Ever find yourself staring at your screen wondering how your competitor’s website keeps beating yours in the rankings? Same here.
A while ago, I was going nuts trying to understand why Google ignored my written content. All that work, but my competitors were cruising on page one like it was no big deal. It drove me crazy.
But then everything changed. I figured out how to keep tabs on my competition through something called SEO competitor analysis.
It’s kind of like being a detective instead of hunting for clues to solve crimes, you’re digging up why that frustrating competitor is outshining you. No fancy terms here. Just stuff that works.
Want to play detective online? Let’s jump in!
Why Take the Time to Analyze Competitors in SEO?
Ever watched a cooking show where someone tastes their rival’s dish to figure out their own recipe? That’s the gist here.
By looking at what’s clicking for others in your industry, you can:
- Avoid wasting energy on methods that fail
- Uncover valuable keywords your competitors already tapped into
- Find holes in their content that you can address (and rank higher for)
- Earn stronger backlinks by using their link sources
I once dug into a competitor’s strategy and noticed their how-to guides were performing well. They were tackling questions no one else had thought to explore. In just three months of making similar guides but improving on them, my organic traffic shot up by 40%.
Regular competitor research in SEO isn’t something you do once and call it good. Markets shift, algorithms evolve, and rivals adjust their strategies. Keeping up helps you avoid falling behind.
Breaking Down Competitor Analysis in SEO: A 6-Step Plan That Works
Let’s simplify this into steps that won’t overwhelm you:
Step 1: Identify Your True SEO Rivals (Hint: They Might Surprise You)
Your SEO competitors aren’t always the same as your business competitors.
You might think that fancy agency downtown is your competition. But Google could be ranking some random blogger higher for your target keywords instead.
Try this: Search your main keywords on Google and see which sites come up. These are your real SEO competitors—the ones you need to beat in rankings.
Let’s say you sell handmade leather wallets. Your business competitors might be other small leather makers. But your SEO competitors could be big retailers, style blogs, or gift guides showing up for “handmade leather wallets.”
One time, I found out my biggest SEO competitor wasn’t even in my field—it was a casual hobby blog that happened to rank for my top keywords!
Pro tip: Don’t stop at just the top 3 results. Check the whole first page to understand who you’re up against.
Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can uncover competitors you might overlook during manual searching. They identify sites targeting the same keywords as your own even across unrelated industries.
Step 2: Learn From Their Keyword Tactics (Without Copying)
Doing solid SEO competitor research uncovers keyword opportunities you might not notice otherwise.
Start by collecting the main keywords your competitors rank well for. Focus on:
- High-traffic keywords they rank for but you don’t yet
- Keywords with low competition you could rank for
- Longer-tail keywords that attract niche audiences
- Question keywords that could get you featured snippets
When you do competitor analysis for SEO, do not focus on keywords. Think about the purpose behind the search. Are users seeking details, planning to purchase, or weighing choices?
I noticed a competitor ranking with “best email marketing software for nonprofits” once. That keyword had okay traffic and showed strong buying intent. Even though we offered a nonprofit email tool, we never targeted that exact term. After making a targeted page, we started getting quality leads fast.
Tools can cut down the effort needed to research . Popular tools for SEO competitor analysis include:
- SEMrush’s Keyword Gap tool: Lets you compare five domains side by side
- Ahrefs’ Content Gap feature: Shows keywords competitors rank for that you don’t
- Moz’s Keyword Explorer: Helps pinpoint keyword difficulty and potential opportunities
Small budgets? Ubersuggest might not be packed with features, but its free version delivers enough to get you moving.
Step 3: Discover Their Link-Building Tactics
Links drive the SEO engine. To see where competitors gain their link authority, run a backlink competitor analysis.
When analyzing backlinks, focus on:
- Total backlinks: Check how many links they have and compare that number with your own.
- Quality of links: See if their links come from reliable sites in your field.
- Variety in links: Do their links come from many different places like news websites, blogs, or directories?
- Content attracting links: Figure out which of their content pieces bring in the most backlinks.
I once spotted a competitor who had tons of backlinks from food blogs. After digging around, I found out they had made a free calculator tool that recipe bloggers couldn’t stop raving about. This gave us the idea to make our own tool, and it got us over 50 good backlinks within the first month.
Pay attention to patterns in the text of their links. Do they use their brand name exact match keywords, or more casual wording? This can help you plan your own link strategy.
Ahrefs simplifies examining competitor backlinks. Its Site Explorer reveals the exact sources of your rivals’ links helping you follow their successful strategies.
Step 4: Dive Into Technical SEO Analysis
Never ignore technical SEO when analyzing competitors. Everyone focuses on content and backlinks, but technical details can make or ruin your ranking.
To investigate technical SEO, you should look at:
- Check page speed. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to measure how their websites load.
- Test mobile performance. Do their websites work well on phones and tablets?
- Review site structure. Figure out how many clicks it takes to reach key pages.
- Look for schema markup. Are they adding structured data to create rich snippets?
- Analyze Core Web Vitals scores. How do they perform on Google’s main performance metrics?
I remember seeing a competitor with fantastic content but very slow load times. By ensuring our site loaded faster, we gained an edge and moved up in rankings.
