Your Guide to SEO Competitor Analysis Services
A comprehensive guide to SEO Competitor Analysis Services. Use data-driven insights to improve your website visibility and rankings.
July 31, 2023
Introduction
I’ve got good news and bad. I’ll start with the bad news.
Getting a website to rank on search engines is becoming more difficult by the day. Currently, there are more than 1 billion websites, with a new one being built every three seconds. If that statistic doesn’t overwhelm you, consider that over 7.5 million blog posts get published daily.
The icing on the cake? Research from the experts at Ahrefs shows that 90 percent of web pages do not get any traffic.
It’s no surprise that many businesses wonder if building a new website or investing in SEO is worth the effort.
Now for the good news.
It’s still possible for businesses to make their mark online. SEO competitor analysis is a key strategy that will help brands improve website visibility and get ranked on search engines.
SEO competitor analysis involves examining your competitors’ websites and SEO strategies. As you do, you’ll discover what works and what doesn’t. Then, you can use that information to improve your website’s organic traffic levels and visibility.
Most companies need help with competitor analysis. So, in this post, I’ll focus on what it’s like to work with a consultant who can help with the process.
If you’re interested in learning more, click here to schedule a free consultation with a representative from The Brand Auditors.
What Are SEO Competitive Analysis Services?
We can apply competitor analysis in a few ways.
First, competitive analysis is a common process in brand strategy. It’s an effective way to figure out how to position a business in an industry category. The analysis includes a review of the competitor’s brand identity, value proposition, price structures, and other components relative to positioning. This information can help companies to establish a competitive advantage in the market.
Analyzing competitors is also useful when developing a website. By looking at competitors’ sites, you can determine the elements to include in your own website. This type of analysis helps companies with online positioning and is like the standard competitor analysis process used by brand strategists.
SEO competitor analysis is a study of tactics used by your company’s SEO competitors to rank on search engines. You can use the information to improve your website’s rankings and your brand’s online market share.
Why You Need SEO Competitive Analysis Services
To gain a competitive advantage, businesses must understand what other brands in their industry are doing. An SEO competitive analysis reveals the tactics other companies use to get ranked on search engines and attract target customers.
To apply the analysis data and get results, you need a deep understanding of what drives success online in your industry. For example, reviewing a competing site’s page structure might reveal that it’s easier for search engines to index the website’s content. This would give the competitor’s site an advantage online. To compensate, you could adopt a similar process to restructure your website. Often, you can develop an even better strategy, which might enable you to outperform competitors.
Keep in mind that your competitors have determined what you must do to compete online. So, you don’t have to be the best, you just need to be better than they are.
However, the competitive analysis process can be complex. Many businesses find that it’s helpful to hire a consultant to assist them.
You could consider hiring an SEO consultant. This person is a specialist in search engine optimization strategies and tactics. In most cases, the consultant will audit your website and present a plan to improve your site’s performance.
How The Brand Auditors Is Different
The Brand Auditors gives clients a unique advantage. We are digital brand strategists with a strong background in brand positioning, web design, SEO, and digital marketing. So, we’re able to bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the competitor analysis process. This enables us to deliver deep insights and holistic guidance that goes beyond standard SEO services.
In the sections that follow, I’ll outline the key steps in SEO competitor analysis.
SEO Audit and Digital Marketing Campaign Analysis Steps
The process begins with an SEO audit. If you’d like more details, please contact us and we’ll be glad to answer all of your questions.
SEO Audit
The first step is analysis is an SEO audit to pinpoint technical issues, errors, and other areas that need improvement. This includes testing and reviewing loading speed, page structure, meta tags, and content keyword density.
With this data, an SEO consultant can show you how to optimize your website for greater visibility. SEO audits also provide explicit details that uncover ranking opportunities your company may have been missing.
An SEO audit should be part of a routine digital growth strategy. If you haven’t performed an audit on your website in the last six months, it’s a good idea to start now.
Identify Your Competitors
The next step in the analysis process is to identify your true competitors. You can’t assume that all websites ranking higher than yours for a specific keyword are your primary competitors. To analyze and compare organic competitors, you must research multiple keywords related to your brand, product, or service.
For example, let’s say a bakery in New York wants to rank for “best bread in New York.” Naturally, they’re competing against other bakeries. But if they publish a blog on their website, the competition online will be much stiffer. Why? Because big brands that are indirect competitors, like the Food Network, are also vying for that term.
A company operating in several niches may have unique competitors for each, instead of a short list of broad market competitors. To find out who your biggest competitors are, search for the top target keywords related to your company. From the results, you should be able to make a list of the major contenders.
You can also do this using competitor analysis tools. A tool like WebCEO can help create a list of websites in the top ten rankings.
For instance, let’s assume you offer a pet grooming service. If you input “pet grooming” into Google, American Kennel Club will show up as one of the top performers. It’s interesting to note that this brand isn’t in the pet grooming industry. So, you must perform several searches to get an accurate list of competitors.
SEO tools with a suite of advanced features make identifying competitors and analyzing data less time consuming. So, if you want to take your digital strategy to the next level, consider investing in a premium tool. SEMRush, WebCEO, or Ahrefs are examples.
The Brand Auditors uses the best SEO competitor analysis tools on the market. I’ll cover some of them in a section that follows.
Site Structure and UI/UX
Most of our brand audit clients want to optimize their websites for customer engagement and conversions. So, we include a user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) audit as part of our SEO competitor analysis service.
Website structure is critical, especially for businesses that rely on their site as a primary source of revenue. Structure encompasses the site’s design, layout, and organization of content. A well-designed website structure makes it easier for users to navigate the site and find what they need.
