How to Find & Analyze Competitor Keywords

There is no denying the importance of choosing the right keywords for your website.

After conducting the proper research, you’ll know which keywords can drive a large quantity of targeted traffic to your website – and that’s precisely what you want.

However, you may be overlooking the importance of your competitors’ keywords.

By arming yourself with your competitor’s keywords and backlink information, you can gain a competitive advantage over other companies in your space.

When it comes to your competitors’ keywords, this means two things:

• The keywords your competitor is targeting but not yet ranking for
• The keywords your competitor is currently ranking highly for in the search results

What is Competitive Keyword Analysis?

Competitive keyword analysis is the process of identifying and evaluating your competitors’ keywords to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs).

By understanding their keyword strategies, you can gain valuable insights into their target audience, marketing efforts, and overall SEO performance. This information can help you optimize your keyword strategy, identify untapped opportunities, and improve your chances of outperforming competitors.

Why Your Competitor’s Keywords are Important

You don’t want to spend too much time and energy focusing on your competition, but you do want to stay current with their keywords and what they’re trying to accomplish.

Here are several of the better ways you can use competitor keyword research to your advantage:

• To understand how your competition is performing in the search engines and where you can pass them by
• To steal your competitor’s keywords in an attempt to beat them in the search results
• To discover new keywords that you may have overlooked in the past

If all of this sounds valuable, there’s one last thing to do: begin your search for your competitors’ keywords.

While you can do this manually, it’ll take time and effort. Rather than go down this path, here are three steps that can help analyze your competitors.

Competitor Keyword Analysis: A 3-Step Process

Competitor keyword analysis can be broken down into three main steps:

1. Identify your competitors: Determine who your primary competitors are in your industry. This can be done through market research, analyzing search engine results, and identifying industry leaders.
2. Research their keywords: Use keyword research tools to discover the keywords that your competitors are ranking for. Look for keywords relevant to your target audience and with high search volume.
3. Analyze their performance: Evaluate your competitors’ performance for these keywords. Consider their search engine rankings, website traffic, and conversion rates. This information will help you understand the level of competition for these keywords and identify potential opportunities.

Competitor Keyword Analysis Tools

Competitor keyword analysis tools are essential for businesses looking to gain a competitive edge. These tools allow you to efficiently identify and analyze the keywords that your competitors are using to rank high in search engine results pages.

By understanding their keyword strategies, you can optimize your own SEO efforts, identify untapped opportunities, and improve your chances of outranking your competitors

1. Google Keyword Planner Tool

Like many, you probably use this tool to find keywords to target on your website and in your content. But guess what? You can also use it to spy on your competition.

Once you log in, take these steps:

• Select “Search for new keywords using a phrase, website, or category.”
• Enter your competitor’s URL and click “get ideas.”
• Review the list of competitor keywords.

Not only is the Google Keyword Planner tool easy to use, but it’s also free. This is probably the best place to start.

2. SEMRush

The name says it all. With this tool, it won’t be long before you have a complete overview of your competitors’ keywords.

Although you can do a lot with SEMRush, the keyword spy tool attracts the most attention.

Getting started is as simple as entering your competitor’s URL into the search box. You can then download their keywords and decide how to use the data.

You’ll notice the depth of the data provided by SEMRush. You get more than a list of keywords. You’re also presented with data such as:

• Estimated monthly SEO clicks
• Paid keywords
• Top organic competitors

If you’re going to use SpyFu, make sure you set aside enough time in your schedule to dig into the finer details of the results.

3. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool that offers a comprehensive suite of features for competitive keyword analysis. One of its key strengths lies in its extensive backlink database, which allows you to analyze your competitors’ backlinks and identify their most valuable referring domains.

Ahrefs also provides detailed keyword research capabilities, including keyword difficulty metrics, search volume estimates, and suggestions.

Using Ahrefs, you can effectively identify your competitors’ top-performing keywords, understand their SEO strategies, and gain valuable insights into their marketing efforts.

4. KeywordSpy

KeywordSpy continues to grow in popularity thanks to its straightforward approach, accurate data, and easy-to-understand interface.

Once you run a search, the tool provides data on keywords, other competitors, PPC statistics, and organic campaign strategies (to name a few).

KeywordSpy isn’t as robust as SpyFu or LongTailPro, but the results can provide insight into your competitor’s marketing strategy.

Final Thoughts

Finding your competitors’ keywords is an essential part of any SEO campaign. By understanding the keywords your competitors are targeting, you can identify opportunities to improve your website’s ranking. There are several tools and techniques that you can use to find your competitor’s keywords, including Google Search, keyword research tools, and competitor analysis tools. Using these tools and techniques, you can identify the keywords your competitors are targeting and use this information to improve your website’s ranking.