How to Do an SEO Competitive Analysis

Do you want to get ahead of your competition in the SEO game? Doing an SEO competitive analysis is key for targeting potential customers and outranking competitors. By understanding what keywords, content, and tactics your rivals are using on their websites, you can figure out how best to go after them—and turn those visitors into clients! In this guide, we'll explain how to conduct an SEO competitive analysis to ensure that your business ranks higher than others in the SERPs. Read on to learn the steps you need to follow when evaluating a competitor's website and developing an effective strategy for overtaking it!

What and Why Competitive Analysis

SEO is a critical for any successful online marketing strategy. One key aspect of SEO is understanding how your website compares to those of your competitors in terms of search engine rankings, traffic, and other metrics. This is where competitive analysis comes in. In this article, let's understand the process of conducting an SEO competitive analysis, step by step.

Step 1: Identify Your Competitors

The first step in conducting a competitive analysis is to identify your competitors. Start by researching keywords that are relevant to your industry and your business. Use tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner or SEMrush to identify the top websites that rank for these keywords. These websites are likely to be your main competitors in terms of SEO.

It’s important to remember that not all of your competitors will be direct competitors. You may also have indirect competitors whose websites rank for similar keywords or who target the same audience as your business.

Step 2: Analyze Your Competitors’ Website Structure and Content

Once you’ve identified your competitors, the next step is to analyze their website structure and content. Look at factors such as −

• Site architecture − How is their website structured? Is it easy to navigate and user-friendly?

• Page speed − How quickly do their pages load? Slow page speed can negatively impact user experience and search engine rankings.

• Mobile optimization − Is their website mobile-friendly? Mobile optimization is critical for SEO success.

• Content quality − What type of content do they publish? Is it high-quality, valuable, and relevant its target audience? Is it optimized for search engines?

By analyzing your competitors’ website structure and content, you can identify areas where they are excelling and areas where you may be able to improve your own website.

Step 3: Analyze Your Competitors’ Backlink Profile

Backlinks are an important factor in SEO. By analyzing your competitors' backlink profiles, you can identify the websites that are linking to them and potentially identify new link-building opportunities for your own website.

Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles. Look at factors such as −

• The number of backlinks − How many websites are linking to your competitor’s website?

• Quality of backlinks − Are the websites that are linking to your competitors’ websites high-quality and relevant to your industry?

• Anchor text − What anchor text are your competitors’ using for their backlinks? Are they using keyword-rich anchor text or branded anchor text?

• Linking domains − How many unique domains are linking to competitors’ websites? A higher number of unique domains indicates a more diverse and authoritative backlink profile.

By analyzing your competitors’ backlink profiles, you can identify areas where they are strong and areas where you may be able to gain a competitive advantage.

Step 4: Analyze Your Competitors’ Keyword Strategy

Keyword strategy is an important aspect of SEO, as it involves targeting the keywords that your target audience is searching for in order to drive traffic to your website. By analyzing your competitors’ keyword strategy, you can identify the keywords that are driving the most traffic to their website and potentially identify new keyword opportunities for your own website.

Use tools like SEMrush or Google AdWords Keyword Planner to analyze your competitors’ keyword strategy. Look at factors such as −

• Top-ranking keywords − What are the keywords that your competitors are ranking for at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs)?

• Keyword volume − How many people are searching for the keywords that your competitors are targeting?

• Keyword difficulty − How difficult is it to rank for the keywords that your competitors are targeting?

• Keyword gaps − What keywords are your competitors not ranking for that could be opportunities for your own website to target?

By analyzing your competitors’ keyword strategy, you can gain valuable insights into the keywords that are driving traffic to their websites and potentially identify new keyword opportunities for your own website.

Step 5: Analyze Your Competitors’ Social Media Strategy

Social media is an important component of online marketing and can have a significant impact on SEO. By analyzing your competitors’ social media strategy, you can identify the social media channels that they are using, the type of content they are sharing, and how they are engaging with their audience.

Use tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to analyze your competitors’ social media strategies. Look at factors such as −

• Social media channels − What social media channels are your competitors using? Which channels are driving the most engagement and traffic to their website?

• Content strategy − What type of content are your competitors sharing on social media? Is it high-quality, valuable, and relevant to its target audience?

• Engagement strategy − How are your competitors engaging with their audience on social media? Are they responding to comments and messages? Are they actively seeking out and engaging with potential customers?

By analyzing your competitors’ social media strategies, you can gain insights into the type of content and engagement strategies that are most effective in your industry.

Step 6: Develop Your SEO Strategy Based on Your Competitive Analysis

Once you have completed your competitive analysis, it’s time to put the insights you have gained into action by developing your own SEO strategy. Based on your analysis, you should be able to identify areas where your competitors are excelling and areas where you may be able to gain a competitive advantage. It’s important to remember that SEO is an ongoing process and your competitive analysis should be regularly updated to ensure your SEO strategy stays ahead of the competition. Keep track of your competitors’ rankings, content, backlinks, and social media activity to ensure that you are always one step ahead. Regularly updating your SEO strategy based on your competitive analysis will help you stay relevant and competitive in your industry.