How to Do a Competitor SEO Analysis

A competitor SEO analysis is the process of examining what your competitors are doing in search to understand why they rank where they do, what keywords they’re targeting, what content they produce, and where their backlinks come from. It turns a broad ambition (“rank higher”) into specific, actionable intelligence.

You don’t need to guess what to write about or which links to pursue. Your competitors’ existing search performance contains the answers — what’s working in your market, which topics Google rewards, and where gaps exist that you can fill. This guide explains how to do the analysis systematically.

Identifying your SEO competitors

Your SEO competitors are not always the same as your business competitors. They are the websites that appear in Google search results for the keywords your ideal customers use — which may include comparison sites, directories, industry publications, and aggregators as well as direct competitors.

Start by searching Google for the five to ten most important keywords for your business and noting which websites appear consistently on page one. These are your primary SEO competitors. Tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Moz allow you to enter your domain and see which sites have the most overlapping keywords — a quick way to build a competitor list without manual searching.

At Xpose in Norwich, we typically identify three to five meaningful competitors for each client — enough to surface useful patterns without creating an unmanageable analysis. Focus on sites that rank well for your most commercially important keywords rather than trying to analyse every competitor in the market.

What to analyse

Keyword gaps are the most actionable starting point. Use a tool like Semrush’s keyword gap feature or Ahrefs’ content gap analysis to find keywords your competitors rank for that you do not. These represent topics where demand exists, your competitors have validated that Google will rank content, and you currently have no presence.

Review the structure and content of competitor pages that rank well. How long are they? What headings do they use? Do they include video, images, tables, or tools? What questions do they answer? This informs the content brief for your own pages — you need to match or exceed the quality and depth of what’s already ranking.

Examine their backlink profiles using Ahrefs or Moz Link Explorer. Which websites link to them that don’t yet link to you? Look for patterns: industry directories they’re listed in, publications they’ve contributed to, local or sector associations they belong to. These are your link-building leads.

Turning the analysis into action

Document your findings in a simple spreadsheet: keyword opportunities, content gaps, technical differences, and backlink targets. Then prioritise by commercial value and achievability. A keyword with strong purchase intent and a competitor ranking at position seven or eight is a more realistic target than a term dominated by national brands with hundreds of high-authority backlinks.

Competitor analysis is not a one-time exercise. Your competitors’ strategies evolve, new competitors enter the market, and Google’s ranking signals change. Running a quarterly review keeps your strategy current and ensures you spot opportunities and threats before they have a major impact on your traffic.