Where this fits

You're managing SEO for a client and they ask you to find 50 new backlink opportunities, check which competitors are winning links, and submit to a few directories. That's hours of manual clicking across Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Search Console. The backlink skill from yan-labs turns this into a scriptable workflow—you can drive your own logged-in Chrome, scrape report tables, and qualify opportunities without touching a browser UI.

Why agents benefit

• End-to-end pipeline: From discovery (Similarweb, Semrush, Ahrefs) to qualification, outreach template generation, and even form filling for directory submissions—all in one skill.
• Evidence-based verification: The skill emphasizes checking that a backlink actually exists and is indexed, so you don't chase ghost links.
• Bulk harvesting from logged-in dashboards: If a SaaS report has no API, the skill can drive your authenticated Chrome session to extract data safely.
• Chinese language support: Handles requests like 反链 (backlink) or 抓后台数据 (scrape backend data), making it useful for bilingual teams.
• Safety-first automation: Browser-assisted form filling is designed to avoid detection and respect site rules, reducing risk of account bans.

Practical scenarios

Competitor link gap analysis

You want to see which sites link to your top three competitors but not to you. The skill can pull backlink profiles from Ahrefs or Semrush, filter by domain authority, and output a list of prospects with contact info from the target pages—ready for outreach.

Toxic link review and disavow preparation

After a Google penalty, you need to identify spammy links. The skill can analyze anchor text distribution, flag toxic domains, and even generate a disavow file. It also verifies which links are still live, so you don't waste time on dead ones.

Automated directory submissions

You have a list of 100 niche directories. The skill can fill out submission forms using your pre-filled business details, verify each submission, and log the status. It handles CAPTCHA-free forms and skips ones that require manual intervention.

Add it to your agent workflow

Install the skill directly from the OpenAgentSkill registry:

npx skills add yan-labs/yan-skills --skill backlink

Then use it in your agent script. For example, to find blog-comment opportunities:

from skills.backlink import find_blog_comments

prospects = find_blog_comments(
    niche="developer tools",
    min_da=30,
    max_results=50,
    output_format="csv"
)

The skill also exposes a CLI interface if you prefer shell scripting. Check the README for full command options.

Compare before adopting

Before committing, evaluate:

• Quality signals: Does the skill actually verify links post-submission? Check its evidence-based verification logic.
• Maintenance freshness: Look at the GitHub repo (yan-labs/yan-skills) for recent commits and issue responses. The skill is at version 3.0, which suggests active iteration.
• Alternatives: Consider browser-extension skills or custom scripts—but those often lack the safety and verification layers this one has.
• Workflow fit: If you already use OpenCLI and Chrome automation, this integrates cleanly. If you're on a headless server, you may need to adapt.

Why it is worth tracking

With 16 stars and a focused scope, backlink is early but well-structured. Its XML-based rule system makes it easy to audit and extend. If you're building SEO automation agents, this skill solves a real pain point—the tedious backlink lifecycle—without requiring a full SaaS subscription. Track it now, test it on a small project, and contribute if you find gaps. For a curated list of similar skills, check out OpenAgentSkill to see how it ranks against others.