Weekly Semrush new backlink alerts to Linear tickets

Every Wednesday at 8am in my local timezone, run a backlink triage for my root domain and file a small batch of Linear tickets for the SEO team to act on.

Step 1: pull new backlinks from Semrush. Call Get Backlinks for my root domain (I will fill in the domain at setup) filtered to backlinks first seen in the last 7 days. Also call Get Anchor Texts for the same domain so you have the recent anchor-text distribution as context for spotting spammy or over-optimized patterns.

Step 2: decide which backlinks deserve human attention. For each new backlink, weigh: the source page's Authority Score (treat below 25 as low quality and skip by default, but make the cutoff configurable), whether the link is follow or nofollow (follow links matter more), and the anchor text quality (skip obvious spam like adult, gambling, pharma anchors; flag exact-match commercial anchors as potentially risky; treat branded and natural anchors as positive). Also skip duplicates from the same referring domain that you have already filed in a previous week.

Step 3: aim for 3 to 6 Linear tickets per week. If more than 6 backlinks pass the filter, keep the highest Authority Score ones. If fewer than 3 pass, just file what is genuinely worth attention. Do not pad the batch.

Step 4: for each backlink that makes the cut, call Create Issue in Linear in the SEO team (I will pick the team at setup). Title: "New backlink from {referring domain} (AS {score})". Description (Markdown): the source page URL, the target URL on my site, the anchor text used, the follow/nofollow status, and a one-line recommendation chosen from: thank-you outreach to the publisher, monitor for spam-link clusters, request an anchor-text change, or study this placement for replication. Pick the recommendation based on Authority Score, anchor quality, and source category.

Step 5: if Semrush returns no new backlinks that week, do nothing. No empty ticket, no all-clear message.

Keep state across runs so the same backlink is never filed twice. The output is a small, high-signal weekly batch, not a fire hose of every link the spider found.

Additional information

What does this prompt do?

Pulls the new backlinks pointing at your root domain over the last seven days from Semrush.
Keeps only the links that matter: strong source authority, real follow links, and meaningful anchor text.
Files three to six clean Linear tickets per week, each with the source, the anchor, and a recommended next step like thank-you outreach or anchor cleanup.
Skips low-quality scraper and spam links so your SEO team only sees work worth doing.

What do I need to use this?

A Semrush account on a plan that includes API access.
A Linear workspace and the team or project where new backlink tickets should land.
Your root domain (the site you want to monitor backlinks for).
An idea of which Authority Score you treat as the cutoff for human review.

How can I customize it?

Change the day and time it runs, for example Monday at 8am instead of Wednesday.
Raise or lower the Authority Score cutoff so you see more or fewer links each week.
Point new tickets at a different Linear team, project, or label, or set a default assignee.
Tune the recommendations the agent writes, like adding a 'pitch for guest post follow-up' option.

Frequently asked questions

Why only three to six tickets a week?

The goal is human attention, not a fire hose. Most new backlinks are scraper sites, low-authority blogs, or duplicates. The agent's job is to filter those out so the ones that hit Linear are genuinely worth a few minutes of SEO time.

Can I run this for more than one domain?

Yes. Duplicate the workflow once per domain you want to monitor, or ask the agent to accept a list of domains and group results by domain in a single weekly batch.

What does the agent put inside each Linear ticket?

A title with the referring domain and its Authority Score, plus a body containing the source page URL, the target page on your site, the anchor text used, and a one-line recommendation such as thank-you email, watch for spam, ask for an anchor change, or study for replication.

Will this work with Linear Free?

Yes. Creating issues works on every Linear plan. You only need a workspace, a team, and a login the workflow can connect to.

What if Semrush returns no new backlinks that week?

The workflow simply does nothing for that run. No empty ticket, no noisy 'all clear' message. It will pick back up the following Wednesday.