The lost-link recovery audit nobody runs quarterly

The lost-link recovery audit nobody runs quarterly
Word is everyone chases new links and ignores the bleed. The fastest authority recovery hides in links you already won. Here's the recapture sequence:
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Pull Ahrefs 'Lost' referring domains for the last 90 days, sort by DR descending
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Filter the reason column to Link removed versus Page not found — different fixes entirely
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For 'page not found', check if the linking URL still exists. If it does, the editor pruned you — that's an outreach re-pitch, not a 404
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For 'link removed', diff the page in Wayback. Editorial swap to a competitor? That's intel on who's outranking you in the editor's mind
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Map your highest-DR losses to a single 410 or redirect fix on your side first
Multiple operators recover 15-30% of dead links with a half-day of this. The dots connect: most 'lost' links are fixable, not gone. Watch this space.