How to learn from your competitors with competitive analysis
If you want to be found better in search engines, you should not only look at your own website. It is at least as important to understand what your competitors are doing. Why do they score better than you? What can you learn from them? You can discover that with a good competitor analysis for SEO.
What is competitor analysis in SEO?
Competitor analysis in SEO means that you investigate which websites score well on keywords that are important to you. You look at their content, structure, backlinks and other factors that influence their ranking. With these insights you can improve your own SEO.
Why is this important?
The competition is not standing still. If you want your site to rank higher in Google, you need to know:
- What keywords they use
- What kind of content they create
- What backlinks they have
- How their website is technically structured
By using this information wisely, you can make strategic choices that lead to better SEO results.
Step 1: Determine who your competitors are
You may immediately think of your direct business competitors, but SEO is all about who is competing with you in the search results. Search for important keywords and note who is on the first page of Google. These are your SEO competitors.
Useful tools for this are:
Step 2: Analyze Their Keywords
Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to see which keywords are keywords your competitors score well. See:
- Top keywords
- Search volume
- Ranking position
Ask yourself: do you also use these keywords? Or are there opportunities that you are not yet exploiting?
Step 3: Review their content strategy
Look at your competitors’ content:
- How long are their blogs?
- How often do they publish new content?
- What topics do they cover?
- Use of images, videos, and infographics
Visit their blog page or analyze high-traffic pages using tools like Ubersuggest. Learn from their approach and find ways to improve.
Step 4: Analyze their backlink profile
Backlinks are an important factor in SEO. The more quality websites link to you, the higher you can rank.
Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to find out which websites are linking to your competitors. Search for:
- Number of backlinks
- Which websites are linking
- Type of backlinks (blogs, news, forums, etc.)
Can you get similar links? Or even better ones?
Step 5: Check the technical side
SEO is not just about text. The technical side of a website also counts. Use tools like:
Look at load time, mobile usability, URL structure, internal links and use of meta tags. Do you see that competitors are doing certain things better technically? Then you know what you need to tackle.
Step 6: Analyse User Experience (UX)
How user-friendly is your competitor's site? For example, look at:
- Clear navigation
- Fast loading time
- Mobile-friendly design
- Call-to-actions (buttons like "Request a quote")
Google loves sites that offer a great experience to visitors. If your site is lagging behind in UX, you may lose rankings.
Step 7: Create a plan of action
Now that you know what your competitors are doing, you can get started. Ask yourself questions like:
- Which keywords do I want to focus on?
- What content should I improve or add?
- What backlinks can I try to get?
- What technical improvements are needed?
Set concrete goals and deadlines. For example: "Within 3 months I want 10 new backlinks from relevant blogs."
Tips for successful competitive analysis
- Perform a new analysis every 3 to 6 months
- Save your findings in a clear document
- Work with tools, but also use your common sense
- Don't focus on copying, but on improving
Conclusion
A good competitive analysis helps you to compete in Google with strong strategies. It shows where opportunities lie, which mistakes you can avoid and what you need to improve.
By analyzing regularly, you stay ahead. Remember: you don't have to reinvent the wheel. See what works for others, learn from it and make it even better.
Backlinks are links from other websites to your site. They are like votes: the more good votes, the higher you rank in search engines...
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