Conducting SEO competitor research can help businesses understand their competition’s online presence, strategies, and tactics. Here are the key points to evaluate and how you can gain a competitive edge by finding gaps and repeating successful strategies:
- Identify your competitors: Start by identifying your top competitors in your niche. This can be done by searching for keywords related to your business and seeing who ranks for them.
- Analyse their website: Once you have identified your competitors, analyse their website. Look at their website structure, content, and user experience. Identify what they are doing well and what they could improve.
- Evaluate their keywords: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to see what keywords your competitors are targeting. Look for opportunities to target keywords they are not.
- Analyse their backlink profile: Use tools like Ahrefs or Majestic to analyse your competitors’ backlink profile. Look at the quality and quantity of their backlinks, as well as the types of websites linking to them. Identify opportunities to get backlinks from the same or similar websites.
- Check their social media presence: Look at your competitors’ social media profiles to see how they are engaging with their audience. Identify what type of content they are posting and what is resonating with their followers.
- Look for gaps and opportunities: Use the insights you gain from analysing your competitors to identify gaps and opportunities. Look for keywords they are not targeting, content they are not producing, and backlinks they don’t have. These gaps represent opportunities for you to gain a competitive edge.
- Replicate successful strategies: Identify what your competitors are doing well and try to replicate their successful strategies. Look for ways to improve upon what they are doing to gain an edge.
In summary, businesses can conduct SEO competitor research by analysing their website, keywords, backlink profile, social media presence, and identifying gaps and opportunities. By replicating successful strategies and improving upon them, businesses can gain a competitive edge in their niche.