How can I Analyze Local Competition Using SEO Tools?

“Want to beat your competitors in search rankings? An SEO competitor analysis is your secret weapon.

By looking at what your competitors are doing—like the keywords they target, the backlinks they’ve built, and the content they create—you can figure out what’s working for them and spot opportunities they’ve missed.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through a simple, proven process to analyze your competitors and find insights that can help boost your rankings.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• How to find your real SEO competitors
• How to analyze their keywords and content
• How to break down their backlink strategies
• How to check their technical SEO
• And most importantly, how to turn these insights into actions that get results”

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Why an SEO Competitive Analysis is Essential?

“SEO competitor analysis is all about checking out what your competitors are doing to rank well on search engines. It helps you understand their strategies and tactics so you can see how you stack up.

By comparing your SEO performance to theirs, you can spot what they’re doing right, where they’re falling short, and how you can use that info to improve your own strategy.

Here’s how it can help you:

• Copy and tweak the strategies that are working for them
• Take advantage of their weaknesses to get ahead
• Find gaps and opportunities they’ve missed

Simply put, analyzing your competitors gives you a clear roadmap to SEO success.

How to Identify Your Competitors
If your website is already established…”

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How to Perform An SEO Competitor Analysis

In this section, I’ll walk you through how to find your competitors and analyze them step by step. We’ll cover:

• Keyword research
• Content analysis
• Backlink evaluation
• Technical SEO insights

Step 1: Finding Your Competitors

Before you can analyze your competitors, you first need to know who they are.

Method 1: Manual Search

The simplest way to find competitors is by searching your main keywords on Google (or other search engines) and noting down the top-ranking sites. If you see the same websites appearing for multiple keywords, chances are they’re your main organic competitors.

To keep track, create a Google Sheet and list the top-ranking domains for your target keywords.

This method works well if you’re tracking just a few keywords, but if you’re targeting hundreds or even thousands of keywords, manually searching will take forever. That’s where tools like Semrush can save you a ton of time.

Also Read: What is Geo-Targeting and How does it affect Keyword Research?

Method 2: Using Semrush

With Semrush, finding competitors is easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Go to “Domain Overview” and enter your website URL.
2. Scroll down to the “Main Organic Competitors” section.
3. Click “View Details” to see all the competitors along with useful insights.

Here, you’ll see a list of sites ranking for similar keywords. You can also check how many keywords you share with each competitor and the traffic they get.

By the end of this step, you should have a solid list of at least 4-5 main organic competitors.

Step 2: Checking Competitor Authority Scores

Website authority determines how strong and trustworthy a domain is in Google’s eyes. Factors that influence authority include:

• High-quality content
• A strong backlink profile
• E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
• Website age and history
• User experience (UX)
• Social signals and brand reputation

Highly authoritative websites are tough to compete with. For example, if you’re launching a financial advice blog, you’ll struggle to outrank established banks and finance giants right away.

To check your authority score:

1. Go to “Domain Overview” on Semrush.
2. Enter your website URL and hit “Search.”
3. Check your Authority Score.

Next, check the authority scores of your competitors using Semrush’s Bulk Backlink Analysis tool. This lets you analyze multiple websites at once.

Simply paste in the competitor URLs and hit “Compare.” Then, add their authority scores to your spreadsheet for reference.

Step 3: Keyword Gap Analysis

Now that you know who your competitors are, it’s time to find keyword opportunities they’re ranking for—but you’re not. This is called a keyword gap analysis.

The goal is to:

• Optimize your existing content with these keywords.
• Create new content targeting untapped keywords.
• Stay ahead of the competition by covering more relevant topics.

How to Do It with Semrush

1. Open the Keyword Gap tool.
2. Enter your website URL along with your top 4 competitors.
3. Click “Compare.”
4. Scroll down to the “Missing” tab.

This section shows all the keywords your competitors rank for, but you don’t.

You don’t need to target all of them—just the ones that make sense for your business.

To organize them:

• Tick the box next to relevant keywords.
• Click “+ Add to keyword list.”
• Name your list and export it as an Excel file.
• Import the file into Google Sheets for further analysis.

Another useful section in the Keyword Gap tool is the “Untapped” tab. This highlights keywords that at least one of your competitors ranks for, but others don’t. You might find some hidden gems here!

By identifying these keyword gaps, you’ll also uncover content gaps, giving you fresh content ideas to stay competitive.

Spotting Keywords Your Competitors Have Lost

Hearing the phrase “lost keywords” is never fun—especially when it’s about your own site. But when it’s your competitors losing rankings? That’s actually great news for you because it opens up a golden opportunity to swoop in and take their spot.

