SEO Competitive Intelligence: 5 Steps to Perform SEO Analysis to Outrank the Competition
Brent Walrath
SEO competitive intelligence is the practice of gathering, analyzing, and applying insights about your competitors’ digital strategies to refine your own. It helps you uncover opportunities, anticipate challenges, and make data-driven decisions that enhance visibility and performance in search results.
Without a structured process, competitive research can become overwhelming and scattered. A clear SEO process turns raw data into actionable insights, makes it easier to refine content strategy, and measure organic results over time. This simple five-step process for SEO competitive research provides a practical roadmap to guide your efforts and achieve measurable results.
The 5-Step SEO Competitive Intelligence Process
- List Your Main Competitors
- Assess Competitors’ Content, Backlink Profiles, and Technical SEO
- Identify Keyword Gaps and Filter Irrelevant Keywords
- Keyword Plan and Identify Content Opportunities
- Optimize and Implement New SEO Strategy
1.
List Your Main Competitors
2.
Assess Competitors’ Content, Backlink Profiles, and Technical SEO
3.
Identify Keyword Gaps and Filter Irrelevant Keywords
4.
Keyword Plan and Identify Content Opportunities
5.
Optimize and Implement New SEO Strategy
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What is Competitive Intelligence and Why It Matters in SEO
Competitive intelligence is the process of transforming competitor data into strategic insight. It is more than simply tracking what rivals are doing. It is about uncovering the reasons behind their moves.
Consider the competition as case studies. Their successes highlight what resonates with your shared audience, while their weaknesses reveal opportunities for you to capitalize on.
In the context of SEO competitive intelligence, there are several key elements to examine:
- Keyword and Content Insights: Identifying which keywords competitors rank for, what content earns them traffic, and where there are gaps you could fill.
- Backlink Analysis: Seeing who links to them to reveal partnership, PR, and authority-building opportunities.
- Technical and UX Factors: Evaluating their Core Web Vitals, mobile optimization, or schema strategies they use to gain an edge.
- SERP Features: Tracking how they appear in search engine results, AI Overview, local packs, and other features.
- Traffic and Engagement: Using tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to estimate which keywords and channels are funneling in relevant traffic.
SEO is a dynamic field. By monitoring competitors, you can identify emerging trends early and maintain a strategic advantage. Since SEO is a long-term endeavor, it is essential to avoid expending resources on highly saturated keywords and instead focus on achievable opportunities. Targeting areas of low competition can deliver quicker results, building momentum while you work toward long-term performance goals.
In short, Competitive Intelligence in SEO matters because it turns competition into a resource. Instead of blindly optimizing, you make data-driven decisions that align with what’s working in the market and do it better.
SEO Tools for Gathering Competitive Intelligence
To effectively analyze competitors and uncover opportunities, it is important to leverage SEO tools that provide reliable data. Platforms such as Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz can help with keyword research, backlink analysis, content performance, and technical audits.
SEO Competitive Intelligence Tools
| SEO Tool | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| AHREFS | One of the largest backlink databases in the industry, accurate keyword tracking, and intuitive reporting tools | Can be expensive for small businesses and some advanced features may have a learning curve |
| SEMRUSH | Robust keyword research, competitive intelligence, site audits, and traffic analytics | Complex interface that can be overwhelming, and some data may not be as precise for smaller or niche websites |
| MOZ | Beginner-friendly interface, helpful SEO metrics such as Domain Authority, and strong community support | Smaller backlink database compared to competitors and less frequent data updates |
While these tools are commonly used, you may also utilize any SEO tools that provide similar functionality. The key is to track progress and generate actionable insights regardless of the tool chosen.
The 5-Step SEO Competitive Intelligence Process
The following five-step process provides a clear roadmap for analyzing competitors, leveraging insights, and turning what you learn into data-driven strategies that drive measurable results.
1. List Your Main Competitors
Before you can analyze the competition, you must first identify who your competitors are. This can involve a speculative approach, such as gathering information from customer feedback or monitoring social media conversations, or a more data-driven approach through market research.
SEO platforms and analytics tools provide insights into which websites are ranking for the same keywords as your business. Competitors may also appear in alternative search result features, including generative search results and featured snippets.
For this reason, it is important to evaluate multiple formats of search result displays rather than focusing solely on standard organic listings.
2. Assess Competitors’ Content, Backlink Profiles, and Technical SEO
With your main competitors identified, the next step is to understand how these competitors achieve their search success. Analyzing their content, keyword targeting, and backlink profiles reveals which strategies resonate with your shared audience.
Use SEO tools to review competitor backlinks, domain authority, content themes, and keyword focus. Conduct a technical audit of their websites, including site speed, mobile optimization, and structured data, to identify areas where your site may be underperforming. Apply these insights to guide content creation, link-building strategies, and technical optimizations to improve search performance.
EBQ Tip: Need help with the technical side of SEO? Our expert web developers can optimize your site for speed, mobile, and structured data to improve search performance.
3. Identify Keyword Gaps and Filter Irrelevant Keywords
With a clear picture of competitor performance, the next step is to pinpoint the keyword gaps and eliminate those that offer little strategic value. Prioritize these gaps based on search volume, competition, and business relevance.
Use your preferred SEO tools to evaluate the top SERP results of identified keywords and filter out terms that do not align with your objectives. From there, integrate the strongest opportunities into your content plan or on-page optimizations, ensuring every effort directly supports growth.
4. Keyword Plan and Identify Content Opportunities
Building on your competitor content analysis, the next step is to develop a keyword plan that ensures each page on your site targets the right terms without cannibalizing your own content.
Review your existing content and note the keywords it already covers, then assign the high-priority terms identified earlier to the most relevant pages based on user intent. This alignment strengthens relevance and helps maintain a clear site structure.
When a valuable keyword has no suitable page, create new content specifically for that search intent. Keep assignments organized to avoid duplication and ensure every page has a distinct purpose. This process provides a roadmap for future content creation and ongoing optimization.
5. Optimize and Implement New SEO Strategy
Once you have gathered competitor insights and developed a keyword plan, the next step is to put your strategy into action. Implement the planned content updates, on-page optimizations, link-building initiatives, and technical improvements across your site.
Track performance metrics such as search rankings, organic traffic, and conversions to evaluate the effectiveness of your changes. Use these insights to refine and iterate on your strategy, ensuring your SEO efforts continue to improve impressions, capture opportunities, and stay aligned with both user behavior and the competitive landscape
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EBQ’s Competitive Intelligence SEO Expertise
SEO competitive intelligence is a powerful way to turn insights about your competitors into actionable strategies for growth. By following a structured process — identifying competitors, analyzing their content and backlinks, uncovering keyword gaps, planning targeted content, and implementing optimizations — you can make data-driven decisions that improve search visibility, strengthen your site’s authority, and drive measurable results.
Regularly monitoring your competitors’ SEO strategies as the market evolves helps you stay ahead and seize new opportunities. This process can be time-consuming, and not every business has the bandwidth to manage it effectively. At EBQ, our SEO experts integrate seamlessly with your team, providing the resources needed to tackle SEO challenges while you focus on driving your business forward.
About the Author:
As VP of Marketing at EBQ, Brent has led over 500 lead generation projects at EBQ, specializing in methodical execution and implementing best practices. With 14+ years of experience, including serving as Chief Revenue Officer, he has refined sales fundamentals and optimized processes for diverse industries, driving success in a dynamic market.