If you've been doing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for a while but don't see results, it may be frustrating. However, it doesn't have to be that way. Mastering this one SEO tactic may just get your sites ranking on the first page.
This SEO tactic involves digging into what your competitors are doing online, uncovering their secrets, and using that knowledge to improve your own SEO strategy. Follow these 10 easy steps to doing your own SEO competitor analysis to improve your website's SEO score and get that first page ranking.
1. Identify Your True SEO Competitors
Identifying the right competitors is the foundation of a successful SEO competitor analysis. It’s crucial to know that your SEO competitors may differ from your direct business competitors. For SEO purposes, these are the websites that rank for the keywords you are targeting, even if they aren’t in the same industry.
Start by searching for the primary keywords related to your business on Google. For example, if you own a bakery in Singapore, search for terms like "best bakery Singapore" or "artisan bread Singapore." Note which businesses appear in the top results. These are your SEO competitors.
Competitors "Near Me"
If you have a physical store or office, locations plays a part. Local SEO is vital. Make sure you’re also identifying competitors who rank well in local searches, such as “near me” queries or specific neighborhood searches.
Who Are Your Competitors?
Use SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to identify not just direct competitors (other bakeries) but also indirect competitors like food blogs or review sites that rank for similar keywords. This broadens your understanding of the competitive landscape.
If most of your competitors are review sites, then it is also a trigger an interval review to see if the target keyword is for the correct audience that you want to target.
2. Discover Your Competitors’ Top Keywords
Keywords reveal what topics are bringing traffic to your competitors. By understanding which keywords they are targeting, you can identify areas of opportunity for your own site.
Use SEO tools to analyze your competitors’ top-performing keywords. Enter a competitor’s URL into the tool to see which keywords are driving the most traffic to their site. Pay attention to both high-volume keywords and long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords might have less search volume but can be easier to rank for and more targeted.
This speeds things up as you know that there are demand in those keywords that your competitors are targeting.
Aligning Your Intentions With Your Customer's
Dive deeper into the intent behind these keywords. Are they informational (e.g., “how to bake sourdough bread”), navigational (e.g., “Bakery X location”), or transactional (e.g., “buy artisan bread Singapore”)?
Understanding intent helps you align your content to meet user needs better than your competitors.
Seasonal and Trend-Based Keywords
In Singapore, some keywords may perform better at different times of the year due to holidays or local events. Use tools to identify these seasonal trends and plan your content calendar accordingly.
This strategy pairs well with any social media strategy that you may have.
3. Evaluate Keyword Difficulty and Search Volume
Not all keywords are worth targeting. Some might be too competitive, making them difficult for a smaller or newer site to rank for. Others might have little to no search volume, making them a low priority. Finding the right balance is key to a successful SEO strategy.
Utilize SEO tools to assess both the search volume and difficulty for each keyword. Keywords with high search volume and low difficulty are ideal targets, but these can be rare.
More often, you’ll need to balance moderate difficulty with decent search volume to find viable keywords to target.
Focus on Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords typically have lower competition and are more specific, which often means they convert better. For instance, instead of targeting “bakery Singapore,” you could target “organic sourdough bakery Singapore.”
Long-tail keywords are crucial for driving organic traffic in the long run. It is also one of the more cost-effective approach.
Competitor Benchmarking
Compare keyword difficulty against your competitor’s domain authority. If a keyword is difficult but your competitor ranks well for it and has a similar domain authority to yours, it might be worth targeting with a high-quality piece of content.
4. Analyze Competitors’ Content Types and Formats
Understanding what types of content your competitors are producing and which formats resonate most with their audience can provide valuable insights. Content types could range from blog posts and videos to infographics and podcasts.
Conduct a thorough audit of the types of content your competitors are creating. Look at the range of content formats they use and identify which ones get the most engagement.
Tools like BuzzSumo can help you see the most shared content for any domain.
Multimedia and Interactive Content
Beyond standard blog posts, check if competitors are using interactive elements like quizzes, calculators, or augmented reality experiences, especially relevant in a tech-savvy market like Singapore.
This may give you insights on the type of content you can produce to be unique to attract more audience and increase engagement.
Content Length and Depth
Analyze the word count and depth of content pieces. Long-form content (2,000+ words) often ranks better and provides more value, but it needs to be well-structured and highly informative.
Avoid keyword spamming! It may make sense to spam as many keywords into one article to get Google to give you a higher rank on SERPs, but it actually goes against their spam policy.
5. Assess Content Quality and Engagement
The quality of your content directly affects your SEO performance. High-quality, engaging content keeps users on your site longer, reduces bounce rates, and increases the likelihood of shares and backlinks.
Evaluate the depth and thoroughness of your competitors’ content. Are they providing comprehensive, valuable information?
Do they include high-quality visuals or videos? Analyze how well the content engages readers by looking at comments, social shares, and other engagement metrics.
User Experience (UX) Factors
Assess competitors’ UX as well. This includes site speed, mobile-friendliness, and ease of navigation. These factors contribute significantly to user engagement and SEO.
A mobile-responsive site is very important in today's era. Almost everybody scrolls on their mobile phones. Make sure your website is designed to look good on mobile.