A website with poor structure is confusing and frustrating. If users have a hard time finding information, they probably won’t stay on the page. This results in a high “bounce rate” and low conversion rates.
Search engines like Google prioritize websites that are easy to crawl. Websites with poor structure or broken links can negatively impact their search engine rankings. This means it’s difficult for potential customers to find the website online.
To develop proper website structure, start with a clear understanding of who your target audience is and what they’re looking for. This will help you plan a logical hierarchy of pages and subpages. Hierarchy ensures users can find the information they need. It’s also important to use consistent design elements, such as navigation menus and headers. These play a role in creating a cohesive user experience.
On-Page Optimization
When conducting a competitor SEO analysis, you must review your competitors’ top-performing pages. By looking at their content, you’ll discover the keywords (i.e., search terms) that attract website visitors. We call this process a keyword gap analysis. Ahrefs’ Content Gap feature can help you to identify keywords the competition is using to rank.
By uncovering relevant keywords, you can determine how to use them in your site’s content. You’ll also discover new ideas for content that you should have on your site. This strategy enables you to funnel some of your competitors’ organic traffic to your site. But to do this, you must also use on-page optimization to create the right title tags, meta descriptions, and page content.
With an analysis tool, you can uncover your competitors’ content creation and marketing strategy. This includes their publishing schedule, the type of content and media they create, video length, and more.
You should also study your competitors’ internal linking strategies and other on-site SEO elements. These can show you what competitors are doing well and where they’re missing the mark. As a result, you may be able to come up with a better approach.
Focus on Keywords with High ROI
To increase your return on investment (ROI), it’s important to focus on the top keywords with buying intent.
Some large businesses may rank for dozens of top competitive keywords. But this doesn’t mean you should vie for the same terms.
Look for specific keywords that will generate revenue for your business. For example, if you own a pet shop, competing for “best dog keychains” might not be profitable. Instead, think about your high-profile product or service and use keywords in your SEO strategy with higher ROI potential.
A successful SEO campaign also involves identifying the gap between what your competitors provide and what customers are looking for. Then, you can take steps to fill in any missing offers.
Create content specifically for your customer base. Content should be unique and relevant. One way to do this is to develop content that answers customers’ questions. This will help you attract customers who are looking for a reliable sources of information.
Competitor Backlink Profiles
Getting backlinks is a great way to increase your website’s organic search engine rankings. Looking at competitors’ backlinks reveals the link building strategies they’re using. This gives you a sense of the number and quality of backlinks needed to rank well in search results (SERPs).
Competitor backlink profiles also reveal how to build links and who you should link to you.
Interpreting the SEO Competitor Analysis Report
An SEO competitor analysis report can be technical. You may not understand how to use all the information. But interpreting the data and applying it is a critical step in improving your online presence.
The report usually has information on competitors’ website traffic, profitable keywords, highest ranking content, and more. This feedback tells you everything you need to improve your own SEO strategy. You’ll also get an assessment of your own site. This report will include recommendations to improve your website. Updating page meta tags, correcting technical errors that affect performance, or compressing images are examples.
The final report data also helps you create digital marketing campaigns that will increase visibility and reach more potential customers.
Working with a brand strategist who understands SEO can help you get more out of your competitor analysis project. The consultant can also help you interpret the data and develop an SEO strategy that will get results.
Track Your Progress
Once you’ve implemented the recommendations in the final report, assessing performance should be a key priority. We recommend conducting regular keyword audits at least once per quarter. These routine audits will keep you up to date and help you anticipate potential changes in the market.
Fortunately, there are tools available that will help you with this process.
Competitive Analysis Tools
Competitive analysis tools have become an invaluable resource for SEO professionals. These tools allow you to uncover the SEO strategies used by your competitors. Most come with a free trial.
Here are some of our favorites:
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is one of the best competitive analysis tools on the market. It offers several valuable features. Among these is a keyword research tool you can use to gain valuable insights into your competitors.
Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a fantastic free service that helps with competitive research. It allows users to track their competitors’ digital activity and analyze their SEO strategies.
Similar Web
Similar Web offers a suite of competitive analysis tools designed to allow businesses to gain a competitive edge.
SEMRush
SEMRush includes a powerful competitor analysis tool that allow you to track and report your competitors’ progress.
MOZ
Moz is a household name in SEO. It provides users with a suite of competitive analysis tools, including a feature to help you identity organic search competitors.
Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog gives site owners insights that will help them improve performance.
Serpstat
Serpstat offers a convenient, easy-to-use interface with all the features you need to monitor your competitors in one place.
How Much Do SEO Competitor Analysis Services Cost?
The Brand Auditors offers competitor analysis services starting at $3,000. This includes insight into three major organic competitors.
This package includes:
- Keyword gap analysis
- Link building metrics
- Conversion rate optimization strategies
- Content marketing strategies
The Brand Auditors’ report will also give you recommendations to fix technical errors.
Our custom analyses rely heavily on human processes rather than software. The insights included provide much more depth than standard SEO audit services.
Click on the button below to schedule a free consultation and find out how we can help you outrank the competition.
Are you ready to find out how a brand audit can transform your business?
Our brand audit process is a comprehensive analysis designed to help companies increase ROI and reduce marketing expenses.
- Increase ROI on lead generation and sales conversions.
- Reduce marketing expenses.
- Strengthen brand positioning to become more competitive.
We guarantee satisfaction or get your money back! Schedule a discovery call with a brand auditor to find out more.
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