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SEO Competitor Analysis: Find Competitors, Keywords & Ranking

SEO Competitor Analysis: Find competitors, keywords & ranking. Use competitor analysis to find keywords and outrank your SEO competitor.

SEO STRATEGY

Ardene Stoneman

5/17/20256 min read

How to Perform an SEO Competitor Analysis That Actually Gets Results

Understanding your SEO competitors is essential if you want to rank higher in search results and stay competitive online.

A proper SEO competitor analysis gives you clear insights into what’s working for others and how you can improve your own site to outrank them.

This article explains how to find your competitors, analyse their performance, and use that information to sharpen your SEO strategy.

Article Outline

What is SEO Competitor Analysis?
Why You Should Identify Your SEO Competitors Early
How to Use Google Search to Spot Top Competitors
What Tools Can You Use for SEO Competitor Research?
Which Metrics Matter in Competitor Analysis?
How to Identify the Keywords Your Competitors Are Ranking For
How to Analyse Your Competitors’ Backlinks
What to Look for in a Competitor’s Meta Titles and Descriptions
How to Find Keyword Gaps and Content Opportunities
How to Analyse Technical SEO Factors on Competitor Sites
Why You Should Track Competitor Ranking Over Time
How to Use SEMrush for Organic Competitor Research
When to Perform a Competitive Analysis and How Often
How to Turn Analysis into Actionable SEO Tactics
How to Stay Ahead of Your Competitors Long-Term

1. What is SEO Competitor Analysis?

SEO competitor analysis is the process of examining the websites that compete with you in search engine results.

It involves identifying which domains are ranking for your target keywords, then analysing what they’re doing well and where they fall short.

This kind of competitive analysis gives you clarity on:

What keywords your competitors are targeting
How well their content is performing
What backlink strategies they use
Where you can find gaps to improve your own ranking

By analysing competitors, you can build a stronger SEO strategy that focuses on performance, not guesswork.

2. Why You Should Identify Your SEO Competitors Early

Knowing who your SEO competitors are is a core part of your SEO strategy. These aren’t always your direct business competitors.

Your SEO competitor could be a blog, review site, or aggregator that happens to rank for the same terms.

Identifying your top search competitors early helps you:

Understand what content and keywords are already ranking
Set realistic targets based on what competitors are achieving
Avoid wasting time chasing the wrong opportunities

The sooner you identify your SEO competitors, the sooner you can focus your SEO efforts in the right direction.

3. How to Use Google Search to Spot Top Competitors

Start by entering your target keywords into Google search and noting which domains appear on the first page of the SERPs. Repeat this for your main services or products.

Look at:

Who ranks consistently for multiple keywords
What kind of content is being served (e.g. long-form guides, product pages, blog posts)
Whether featured snippets are appearing, and who owns them

This method helps uncover your true competitors - not based on assumptions, but on who’s actually ranking in the top 10 positions.

4. What Tools Can You Use for SEO Competitor Research?

Manual checks will only get you so far. For more detailed analysis, you’ll need access to an SEO tool.

Common tools for SEO competitor research include:

SEMrush
Ahrefs
Moz
SERanking

Each analysis tool lets you enter your domain and see who else is competing for the same keywords.

SEMrush’s Organic Research Tool is especially useful for identifying your main organic competitors and tracking their SEO performance.

5. Which Metrics Matter in Competitor Analysis?

When analysing your competitors’ SEO, it’s easy to get lost in data. Focus on metrics that directly impact ranking and traffic.

Key metrics include:

Domain Authority or Domain Rating
Number of referring domains
Backlink profile strength
Keyword rankings
Search traffic volume
Core Web Vitals performance

These indicators give you a solid baseline to evaluate your competitor’s domain and content strength.

6. How to Identify the Keywords Your Competitors Are Ranking For

Use an SEO tool to enter your competitor’s domain and extract a list of keywords they rank for. This gives you instant visibility into their strategy.

You’ll want to review:

Keywords that bring them the most traffic
Positions they hold for each keyword
Which pages are ranking
Whether they’re ranking in the top 10 for key term

By knowing what keywords your competitors are targeting, you can compare them to your own list and highlight keyword gaps.

7. How to Analyse Your Competitors’ Backlinks

Backlinks remain a major ranking factor in search engine optimisation. Knowing who links to your competitors can help you replicate and improve on their strategies.

