SEO Competitive Analysis: Conduct an SEO Competitor Analysis to Outrank Your Competition & Achieve Search Engine Success
21st November 2025
Struggling with your SEO performance? There’s one simple cheat code – peeking at your competitors. Learn from what your competitors do well and improve on where they don’t. This is search engine optimisation (SEO) in easy mode.
What is SEO Competitor Analysis?
What’s the point of SEO? The answer – to outrank your competitors. SEO is a zero-sum game. Every position you go up in the rankings is someone else’s loss. There’s no time for sympathy – you need to use every trick in the SEO book to skyrocket your ranking.
Yes, that includes learning from your competitors.
SEO competitor analysis refers to the tactic where you explore the SEO strategies of your competitors. You could analyse their keyword performance, page load speed, content creation strategy, and much more.
Identify their strengths and weaknesses. For example, you might notice that they’re performing extremely well for some content but not so much for others. You could choose to write a more up-to-date blog post, building on what your competitor already did. Or you might decide to focus on areas where they’re lacking, giving you the opportunity to capture untapped traffic.
Why is it Important for Your Business to Perform an SEO Competitor Analysis?
Unless you look, you’ll never know. Think about it like running a race, climbing into the boxing ring, or prepping for a debate. You want to know your opponents inside-out. It’s about staying competitive.
Performing an SEO competitor analysis lets you tap into the strategies that are already proving successful. You let your competitor do the hard work for you. You’re gaining inside knowledge of what your customers are after.
Looking at competitor keywords, in particular, is extremely valuable. You’ll see what keywords they’re targeting, revealing gaps or opportunities you can exploit for your own strategy. For instance, imagine you run an online skincare store, and after analysing a competitor, you notice they’re ranking highly for keywords like “best moisturisers for dry skin.” However, you also discover they’re not targeting a similar keyword like “best moisturisers for sensitive skin,” even though it’s a trending topic in skincare.
In addition to keywords, your competitor analysis can guide your content development and optimisation. You can discover which topics and content formats perform the best in your industry. Rather than going through a trial-and-error period, you can exclusively generate high-performing content. (Talk about life in the fast lane!)
Key Elements of a Competitive SEO Analysis
What’s included in a competitive SEO analysis? You’ll want to cover these aspects:
- Keyword Analysis. Identify your competitor keywords that are currently driving traffic. Some fantastic tools are available, including Ahrefs and SEMrush.
- Keyword Gap Analysis. Determine which keywords your competitors rank for, then see which keywords you rank for. The gap analysis involves seeing the difference between the two lists and what you can do to close any gaps.
- Backlink Profile Comparison. Use a specialist tool for backlink analysis to see where your competitors’ backlinks come from.
- Technical SEO Insights. Evaluate a competitors’ site structure and on-page optimisation, e.g., page load speed and mobile optimisation.
Top Tools for SEO Competitive Analysis
You’ll find tons of tools available for SEO competitor analysis. Some of the lead brands include:
- Ahrefs: Specialises in keyword tracking, content gap identification, and backlink analysis to give insights into your competitors’ strategies.
- SEMrush: Offers powerful tools for keyword tracking, gap analysis, and backlink research, helping refine your SEO approach.
- Website Auditor: Focuses on technical SEO, enabling you to optimise site structure and on-page elements for improved performance.
Step-by-Step Guide to Conduct an SEO Competitor Analysis.
Unsure how to get started? Don’t worry – follow this step-by-step guide:
Step 1. Choose Competitors for Analysis. Make a list of your top competitors. Some of these you’ll already have heard of; others might be new to you. Use tools like Google to search for the leading brands in your industry.
Step 2. Identify Focus Keywords and Content Strategies. One of the primary goals of any competitor analysis is to find out (and steal!) the keywords that work for your competitors. Also, take a look at how your competitors are using these keywords: what types of content are they creating?
Step 3. Analyse Site Structure and Backlinks. Now for the technical side. Take a deep dive into your competitors’ on-page SEO, internal linking, and backlink sources. Get a good idea of how they’re performing behind the scenes.
Step 4. Put It Into Action. Convert your new data insights into actionable ideas. What are you going to do to outcompete your competitors? What’s missing from your site that needs to be added?
How to Apply Insight from SEO Competitor Analysis Report to Improve Your Strategy
Now that you’ve got your competitive SEO analysis, the question is, what are you going to do with it?
The first step is to prioritise the most valuable keyword opportunities. Focus on keywords that competitors rank for but have minimal competition. Depending on the keyword, you could update your existing content, adding them throughout, or you could write an entirely new piece. Remember, you’re going for a keyword density of around 1-2%.
But it’s not just as simple as adding keywords anywhere. The content and keywords must align with the searcher’s intent. For example, if the keyword is “best study techniques,” students searching for this keyword will expect practical tips, time management strategies, and other methods that make learning easier. Don’t go off on a tangent – align your keywords with the content.
Final Thoughts
Your competitors are a goldmine of insightful SEO information. Perform an SEO competitive analysis to stay ahead, as well as learn strategies, keywords, and content ideas to help you rank higher. Remember, SEO is a zero-sum game: use every trick you have available.
If you’d like a professional SEO agency to conduct an in-depth SEO competitor analysis, we’re happy to help. CRDone has extensive experience evaluating websites, performing site audits, keyword research, and backlink analysis. Contact us today to book your free consultation.
