The early bird gets the worm and in the world of SEO, the early bird gets the top spot on Google. If your business website is not in the top 5 of Google search results or worse, not on the first page, it means your competitors are there, attracting customers and growing their business. Don’t worry, you are not alone; many businesses face this challenge. But, the solution is simpler than you think: It’s SEO competitor analysis.
In this blog, we will help you understand the what, why and how of SEO competitor analysis. Wishing you an insightful read!
Table of Contents
- What Exactly is SEO Competitor Analysis?
- Why You Should Analyse Your Competitors?
- How To Analyse Your SEO Competitors?
- Don’t Be Afraid to Get Creative (But Maybe Not Too Creative)
- How Our SEO Agency Can Help
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Exactly is SEO Competitor Analysis?
Now, before you grab your trench coat and magnifying glass like a detective… hold on a second. SEO competitor analysis is not about some shady secret operation. It’s a smart and strategic way to understand what your competitors are doing well online and how you can use that knowledge to outrank them and attract more customers to your fantastic business.
SEO competitor analysis is the process of researching your online competitors to understand their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO). In simpler terms, it’s figuring out how your competitors are getting their websites seen by potential customers and how you can do it better.
Honestly, people these days don’t just magically come across your businesses. They search online and if your website is not ranking high in search results for relevant keywords you miss out on a massive chunk of potential customers. Competitor SEO analysis helps you identify the keywords your competitors are targeting, the content they are creating and the backlinks they are building – all important elements that influence search engine rankings.
Why You Should Analyse Your Competitors?
I know what you are thinking: “But why can’t I just focus on my SEO strategy?” Why should I keep an eye on what my competitors are up to? Well, here’s the thing: SEO is not just about your website. It’s about how your website compares to others. By doing a competitor SEO analysis, you can understand the competitive landscape and make informed decisions about your SEO strategy.
Ignoring your competition means getting hidden in Google search results. By understanding their strategies, you can:
Identify Opportunities
Maybe your competitors are completely missing out on a certain keyword or haven’t created content that truly resonates with your target audience. This is your chance to come in and fill the gap!
Learn from their Mistakes
Let’s be honest, everyone makes mistakes. Analysing your competitors can help you identify areas where they are struggling with SEO, so you can avoid making the same mistakes.
Develop a Winning Strategy
Once you understand your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, you can craft a targeted SEO strategy that positions your business for success.
How To Analyse Your SEO Competitors?
Okay, competitors’ SEO analysis sounds useful but how do you start? Here’s a breakdown of the steps to get you started, along with some handy tools to help you along the way:
1. Identify your SEO competitors
The first step is figuring out who you are competing with. This can be done in a couple of ways:
Classic Google Search
Go to Google search and type in relevant keywords related to your business and target audience. See who comes at the top of the search results – those are your prime competitors. For example, let’s say you own a real diamond jewellery store and you search real diamond jewellers in Google, the results that appear are your competitors and you are top of it, Congratulations!
SEO Spy Tools
Don’t worry, it’s not as secretive as it sounds! Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can be incredibly helpful in uncovering your organic competitors. These tools crawl the web and analyse search results to identify websites that are competing for the same keywords as you. They can even provide you with valuable insights like estimated website traffic and organic keyword rankings.
2. Analyse their keywords
Now that you know who you are up against, it’s time to go into more detail and see what makes their SEO engine tick. Here’s where those competitor spy tools come in handy again:
Keyword Gap Analysis
Tools like SEMrush offer a “keyword gap analysis” feature. This fantastic tool allows you to enter your website’s domain and the domains of your competitors. It then generates a report that shows you which keywords your competitors are ranking for, but you are not. This is a goldmine of information! You can identify potential keywords you haven’t considered yet and start incorporating them into your content strategy. An SEO agency can help you make sense of the reports and data collected.
3. Dive deep into their content
What kind of content are your competitors creating? Are they writing informative blog posts, eye-catching infographics or engaging explainer videos? Analysing their content strategy can give you valuable insights into what kind of content resonates with your target audience. Here is how to dig deeper:
Content Audits
Take some time to visit and audit your competitors’ websites and browse their content. See what topics they are covering, the format they are using (text-based, video, etc.) and the overall tone and style of their content. Are they creating in-depth guides or shorter pieces? Is their content informative, entertaining or a bit of both?
4. Check out their backlinks
Backlinks are all the important links from other websites that act like little votes of confidence for your site in the eyes of search engines. Here is how to check on your competitor’s backlink profile:
Backlink Analysis Tools
Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush offer backlink analysis features. These tools allow you to enter your competitor’s website URL and see where they are getting their backlinks from. This can give you ideas for building backlinks to your website. Remember, the quality of the backlinks matters more than the quantity. So, focus on getting backlinks from high-authority websites relevant to your industry.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget about the original competitor analysis tool – Google Search
Console. This free tool from Google provides valuable insights into your website’s organic performance, including which keywords you are ranking for and which websites are linking to you. You can also use it to identify keywords that your competitors are ranking for, but you are not.
5. Position tracking
Semrush offers a powerful feature that allows you to continuously track your competitors’ positions and stay ahead of the curve.
Semrush’s position tracking tool allows you to add your competitors’ websites to your campaign. This way, you can monitor their keyword rankings for the same keywords you are targeting. You will receive regular updates on how their rankings fluctuate, giving you valuable insights into their SEO strategies and helping you identify opportunities to outrank them.
Don’t Be Afraid to Get Creative (But Maybe Not Too Creative)
Now, here is where things can get interesting. While analysing your competitors is necessary, don’t fall into the trap of simply copying everything they do. Remember, your brand has its own unique voice and value proposition. Use the information you gather to inspire your creative content strategy – one that stands out from the crowd and truly connects with your target audience.
Here’s a quick example: let’s say you find out your competitors are all writing long, in-depth blog posts on a particular topic. You could create a series of shorter blog posts that break down the same information into easily digestible chunks. Or, maybe you discover your competitors are focusing solely on text-based content. You could create engaging explainer videos or infographics to capture your audience’s attention.
The key is to find the approach that best suits your brand and target audience.
How Our SEO Agency Can Help
Now, I know what you are thinking: “This sounds like a lot of work.” And you are not wrong. But that’s where our SEO company in Ahmedabad comes in. We offer comprehensive SEO services, including competitor analysis, to help businesses like yours rank higher on Google.
So, if you are tired of seeing your competitors outrank you on Google, don’t wait. Contact our digital marketing company in Ahmedabad today and let us help you turn the tables.
Remember, in the world of SEO, knowledge is power. With competitor analysis, you will have all the knowledge you need to outsmart your competitors and get your website the attention it deserves.
Conclusion
By utilising these steps and tools, you can comprehensively understand your competitors’ SEO strategies. Remember, competitor analysis is not about copying – it’s about using the information you gather to inform and refine your unique approach to SEO. And hey, if it all feels a bit overwhelming, that’s perfectly alright! Digital marketing companies in Ahmedabad, like us here at Flora Fountain can help you navigate the complexities of SEO and develop a winning strategy to outrank your competitors and dominate search results.
Frequently Asked Questions
The founder and partner of Flora Fountain, Shefali leads the Content and Technology divisions. A one-time engineer who started her career writing front-end code, she took a detour sometime during her 9 years in New York, studied journalism and started writing prose, poetry and sometimes jokes. She now has 15...