How to Do an SEO Competitor Analysis
Short Answer
SEO competitor analysis involves identifying who competes for your target keywords, analyzing their strategies, and using those insights to improve your own SEO approach.
How to Do an SEO Competitor Analysis
Understanding your competition is crucial for SEO success. Here’s a complete guide to competitor analysis.
Identifying Your Competitors
Primary Competitors
Sites that rank for the same keywords you want to target.
Secondary Competitors
Sites in your industry that may not compete for exact keywords but attract similar audiences.
What to Analyze
1. Keyword Strategy
- What keywords are they ranking for?
- What content drives their traffic?
- Where are their keyword gaps?
2. Content Analysis
- What type of content do they produce?
- How often do they publish?
- What formats perform best?
3. Backlink Profile
- Who links to them?
- What types of sites link of their content?
- Are there link-building opportunities?
4. Technical SEO
- Site speed and performance
- Mobile optimization
- Crawlability and structure
Tools for Competitor Analysis
Use tools like:
- SEMrush
- Ahrefs
- Moz
- SimilarWeb
Creating Your Action Plan
After analysis, identify:
- Opportunities they’re missing
- Content gaps you can fill
- Keywords to target
- Link-building strategies to pursue
This guide is based on SEMrush’s comprehensive competitive analysis methodology.