Find Competitors Keywords: An In-Depth Guide to Piggybacking Your Competitors
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March 12, 2023
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 min read

Find Competitors Keywords: An In-Depth Guide to Piggybacking Your Competitors

Learn how to find your competitors' keywords to gain a competitive edge in search engine rankings. Our in-depth guide reveals everything you need to know.

As a content strategist, I know the importance of finding my competitor's keywords to stay ahead in the game.

In this blog post, I will share an in-depth guide on how to find and use your competitor's keywords to outrank them.

By following these steps, you'll be able to create more compelling content that resonates with your audience and drives traffic to your website.

What are competitor keywords?

Competitor keywords are the specific words and phrases that your competitors use in their content to attract traffic from search engines. These keywords are often identified through research on competitor websites, social media profiles, and online advertisements.

There are different types of competitor keywords that you should be aware of when conducting research. The first is direct competitor keywords which refers to those used by businesses that offer similar products or services as yours.

The second type is indirect competitor keywords which relates to companies whose offerings may not be identical but still compete for your target audience's attention.

By identifying your competitors' most effective keyword strategies, you can optimize your own marketing efforts and gain a competitive edge in search engine rankings.

Why is it essential to find competitors' keywords?

As a content strategist, understanding your industry and competition is crucial to creating an effective content strategy. Finding their keywords is one of the best ways to get ahead of your competitors.

By doing so, you can identify content gaps and opportunities that they may have missed. You'll also be able to improve your SEO strategy by targeting the same keywords as your competitors or even finding new ones.

Knowing which keywords work for your competitors means you can tailor your content creation process accordingly. You can create unique and relevant pieces that will stand out from the rest by analyzing what's already out there.

Identifying competitor keywords allows you to stay up-to-date with industry trends and developments. This information helps you make informed decisions about where to focus future efforts in terms of keyword research.

Overall, finding competitors' keywords provides valuable insights into how they're ranking for specific topics and gives you a roadmap on how best to compete against them in search results pages (SERPs). So take some time today to start researching those rival brands!

  • Finding competitor keywords can help identify content gaps and opportunities.
  • Targeting the same keywords as competitors or finding new ones can improve SEO strategy.
  • Analyzing existing content can help create unique and relevant pieces
  • Identifying competitor keywords keep content strategy up-to-date with industry trends
  • Competitor keyword research provides insights into how they're ranking for specific topics
  • Using competitor keywords creates a roadmap for competing in search results pages

How to find competitor keywords

As a content strategist, one of my primary goals is to create content that will outrank my competitors. One way I achieve this is by finding competitor keywords and incorporating them into my own strategy. In this in-depth guide, I'll share some of the methods I use for keyword research.

  1. Using keyword research tools such as SEMrush or Moz can give me insights into what keywords my competitors are ranking for. By analyzing their top-performing pages and the words they're targeting, I can get an idea of what topics are popular in our shared industry.
  2. Analyzing competitor content helps me understand which topics resonate with their audience. This allows me to identify gaps in their strategy that I could fill with my own unique perspective.
  3. Checking competitor meta data gives me an idea of how they optimize their pages for search engines. This includes looking at title tags and meta descriptions to see which keywords they're targeting specifically.
  4. Examining competitor backlinks lets me know where their traffic comes from and what kind of sites link back to them. It also provides inspiration on where I could potentially pitch guest posts or collaborate with other brands in the future.

Finally, using Google’s 'related searches' feature displays similar queries related to a specific topic searched on Google's engine providing additional ideas on potential long-tail phrases that we may have missed out initially.

By following these steps diligently when doing keyword research not only will help you find more targeted competitive keywords but also gives you insight into trends within your industry allowing creation better-targeted marketing campaigns & increase brand visibility among potential customers online through organic search results!

1. Use keyword research tools

When it comes to finding your competitors' keywords, the first step is to use keyword research tools. These are essential for any content strategist who wants to stay ahead of the competition.

Many different keyword research tools are available, but some of my favorites include Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush and Ahrefs.

