Competitor analysis is a large part of any marketing strategy, whether it be traditional marketing or digital forms like social media marketing. Often, when it comes to SEO, competitor analysis is overlooked by many who prioritise keyword research, link building and moving their client higher up the SERP. At Colewood, SEO competitor analysis is a large part of our SEO strategies as it gives valuable insight into what competitors are doing and how we can bring our clients above them.
The main goal of any SEO strategy is to improve a website’s position in search engine results. This is done through optimising the website’s content to ensure it is targeting the right keywords, along with building a strong backlink profile of legitimate, non-spammy links to the site. To take this to the next level, it is super important to check in on competitors so we can always ensure to come above them in all aspects.
All the sites that come above yours in the SERP are likely to be a competitor, targeting similar keywords and doing something better. How would we be able to improve and look to overtake these websites’ positions if we don’t look into what they are targeting?
What does SEO competitor analysis tell us:
- Direct insight into what keywords competitors are targeting.
- Competitor’s SERP positions from those keywords.
- Information on a competitor’s backlink profile including sites that link to them the most.
- Information on a competitor’s domain authority and estimated search traffic.
Gaining this valuable insight allows us to adapt our SEO strategy further to ensure our clients are always coming above their competitors. Having knowledge of what keywords competitors are using and what their top position keywords give us the option to target those keywords for our client to ensure there is nothing a competitor is doing that our client isn’t. The keyword gap analysis also tells us a list of keywords that a competitor is ranking for that our client isn’t, so we can adjust our targeted keywords accordingly.
By seeing information on competitors’ backlink profiles, we can see the top websites that link to a competitor the most. This gives us insight into what type of websites like to share the kind of content we are aiming to build a backlink profile for and allows us to adjust content in line with that.
We like to carry out our competitor analysis at least once every quarter, to identify who the main competitors to our clients are and if any new competitors have entered the market. Staying on top of this ensures our strategy is always fresh and forward-thinking.
SEO competitor analysis is the driving force of our work and takes any SEO strategy to the next level. Having valuable knowledge of competitors helps to overcome and perform better.
Not only is competitor analysis helpful when it comes to improving a client’s SEO strategy, but it also provides a wealth of knowledge about competitors’ websites in terms of their tone of voice, site structure and usability, plus much more. Knowing as much as you can about a competitor’s website helps to always stay on top of important trends and may also give inspiration for adding new pages to your website.
Colewood Digital is an omni-channel digital agency that uses a mix of creativity and technical expertise to enable clients to maximise market share and profitability from their digital marketing campaigns. For more information go to www.colewood.net