An SEO competitor analysis involves investigating the strategies employed by websites ranking for desired keywords. This process aims to identify competitor strengths and weaknesses to inform and improve one’s own SEO efforts. Performing such an analysis allows businesses to learn from successes and failures within their industry, capitalize on overlooked opportunities, and prioritize SEO tasks. Analysis is particularly valuable when launching a new website, planning an SEO strategy, or responding to declines in keyword rankings. Identifying true SEO competitors—those ranking organically for target keywords—may differ from direct business competitors.
Identifying SEO Competitors
Determining which websites are competing for relevant keywords is the first step in the analysis process. One method involves using tools like Ahrefs’ Site Explorer. By entering a domain into Site Explorer, users can access an “Organic competitors” report, which lists websites ranking in the top 10 for the same keywords. If a website is new and lacks organic rankings, an alternative approach is to use Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer. Entering potential customer search terms into Keywords Explorer and then accessing the “Traffic share by domain” report reveals potential competitors. The data suggests that a website with a Domain Rating (DR) of 50 may be able to compete effectively with sites of similar DR, rather than those with significantly higher authority, such as Adobe or Canva.
Another method, though more laborious, involves manually entering target keywords into Google, exporting the search results, and identifying frequently appearing domains. This process is best suited for analyzing a limited number of keywords, as it becomes impractical for larger-scale analyses. SEO tools automate this process, providing a more efficient and accurate assessment of the competitive landscape.
Investigating Traffic Sources and Website Structure
Once competitors are identified, understanding how they acquire traffic is crucial. Tools like Ahrefs’ Site Explorer can reveal a competitor’s website structure and the distribution of organic traffic across different subfolders. For example, analysis of Venngage’s website revealed that its “template” subfolder receives a substantial portion (9.9%) of its total organic search visits, accounting for approximately 260,000 monthly visits. Further investigation into this subfolder identified specific template types driving the most traffic, such as brochure and infographic templates. This type of analysis can reveal content opportunities for competing tools.
Semrush’s Organic Research tool also provides insights into competitor traffic sources and keyword rankings. This tool displays all keywords a website ranks for, allowing users to filter by search volume, keyword difficulty, and other criteria. The data can be exported for further analysis.
Identifying Content Gaps
Content gaps represent keywords for which competitors rank, but a business does not. Identifying these gaps can reveal opportunities to expand content coverage and attract additional organic traffic. Ahrefs’ Competitive Analysis tool facilitates this process. By entering a target domain and competitor domains, the tool generates a “Content Gap” report, highlighting keywords where competitors have a ranking presence but the target site does not. Filtering the report to exclude rankings in SERP features like “Top stories” and “Image packs” focuses the analysis on core organic rankings. For example, the keyword “infographic examples” was identified as a potential content opportunity.
Analyzing Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are concise answers displayed in search results, extracted from pages ranking in the top 10. Competitors holding featured snippets for relevant keywords represent opportunities for “snippet stealing”—optimizing content to potentially capture those featured snippet positions. Ahrefs’ Competitive Analysis tool can identify featured snippets owned by competitors for keywords a business also ranks for.
Utilizing SEO Competitor Analysis Tools
Several tools are available to assist with competitor analysis. These tools provide data on backlink profiles, keywords, and content performance. Ahrefs is noted for its backlink analysis and keyword research capabilities, allowing users to see which sites link to competitors and which anchor texts drive traffic. SEMrush offers insights into keywords, rankings, and traffic sources, including competitor ad and organic reports. These tools help identify areas for improvement and inform SEO strategy.
Semrush’s Keyword Gap tool specifically identifies keywords competitors rank for that a business does not, uncovering potentially valuable terms.
Prioritizing SEO Tasks with Competitive Intelligence
Competitor analysis provides data-driven insights to prioritize SEO tasks. Understanding competitor strategies allows businesses to focus on high-impact activities, such as improving site speed, enhancing content quality, optimizing technical SEO, or acquiring high-authority backlinks. By avoiding low-impact tactics and focusing on strategies proven effective by competitors, businesses can improve their website’s growth trajectory.
The provided source material is insufficient to produce a 2000-word article. Below is a factual summary based on available data.
Conclusion
An SEO competitor analysis is a valuable process for understanding the competitive landscape and informing SEO strategy. The analysis involves identifying competitors, investigating their traffic sources and website structure, identifying content gaps, and analyzing featured snippet opportunities. Tools like Ahrefs and Semrush provide data and insights to facilitate this process. By leveraging competitive intelligence, businesses can prioritize SEO tasks and improve their organic search performance.