Luckily, Semrush makes this super easy with its Organic Research tool. Here’s how you can find those lost keywords:

1. Go to “Organic Research” in Semrush.
2. Enter your competitor’s URL and click “Search.”
3. On the next page, click the “Position Changes” tab.
4. Filter the results by selecting “Pos: Top 20” (this shows keywords that were ranking well).
5. In the “Position Changes” drop-down menu, choose “Lost” and hit “Apply.”

Now, you’ll see all the keywords your competitor has recently lost, along with helpful data like:

• Search volume (how popular the keyword is)
• Keyword difficulty (how tough it is to rank for)
• Page URLs (where the keyword used to rank)

With this info, you can:

• Create new content targeting these keywords, or
• Improve existing pages that already touch on these topics to outrank your competitors.

Finding New Keywords Your Competitors Are Ranking For

Just like it’s important to track lost keywords, it’s equally smart to keep an eye on the new keywords your competitors are starting to rank for.

Why? Because it gives you insights into:

• New content strategies they’re trying
• Emerging trends in your industry
• Potential opportunities you haven’t tapped into yet

Also Read: What is the Best Tool for Local Keyword Research?

Here’s how to find those new keywords in Semrush:

1. Head back to “Organic Research.”
2. Enter your competitor’s URL and click “Search.”
3. Click the “Position Changes” tab again.
4. Select “Pos: Top 20” and choose “New” from the drop-down.
5. Hit “Apply” to see the list.

You’ll now have a fresh batch of keywords your competitor recently started ranking for. Use these as inspiration to adjust your own content strategy and stay ahead of the curve.

Analyzing Competitor Content: What’s Working and What’s Not

Knowing which keywords your competitors rank for is just the first step. The next move? Digging into why they’re performing well—or not so well. This is where content analysis comes in.

Step 1: Identify Common Keywords

Using the Keyword Gap tool in Semrush, you can compare your site with competitors to see which keywords you:

• Rank higher for (great, keep it up!)
• Rank lower for (time to investigate)

Focus on the keywords where your competitors are outranking you.

Step 2: Deep Dive Into Their Content

For each keyword where you’re falling behind, ask yourself:

• What type of content is ranking? (Listicles, how-to guides, reviews, etc.)
• Is their content more in-depth than yours?
• Are they answering the search intent better?
• Do they have more backlinks pointing to that page?
• Is their page faster or more user-friendly?

To get more details, go to Semrush’s “Pages” report:

1. Enter your competitor’s URL in the Organic Research tool.
2. Click on “Pages” to see which of their pages are driving the most traffic.

This helps you understand which content formats and topics are resonating with their audience.

Step 3: Take Action

Now that you’ve got the data, it’s time to act:

• Repurpose your content: If they’re winning with listicles, maybe your plain article needs a fresh, list-style revamp.
• Fill in the gaps: If their guide misses key points, add those to your content.
• Optimize for SEO: Make sure your pages are technically sound—fast load times, proper internal linking, and strong metadata.

How Often Should You Perform An SEO Competitor Analysis?

I recommend doing the analyses mentioned in this article every month. This will give you a clearer picture of what’s happening in your niche.

However, how often you should perform an SEO competitor analysis depends on a few factors:

• How big your niche is
• How many competitors you have
• How often search engines update their algorithms

Once you’ve done your first analysis, it becomes much easier and quicker to repeat it each time.

When to Conduct Competitive Analysis After Algorithm Updates

In addition to regular analysis, it’s also smart to do a special analysis after major algorithm updates.

These updates can cause search rankings to shift dramatically, with some competitors rising or falling overnight. You might even find yourself ahead or behind your rivals unexpectedly.

Whether you’re up or down, it’s important to analyze rankings at this point for long-term growth in the search results.

Sometimes, the results from your last competitive analysis might no longer be relevant after an update. In this case, you’ll need to start fresh and reanalyze everything.

If you see one competitor suddenly climbing the rankings while others stay the same or fall behind, ask yourself: What is the successful competitor doing that the others aren’t?

This could give you valuable insights on how to improve your own campaign and stay ahead of the competition.

Pay close attention to how keyword rankings have changed on your competitors’ websites. This can show you which keywords have become more important or lost value after the update.

This information can guide you in adjusting your strategy for post-update success.

Also, if one of your competitors has lost a backlink or featured snippet, this could be the perfect time for you to grab it!

Also Read: What are Some Free SEO Tools for Local Businesses?

Your Final Step in SEO Competitive Mastery

Mastering SEO competitive analysis is crucial for staying ahead of your competitors.

This guide has given you the tools to analyze and learn from your rivals, helping you improve your SEO strategy. Regularly analyzing competitors, adapting creatively, and making smart changes to your content, keywords, and technical SEO will boost your site’s ranking.

To stay ahead in the ever-changing SEO world: analyze, adapt, and outshine your competition.

Your path to SEO success is all about learning continuously and adapting quickly—start now and keep improving!