Tools such as Screaming Frog can scan competitor websites and highlight technical details. Pay attention to recurring patterns in their URL setup how they link pages , and how they organize content.
Step 5: Study Competitors’ Content Approach (Improve Yours Along the Way)
An on-page SEO competitor review looks at how rivals organize and tailor their content.
When doing your review of rival sites, look at these aspects:
- Title tags: Focus on their length where keywords appear, and how they capture attention
- Meta descriptions: See how they draw users to click search results
- Heading hierarchy: Check how they use H1 H2, H3 tags along with keywords
- Depth of content: Notice the word count and if it covers topics comprehensively
- Use of media: Observe their use of images, videos, infographics, and if these are optimized
- Internal links: Review how they link related pages together
I noticed that looking at the top five pages ranking for my target keywords helps me spot patterns. In certain niches long detailed guides with over 2,000 words tend to rank the highest. In some cases though shorter content with straightforward answers does better.
For instance, I checked the top results for “how to clean hiking boots” once and saw that all the pages included step-by-step photos. Adding detailed pictures to our guide bumped us up from the third page to the fourth spot.
Step 6: Create an Action Plan from Your Research
Once you gather insights, you need to take action on them. Make a list of priorities based on what you discovered.
- Easy wins: Quick fixes that take little effort but bring big results.
- Missing topics: Subjects your competitors fail to explain well.
- Keywords to use: Useful search terms with low competition.
- Site issues: Problems slowing down your site’s performance.
- New link sources: Websites linking to your competitors that may also link to you.
Using an SEO competitor analysis template keeps all your findings in one place. Below is a basic template you can tweak to suit your goals.
The point isn’t to copy what your rivals are doing but to outshine them. Spot weaknesses in their approach, and add your unique spin to cover those gaps.
Affordable Tools to Analyze SEO Competitors
Using the right tools makes studying competitors much simpler. Here are some top picks:
All-in-One SEO Platforms
- SEMrush ($139.95 )
- Analyzes keyword gaps
- Provides traffic data
- Shows domain details
- Tracks positions in search
- Ahrefs ($129 )
- Evaluates backlinks
- Monitors how content performs
- Tracks keywords
- Offers a site audit feature
- Moz Pro ($99 )
- Focuses on domain authority
- Helps with on-page tweaks
- Monitors search rankings
- Researches links
Focused Tools
- SpyFu ($39 per month)
- Offers historical records
- Helps with PPC insights
- Assists in researching keywords
- SimilarWeb ($149 per month)
- Tracks where traffic comes from
- Breaks down audience details
- Measures engagement stats
- BuzzSumo ($199 per month)
- Examines content performance
- Monitors social media interactions
- Finds key influencers
Free Options (Because who doesn’t love saving money?)
- Google Search Console
- Tracks performance metrics
- Monitors index coverage
- Evaluates Core Web Vitals
- Ubersuggest (Some features free)
- Offers simple keyword stats
- Provides site audit insights
- Shows backlink details
- AnswerThePublic (Some free options)
- Suggests keyword questions
- Gives search intent information
Pick tools that match your budget and goals. Combining free tools can still help if you are just getting started.
Pick tools that match your budget and exact needs. Often, combining free tools can give you useful insights when you’re just beginning.
Real People Real Results: Success Stories
Here are a few examples of how actual businesses used SEO competitor analysis to succeed:
Case Study 1: The Software Startup A software company struggled to generate leads despite creating content . After analyzing competitors, they found everyone focused on features while ignoring specific pain points. By tackling these overlooked topics, they saw a 264% increase in leads in just 7 months.
Case Study 2: The Local Bakery A bakery in the neighborhood saw its rivals ranking for local search terms it had missed. After conducting a technical SEO analysis of its competitors, the bakery fixed its site speed problems and added local schema markup. This led to a 214% boost in organic traffic within 4 months and brought in a steady flow of new customers.
Case Study 3: The Solo Blogger A travel blogger put content clustering into action after studying competitor site structures. The outcome? A 1300% jump in organic traffic over 7 months by creating content with more connections than competitors.
Common Roadblocks (And How to Get Past Them)
Even when you follow the right steps, you might run into some obstacles:
Problem 1: Too Many CompetitorsSolution: Zero in on 3-5 direct rivals who best match your business model and target audience.
Problem 2: Tight Budget for ToolsSolution: Begin with free tools like Google Search Console and put money into paid tools as you notice results.
Problem 3: Rankings ShiftSolution: Create a regular timetable (monthly or quarterly) to analyze competitors instead of reacting to every ranking change.
Problem 4: Too Much InformationSolution: Rank actions based on potential impact and needed resources. Kick off with quick wins to gain momentum.
To Sum Up: Your Chance to Play Detective
SEO competitor analysis isn’t about copying what others do—it’s about learning from their wins and fails to create something better. By studying their keywords, content, backlinks, and technical setup, you’ll spot chances they’ve overlooked.
Keep in mind, this isn’t a one-off task. The best SEO strategies involve constant competitor tracking and tweaking. Markets shift, algorithms change, and rivals update their methods.
Kick off with the steps outlined here, use the template we’ve provided, and start collecting data today. Your competitors have ranked above you for too long—now’s the time to use their own tactics to climb above them.
How have competitor insights boosted your SEO strategy? Leave a comment below—I’m eager to hear your experiences!