How to do an SEO competitor analysis
An SEO competitor analysis is the process of comparing your website's search performance against the businesses competing for the same customers. It reveals the keywords they rank for that you do not, the sites linking to them, and the content earning them visibility. Done properly, it produces a concrete list of rankings to target rather than a vague sense of falling behind.
Why competitor analysis matters
A competitor's rankings are the closest thing to a ready-made keyword list. If another business reaches page one for a search term relevant to your market, that term is proven to pull in customers from your industry. Your job is to work out which of those terms you can realistically win, and what it will take to get there.
Step 1: identify your true competitors
Start with the businesses that actually appear for your key terms, not just the ones you know by name. Search Google for your main service or product phrases and note which domains show up. Include at least one local rival and one national player. A shortlist of three to five competitors is enough to work with.
Step 2: compare rankings and queries
Run a free SEO report on your own site to see which queries you appear for and where you sit. Then check the same terms for each competitor. The difference between the two lists is your opportunity set: the keywords they rank for that you do not. Metrona adds the AI search layer, showing whether you or your competitors appear in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity answers for the same questions.
Step 3: compare backlink profiles
A competitor that outranks you usually has more authority flowing into its pages. Look at which sites link to them: industry directories, local press, supplier sites and respected blogs. Those are links you can reasonably earn as well. Digital PR and honest link building close this gap over time, and the results compound.
Step 4: spot content gaps
Check which competitor pages rank and what they cover. If a rival answers a question your site does not, that is a page you should write. Victory Digital's own knowledge base works the same way: every Help & Advice article targets a query the site previously did not serve, which is how the library grows into the search results.
Step 5: turn the findings into a plan
Prioritise what to chase first:
- Commercial terms, where people are close to buying, usually matter more than informational ones.
- Rankings sitting just below the first page, positions 8 to 15, are the easiest to move.
- Content topics you can cover more thoroughly than the current page one are winnable pages.
Assign each target to a page or a new article, then track movement monthly through the client dashboard and your latest SEO reports.
What competitor-level SEO delivers
The results show what happens when this analysis is done properly. TrustATrader grew organic traffic by 400% across all search engines, while Home Instead increased organic traffic by 251% and Google ad conversions by 3,446%. Both started with the same first step: knowing exactly who they competed against and how wide the gap was.
An SEO competitor analysis is the fastest way to find out what your business is missing in search. Run a free SEO report to see your starting position, then talk to us about closing the gap on the businesses outranking you.
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