Google Keyword Planner is the classic go to for keyword research - but it's not useful for competitor keyword research

Using these tools will allow you to see which keywords your competitors are targeting and how they’re ranking for those keywords. You’ll also be able to find related keywords that you may not have thought of before.

One important thing to remember when using keyword research tools is that they only provide an estimate of search volume and competition level. It’s important to keep this in mind when making decisions about which keywords you want to target.

Another benefit of using these tools is that they often provide suggestions for long-tail variations or related phrases that can be valuable additions to your content strategy. By incorporating these into your site or blog posts, you can create more targeted traffic from users searching on specific terms.

Overall, utilizing keyword research tools should be a key part of any competitive analysis strategy if you're looking at developing great SEO practices with cutting edge digital marketing tactics!

2. Analyze competitor content

Analyzing competitor content is a crucial step in finding their keywords. Start by looking at the titles of their blog posts, pages and meta descriptions. Do they focus on certain topics or keywords? Take note of the words they use frequently and see if there are any patterns.

Read through their content thoroughly. What kind of information do they provide and how do they structure it? Look for common themes or topics that appear throughout their content.

Pay attention to the language used in competitor's captions, headings and subheadings as well. Are there any specific phrases or buzzwords that appear often? This can be a clue to what type of language your audience responds positively to.

Consider what forms of media your competitors use most frequently - such as images, videos or infographics - when creating visual elements within their website. By analyzing these aspects along with other factors like URL structure and social presence you could get an edge over them!

3. Check competitor meta data

When it comes to finding your competitors' keywords, analyzing their meta data can be incredibly helpful. This includes looking at their title tags and meta descriptions to see what they are targeting. Are they focusing on a specific product or service? Do they use certain phrases consistently throughout their content?

Another important aspect of competitor meta data analysis is checking for any schema markup. This can give you insight into what types of content your competitors are highlighting, such as reviews or events.

Lastly, don't forget to look at the URL structure of your competitors' pages. Are they using targeted keywords in their URLs? This can provide valuable information about which keywords they are prioritizing.

By thoroughly examining your competitors' meta data, you can gain a deeper understanding of how they are approaching keyword optimization and adjust your own strategy accordingly.

4. Look at competitor backlinks

One of the most effective ways to find your competitor's keywords is by looking at their backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your competitor's website and can give you insight into which keywords they're targeting.

When analyzing your competitor's backlinks, there are a few things you should look for. First, take note of the anchor text used in each link – this is the clickable text that appears in the hyperlink. Anchor text often indicates what type of content is being linked to and can give you clues about which keywords your competitors are targeting.

Examples of backlinks found with Ahrefs

Next, pay attention to the quality and relevance of the websites linking to your competitors. Sites with high domain authority (DA) and page authority (PA) will carry more weight than those with lower scores. Additionally, if these sites are within your niche or industry, this may indicate which specific topics or keywords are important in that space.

Employ tools such as Ahrefs or SEMRush to discover any discrepancies in backlinks between you and your rivals. Additionally, pinpoint pages on their website where there may be opportunities for you to use keywords, which may help to uncover potential gaps in content where they have not devoted as much time or resources to developing pages on specific topics or providing resources. This will provide insights on how to optimize your positioning against them for higher SERP rankings.

5. Use Google’s ‘related searches’

Regarding finding keywords that your competitors are ranking for, Google’s ‘related searches’ feature can be beneficial. This tool provides you with a list of searches related to the keyword or topic you’re targeting, which can give you valuable insight into what your competitors are doing.

To use this feature effectively, start typing one of your main keywords into Google search. Scroll down past the top results and look for the section titled ‘Searches related to [your keyword]’. Here, you will see a list of similar queries that users have searched for relating to your target keyword.

Example of People Also Asked related searches in Google

Take note of any relevant terms and phrases frequently appearing in these related searches. These may be potential new ideas for content creation or additional keywords to add to existing pieces.

Additionally, look at how your competitors incorporate these related search terms into their content strategy. Are they using them as subheadings? Including them in meta descriptions? Understanding how they’re leveraging these keywords can help inform your own strategy moving forward.

