Competitor Research in SEO

19^th February, 2025

How to Identify and Outrank Your Competition

Understanding your competition is a key part of any successful SEO strategy. If you want to improve rankings, attract more traffic, and grow your business online, you need to know who you’re competing against and how they are achieving their success.

In this post, we’ll explore how to identify your competitors and the best strategies to compete with them. So, without further ado, let’s get started!

How to Identify Your SEO Competitors

Your SEO competitors are not just businesses that sell similar products or services – they are the websites ranking on Google for the keywords you want to target. To identify them:

1. Google Your Keywords – One of the simplest ways to identify your competitors is by searching for your target keywords on Google. Analyse the top-ranking websites for these terms — these are the businesses you’re competing against for visibility. Pay attention to both organic results and paid ads, as they can give you insights into who is investing in SEO and PPC for the same audience.
2. Use SEO Tools – SEO tools like SEMrush and Moz can help you identify your competitors by analysing which websites rank for your target keywords. These tools provide valuable insights into competitors’ backlinks, keyword strategies, and overall domain authority. By understanding their strengths and weaknesses, you can refine your own SEO strategy and uncover opportunities to outrank them.
3. Check Paid Ads – Examining paid ads on search engines and social media can reveal which competitors are actively investing in digital marketing. If businesses are consistently running ads for your target keywords, it’s a sign they are serious about capturing that audience. Analysing their ad copy, landing pages, and offers can provide insights into their strategy, helping you refine your own approach to stand out.
4. Monitor Industry Leaders – Keeping an eye on industry leaders can provide valuable insights into successful SEO and marketing strategies. These businesses often set trends, invest in cutting-edge tactics, and dominate search rankings. By studying their content, backlinks, social media engagement, and overall digital presence, you can identify opportunities to adapt and improve your own approach.

Five Tips to Compete with Your SEO Rivals

1. Optimise Your Website – A fast, mobile-friendly, and technically sound website is essential for ranking well in search results. Conduct regular audits to identify and fix issues such as broken links, slow page speed, and crawl errors. Ensure your site has a logical structure, clear navigation, and schema markup where applicable. A well-structured website with a great UX gives you an edge over competitors.
2. Create High-Quality Content – Writing engaging, in-depth content that answers user queries better than your competitors is key. Focus on well-researched blogs, guides, and case studies that provide value to your audience. Diversify your content by incorporating videos, infographics, and podcasts to reach a wider audience. Updating existing content also helps maintain rankings and improve search visibility.
3. Build Strong Backlinks – Earning backlinks from reputable sites in your industry can significantly boost your search rankings. Focus on building relationships with industry influencers, guest posting on high-authority websites, and running PR campaigns that generate natural backlinks. Conduct competitor backlink analysis to identify potential link-building opportunities and close the gap between you and your rivals.
4. Improve On-Page SEO – On-page optimisation is crucial for ensuring search engines understand your content. Use keyword research to optimise title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and image alt text. Ensure internal linking is well-structured to help users and search engines navigate your site effectively. Small tweaks such as improving readability, enhancing page speed, and making content more accessible can lead to better rankings.
5. Leverage Local SEO – If your business operates in a specific area, optimising for location-based searches is essential. Make sure your Google Business Profile is complete and updated with accurate information, high-quality images, and customer reviews. Building citations from trusted directories and targeting location-based keywords in your content can strengthen your local search presence.

By consistently tracking your competitors and refining your strategy, you can improve your rankings and gain an advantage in your industry. If you need help with SEO and competitor research, get in touch with Tidy Design today! We have helped many businesses in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and beyond improve their online visibility.

Until next time, keep it Tidy!

Mike