Before you take on your Internet rivals, turn your attention to your current state of affairs. There are sites out there which are your competitors, and you are theirs. How good of a competitor are you right now? And how well are you prepared for fighting someone who’s bigger than you are?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like a\nshopping trip starts with checking the contents of your wallet, so should you\ncheck what your own site has to offer. Self-reflection for sites is sometimes\ncalled a SWOT analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s in a\nSWOT analysis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Strengths:<\/strong> all the things you are currently good at. For example, your site may have an awesome design that impresses your visitors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Weaknesses:<\/strong> all the things you are supposed to be good at, but are not. Do you notice that users largely ignore your calls-to-action? That is definitely something to worry about.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Opportunities: <\/strong>all the things that you could use for your site\u2019s benefit right now or in the near future. Are any big holidays coming soon? They are always a good opportunity to lure in more customers with special offers and juicy discounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Threats:<\/strong> all the things that are or may become present in the environment and could hurt your site. Threats are external, unlike weaknesses which are innate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
For example, a thorough check might reveal that your site is a charm to use thanks to its efficient design and fast loading speed. But on the other hand, it may lack interesting content that would appeal to users. Or you might find out that your hosting is about to expire and soon you won\u2019t have a website anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The possibilities are endless here. The realities, however, are not. Find out as much as you can about your reality – it will serve as the basis of your SEO strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>2. Find your direct competitors<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Now we can move on to competitor research. First things first, you need to know who, exactly, you are competing with. Look for sites which:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Target\nthe same audience as you;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Rank\nin search engines for your keywords higher than you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Feel free\nto ignore the sites which don\u2019t fit this description \u2013 they are not your\ncompetition. Waste your time on them, and your competitor SEO strategy will become\nharder for no good reason. Focus only on the pests leeching off of your\ntraffic. Soon, very soon, the tables will turn\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\u2019s\nonly after you find them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To start, boot up the Dangerous Competitors tool<\/a> in WebCEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/site.wstatic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/seo-competitor-analysis-settings.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And click on Settings<\/i> to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1.<\/strong> Enter your ranking keywords in the Keywords<\/i> tab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2.<\/strong> Click on the Search engines<\/i> tab, then click on the Add a search engine<\/i> button. In the new popup window, select your target country and language. The tool will find relevant search engines, from which you’ll need to choose those that are relevant to your situation (Google and Google Mobile, most likely). Press Add<\/i>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Click on Save<\/i>, and the Rank Tracker tool will begin searching. Once it’s finished, it will generate a graph and a table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/site.wstatic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/seo-competitor-analysis-find-competitors-1200x605.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look for the websites we determine to have a higher traffic score than you (they will be above you in the table). You should pay them a visit to make sure they actually share a niche with you and are competing for the same users. Once you determine a site is your competitor, find it in the table and click on the flag next to its name. This will automatically add this website as a competitor in Settings<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/site.wstatic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/seo-competitor-analysis-enter-urls.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Settings\/Competitors<\/em> you can type in other competitors’ URLs. WebCEO will be able to show data for them in its other reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One more pro tip: to best hone in on your real competitors, filter your keyword list for words that most directly state what you do. For example: “Cleveland marketing agency” as opposed to “marketing agency” or “Cleveland marketing”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can use tags to designate the words that most exactly state the business you are in. In this way you can weed out websites for business journals and college marketing courses or marketing agencies in, say, Cincinnati, all of which are not your competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>3. Analyze the user experience on their sites<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Okay, you have a list of your competitors. Now let’s start with the easiest part of competitor SEO: visual analysis. Time to spy with your little eye all their weak spots! \u2026Although, it\u2019s more likely you will end up unearthing your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What should\nyou do when you visit their sites? Start from their homepages and see where it\ntakes you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Compare their site designs to yours.<\/strong> First impressions matter; users\nwill be more willing to browse a site that’s easy on the eyes. Which of your\ncompetitors look better than you and how do they do it? What do they have in\nthe looks department that you don\u2019t?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Check how secure they are.