the supply of Spanish-language sites available for linkbuilding is considerably smaller than in English. According to data published by Ahrefs in their analysis of web index distribution by language, Spanish-language sites account for approximately 5% of the total indexed, compared to more than 55% in English. This has direct consequences: link density among Hispanic sites is lower, backlink profiles are more concentrated in a handful of referring domains, and geographic diversification of links is a real challenge.

To better understand the baseline before analyzing specific competitors, it's worth reviewing the broader context in Linkbuilding in the LATAM market: current state and challenges, which documents the structural conditions that define what is and isn't possible in these markets.

What backlink profiles of ranking sites in LATAM reveal

When analyzing the link profiles of sites appearing in top positions for commercial keywords in markets like Mexico and Colombia, consistent patterns emerge. These patterns are not universal rules, but they recur frequently enough to be considered observable trends.

Concentration in a small number of high-authority regional domains

A significant share of the valuable backlinks in the profiles of well-ranking sites in LATAM comes from a small number of domains: national news outlets, historically established news portals, universities, and government agencies. In Mexico, domains like El Financiero, Expansión, and El Economista appear repeatedly in the profiles of personal finance, B2B services, and technology sites. In Argentina, Infobae and La Nación play an analogous role.

This suggests that digital PR strategies — securing mentions in reference media outlets — carry disproportionate weight in the profiles of the highest-ranking sites. This is not surprising from a PageRank logic standpoint, but it is relevant because it implies that a significant portion of a competitor's backlink profile may be difficult to replicate directly through standard outreach.

Widespread use of sponsored content and press releases

The second most visible pattern is the use of sponsored content on news portals and niche blogs. In Spanish-speaking markets, this format is common and relatively accessible compared to the cost of earning organic editorial mentions in major outlets. Sites ranking in sectors such as health, finance, travel, and e-commerce show, in their profiles, a meaningful percentage of links coming from this type of publication.

The proportion varies by sector. In verticals where informational content has high search volume — such as personal finance or consumer technology — sponsored content appears as a systematic tactic, not a sporadic one. In B2B or niche industrial sectors, by contrast, the pattern is less frequent and more concentrated in specialized directories and industry associations.

Presence of links from directories and aggregators

A third pattern, more heterogeneous, is the presence of links from local directories, review platforms, and content aggregators. The quality of these links varies considerably. Some directories with real traffic and vertical relevance contribute signal; others are clearly link spam. What's notable is that even well-ranking sites show in their profiles a tail of low-quality or questionable links, suggesting Google filters them out or assigns them little weight — but that their presence does not actively trigger penalties.

To rigorously assess the weight of each link type within a competitor's profile, the analytical process is well documented in How to read a competitor's link profile in Ahrefs, which explains the key metrics and how to interpret them without jumping to premature conclusions.

What available quantitative studies say

Studies specifically focused on linkbuilding in LATAM are scarce. Most available quantitative research comes from tools like Ahrefs and Semrush, which publish global analyses with data that can be broken down by language or region — though with significant methodological limitations.

The ranking correlation study published by Backlinko in 2020 — still widely cited despite being over three years old — found that the number of referring domains is the link-related factor that correlates most strongly with high positions on Google. This correlation does not imply direct causality, but it guides decisions: diversifying domains has more observable impact than accumulating multiple links from the same domain.

A more recent Semrush analysis on ranking patterns in Spanish-speaking markets indicates that sites in top positions for high-competition keywords have, on average, between 40 and 120 unique referring domains. This range is notably smaller than the equivalent in English, reinforcing the idea that the competitive threshold in LATAM is achievable with fewer domains — though the domains that matter must have genuine relevance within the local ecosystem.

Ahrefs, in their study on the percentage of pages without backlinks, documented that more than 96% of indexed pages receive no external links. In the Hispanic context, this finding has a practical implication: most direct competitors also lack active linkbuilding strategies, which means that even a modest but consistent strategy can generate a meaningful competitive advantage.

