Are your competitors always ahead of you in ranking and getting more traffic? It’s not happening by chance. They are using data and constantly working their way toward the top. But you don’t need to worry, sometimes there is a hidden opportunity in adversity. Now, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Analyzing what works for your competitors and implementing it effectively is all you need to do. And if you are not sure how to do it, we are here to help. In this blog post, we will explore what competitive keyword research is and how to utilize it to drive more traffic and clients. So, let’s get started!
What Is Competitor Keyword Analysis?
Competitor Keyword analysis is the process of identifying which keywords of your competitors are ranking for and then using that data to improve your own strategy. It basically helps you discover what is working for your competitor so you can find the keyword opportunities you may otherwise have missed. It can also offer you insights into what topics are driving high volumes of traffic. Learning this, you can create more targeted content and improve your rankings.
Why Is Competitor Keyword Analysis Important for SEO?
In SEO, keyword competitor analysis forms a crucial part of the SEO strategy because your competitors have already done part of the work. If they rank well for certain keywords, then it is a sign that those terms:
- Have good search volume
- Are relevant to your audience
- Can bring in valuable traffic
So, with keyword competitor analysis, you can get real-world SEO data without trying from scratch.
Tools to Use for a Competitor Keyword Analysis
To perform effective keyword competitor analysis, you will need some tools. We will not give a long list of overlapping tools. We will tell you about the important ones, where each serves a specific role in the process.
Ahrefs: To find competitor keywords & top pages
You can start your analysis with Ahrefs to discover the keywords your competitors are already ranking for. In these tools, you will find:
- Organic keywords that are driving high volumes of traffic
- Top performing pages by traffic
- Backlink profiles to see what is boosting their authority
One of Ahrefs’ standout features is the Content Gap tool, which shows keywords your competitors are ranking for but you don’t.
Google Keyword Planner: To Validate Search Volume and Commercial Value
Once you have fetched a list of potential keywords, you can use Google Keyword Planner to check the search volume and evaluate the cost-per-click to estimate how valuable the keyword is in paid search. With this step, you can filter out the low-impact keywords and focus on those that matter.
BuzzSumo: To find top content behind the keywords
Now, to understand what type of content performs the best for the keywords you are targeting, you will need BuzzSumo. This tool shows you the most shared and linked to competitor content, trending topics in your niche and formats (listicles, how-to guides, etc.) with the highest engagement rate.
Google Search: Check Intent & Real Time Competitio
In the end, you need to search for the keyword on Google to see what type of content is ranking. Is it blogs, product pages or videos? This step is also important to analyze the search intent behind the keyword, like whether it’s transactional, informational or navigational. With Google search, you can also find out how strong the competition is on Page 1.
How to Conduct Competitor Keyword Analysis? Step-by-Step Process
Now that you have the list of tools you will need to conduct the competitor keyword analysis, let’s learn the steps to perform it:
1. Find Your Competitors
The first step is to identify who your competitors are. To build a list of strong competitors, start by keeping a target keyword analysis in mind. Once you have it, you can determine who is ranking for those keywords. Add these competitors to your list, making sure you are competing against relevant players and not setting unrealistic goals.
Also, consider both direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors offer similar services or products to yours, while indirect competitors do not, but they satisfy the same customer need. Direct competitors are more relevant to your specific market. To be sure who your competitors really are, you can make a simple Google search. It can reveal brands that dominate the search results (both organic and paid). These are the typical competitors you need to watch closely.
After identifying your competitors, use tools to dig deeper. Using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush, you can discover which pages and topics drive the most non-brand traffic to their sites. This step lets you know what is currently working in your industry, like the trending topics, content strategies, and keyword opportunities.
2. Find those competitors’ keywords.
Now that you know who your competitors are, the next step is to find out which keywords they are ranking for, especially the ones you don’t. These keywords are a great way to discover new content ideas and opportunities.
You can find your competitor’s keywords either using tools or manually. In tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs, you can find:
- Their top keywords
- How much traffic do those keywords bring
- Which pages are ranking for them
Manually, you can visit your competitor’s site and check their page titles, headings and topics they repeat often.
Once you collect the keywords, you will make a long list, so to narrow it down, you can pick the keywords with good search volume and avoid branded ones. This way, you can filter out the best keywords to develop content on.
3. Choose the Right Competitor Keywords to Target
Here are some considerations before starting to create content around the keywords you compiled with your competitor analysis:
a. If the keyword you found doesn’t resonate with your audience, skip it. You should focus on keywords that could bring in potential customers.
b. If you are a smaller or newer website, you will want to stay away from very competitive keywords, at least for now. These highly competitive keywords are one-word keywords as they are too broad, keywords with very high search volume and those with a high difficulty score. Conventionally, you must aim for keywords with SEO difficulty below 30 unless your site has a strong domain authority.
Also, don’t delete those highly competitive keywords. They may not be worth targeting right now, but they could become useful later as your domain authority grows. Just save them in a separate list for future planning.
c. Before deciding which keywords to actually use in your content, do a manual Google search for each one. This helps you understand how hard it might be to rank and where the best opportunities are. Look at the top results to see if you can compete. If you find content old or weak, there is a good chance you can perform well. But if big sites are ranking already, you will need really good content to outrank them.
Overall, for the best results, you should focus on keywords that match your audience, have low to medium competition, and target topics where the search results show weak or outdated content.
Ready to Outrank Your Competitors and Win More Clients?
If you are serious about stealing traffic and boosting your ranking, competitor keyword research is just the start. At SEO Toronto Experts, we specialize in turning these insights into real results. We can help your business dominate search rankings and attract qualified leads. Get a free consultation and start your journey toward more traffic and better rankings.