<\/strong> Are their sites HTTP or HTTPS? Do\nthey use cookies? Do they redirect you anywhere suspicious or load any dubious\npopup windows? Or, here’s a simple test you can use as a rule of thumb: would\nyou trust those sites with your own credit card information?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Test their loading speed.<\/strong> You can use your browser’s in-built\ntools like Chrome’s DevTools to measure it, but you should be able to get a\ngood grasp of it even without counting milliseconds. If it’s fast, it’s fast.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Test their navigation.<\/strong> Do they have it to begin with? If\nthey do, what pages can you visit from there? Does it link to all the important\npages users would need to visit (such as contact information)? Is it easy to navigate\non PCs, smartphones and other devices?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Check them for intrusive interstitials.<\/strong> Do any ads or banners appear and block the view or otherwise distract visitors from the main content?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Check their pricing plans and other\nterms of use.<\/strong> How\ndo they compare to what you are offering? Between you and them, whom would the\nusers rather choose?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Check their calls-to-action.<\/strong> Do they look clickable and\ncompelling? Do they give users what they want in as few steps as possible?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
If this\nbrief analysis reveals why your competitors are better than you, don\u2019t get\ndepressed. Sites rise in rankings by changing for the better, and you can do\nthe same after a little brainstorming. Take your time and turn your weaknesses\ninto strengths one by one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>4. Plan your content strategy<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Users of\nGoogle only care about solutions to their problems. Whether the first thing\nthey see is a featured snippet or an organic result is of no concern to them.\nThey will be fine with either as long as it promises help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a site\nowner, it\u2019s up to you where you want to rank. But if you want traffic, then\nyour solutions must be better and more available than anybody else\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other\nwords, it all boils down to content and how to present it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to make your content competitive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Satisfy user search intent.<\/strong> Anticipate every question, want and pain you can think of \u2013 then address them all.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Make your content superior<\/strong> to everything you can find for your keywords on Google\u2019s first page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Optimize your search snippets<\/strong> to be eye-catching and clickable. This means a readable and uncropped title, description and URL, using power words. Enhance your snippets with structured data.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Optimize your content<\/strong> to be featured at Position Zero<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Next comes\nthe harder and more thankless part: promoting your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will need\nto find people who link to content like yours, then make them notice you. This\nis much easier done when you have already spent plenty of time growing your\nonline presence and building a network. Starting fresh will be a pain.\nWhichever is the case for you, the first step will be the same: making a list\nof potential backlink donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time for the Competitor Backlink Spy<\/a> to shine! Look for sites which have linked to your competitors\u2019 content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Build](\"https:\/\/site.wstatic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/webceo-competitor-backlink-spy-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you have a list of suitable candidates, you can start building backlinks on their sites. Or rather, start trying to. It\u2019s very unlikely that all or even many of them will agree to work with you, but keep doing your best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be more\nspecific:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Reach out to as many sites as you can.<\/strong> Your success rate is going to be low, so you will need to cast a wide net. It will increase your chances if two or more of your competitors have a link from a particular website, of course.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Prepare multiple different email templates for outreach.<\/strong> Don\u2019t send everyone the same text; what if it turns out so bad that you get no backlinks at all? Use a variety of approaches and keep improving.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mention why linking to your site is a good idea.<\/strong> What benefits are there for the donor? For example, your piece of content could be really unique or more in-depth than others on the same topic. Or maybe you found a broken link on their site and your content is a good replacement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>5. Analyze competitors\u2019 keywords<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If your\ncompetitor has keywords for which they are already ranking high, it’s going to\nbe hard to outrank them for the same keywords. Not impossible, but still hard.\nYou will need to increase your site’s authority significantly for that to work,\nand only high-DA backlinks can do the trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting\nsuch backlinks should<\/i> be your goal,\nbut your initial efforts would be better off spent elsewhere. There are easier\nand faster ways to shorten the distance between you and your competitors. You\nmight even end up overtaking them sooner than you think!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For starters, find out how they are ranking for the keywords you are using yourself. This can be checked in the report called Competitor <\/a>R<\/a>ankings by Keyword<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/site.wstatic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/competitor-seo-keywords-1200x599.