Hello friends, welcome back! In today’s article, we will explore how to perform competitor analysis for SEO. Competitor analysis involves evaluating a competitor’s website on multiple aspects like on-page, off-page, and technical elements to understand what they’re doing well. By analyzing these aspects, we can apply similar strategies to our website, or even better ones, to improve our rankings.
Why Is Competitor Analysis Important?
When we create a new website on any topic, we often don’t know exactly what to focus on. That’s why it’s crucial to analyze top-ranking competitors on Google or other search engines. By understanding their strategies—whether it’s their on-page optimization, off-page tactics, or technical setup—we can ensure that we’re doing everything we can to outrank them.
In today’s article, I’ll guide you through the process of performing competitor analysis on any website. Let’s dive in and learn how to do it!
The Process of Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis can be divided into three main steps:
On-Page Analysis
Technical Analysis
Off-Page Analysis
We’ll examine these parameters one by one. Let’s start with on-page analysis.
Step 1: On-Page Analysis
On-page analysis begins by looking at the content. Before we dive in, let’s clarify how we perform this process. Competitor analysis can be done using various tools and extensions. Today, we’ll use a free extension to perform a detailed analysis of a website. For this example, we’ll analyze an affiliate website.
Content Analysis:
The first step is to examine the content on the competitor’s website. We’ll check what type of content they’re posting. For instance, if they’re posting informative content like “25 Best Pokémon ROM Hacks,” it’s essential to note that this is informative content, providing valuable information to users.
Another type of content we might encounter is affiliate content, where they review products and include affiliate links. For example, if they are reviewing a particular gaming device, this is an affiliate-driven, buyer-intended keyword.
There are different types of affiliate content, including:
- List Articles: e.g., “Top 10 Best Gadgets.”
- Versus Content: e.g., “iPhone 10 vs. iPhone 11.”
- Individual Product Reviews: e.g., reviews of a single product.
By examining their content, we can see that the competitor is using various types of content strategies. Next, we’ll look at how much content is available on their website.
Quantity of Content:
To assess the quantity of content, we can check the website’s sitemap. By adding “sitemap.xml” to the URL, we can see how many articles are on the website. For example, if the site has over 1400 articles, this is likely why it receives such high traffic.
Content Structure:
We also need to examine the structure of their content. How is it formatted? How much internal and external linking do they do? How do they use heading tags and images? Is rich media like infographics or creative images being used?
Another important aspect is the word count. For instance, if a competitor’s article has over 1800 words and includes 35 images, it’s evident that they are using a comprehensive content strategy.
Step 2: Technical Analysis
Now, let’s move on to the technical aspects, which are crucial for any website.
Title Tags and Meta Descriptions:
We need to check the title tags and meta descriptions. Are they using catchy, keyword-rich titles? Ideally, titles should be compelling to increase click-through rates. Meta descriptions should include relevant keywords, and URLs should be simple, clean, and contain the main keyword.
Canonical Tags:
Canonical tags help Google identify the main version of a page and avoid duplicate content issues. In WordPress, canonical tags are usually set by default, but it’s always good to double-check.
Crawling and Indexing:
Ensure that your website’s sitemap is well-structured and that it’s being indexed correctly. You can add an SEO plugin like Rank Math to assist with this. Also, verify that your pages are not mistakenly set to “noindex” or “nofollow.”
Page Speed:
Website speed is a critical factor. Your site should load in under three seconds on mobile devices. You can use tools to check the site’s performance and ensure everything is in the green zone.
Schema Markup:
Schema markup tells Google the type of content on your site. For example, is it an article, a product page, or a review? WordPress often enables default schema settings, but you should ensure it’s appropriate for the content type you’re publishing.
Step 3: Off-Page Analysis
The final step is off-page analysis. This involves examining the backlinks that the competitor has built.
Backlink Analysis:
Start by checking the number and quality of backlinks. There are many types of backlinks, including forum backlinks, comment backlinks, and profile backlinks. However, the most valuable backlinks are those that come from high-authority websites.
Check if the competitor has earned backlinks from content, homepages, or other significant parts of their site. Look at the link types, such as do-follow, no-follow, or sponsored content.
Sort the backlinks by domain rating (DR) to see which high-authority sites are linking to the competitor. For instance, if a competitor has over 10,000 do-follow backlinks, this is a strong indication of a robust backlink strategy.
Lastly, ensure the competitor isn’t using any expired domains to create redirects, which can sometimes be a manipulative tactic.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you can perform a comprehensive competitor analysis that will help you improve your SEO strategy. If you found this article helpful and want more content related to making money online or improving your website’s SEO, please subscribe to our channel. Don’t forget to like, comment, and share your thoughts on what topics you’d like us to cover next.
Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you in the next article!