In markets with smaller editorial ecosystems, such as those in LATAM, the key is not to replicate the competitor's link volume but to identify the few domains that concentrate real authority and build a sustained presence in them.

Which strategies are actually replicable

Not everything the competition does is replicable. Analyzing backlink profiles requires separating what can be imitated from what depends on structural advantages — domain age, long-standing editorial relationships, advertising budgets — that cannot be acquired simply through outreach.

What's replicable: sponsored content in niche outlets

The most replicable strategy visible in the profiles of ranking competitors in LATAM is the systematic publication of sponsored content in niche outlets with real traffic. These outlets have lower DR than major national portals, but they are accessible, topically relevant, and generate authority signals within the specific vertical.

The observable pattern in e-commerce sites covering fashion, fintech, digital health, and B2B services is consistent: between 60% and 80% of their valuable backlinks come from niche publications, not mass-market outlets. This is replicable with a structured prospecting and outreach process.

What's replicable: inclusion in editorial resources and lists

Another replicable pattern is appearing in editorial lists such as "recommended tools for X" or "services for Y in Mexico." These ranking or resource-style articles are common in specialized blogs and content portals, and many accept inclusions through outreach or collaborative content. Sites ranking in niches like B2B software, consulting, and financial services show this type of link on a recurring basis.

What is not directly replicable: editorial mentions in major outlets

Links from major outlets — El País, CNN en Español, top-tier national media — are rarely the result of a direct outreach strategy. In most cases, they stem from genuine news coverage, long-standing relationships with journalists, or PR campaigns with significant budgets. Attempting to replicate these links as a primary tactic is inefficient for most competitors in LATAM.

Differences by country and vertical

Competitive benchmarks cannot be generalized across all of LATAM without losing precision. Observable differences exist between markets:

• Mexico: broad editorial ecosystem with a solid supply of niche portals and specialized outlets. Competition for high-density commercial keywords features more voluminous and diversified backlink profiles. Outreach to local digital outlets yields a relatively good response rate.
• Argentina: market with high concentration in a few reference outlets. Backlink profiles of ranking sites tend to rely more heavily on high-authority domains. The supply of niche sites is smaller than in Mexico, making competition for the same domains more intense.
• Colombia: a growing market for digital content, with an expanding media ecosystem. Backlink profiles in niches like fintech, health, and education show a greater reliance on sponsored content in local news portals.
• Chile and Peru: markets with smaller ecosystems. Competitor profiles of ranking sites are generally more modest in volume, which lowers the barrier to entry but also limits the geographic diversification of links.

These differences have direct implications for how a campaign is designed. A strategy calibrated for Colombia may be insufficient in Mexico and excessive in Chile. To see how to translate these differences into concrete planning decisions, How to build a linkbuilding strategy step by step offers a framework adaptable to different market contexts.

What metrics competitors use as reference

Beyond link types, it's relevant to know which metrics SEO teams running linkbuilding campaigns in LATAM actually work with. This helps understand what quality signals they are prioritizing and, by extension, what types of sites they are prospecting.

Based on documented analyses of practices at Spanish-speaking agencies, the metrics most commonly used to evaluate a site before pursuing a link are: Domain Rating (DR) from Ahrefs, Authority Score from Semrush, estimated organic traffic, and topical relevance of the domain. Topical relevance has gained relative weight in recent years, in line with Google's statements on the importance of link context.

A more detailed analysis of which metrics the industry uses and why is available in Study: backlink metrics most used by SEO agencies in LATAM, which compares the adoption of different indicators across in-house teams and agencies.

Practical implications for replicating competitor strategies

From the patterns identified, concrete operational conclusions can be drawn:

1. Prioritize unique referring domains over raw link volume. Backlink profiles of ranking sites in LATAM show that domain diversity is the most consistent factor. A campaign that earns 20 new and relevant domains over 6 months has more observable impact than 200 links from 10 domains.
2. Map the niche outlets where competitors have a presence. Export the backlinks of the 3–5 top competitors, filter by domains with real traffic and topical relevance, and identify the sites that appear