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If it turns out you are already outranking your competitors for some of your keywords, that’s great! Of course, it could also mean you should find somebody else to compete against in order to achieve better results. But let’s assume that’s not the case at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search the\ntable for the keywords which fulfil both of these conditions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- You\naren\u2019t ranking well for them;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Your\ncompetitors aren\u2019t ranking well for them, either.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Why those\nkeywords? Because it\u2019s easier to overtake pages that don\u2019t rank well. If you\ndouble-down on those specific keywords and improve your own rankings, you can\nsteal a nice chunk of user traffic your competitors would want for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be sure to check the rankings in search engines other than Google, as your competition\u2019s rankings might be weak there as well. You can find this information in a different report: Competitor Rankings by Search Engine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another tool you should try is WebCEO\u2019s Competitor Keyword Spy<\/a> (better known as Spy on Competitors). As the name suggests, this tool shows you the keywords used on your competitors\u2019 sites. What\u2019s the best way to use it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1.<\/strong> Enter a competing website\u2019s URL and press Search. The tool will show the keywords in a table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2.<\/strong> Find the keywords you\u2019d like to use yourself. Add them to your keyword basket by clicking on the \u201c+\u201d next to them. If they are already in your basket, that\u2019s good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3.<\/strong> Go back to the Competitor Rankings by Keyword<\/a> report. Run a rescan to see the rankings for the keywords you\u2019ve just added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4.<\/strong> And just like before, find the keywords for which your competitors aren\u2019t ranking well. You already know what to do with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>6. Analyze their backlinks<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It’s hard to imagine competitor SEO analysis without looking up their backlinks. It’s one of the best ways to build your own links, after all \u2013 and one of the main reasons to analyze your competitors in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allow me to recommend the tool for the job. The name is Spy. Backlink Spy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Open its Settings<\/i> and feed it your competitors’ domain names. Press Save<\/i>, and the tool will generate a table with this information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Pages\nwith each competitor’s backlinks<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Pages\nwith your own backlinks<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Each\nbacklink’s Domain Trust Flow<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Anchor\ntexts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"View](\"https:\/\/site.wstatic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/seo-competitor-analysis-backlink-spy-table-1024x535.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the sites that link to your competitors may already be linking to you as well. So the main point of interest in this table is the backlinks more than one of your competitors have, but you don\u2019t have. It\u2019s also a good idea to check the backlinks sporting the highest Domain Trust Flow. Sort the table by that column and check the sites where your site doesn’t have a backlink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also helps\nto track your progress by marking up the sites you are trying to butter up. The\ntable\u2019s rightmost column is reserved for your own site and its backlinks.\nUnlike competitor sites, your empty fields aren\u2019t exactly empty; they have\ndropdown menus where you can associate a status with the current or potential backlink\ndonor. For example, you can choose Rejected if you failed to negotiate a\nbacklink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Track](\"https:\/\/site.wstatic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/seo-competitor-analysis-backlinks-1024x308.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be sure to check up on your competitors\u2019 backlinks every now and then. There\u2019s no way to tell when they will get backlinks from more sites you could get for yourself, and you won\u2019t know until you run a check. Use the Scan Schedule<\/i> feature to have the tool do it for you automatically – for example, once a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>7. Check their social media activity<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s\narguable how much social media activity helps to boost your rankings. But that\ndoesn’t mean you can just write it off as undeserving of your time. Where\nsocial media lacks in supporting your SEO, it shines at building reputations\nonline – and for a brand, reputation is everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So if your\ncompetitors have pages in social media where they keep in touch with their\nusers, not only do you need to follow their example, you should also watch how\nthey do it. Assuming they are good at it, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check their\nsocial media activity for these things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- What kind of content do they post?<\/strong> It could be advertising content on their sites, making announcements, asking for feedback or anything else. If your competitors communicate with their users in a manner that you don\u2019t, take note.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How often do they post?<\/strong> This is most often directly tied to how much content they have to share, but not always. The question is, can you match or surpass the frequency of their updates?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Do their posts naturally spur you to take some sort of action<\/strong>, such as leave a reply or share? In other words, are their posts engaging? This applies to everything in a post: text, images and calls-to-action where they openly ask you to like, share or buy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How much engagement do they get?<\/strong> Likes, upvotes, shares, retweets, comments \u2013 everything counts. These signals demonstrate a post\u2019s ability to provoke a response from users who ignore most of what they find online, so it\u2019s a metric you can trust. Use a tool like Competitor Social Citations<\/a> to track this metric.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
