Competitor Keyword Analysis and Research

Understanding your competitors’ keyword strategies is essential for staying competitive in digital marketing. By identifying which keywords your rivals target and rank for, you can uncover content gaps, refine your SEO strategy, and attract a larger share of your target audience. This article explores how to perform effective competitor keyword analysis to enhance your marketing efforts.

Covered in this article

Why Competitor Keyword Analysis Matters
How to Identify Your Competitors
Tools for Competitor Keyword Analysis
Conducting a Competitor Keyword Audit
Discovering Content Gaps
Analysing Competitor Backlinks and SERP Features
Prioritising Keywords for Your Strategy
Tracking and Measuring Progress
Conclusion

1. Why Competitor Keyword Analysis Matters

Competitor keyword analysis goes beyond spying on rivals; it equips you with actionable insights to improve your content strategy. Key benefits include:

• Identifying Content Gaps: Discover untapped topics your competitors cover that you don't.
• Understanding Search Intent: Learn what your shared audience is looking for.
• Boosting Rankings: Target keywords your competitors rank for, especially if you can produce superior content.
• Enhancing Paid Campaigns: Recognise high-performing keywords competitors use in their PPC campaigns.

2. How to Identify Your Competitors

Competitors in keyword analysis are not always your direct business rivals; they are anyone ranking for the terms you wish to target.

• Direct Competitors: Businesses offering similar products or services.
• Content Competitors: Websites providing related information or content in your niche.
• Industry Leaders: High-authority sites dominating your industry’s keywords.

Use tools like Google search (e.g., searching primary keywords) and specialised SEO platforms to compile a list of competitors.

3. Tools for Competitor Keyword Analysis

Leverage SEO tools to streamline competitor research and access detailed data. Popular platforms include:

• SEMrush: Offers competitor rankings, keyword overlap analysis, and backlink profiles.
• Ahrefs: Helps identify high-traffic keywords, content gaps, and domain authority metrics.
• Moz: Tracks rankings and domain authority while highlighting keyword opportunities.
• Google Keyword Planner: Understand competitors’ performance in Google Ads campaigns.

These tools provide essential metrics like search volume, difficulty, and traffic potential.

4. Conducting a Competitor Keyword Audit

A comprehensive keyword audit reveals your competitors' SEO priorities and how you can improve your strategy.

• Step 1: Identify top-ranking pages on competitor websites.
• Step 2: Extract primary and secondary keywords from these pages.
• Step 3: Categorise keywords by search intent: informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial.
• Step 4: Analyse which keywords generate significant traffic but have low competition.

Create a spreadsheet to organise keywords based on metrics like volume, competition, and relevance.

5. Discovering Content Gaps

Content gaps are opportunities where your competitors rank, but you don’t have corresponding content.

• Content Gap Tools: Use SEMrush’s "Keyword Gap" or Ahrefs’ "Content Gap" tools to identify these keywords.
• Analyse Formats: Note the format competitors use—guides, infographics, or videos—and develop better versions.
• Focus on Intent: Align content with the audience's needs to fill gaps effectively.

Filling content gaps allows you to attract new traffic while competing with established players.

6. Analysing Competitor Backlinks and SERP Features

Backlinks and search engine results page (SERP) features are crucial to understanding keyword performance.

• Backlink Analysis: Identify which keywords attract high-quality backlinks to competitor pages using Ahrefs or SEMrush.
• SERP Features: Observe if keywords trigger snippets, videos, or shopping carousels. Adjust your strategy to include similar elements.

By studying backlinks and SERP features, you can tailor content to capture additional visibility.

7. Prioritising Keywords for Your Strategy

Once you’ve compiled data, it’s time to prioritise.

• Focus on Low-Difficulty Keywords: Target high-relevance, low-competition keywords for quick wins.
• Optimise for High-Traffic Keywords: Use resources to compete for high-traffic terms already dominated by competitors.
• Address Audience Intent: Ensure selected keywords match the expectations and intent of your audience.

Build a strategy that includes a mix of short-term and long-term keyword goals.

8. Tracking and Measuring Progress

SEO is a continuous effort, and tracking keyword performance helps you refine your strategy.

• Monitor Rankings: Use tools like Google Search Console or Moz to track keyword movements.
• Review Traffic Analytics: Analyse page performance to ensure targeted keywords drive engagement.
• Competitor Tracking: Periodically revisit competitor keyword rankings to adjust your approach.

By keeping tabs on both your progress and competitors’ shifts, you can maintain an edge in your niche.

Conclusion

Competitor keyword analysis is a vital component of a successful SEO strategy. By leveraging the right tools and techniques, you can identify opportunities, address content gaps, and refine your keyword targeting. Ready to take your SEO game to the next level? Partner with Velocity to craft a data-driven keyword strategy tailored to your goals.

Contact Velocity today for expert competitor keyword research and optimisation services to outperform the competition.