Key takeaways
- Search competitors are whoever ranks for the client's money keywords, not only rivals they know.
- Compare page types, content depth, technical health and links, one search at a time.
- Turn every gap into a task with a priority, or it stays a slide in a deck.
- Repeat it every quarter with the same method so changes are visible.
A competitor analysis is one of the most persuasive parts of a pitch and one of the most useful parts of delivery. It is included in the audits we run under your brand through white label SEO. It also feeds the proposal: see the SEO proposal template.
Who are a client's real SEO competitors?
The sites that rank for the searches that matter to the client's business. Take ten to twenty money keywords, search them in the client's market and note who appears repeatedly in the top results. That list often includes directories, marketplaces and publishers, not just the rivals the client mentions. Both lists matter, for different reasons.
What to compare between competitors
| Area | What to look at | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Page types | Service pages, location pages, guides, tools | Shows what Google rewards for each search |
| Content | Depth, freshness, answers, proof | Where the client's pages fall short |
| Technical | Speed, indexing, structure, schema | Problems that hold good content back |
| Links | Referring sites, relevance, quality | How much authority the client must earn |
| Local | Business Profile completeness, reviews | Decisive for map results |
How do you run an SEO competitor analysis step by step?
List money keywords, find who ranks, pick three to five real competitors, compare their ranking pages with the client's for each keyword, review technical health and link profiles, and write the gaps as tasks. Use the client's own Search Console data to see where they already have impressions, because those are the closest opportunities.
- Pull the client's queries and pages from Search Console's Performance report.
- Choose money keywords with the client: services, products, locations.
- Record the top results for each and group by competitor.
- Compare the ranking page, not the home page.
- Note gaps: missing pages, thin answers, slow pages, weak links.
- Prioritize by business value and effort.
Search Console's Performance report shows queries and pages with impressions, which is where the closest gaps are.
How do you turn gaps into a plan?
Write each gap as a specific task: create a page for a service competitors cover, expand an answer, fix a speed problem or earn links from a type of site competitors have. Rank tasks by business value and effort, and schedule the first quarter. Avoid copying competitors; the goal is a page that is more useful, not a similar one.
Google's helpful content guidance is the right test: does the page add something the others lack? Technical gaps go into the technical SEO audit checklist, and link gaps are explained in what a backlink profile is.
How should you present it to the client?
Lead with three findings the client can act on, show them side by side with competitor pages, then the plan. Keep tool scores in an appendix. Clients respond to seeing a competitor's page that answers what theirs does not. Repeat the analysis each quarter with the same keywords so progress is visible.
Want competitor analyses delivered in your template? Book a 30-minute call.
Frequently asked questions
How many competitors should an analysis include?
Three to five search competitors is enough for a clear plan.
Which tools do I need?
Search Console plus one SEO suite and a crawler cover most of it.
Should we copy what competitors do?
No. Learn what Google rewards, then build something more useful.
How often should we repeat it?
Quarterly, with the same keywords, so changes are comparable.
Can a directory be a competitor?
Yes. If it ranks for the client's money keywords, it competes for the click.
About the author
Juan José Giraldo is a senior SEO specialist with 5+ years of experience. He works on technical and local SEO for 600+ US car dealerships and supervises the SEO of 18 US e-commerce stores. He runs White Label SEO LATAM from Medellín, Colombia, and delivers white label SEO for agencies in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Read more · LinkedIn.