How to Do a Competitor Analysis for SEO?

In the competitive world of digital marketing, SEO competitor analysis is a crucial step to gaining an edge over your rivals. By analyzing your competitors' SEO strategies, you can uncover high-ranking keywords, backlink sources, content gaps, and optimization techniques that help them succeed. This process enables you to refine your own SEO strategy, improve search engine rankings, and attract more organic traffic.

In this guide, we’ll break down the step-by-step process of conducting an effective SEO competitor analysis, covering everything from identifying competitors to leveraging insights for growth.

Step 1: Identify Your SEO Competitors

Before analyzing a competitor’s SEO strategy, you need to identify who your real SEO competitors are. These are websites that rank highly for the keywords you are targeting, not necessarily direct business competitors.

How to Find Your SEO Competitors

• Google Search: Enter your target keywords into Google and note the top-ranking websites. These are your primary SEO competitors.
  
  
• SEO Tools: Platforms like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, or Ubersuggest can help you find websites competing for the same keywords.
  
  
• Analyze SERP Features: Check if your competitors rank in featured snippets, People Also Ask (PAA) sections, and image or video results.
  
  

Once you have a list of competitors, move on to analyzing their strategies.

Step 2: Analyze Competitor Keywords

Understanding what keywords your competitors are ranking for helps you discover new opportunities and refine your content strategy.

How to Find Competitor Keywords

• Use SEO tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to see your competitor’s organic keywords, ranking positions, and search volume.
  
  
• Identify high-performing keywords where they dominate and content gaps where you can rank higher.
  
  
• Look for long-tail keywords that drive targeted traffic but have lower competition.
  
  

Pro Tip: Prioritize keywords that match your audience’s search intent—whether informational, navigational, or transactional.

Step 3: Examine Competitor Content Strategy

High-ranking websites often have well-optimized content that aligns with search intent. Analyzing your competitor’s content can help you understand what works and how to improve upon it.

Key Aspects to Analyze in Competitor Content

• Content Types: Do they publish blog posts, guides, infographics, or videos?
  
  
• Content Length: How detailed are their articles? Do they write long-form or short-form content?
  
  
• Keyword Usage: How are they incorporating keywords naturally within their content?
  
  
• Content Structure: Are they using proper headings, bullet points, and visuals to enhance readability?
  
  
• Engagement Levels: Check social shares, comments, and backlinks to determine the popularity of their content.
  
  

If a competitor’s content is ranking well, find ways to create a better version (often called the “Skyscraper Technique”). Add more depth, recent data, visuals, and better readability.

Step 4: Analyze Competitor Backlinks

Backlinks are a major ranking factor in SEO. A strong backlink profile can help a website outrank competitors in search results.

How to Analyze Backlinks

• Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Majestic to check where your competitors are getting their backlinks from.
  
  
• Identify high-authority domains linking to their content.
  
  
• Look for guest posts, directories, and resource pages where you can also secure backlinks.
  
  
• Find broken links pointing to competitor websites and suggest your content as a replacement.
  
  

Acquiring similar or better backlinks can boost your website’s domain authority and search rankings.

Step 5: Evaluate Competitor Technical SEO

Technical SEO plays a vital role in website performance and rankings. By analyzing your competitor’s site speed, mobile-friendliness, and other technical factors, you can improve your own site’s performance.

Key Technical SEO Factors to Check

• Site Speed: Use Google PageSpeed Insights to compare your loading speed with competitors. Faster websites rank better.
  
  
• Mobile Optimization: Ensure your site is fully responsive and passes Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
  
  
• URL Structure: Well-structured, SEO-friendly URLs perform better.
  
  
• Core Web Vitals: Google prioritizes websites with better user experience (UX), minimal layout shifts, and fast loading times.
  
  

If your website has technical weaknesses, address them to match or exceed competitor performance.

Step 6: Check Competitor On-Page SEO

On-page SEO factors contribute significantly to rankings. By analyzing competitor pages, you can fine-tune your optimization strategy.

Key On-Page SEO Elements to Analyze

• Title Tags & Meta Descriptions: Are they keyword-optimized and compelling?
  
  
• Heading Structure (H1, H2, H3): Do they use proper heading hierarchy?
  
  
• Internal Linking: How effectively do they interlink content?
  
  
• Image Optimization: Do they use alt text and compressed images for SEO?
  
  

Make sure your pages follow best on-page SEO practices to improve visibility.

Step 7: Track Competitor SEO Performance Over Time

SEO is not a one-time effort—it requires continuous monitoring and adaptation. Keep track of how your competitors perform over time and update your strategy accordingly.



How to Monitor Competitor SEO Changes

• Use Google Alerts to track competitor mentions and new backlinks.
  
  
• Monitor ranking fluctuations for target keywords using SEO tools.
  
  
• Stay updated with new content, link-building strategies, and Google algorithm changes affecting their rankings.
  
  

Regular competitor analysis ensures you stay ahead in the SEO race and adapt to industry trends.

Final Thoughts:

Conducting a competitor analysis for SEO is crucial for outperforming rivals and increasing organic traffic. By analyzing keywords, backlinks, content, technical SEO, and on-page optimization, you can uncover new opportunities and improve your search rankings.

If you consistently monitor and refine your SEO strategy, your website can achieve higher visibility on Google SERPs, attract more visitors, and ultimately boost business growth.

By staying ahead of competitors, you’re not just keeping up—you’re leading the way in your industry!