Look at:

Total number of backlinks
Referring domains and their authority
Anchor text distribution
Link growth over time

Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush offer backlink explorers that make this task straightforward. Analysing competitors’ backlinks is a reliable way to find trusted sources in your niche.

8. What to Look for in a Competitor’s Meta Titles and Descriptions

Meta titles and meta descriptions are key on-page SEO elements. By reviewing how your competitors use these, you’ll understand how they attract clicks from search results.

Ask:

Do they include the main keyword in the title?
Are they optimised for user intent?
Do they mention USPs or unique features?

You can often find ways to write a better, clearer meta description that could win more clicks than competitors.

9. How to Find Keyword Gaps and Content Opportunities

One of the most useful parts of SEO competitor analysis is finding keyword gaps. These are terms your competitors rank for that you don’t.

Use a keyword gap tool to:

Compare your domain with top competitors
Highlight high-traffic keywords missing from your own site
Prioritise by search volume and intent

This process uncovers realistic opportunities where you can create or optimise content to fill gaps and improve your keyword ranking.

10. How to Analyse Technical SEO Factors on Competitor Sites

It’s not all about content. Technical SEO also plays a big part in search engine ranking. You can learn from what your competitors are doing - or failing to do - technically.

Check:

Page speed and mobile responsiveness
Core Web Vitals scores
Site structure and internal linking
Use of structured data and schema

You don’t need their full backend. Use tools like PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Screaming Frog to perform a quick audit and spot technical strengths or weaknesses.

11. Why You Should Track Competitor Ranking Over Time

One-off analysis won’t give you the full picture. SEO is always moving, so it’s important to track how your competitors rank month to month.

Use a rank tracking tool to:

Monitor changes in keyword positions
See when new competitors enter or leave the SERPs
Measure the impact of algorithm updates on your competitors

This insight keeps you aware of who’s gaining ground - and whether you need to adjust your own strategy.

12. How to Use SEMrush for Organic Competitor Research

SEMrush is one of the most effective platforms for SEO competitor analysis. Start by entering your domain. SEMrush will identify your main organic competitors based on shared keyword visibility.

You can then:

Explore the full list of competitors and their domain metrics
View the keywords they’re ranking for
Analyse traffic trends and top-performing pages
Review backlinks and referring domains

It’s a fast way to perform a competitive analysis and uncover specific SEO strategies competitors are using.

13. When to Perform a Competitive Analysis and How Often

Competitor analysis isn’t a one-time task. It should be part of your SEO process.

Suggested times to review:

Before launching a new product or service
When updating your content strategy
After a major Google update
Every quarter as part of your SEO reporting

Frequent reviews help you adjust to changes and keep pace with what your online competitors are doing.

14. How to Turn Analysis into Actionable SEO Tactics

It’s easy to gather data, but the real value lies in using that data to improve your own SEO.

Turn competitor insight into:

New keyword targets and topic clusters
Revised on-page SEO using stronger meta titles
Better content structure based on what’s ranking
Link-building strategies using competitor backlink sources
Improvements to your technical SEO

This step moves you from research to action - which is where SEO performance really improves.

15. How to Stay Ahead of Your Competitors Long-Term

To stay ahead of your competitors, your SEO strategy must be proactive, not reactive.

Keep your competitive edge by:

Regularly updating your content based on fresh keyword research
Tracking SERP changes and adapting your strategy
Continuously building authoritative backlinks
Monitoring your site’s Core Web Vitals and usability
Running frequent gap analysis to find new opportunities

Over time, consistent SEO efforts rooted in analysis will move your domain up the search results, ahead of slower-moving competitors.

Summary: Key Takeaways from Your SEO Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis is one of the most valuable parts of your SEO strategy.
Identify your true online competitors using Google search and SEO tools.
Focus on keywords, backlinks, meta descriptions, and technical SEO.
Use tools like SEMrush to uncover keyword gaps and performance trends.
Keep tracking rankings over time to adjust your SEO tactics.
Turn research into action by optimising and creating content based on gaps.
Staying ahead of your competitors means regular, informed SEO work.

Need help performing a full SEO competitor analysis for your business? At SEOJet, we specialise in finding gaps, analysing competitors, and delivering clear, no-nonsense strategies to help you outrank them.

Get in touch today to start seeing what your competitors don’t want you to know.