Looking to beat your competition in the search results? An SEO competitor analysis is the key to your success.
By checking out what your rivals are doing with their keywords, backlinks, content, and overall SEO strategies, you can figure out what’s working for them and spot opportunities you can take advantage of.
In this guide, you’ll discover a reliable method to analyze your SEO competitors and extract insights that can help improve your rankings.
What is an SEO Competitor Analysis?
An SEO competitor analysis (also called an SEO competitive analysis) is the process of researching your competitors to gather insights about their keyword, backlink, content and using those insights to improve your own SEO.
Why is an SEO Competitor Analysis Important?
An SEO competitor analysis involves assessing competing websites to explore their search engine optimization strategies and tactics.
This evaluation helps you compare your SEO performance with that of your competitors. By identifying their strengths and weaknesses, you can refine your own strategy.
The information you gather can assist you in:
- Emulate and modify the successful tactics of your competitors
- Take advantage of their weaknesses to improve your position
- Identify gaps and opportunities they may have missed
Researching the competition can provide you with a clear path to achieving SEO success.
How to Do an SEO Competitive Analysis in 5 Steps
It’s a good idea to check out your SEO competitors every three to six months, so you can quickly identify any changes in your market and adapt your strategy.
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Identify Your SEO Competitors
If your domain is already published and running with a good ranking. you probably already know who your competitors are. However, if this is your first time performing a competitor analysis, then now is the time to meet your rivals.
Your main competition will be the websites that show up at the top of the first page on Google or other search engines for the keywords you’re aiming for. They provide similar products and services and are reaching for the same target audience.
Conducting research in the SERP – or even better, you can do it manually by searching your targeted keyword on Google and see who your competitors are, and how they implement these keywords. Another easier way is using SEO tools like Semrush, SearchPie, Ahrefs…
This is how SEMrush identify your SEO competitors.
First, click on “Domain Overview” and type your URL:
Then scroll down to the bottom, and you’ll find a section called “Main Organic Competitors”.
These competitors are websites that rank for the same keywords and aim for the same audience as you.
By clicking the “View details” button, you can explore all your competitors along with additional valuable information.
You can see the number of shared keywords you have with these domains and the traffic they are attracting.
The “Common Keywords” section is helpful because it displays the total count of keywords you have in common with each website.
If you notice that certain sites have a large number of shared keywords, you can view them as your competitors.
By the time you finish this step, you should have pinpointed at least 4-5 key organic competitors.
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Conduct a keyword gap analysis
You’ve identified your primary organic competitors, so now it’s time to move on to the keyword gap analysis.
The term “gap” in this context highlights the keywords that your competitors are successfully ranking for while you are not.
The goal of conducting a keyword gap analysis is to uncover all relevant keywords that your competitors are using, with the aim of:
- Enhancing your current content by incorporating these keywords.
- Developing new pages for the keywords that are currently missing from your site.
The ultimate goal, as always, is to create better content than your competitors that adds more value to your readers.
Identifying these keywords and sticking to it also ensure you stay competitive.
First, you need to assess the relevant keywords to your niche by searching it on SEO tools. With SearchPie, you can identify the competitive status.
By identifying the potential keywords, you can focus on implementing gap analysis.
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Assess the SERP for user intent
Smart marketers adjust their strategies to meet user needs. Whether your audience is looking for solutions, answers, products, services, or local options, grasping their intent is crucial. You’ll discover how to evaluate the SERP and how your competitors cater to your audience’s requirements.
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Examine your competitors’ content and elevate it
By analyzing the content that drives your competitors’ success, SEOs can uncover effective strategies for content creation, keyword usage, and user engagement. With this knowledge, you can refine your own content and surpass your competitors in the dynamic world of SERPs.
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Conduct a competitor backlink analysis
It’s time to take a closer look at your competitors’ backlink profiles. Using the right tools, you can gain insights into the quality and quantity of links that contribute to your competitors’ authority. By utilizing this information and strengthening your own backlink strategy, you’re positioning yourself for a SERP advantage.
In this final step, you can always check your position tracking by using SEO tools like SearchPie(for Shopify), Semrush to control and improve your content.
Summary
Understanding SEO competitive analysis is essential for staying ahead of your competition.
This guide provides you with techniques to evaluate and gain insights from your competitors, enabling you to enhance your SEO strategies effectively. Consistent competitor analysis, creative adjustments, and strategic enhancements in content, keywords, and technical SEO will boost your website’s search engine performance.
Keep yourself at the forefront of the ever-changing SEO environment: assess, adjust, and excel.
The path to SEO promotion involves ongoing learning and flexible adaptation – begin today and continue to grow.