SEO Competitor Analysis
An In-Depth Guide
Muiz Thomas
Founder & Creator
22 min read
Updated: 5th July 2024
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
In any industry, you need to keep an eye on your competitors. It’s the only way to see where you are and where you should go.
Thankfully, many SEO tools can help you track your site and your competitors.
This article will walk you through how to do this, step by step.
What’s an SEO Competitor Analysis?
SEO competitor analysis is just a fancy way of saying “learn from your competitors”.
You see what keywords they’re using, content, and backlinks. Then use the good stuff to improve your own site.
So, instead of making random guesses—you’re building on what’s already working.
Why Do You Need an SEO Competitor Analysis?
Download our high-level SEO strategy template to get ahead
When Should You Do an SEO Competitor Analysis?
Key times to do an SEO competitor analysis:
- Content Planning: See what competitors do well, then do it better
- Post-Publishing: See how well your new content is doing
- Changes in Search Results: If a competitor outranks you, see what they did
- Ranking Drops: See what others might be doing better
- Stuck in Search Results: Look for things you might have missed
How to Run an SEO Competitor Analysis
Step-by-step guide on how to run an effective SEO competitor analysis:
Step 1: Identify Your SEO Competitors
In SEO, you have two kinds of competitors:
Direct competitors: Businesses selling the same stuff as you.
Search competitors: Websites fighting for the same spots on Google, even if they don’t sell what you do.
For example, as a creative SEO agency wanting to rank for “technical SEO,” our competitors could be blogs, software companies, or even Wikipedia:
Your focus should be your search competitors—they’re a threat even if they don’t sell what you do.
How to find them:
- Think of words people use to find your business
- Google these words
- Look at the top results (not ads). These are your search competitors
- Sites appearing for multiple keywords are your main competitors
- Keep track of them in a Google Sheet.
Want to find your competitors faster? Try Semrush’s Organic Research tool:
- Just plug in your URL
- Choose your country
- Hit “Search.”
Scroll down to find “Main Organic Competitors”
Click “View all…” to see:
- How many keywords you share with other sites
- How much traffic they get
Look for sites with lots of common keywords. These are your main competitors. Aim to find about 5-6 of them.
Heads-up: if you’re new, it might be hard to compete right away. But that leads us to our next point.
Step 2: Check Your Competitors’ Authority Score
Every site has something called an “authority score”. It shows how strong your site is compared to others.
To find your score:
- Go to SEMrush’s “Domain Overview”
- Type in your domain name
- Hit “Search”
Now, check the scores for your competitors:
- You can check each one individually
- Or use SEMrush’s Bulk Backlink Analysis to compare several domains at once
After gathering them, see how you stack up against your competitors.
If yours is lower, that’s okay. It just means you have some work to do.
Remember to note down each competitor’s score in your list.
Step 3: Find Any Keyword Gaps
Now, let’s find keywords your competitors use that you don’t. This is called a “keyword gap”.
You can use Semrush’s Keyword Gap tool. Just enter your website and your competitors’, then hit “Compare”.
In this example, we’ll be using a pet shop:
Scroll down and click the “Missing” filter.
Only add keywords relevant to your business, then “Export” when you’re happy.
Also check the “Untapped” tab for more keyword ideas:
Note: your primary focus should be on the “Missing” tab.
Next, look for keywords your competitors are no longer ranking for – this could be a chance for you to step in.
- Use SEMrush’s Organic Research tool.
- Enter a competitor’s website
- Go to “All Position Changes”
- Choose “Pos: Top 20” and “Lost”
You could create new pages or update existing pages with these keywords.
Finally, find new keywords your competitors are using:
- Use the same SEMrush’s Organic Research tool.
- Select “Pos: Top 20”
- Choose “New” from the drop-down menu.
Now, you need to figure out what kind of pages to create for these keywords.
Ask yourself why someone would search for that keyword (search intent).
If the intent is “I” (informational), go for a blog post or create an e-book. If it’s “C” (commercial) or “T” (transactional), a product page might be better.
Step 4: Analyse Your Competitors’ SEO Content
Now you need to look into their content.
- Use the Organic Research tool again
- Paste in your competitor’s URL
- Click on “Pages.”
You’ll see a list showing their traffic stats:
Look at each page in detail:
Ask yourself:
- Do they use pictures or videos?
- Is it a product page or a blog post?
- Did an expert write it?
- Is the writing good?
- Does it help readers?
If their content looks great, try to make yours even better.
Step 5: Backlink Analysis
Good backlinks are like thumbs-up from other websites.
If your competitors have more, you’ll struggle to outrank them—unless you build better backlinks.
To check backlinks:
- Use Semrush’s “Backlink Analytics” tool
- Put in your website and your competitors’
- Click “Compare”
This shows you how many sites link to you and your rivals.
To see the best links:
- Click “Referring Domains” or “Backlinks”
- Look at the “Backlinks” section
- Sort by highest “Authority Score”
- Filter for “Follow” links (these help rankings most)
“Nofollow” links are still useful. You might link to a competitor without endorsment.
Now, see which of your competitor’s pages are getting these “Follow” links.
- If you don’t have pages on these topics, create them (and keep them relevant to your business)
- If you do, make yours better
Now you want to reach out to other sites and try and get them to link to you.
If a website links to your competitors, they might also link to you, especially if your content is better.
To start:
- Use Semrush’s “Backlink Gap” tool
- Enter your site and competitors’
- Click “Find prospects”
- Choose “Best” filter
- Look for high “Authority Score” sites
Now, you have a list of websites you can reach out to for backlinks.
Step 6: Technical SEO Analysis
Besides content, your site also needs to be in good technical shape:
1) Website Performance and User Experience(UX)
Fast, easy-to-use websites make everyone happy. Use PageSpeed Insights to see how your site compares to others on both mobile and desktop.
2) URL structure
Look at top-ranking websites’ URLs:
- Do they use keywords?
- Are they short and clear?
- Do they tell you what the page is about?
Try to make your URLs similar if you like what you see.
3) Mobile Responsiveness
Your site must work well on mobile. Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check.
4) Internal Linking
Link your site’s pages together. It helps Google understand your site and visitors find things easier.
5) SSL Certifications
Make sure your site starts with ‘https://’. Google likes secure sites and warns people about ones that aren’t.
SEO Competitor Analysis Tools
Add these tools to your marketing stack for better competitive intelligence:
1. SemRush
SEMrush not only offers good data for keyword research, backlink analysis, competitor research, and so on — but it’s also pretty intuitive.
2. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO toolset that offers insights into your competitors’ content, backlinks, keywords, ads, and so much more.
3. Moz
Moz, while not as adept as Ahrefs and Semrush at organic keyword research, offers unique features for competitor analysis.
4. SpyFu
SpyFu is one of the best SEO competitor analysis tools out there that shows you all the keywords your competitors use in their organic search and Google Ads.
It even suggests more similar keywords. You just need enter your competitors’ keywords to see their overall strategy.
5. SE Ranking
SE Ranking allows you to track competitors’ search rankings across various search engines and regions for up to five projects per website.
How Often Should You Perform An SEO Competitor Analysis?
Final Thoughts
There’s plenty more you can do when it comes to analysing competitors for SEO, but this should help you get going.
Try the steps I mentioned and use what you learn to boost your SEO. Remember, doing is better than just knowing.
Any questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch!
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About the Author
Muiz Thomas
Professionally, I’ve got over 6 years of SEO, copywriting, and design experience. My job in a nutshell? Make your customers sit up, pay attention, and click (in that order).