As with\nyour competitors\u2019 actual sites, the purpose of their social media pages\u2019 visual\nanalysis is to figure out what they do better than you do. Seeing with your own\neyes what works is the best way to find inspiration and start creating your own\nhigh-quality content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>8. Evaluate their online reputation<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Of course, checking\nkeyword rankings and site traffic aren\u2019t the only ways to tell if your\ncompetitor is good. You don\u2019t even need to touch any SEO tools for that if you\njust listen to what people say. If you hear things like \u201cThey are fantastic,\nI\u2019m their regular!\u201d, then you can be sure their website is a force to be\nreckoned with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, which\none of your rivals is the most popular? If you don\u2019t know yet, or if you want to\ndo a more thorough check, there are lots of ways to find user feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Review platforms.<\/strong> User reviews are often very detailed, which is why they are the best way to analyze a brand\u2019s reputation (and why it\u2019s always recommended to get as many positive reviews as you can).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Comment sections.<\/strong> If your competitors have these on their sites, it\u2019s also worth checking how they respond to their commenters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Brand mentions.<\/strong> They can be easily tracked with free tools, such as Google Alerts (which will be sent to you by email) or WebCEO\u2019s Web Buzz Monitoring<\/a> (same as Google Alerts, plus mentions from Twitter).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
How does\nall this help you? Some brands are more popular with their audience than\nothers. Not everybody\u2019s reputation is on the same level \u2013 and that is what you\nare going to exploit. Just like with Google rankings and site traffic, it will\nbe easier to \u201covertake\u201d competitors whose reputation isn\u2019t that hot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By making a\nname for yourself, you will be killing two birds with one stone: you\u2019ll shorten\nthe distance between you and your biggest competitors, and you will leave\nothers in the dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>9. Engage with their audience<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you\naren\u2019t fighting dirty, you aren\u2019t actually trying to win. Strike your\ncompetition where they least expect it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seriously,\nyou couldn\u2019t think of an easier way to steal your competitors\u2019 audience if you\ntried. Why wait for them to come to your site when you can make the first move?\nFind the places where they hang out often and engage with them there, both\nonline and offline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Social\nmedia<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Blogs\nand forums<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Review\nsites<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Comment\nsections <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Networking\nevents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>10. Find out what tools and plugins they are using on their sites<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Plugins can be found almost everywhere. Why are they so popular? If you are a webmaster, you will likely want to add a few features for your site, but you might lack the time (or knowledge) to code them with your own hands. And from a user\u2019s perspective, plugins often enhance UX, which is another good reason to use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you can\nexpect that your competitors will be relying on plugins themselves. And if they\nare, it will help you to know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- What\nplugins are your competitors using?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What\ndo those plugins do? Do they perform tasks you may want on your own site?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Are\nthere better alternatives to those plugins that you could use?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Comment sections.<\/strong> If your competitors have these on their sites, it\u2019s also worth checking how they respond to their commenters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How often do they post?<\/strong> This is most often directly tied to how much content they have to share, but not always. The question is, can you match or surpass the frequency of their updates?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What kind of content do they post?<\/strong> It could be advertising content on their sites, making announcements, asking for feedback or anything else. If your competitors communicate with their users in a manner that you don\u2019t, take note.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Prepare multiple different email templates for outreach.<\/strong> Don\u2019t send everyone the same text; what if it turns out so bad that you get no backlinks at all? Use a variety of approaches and keep improving.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Make your content superior<\/strong> to everything you can find for your keywords on Google\u2019s first page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Check how secure they are.<\/strong> Are their sites HTTP or HTTPS? Do\nthey use cookies? Do they redirect you anywhere suspicious or load any dubious\npopup windows? Or, here’s a simple test you can use as a rule of thumb: would\nyou trust those sites with your own credit card information?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Compare their site designs to yours.<\/strong> First impressions matter; users\nwill be more willing to browse a site that’s easy on the eyes. Which of your\ncompetitors look better than you and how do they do it? What do they have in\nthe looks department that you don\u2019t?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Weaknesses:<\/strong> all the things you are supposed to be good at, but are not. Do you notice that users largely ignore your calls-to-action? That is definitely something to worry about.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
![\"Sign](\"https:\/\/site.wstatic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/cta-competitor-seo.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"