Quality Over Quantity
Content that connects emotionally, value-adds to your readers, or tells a compelling story often performs better.
If you focus solely on keywords, content like blogs may be very dry or don't make sense. Look for these elements in your competitors’ content and consider how you might incorporate them into your own strategy.
6. Identify Content Gaps and Opportunities
Identifying gaps in your competitors’ content is one of the most powerful ways to find new SEO opportunities. Content gaps are topics or questions that are not covered adequately by your competitors but are relevant to your audience.
Conduct a content gap analysis using SEO tools. Compare the content on your site to your competitors to see which topics they cover that you don’t and vice versa. Also, look for content that your competitors have only covered superficially.
The approach is simple. If you don't have time, look to those who have succeeded and learn from them.
What Are The People Saying?
Go beyond what tools show you by reading customer reviews, forum discussions, and social media comments. These can provide insights into the questions and concerns your audience has that aren’t being addressed by your competitors.
Evergreen vs. Trending Topics
Balance your content strategy between evergreen content, which remains relevant over time, and trending topics that can capture immediate interest but may have a shorter shelf life.
7. Analyze Content Update Frequency and Consistency
Regularly updated content can signal to search engines that your site is active and relevant, which can positively impact your SEO. In a dynamic market like Singapore, keeping your content up-to-date is crucial for staying competitive.
Use tools like Wayback Machine or check the publication dates on your competitors’ blogs to understand their content update frequency. Note whether they update existing posts with new information or just add new posts.
This is something you can add to a monthly checklist to periodically check and maintain your content for relevancy.
Content Refresh Strategy
Develop a strategy for regularly updating older content with new insights, data, or trends to keep it relevant. This not only helps with SEO but also improves user experience by providing current information.
When there are new regulations or updates to a certain topic that you've written for, being the first few to update those can be advantageous and put you up against your competitors.
Consistency is Key
Focus on maintaining a consistent posting schedule rather than churning out large volumes of low-quality content. Consistency helps build audience trust and keeps visitors coming back.
You do not necessarily have to do post on a daily basis. Schedule your content in advance and stick to that schedule diligently. For a start, you can churn out new content every one to two weeks.
8. Examine Competitors’ Backlink Profiles
Backlinks are a significant factor in SEO. Analyzing your competitors’ backlink profiles helps you understand where they are getting their authority from and can provide ideas for your own link-building efforts.
Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to analyze the backlinks pointing to your competitors’ sites. Look for both the quantity and quality of these backlinks. Identify the most authoritative sites linking to them.
Natural vs. Unnatural Links
Differentiate between natural backlinks earned through great content and those that might seem spammy or paid. Focus on earning natural links through high-quality content and relationship-building.
You can reach out to publications and try to be a guest blogger.
Link Diversification
Ensure that your backlink profile is diverse in terms of link sources. This can include guest blogs, industry directories, press releases, and partnerships. A diverse link profile is more sustainable and less likely to be penalized by search engines.
This method takes time. However, it is one of the most quality methods to get your site's ranking up as high as possible.
9. Spot Broken Backlinks and Reclaim Opportunities
Broken backlinks (links that lead to non-existent pages) present an opportunity for you to step in and offer a relevant alternative. Reclaiming broken backlinks is a quick win for building authority.
Use tools to identify broken backlinks on your competitors’ sites. Reach out to the webmasters of these linking sites and suggest replacing the broken link with a link to your relevant content.
Unlinked Mentions
In addition to broken backlinks, look for unlinked mentions of your brand or content across the web. Reach out to these sites to request a link back to your site.
Competitor Link Reclamation
Monitor when competitors lose backlinks and try to understand why. If they’re losing links due to outdated content or inactive pages, reach out to the linking site to offer your fresh, relevant content as a replacement.
If you're a solo business owner trying to do all these, I'd recommend choosing one to two competitors and monitor them diligently.
10. Monitor Your Competitors Over Time
SEO is not a one-time task; it’s a continuous effort. By regularly monitoring your competitors, you can stay ahead of changes in the market, understand new trends, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Set up alerts using tools like Google Alerts, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to get notifications about your competitors’ new content, changes in their backlink profiles, or shifts in keyword rankings.
Competitor SWOT Analysis
Periodically perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) on your competitors. This helps you to continuously refine your strategy based on what is working and what isn’t for them.
Instead of focusing on business models, focus on content. What are their strengths? Is it short videos or is it long form content?
Continuous Improvement
Make it a habit to conduct quarterly reviews of your competitor analysis. This allows you to track your progress, make necessary adjustments, and stay ahead in the competitive SEO landscape.
Don't be too eager to see results. On average, results come after six months of continuous effort.
Mastering SEO Competitor Analysis
By following these 10 comprehensive steps, you’re not just learning how to conduct an SEO competitor analysis—you’re mastering it.
Remember, the goal is to understand what makes your competitors successful and leverage that knowledge to enhance your own strategy. It’s about continuous learning and adapting in a fast-paced environment like Singapore. Start applying these insights today, and watch your SEO efforts take off!
If all these seems too much, you can also opt for a marketing agency to do all these for you. Elevate Digital is a Singapore-based digital marketing agency that focuses on quality and data to help small to medium businesses achieve their growth objectives. Contact our professionals today.
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