Competitive analysis in SEO | learning from what works

Your competitor ranks position 1 for a keyword you target. You rank position 8. Same keyword. Same intent. But they win the search result. You do not know why. You cannot answer basic questions: what are they doing better? What content do they have? Where are their links coming from? Why does Google rank them higher?

Competitive analysis answers these questions. It is reverse-engineering what works. You study what competitors do well, identify gaps in your own strategy, and beat them by doing it better.

This article covers how to analyze competitors for SEO, which metrics matter, how to find content and link opportunities you are missing, and how to use this intelligence to outrank them.

What is competitive analysis in SEO?

Competitive analysis is the practice of studying other websites to understand their strategy and performance. In SEO, it means answering: who ranks for the keywords I target? What content do they have? Where do their backlinks come from? What is their content strategy?

Most people think competitive analysis is about spying. It is not. It is looking at publicly available data: their published content, their ranking keywords, their backlink profile (which you can see in any SEO tool).

When done right, competitive analysis tells you: which keywords are winnable (competitors are weak), which competitors are vulnerable (they rank well but have weak backlinks), what content gaps exist (competitors rank for topics you do not cover), what link sources matter (where competitors get their authority), what content format works (what do their top pages look like).

Identifying your real competitors

Not everyone ranking for your keywords is a competitor. A competitor is a website that targets the same audience, offers a similar solution, and ranks for keywords you care about.

Direct competitors

Sell the same product or service. A competitor's wedding photography business in your city.

Content competitors

Rank for the same keywords but do not sell to you. A nonprofit article on wedding photography (they rank for "wedding photography tips" that you target).

Market competitors

Businesses targeting the same audience. A wedding planner ranks for keywords couples search (not "wedding photography" but "how to plan a wedding").

For SEO purposes, focus on content competitors first. If they rank for your target keywords, they are taking potential clicks from you.

What to analyze about each competitor

Their organic keywords

Which keywords do they rank for? Use a tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Search their domain. You see every keyword they rank for, their position, search volume, and traffic estimate.

What you are looking for: keywords they rank for that you do not. These are opportunities. If they get traffic from "wedding photographer editing software," and you do not rank for it, there is a gap.

Their top-ranking pages

Which of their pages get the most organic traffic? This tells you what content works. If their "wedding photography pricing" page ranks well and gets traffic, you know pricing content matters to searchers.

Their backlink profile

Where do their links come from? In Ahrefs, go to their domain and see referring domains. Are they linked from photography blogs? Local directories? Industry associations? These are link sources you can target.

What you are looking for: link sources that would make sense for your site. If a competitor got links from "Top Wedding Vendors in [City]" directory, you can get links from the same directory.

Their content strategy

How many pages? What topics? How often do they publish? How long is their content? This tells you the level of effort required to compete.

Example: You analyze a competitor. They have 200 pages. 60% are evergreen guides. 30% are industry news. 10% are their own original research. They publish twice per week. This tells you: to compete, you need similar content depth. One article per month will not cut it.

Their content format

Do they use long-form articles, videos, infographics, interactive tools? Their format choice tells you what works in your industry. If all top competitors use videos, video content probably ranks well.

Finding content opportunities

Run a content gap analysis. This is one of the most valuable competitive analysis exercises.

Here is how: List your 3-5 main competitors. For each, get their list of ranking keywords (Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz).

Now compare: keywords they rank for (position 1-20) that you do not rank for at all, and keywords they rank for in top 3 that you rank for in position 10-20 (you can steal positions).

Create a spreadsheet. Row for each gap. Add: keyword, search volume, competitor's ranking, your current ranking, difficulty to beat them, and priority.

Prioritize by search volume and competitor strength. High-volume keywords that competitors dominate take more effort. Low-volume keywords they rank for but are weak on are quick wins. This becomes your content roadmap. Every quarter, pick the top 10 gaps and create content to fill them.

Finding link opportunities

This is where competitive analysis becomes aggressive (in a good way). If a competitor got a link from a source, you can probably get one too. You share the same audience and market.

Steps: Get your competitor's backlink profile (Ahrefs, SEMrush). Filter to show only high-quality links (Domain Authority 30+, do-follow). Look for links from bloggers, directories, industry associations, and publications in your industry. Reach out to those sources with better content, more recent data, or a new angle.

Example: A competitor got a link from "Top 50 Wedding Industry Blogs." You reach out with your own expert wedding photography guide. You get a link. Repeat with 5-10 sources per month.

Monitoring competitor moves

Competitive analysis is not one-time. Set up monitoring.

In your SEO tool, add your main 3-5 competitors. Track: when they rank for new keywords (they found a gap you might have missed), when they lose rankings (what happened? Can you take that position?), new content they publish (is it filling a gap you missed?), new links they get (are new link sources appearing in your industry?).

Review this monthly. You stay ahead of moves before they become major ranking shifts.

Frequently asked questions

How WEMASY helps you track competitive performance

WEMASY's built-in SEO tools help you monitor your competitors. Track keyword rankings month-to-month. See which of your pages are gaining or losing position. Understand where your traffic comes from and which topics drive conversions. This tells you if your competitive strategy is working and where to adjust.

See WEMASY's SEO analytics and reporting features.