Discover how to analyze competitors’ SEO strategies effectively to enhance your website’s performance. Rather than simply imitating their methods, uncover superior solutions to stay ahead.

What We Analyze On Competitor Websites, And What We Don’t Bother With

Schema

Schema is manner to tell search engines what is on a page, but you may need more than just rank higher. It’s crucial for creating rich results if your pages are already ranking. While important, it’s not a silver bullet.

Numerous tools make deploying schema easy. Two of my favorites are Schema App for WordPress websites and SEOClarity for eCommerce and service websites not based on WordPress. seoClarity even offers a free browser extension. Identify competitors with featured snippets using your preferred tracking tool (Semrush, Moz, Ahrefs, etc.). Then, analyze the schema libraries on their pages and note the rich results types, categorizing them by page type.

Example Page Types:

• Blog posts
• Product pages
• Category pages
• Landing pages
• FAQs and informational pages

Create a column for each page type and add the current schema libraries you find, including errors, warnings, and potentially valuable fields. Note which results they’re generating rich results for. Remember, having schema on a page doesn’t guarantee a search engine will use it.

Perform this analysis monthly or as search engine algorithms update to see which libraries are practical, who is winning, and what might be beneficial. Implement relevant schema on your website, but never use schema for features not present on your page, such as breadcrumb schema, if you don’t display breadcrumbs.

Overusing schema can cause problems. Pay attention to deprecated libraries like “how to” and “FAQ.” If other systems and platforms need it, keep it; otherwise, remove it. Remember, SEO is just one part of the marketing ecosystem, and over-reliance on a single channel can be risky.

Copy On The Page

If your competitors have detailed guides that rank for “blue widgets,” don’t copy their content and headers. Instead, evaluate:

• What is missing that they haven’t answered but is topically relevant and essential for the consumer on that page?
• Are there irrelevant headers and paragraphs that don’t make sense to the user?
• Is the content easy to find with a quick scan, or are answers buried in paragraphs?
• How is the text formatted, and can you improve it?

Search engines aim to provide the best possible answer and user experience. Giant paragraphs and irrelevant text create a poor experience. Be concise, direct, and format differently if needed. For example, consider adding a table or chart if comparing two things.

If someone searches for “blue widgets” regarding buying, repairing, or compatibility with “red whatsits,” they already know what a blue widget is. Don’t include a section defining it just because competitors do. Instead, move comparisons and answers higher by eliminating irrelevant content.

Creating a better experience than competitors can reward you with SEO traffic.

Backlinks

Backlinks are still important, but not all are equal. Quality over quantity remains critical for long-term stability. Here’s what we look at after pulling backlink reports:

• Missing Links: Look for competitors with highly relevant, high-quality links, such as citations in industry publications and organic features in niche blogs and websites. These are valuable because your customers read and visit them.
• Unique Links: Identify websites and influential platforms, such as podcasts and webinars, with original content relevant to your company. Building relationships with these sources and getting featured can give you an edge.
• Paid Links: Some companies and link-building service providers pay for links. Search engines can often identify and penalize these links over time. Focus on high-quality, organic links instead.

Ignore tool-based metrics like domain authority, as they don’t reflect quality. Concentrate on getting featured in high-quality, relevant sources.

Robots.txt And Architecture

We use competitor crawl and architecture plans to understand their priorities and discover new opportunities. Here’s what we analyze:

• Robots.txt: Shows their priorities with folders and site structure for crawling.
• Meta robots: Indicates which pages are meant for SEO and which are not prioritized.
• Sitemaps: If priority is set, reveal which pages are updated frequently and their priorities.
• Breadcrumbs: Indicates the keywords they want to rank for and how they structure their content.

Evaluating your competitor’s SEO techniques should focus on building something better and original rather than merely replicating their strategies. Search engines only need one version of a site. Creating a better user experience, sometimes with less copy or a different design, can help you outrank competitors.

If you find all this challenging and overwhelming, consider exploring our monthly SEO packages. Our experts are here to assist you every step of the way.