It must be acknowledged that search engine algorithms have made tremendous strides in recent years, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to rank in SERPs without analyzing SEO competition.
In fact, the changes made put everyone on an equal footing with the same rules for all and very little chance for manipulation.
In this context, you need to spy on your competitors and observe what they do better than you in order to get ahead in search results.
This involves conducting a competitive analysis to identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, while uncovering untapped opportunities.
That’s exactly what I’m going to teach you in this guide. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the steps you need to follow to successfully analyze your competition in SEO.
Identify your SEO competitors
Before beginning an in-depth analysis, it is essential to identify your SEO competitors. These are not only your direct rivals in the market, but also those who rank highest for the keywords you are targeting.
Concurrents directs vs concurrents SEO
To succeed in your analysis, you must be able to distinguish between these two types of rivals.
Direct competitors are those who offer the same products or services as you, but they are not always your main rivals in terms of search engine optimization.
SEO competitors are those who rank for the same keywords as you, regardless of their field of activity.
An online sportswear store might, for example, consider major sports brands to be its direct competitors, but its main SEO competitors could be fashion blogs or websites specializing in fitness advice.
Tools for finding your competitors (SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc.)
There are several tools available to help you identify your SEO competitors. Among the most popular are:
These platforms allow you to see the keywords your competitors are ranking for, their estimated organic traffic, and even the pages that generate the most visits.
With Ahrefs, you can even use the “Domain Comparison” feature to directly compare multiple sites and see which ones are performing best on your target keywords.
SERP analysis on your target keywords
Manual SERP analysis is also important. Type your main keywords into a search engine and note the sites that appear on the first page. These sites are your most direct SEO competitors.
Also analyze featured snippets and rich results to see what types of content dominate. This will give you insights into the formats and types of content to prioritize in your strategy.
Analyze your competitors’ content
After identifying your SEO competitors, it’s time to examine their content.
Structure and quality of content
Content structure directly influences user experience and SEO. Analyze how your competitors organize their pages: Do they use bulleted lists, quotes, or boxes to highlight certain information?
The quality of the content remains just as important: it must be consistent, well organized, and meet users’ expectations.
In fact, a blog post that offers a comprehensive solution to a specific problem is more likely to rank higher in SERPs than a superficial article.
Targeted keywords and search intent
Identify the keywords your competitors are ranking for and check whether they actually match the search intent of internet users.
For a keyword such as “buy running shoes,” the intent is clearly transactional, as the user wants to make a purchase.
On the other hand, for a keyword such as “best running shoes 2024,” the intent is more informational. Understanding these nuances allows you to optimize your content for the most relevant search intents.
Content formats used (text, video, infographics, etc.)
All content formats have their uses. Some competitors may stand out by using explanatory videos, interactive infographics, or even podcasts.
In other words, if your competitors dominate the results with video guides, you might consider adding similar videos to your content strategy to increase your chances of ranking.
A combination of different formats makes the experience more enjoyable for users and encourages sharing on social platforms.
Study competitors’ link strategies
Backlinks remain one of the most decisive ranking factors in SEO.
Backlink profile analysis
Your competitors’ backlink profiles can reveal a lot about their netlinking strategy. To do this, you can use tools such as Ahrefs, Majestic, or SEMrush to explore the links pointing to your rivals’ sites.
Note the quality of referring sites, the diversity of sources, and the most linked pages. A varied backlink profile, with links from authoritative sites, is generally a sign of success.
Most important link sources
Some sources of backlinks, such as popular blogs, media outlets, or specialized websites, may carry more weight than others.
If a competitor obtains links from major news sites, this will boost their credibility and could significantly improve their ranking. So identify the types of sites that link to your competitors and look for ways to acquire similar links.
Link building strategies used
Link building strategies can include guest posts, partnerships, brand mentions, and even link exchanges.
If you notice that your competitors frequently publish guest posts on authoritative blogs, this could indicate an opportunity for you to do the same.
Also consider other tactics such as broken link building or acquiring links from resource pages.
Examine the technical aspects of SEO
Technical aspects directly influence a website’s SEO performance.
Website loading speed
Page loading speed is a key factor in website ranking, as it directly impacts the smoothness of navigation. Google gives preference to websites that load quickly.
You can compare your website’s performance to that of your competitors using tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or WebPageTest.
If your site is slower, consider compressing images, reducing the number of HTTP requests, or adopting a content delivery network (CDN).
Mobile optimization
Mobile optimization is a major criterion for Google, especially with mobile-first indexing. Make sure your competitors are using responsive design and test the user experience on different mobile devices.
If you notice that competing sites offer better mobile navigation, identify areas for improvement on your own site, such as button size, text readability, or touch navigation.
URL structure and site architecture
URLs should be well structured, short, and contain the right terms. Compare your competitors’ URLs with your own to see if you can simplify the structure of your links or add keywords.
Well-designed architecture simplifies navigation, facilitates exploration by search engines, and optimizes the user experience.
Analyze keyword strategies
Keyword research remains a fundamental pillar of any SEO strategy.
