Rank Cracker is a free tool from SEO blogger and internet marketing entrepreneur Matthew Woodward. The tool allows you to import a list of the backlinks pointing to your competitors’ websites, and then it will analyse those links to instruct you on how you can go about replicating them for your own site.
By reproducing your competitors’ backlink profiles you can greatly increase your chances of outranking them. This can result in your site being listed above them in the search engine results pages (SERPS) for the keywords you are aiming to rank for; which in turn can result in more visitors to your site.
If you want more traffic to your website and there are currently websites listed above your own site in the SERPS, then there is a good chance you could benefit from this tool.
In this review, we will take a look at the features of Rank Cracker, find out how it works, and give you the information you need to decide whether it is a good match for your SEO and online marketing strategy.
Features and Functionality
As previously mentioned, Rank Cracker analyses your competitors’ backlinks and then tells you the easiest way to replicate them. The tool does not actually gather the links pointing to your competitors’ websites so you will need to use a third party service to do this. However, the Rank Cracker tutorial does highlight some free and paid options for getting this information.
Once you have a list of the links pointing to one or all of your competitors’ websites, you can paste them into Rank Cracker and let the tool work its magic. Once the software has processed the URLs you supplied, it will then tell you which SEO backlink building tools can be used to replicate those links.
This means you can use one or more of these tools to create the same types of links that your competitors’ have in their backlink profile. By using these tools this can be done on auto-pilot, or at least in a semi-automated way, depending on how the recommended tool works. Some of the tools that are featured in Rank Cracker include:
- SeNukeXCR
- GSA Search Engine Ranker
- Ultimate Demon
- Licorne AIO
- Magic Submitter
While the above list of software might be starting to ring some alarms bells, in reference to their black hat SEO functionality, even those not prepared to turn to the dark side can still benefit from Rank Cracker, albeit in a less automated and more hands-on way.
So although Rank Cracker will tell you how many of the imported links can be created with each tool, you don’t have to use any of the above link building tools, and could set about creating the different types of links manually. However, this approach is going to be time consuming if your competitors’ do have a lot of sites linking to them.
Once the URLs of the links that you entered have been processed, they are grouped by which tool could be used to replicate them for your site.
By clicking on the tool name, you can then see which of the links can be replicated with that particular tool.
Those links can then be exported to a CSV file. You can then import the data into the corresponding tool, allowing to you start the process of creating the same types of links for your site.
If you don’t have any of the tools that Rank Cracker lists in its analysis, the software conveniently includes a link to the tool allowing you to either purchase it or give the trial version a go.
While Rank Cracker does a good job of analysing your competitors’ backlinks and determining which tool can be used to replicate them, if the links can’t be attributed to a link building tool, Rank Cracker can still help you out.
In that scenario, the software will lookup the contact email address and/or contact form for that website, allowing you to contact them and discuss a link for your site. This outreach can be done either in bulk or on a more personalised individual basis, depending on your SEO philosophy.
Although Rank Cracker is a simple tool, it is a clever one that has been built around a feature that will be valued by anyone wishing to emulate their competitors’ backlink profiles.
Installation and Configuration
While Rank Cracker is free, you will have to subscribe to the developer’s email newsletter in order to get your access details for the software. However, you can unsubscribe at any time after that (should you so wish).
Once you’ve entered your email address at the Rank Cracker website, the download details will then be delivered directly to your inbox, including your username and password for the service.
After downloading the Zip file, it’s simply a case of running the included EXE file and letting the software install.
When it comes to setting up Rank Cracker, there isn’t much to do apart from letting the tool know which link building software packages you have access to.
By entering this information, Rank Cracker will modify the results to give priority to the tools you have access to. This allows you to replicate as many links as possible using the software already at your disposal. The remainder of the links that can’t be replicated with the software you have will still be listed, along with an opportunity to gain access to that software by purchasing it or signing up for a trial.
From the settings, you can also set the number of threads that Rank Cracker can use. This relates to how much of your available system resources can be allocated to the tool while it is processing the URLs.
There really isn’t much more to getting started with this SEO tool; once it’s downloaded and installed, you should be ready to get started straightaway. Although its worth pointing out that Rank Cracker only works on Windows. Mac, Linux and Unix, are not supported at the time of writing.
Conclusion
Rank Cracker is a very easy tool to use, especially when you consider it is free to download. It should definitely be downloaded by anyone interested in finding out more about their competitors’ backlinks, as well as discovering how to replicate the backlink profiles of those competing sites.
If you don’t currently use, or plan to use any of the link building software packages available, then this tool isn’t going to be much use to you. You could still use Rank Cracker to see what sort of links your competitors’ have pointing to their websites for research purposes. However, unless you have the means, as well as being prepared to automate the link building process for your site, then you won’t be able to fully reap the benefits of Rank Cracker.
For those of you who do not mind donning a grey or black hat and partaking in a bit of illicit SEO link building, Rank Cracker is a valuable tool to have at your disposal. With users on sites like Fiverr offering up one-time access to their accounts with the link building tools Rank Cracker works with, you don’t even need to make any expensive purchases to get started with automated link building.
Anyone who is already using those link building software applications, Rank Cracker can give you a more targeted way to use them, and start building the same type of links that your competitors’ already have. Once you’ve replicated their backlink profiles, you can then add a few of your own links to the mix to further increase your chances of outranking their websites.
While this type of link building won’t appeal to all site owners, if you do want to analyse your competitors’ backlink profiles, and then find out the quickest way to replicate those backlinks, then Rank Cracker is a very effective tool.
I recommend giving it a try by downloading it via the link below.
Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions about the software :)
Joe