This post was sponsored by SE Ranking. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the sponsor.
He wonders why yours competitors rank higher what you?
The secret to your competitors’ SEO success may be as simple as targeting you appropriate keywords.
Since these keywords are successful for your competitors, there’s a good chance they’ll be valuable for you as well.
In this article, we’ll explore the most effective yet simple ways to find your competitors’ keywords so you can guide your own SEO strategy and potentially outrank your competitors in the SERPs.
Benefits of competitor keyword analysis
Competing keywords are the search terms your competitors are targeting within their content to rank high in the SERPs, either organically or through paid ads.
Collecting the search terms your competitors trust can help you:
1. Identify and close keyword gaps.
The list of high-ranking keywords that drive traffic to your competitors may include valuable search terms that you’re missing out on.
To close these keyword gaps, you can optimize your existing content with these keywords or use them as inspiration to create new content with high traffic potential.
2. Adapt to market trends and customer needs.
You may notice a change in the keywords your competitors are optimizing their content for. This could be a sign that market trends or customer expectations are changing.
Track these keywords to jump on emerging trends and align your content strategy accordingly.
3. Improve visibility and rankings.
Analyzing your competitors’ high-ranking keywords and pages can help you identify their winning patterns (eg content format, focus on user intent, update frequency, etc. .).
Study what’s working for your competitors (and why) to learn how to adapt these tactics to your website and achieve higher SERP positions.
How to identify your competitors’ keywords
There are many ways to find keywords used by competitors within their content. Let’s weigh the pros and cons of the most popular options.
Use the SE ranking
SE Ranking is a comprehensive toolset that provides unique insights into data. These insights help SEO professionals create and maintain successful SEO campaigns.
Here is the list of professionals that the platform offers for in-house and agency SEO professionals:
Huge databases. SE Ranking has one of the largest keyword databases on the web. It has more than 5 billion keywords in 188 regions. In addition, the number of keywords in their database is constantly growing, with a 30% increase. in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Reliable data. SE Ranking collects keyword data, analyzes it and calculates basic SEO metrics directly from its proprietary algorithm. The platform is also based on AI-powered traffic estimates that match up to 100% GSC data.
Thanks to the recent SE ranking major data quality updatethe platform has even fresher and more accurate information about backlinks and referring domains (both new and lost).
As a result, taking into account the website’s backlink profile, authority and SERP competitiveness, SE Ranking now makes very accurate calculations of keyword difficulty. This makes it easy to see how likely your website or page is to rank at the top of the SERPs for a particular query.
Extensive set of functions. Beyond doing competitive (and keyword) research, you can also use this tool to track keyword rankings, perform website audits, manage all aspects of on-page optimization, manage campaigns Local SEO, optimizing your content for search and more.
Great value for money. The tool offers premium features with generous data limits at a fair price. This eliminates the need to choose between functionality and affordability.
Let’s now review how to use SE Ranking to discover the keywords your competitors are targeting for both organic search and paid advertising.
First, open the Competitive research tool and enter your competitor’s domain name in the search bar. Select a region and click Scan to start scanning this website.
Image created by SE Ranking, May 2024
Depending on your goal, go to the Organic Traffic Research or Paid Traffic Research tab in the left navigation menu.
Here you will be able to see data about estimated organic clicks, total number of keywords, cost of traffic and backlinks.
Image created by SE Ranking, May 2024
As you scroll down this page, you’ll see a table of all the keywords the website ranks for, along with data about search volume, keyword difficulty, user intent , keyword-triggered SERP features, rank position, URL rank for the analyzed keyword, and more.
Image created by SE Ranking, May 2024
Also, the tool allows you to find keywords that your competitors are ranking for, but you are not.
To do this, go to the Compare Competitor tab and add up to two websites to compare.
Image created by SE Ranking, May 2024
In the Missing tab, you will be able to see existing keyword gaps.
Image created by SE Ranking, May 2024
While the platform offers many advantages, there are also some disadvantages to be aware of, such as:
Higher price plans are required for some features. For example, historical keyword data is only available to users on the Pro and Business plans.
The data is limited to Google only. SE Ranking’s competitor research tool only provides data for Google.
Use Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is a free service from Google, which you can use to find competitors’ paid keywords.
Here is the list of advantages that this tool offers when it comes to competitive keyword analysis:
Free access. Keyword Planner is completely free, which makes it a great choice for SEO newbies and businesses with limited budgets.
Basic keyword data. The tool displays basic SEO metrics such as search volume, competition and suggested bid prices for each identified keyword.
Keyword categorization. The Keyword Planner allows you to organize your keywords into different groups, which can be useful for creating targeted ad campaigns.
Historical data. The tool has four years of historical data available.
Once you log into your Google Ads accountgo to the Tools section and select Keyword Planner.
Google Ads screenshot, May 2024
Now, click on Discover New Keywords option.
Google Ads screenshot, May 2024
Choose Start with a website, enter the domain, region, and language of your competitor’s website, then choose to analyze the entire site (recommended for more detailed information) or a specific URL.
Google Ads screenshot, May 2024
And there you have it: a table with all the keywords your analyzed website uses in its Google Ads campaigns.
Google Ads screenshot, May 2024
While Keyword Planner can be useful, it’s not the most effective and data-rich tool for finding competitors’ keywords. Its main disadvantages are the following:
No organic data. The tool provides data on paid keywords, which are mainly suitable for advertising campaigns.
Broad search volume data. Because it is displayed in ranges rather than exact numbers, it can be difficult to accurately gauge demand for identified keywords.
There is no keyword gap feature. With this tool, you can’t compare your keywords and your competitors’ keywords side-by-side and thus find missing keyword options.
Therefore, if you want to access more reliable and in-depth data about competitors’ keywords, you should probably consider other dedicated SEO tools.
Use SpyFu
SpyFu is a comprehensive SEO and PPC analytics tool built with the idea of ”spying” on competitors.
Its main advantages in terms of competitive keyword analysis are as follows:
Database with more than 10 years of historical data. Although only available on a Professional plan, SpyFu provides long-term insights to monitor industry trends and adapt accordingly.
Keyword gap analysis. With this tool, you can easily compare your keywords to your competitors using metrics like search volume, keyword difficulty, organic clicks, etc.
affordability It is suitable for businesses on a tight budget.
To explore competitor data, simply visit their website and enter your competitor’s domain in the search bar.
You’ll be presented with valuable information about their SEO performance, from estimated traffic to a list of their top performing pages and keywords. Navigate to the Top Keywords section and click the Show All Organic Keywords button to see the search terms they rank for.
SpyFu screenshot, May 2024
However, this free version provides an overview of only the top 5 keywords for a domain along with metrics such as search volume, rank change, SEO clicks, etc. For a more complete analysis, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.
When it comes to the cons of the tool, it is worth mentioning:
Keyword data may be out of date. On average, SpyFu updates keyword ranking data once a month.
Limited number of target regions. Keyword data is only available for 14 countries.
wrapping
There’s no doubt that finding your competitors’ keywords is a great way to optimize your own content strategy and outrank your rivals in the SERPs.
If you follow the step-by-step instructions outlined in this article, we’re sure you’ll be able to find high-value keywords that you haven’t considered before.
Ready to start optimizing your website? Sign up SE ranking and get the data you need to deliver great user experiences.
Image credits
Featured image: Image by SE Ranking. Used with permission.
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