Primary and secondary keywords targeted
In addition to primary keywords, it is beneficial to identify secondary terms used by your competitors. Long-tail keywords, although they attract less traffic, are generally more specific and have less competition.
For example, instead of “running shoes,” a long-tail keyword could be “running shoes for marathons in 2024.”
Research volumes and difficulty
Assess search volume and keyword ranking difficulty to prioritize your efforts. If certain terms are highly competitive, you should focus on more accessible keywords.
In this context, it is useful to use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or KWFinder to explore opportunities and find keywords to target.
Opportunities for overlooked keywords
Niche keywords or those associated with specific questions can be strategic targets. A competitor may overlook certain geographic terms or common questions in your industry (“how to choose running shoes for mountain trails?”).
These keywords offer an opportunity to quickly position yourself and capture qualified traffic.
Assess social media presence
Social media is not directly a ranking factor, but it influences SEO by generating traffic and backlinks.
Preferred platforms
Each industry has its preferred platforms. In the B2B sector, LinkedIn is often more relevant than Facebook, while in B2C, Instagram and Pinterest may be better choices.
You should therefore identify the platforms where your competitors are most active and study their strategy.
Frequency and type of publications
The frequency of publication impacts engagement. Some competitors publish daily, others only once a week. You need to evaluate which strategy works best in your industry.
The type of content shared (videos, images, articles, etc.) can also influence engagement.
User engagement
The level of engagement (likes, shares, comments) allows you to measure the impact of content on social media. Analyze the posts that get the most interaction to understand what works best.
Educational, entertaining, or visually striking content often generates more engagement.
Presentation of essential tools for SEO competitive analysis
The right tools greatly facilitate competitive analysis.
SEMrush: your complete SEO toolkit
SEMrush is a multifunctional tool that covers all aspects of SEO, from keyword research to competitor analysis. It is particularly useful for identifying high-potential keywords and tracking the performance of your rivals.
It allows you to discover new keyword opportunities with the Keyword Magic Tool feature and provides an overview of the site via Domain Overview.
SEMrush also offers technical audits to identify and fix issues on your website in order to improve its SEO. Compared to other tools, it stands out for its comprehensive approach, which includes position tracking, backlinks, and much more.
It is therefore a good choice if you are looking for an all-in-one solution to optimize your SEO strategy. SEMrush is a good choice.
Ahrefs: The backlink specialist
Ahrefs is best known for its backlink analysis features. With “Site Explorer,” you can see which pages attract the most links, which referring domains are most relevant, and which anchor texts are used.
This tool is also useful for keyword research, with reliable data on difficulty and search volume. Unlike SEMrush, which is more generalist, Ahrefs excels at exploring link profiles and netlinking strategies.
If you want to strengthen your presence through backlinks, this tool will provide you with valuable data.
Moz, the domain authority expert
Moz offers tools to evaluate domain authority, with metrics such as Domain Authority (DA) that measure ranking potential. It also has Link Explorer to analyze backlink profiles.
Although it is not as comprehensive as SEMrush or Ahrefs in terms of link analysis, Moz remains useful for keyword research and authority tracking. It is more recommended for beginners looking to understand the basics of SEO.
Screaming Frog for technical auditing
Screaming Frog is designed for technical website auditing. It detects common errors such as broken links, missing tags, and incorrect redirects. Unlike SEMrush or Ahrefs, it does not offer backlink or keyword analysis, but it excels at detecting website architecture issues.
Screaming Frog is more suited to large websites, where it is important to monitor the technical aspects that influence indexing. This tool is a good complement to others, as it provides accurate technical analysis to strengthen your SEO foundation.
Google Search Console: The voice of Google
Google Search Console is a free tool for monitoring indexing, keywords that generate traffic, and crawl errors.
Unlike other tools, its data comes directly from Google. It provides insight into how the search engine perceives your site.
Google Search Console does not offer detailed technical audits or backlink analysis, but it remains essential for adjusting your strategy based on the results obtained. As a complement to tools such as SEMrush, it helps you optimize your SEO efforts at no cost.
Interpret the data and define your strategy
Data collection is only the first step. You then need to draw conclusions from it in order to adapt your strategy.
Identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses
A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) of your competitors’ SEO performance allows you to better identify areas for improvement.
If, for example, you notice that a competitor has high-quality content but weak netlinking, you can take advantage of this to strengthen your backlink strategy.
Identify opportunities
Look for gaps in your competitors’ strategies, such as untargeted keywords, outdated content, or poor mobile optimization. These weaknesses can represent opportunities for you.
By filling these gaps in your strategy, you can generate more traffic, improve your SERP rankings, and enrich the user experience. This gives you a competitive advantage.
Establish a concrete action plan
Based on your analysis, define concrete actions and clear objectives, such as increasing the number of high-quality backlinks, publishing content optimized for certain keywords, or improving the site’s loading speed.
Track your progress and adjust your strategy based on the results.
In summary
Competitive analysis in SEO is a powerful tool for optimizing your search engine optimization strategy.
By studying your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, identifying opportunities, and adapting your efforts, you can improve your SERP ranking and attract more qualified traffic. Want to outperform your competitors and propelled your site to the top of the results? We have the services you need to reach new heights.