By taking advantage of Google’s ‘related searches’ feature, you’ll gain deeper insights into what topics and keywords customers care about and how successful brands are capitalizing on those interests through their SEO strategies.

How to use competitor keywords

These are the terms they're ranking for and targeting with their content, which means that if you can identify them, you can use them to optimize your own website and outrank them in search results. But how do you actually go about finding these competitor keywords? Here's my guide.

1. Create content around competitor keywords

If you're struggling to find keywords to target for your content, one great strategy is to analyze the keywords your competitors are ranking for. This can give you insight into what topics are popular in your industry and help you identify gaps in their content that you can fill.

To start, I recommend using a tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs to research your competitors. Simply enter their website URL, and the tool will generate a list of all the keywords they currently rank for. From there, sort by relevance or search volume to find the most valuable opportunities.

Once you've identified some promising keywords, it's time to start creating content around them. This doesn't mean copying your competitor's articles word-for-word; instead, focus on providing unique insights and perspectives on the same topic. You could even consider combining multiple related topics into a comprehensive guide or resource.

Remember that quality is key in content creation – don't just churn out generic blog posts stuffed with keywords. Instead, aim for well-researched pieces that provide value and answer common questions within your industry.

By targeting competitor keywords through strategic content creation, you'll be able to boost your visibility in search results while also establishing yourself as an authority in your field. Follow these tips, and you'll be on track toward more traffic and more engaged readership, all while outpacing your competitors!

2. Optimize existing content with competitor keywords

As a content strategist, I know how important it is to stay ahead of the competition. One of the best ways to do this is by finding and using their keywords in our own content. In my experience, optimizing existing content with competitor keywords can greatly impact search engine rankings.

One effective way to find these keywords is by using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs. These platforms allow you to enter your competitor's URL and see what keywords they are ranking for. Once you have this information, go through your existing content and look for opportunities to incorporate these terms into your copy naturally.

Another approach that has worked well for me is looking at what types of questions people are asking related to my industry or niche. Forums like Quora can be a goldmine when it comes to finding out what people want answers about regarding specific topics. Take note of any relevant phrases or words used in these questions and use them strategically in your content.

The forum Quora is great place to find keyword inspiration

Remember, while incorporating competitor keywords is important, make sure that the overall focus remains on providing value and quality information for your audience. Don't sacrifice readability or user experience just to add more targeted terms into your copy.

Optimizing existing content with carefully chosen competitor keywords can improve search engine visibility and attract more organic traffic over time – all while keeping an eye on what others in your field are doing well!

3. Use competitor keywords for PPC campaigns

When it comes to finding keywords for your pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, looking at what your competitors are doing can be incredibly helpful. Using competitor keywords in your PPC ads can help you reach the right audience and increase click-through rates.

But how do you go about finding these competitor keywords?

One method is using tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner or SEMrush to analyze your competitor's websites and see which keywords they're targeting in their PPC campaigns. This information can give you an idea of which terms are worth targeting yourself.

Another way to find competitor keywords for PPC is by analyzing the ad copy itself. Look at the language, tone, and messaging used in competing ads that appear when you search for a particular keyword or phrase. Take note of recurring themes or phrases that seem particularly effective, and consider incorporating them into your ad copy.

Once you've identified some potential candidate keywords, it's important to test them out with small ad groups first before committing significant resources towards a full-blown campaign.

This will allow you to refine the messaging and identify which variations work best before investing too much money into advertising.

Using competitor research as part of your PPC strategy requires careful analysis but can provide valuable insights into what works within industry niches relevant to yours.

By leveraging this knowledge effectively alongside other tactics, such as content creation optimization around those same terms mentioned earlier under 1 & 2, businesses stand a better chance of outranking their rivals on all fronts - not just paid channels alone!

Conclusion

By researching your competitor's keywords, you can gain insights into their SEO strategy and identify improvement opportunities in your approach. You'll be able to see which keywords they rank for and what type of content they're producing around those topics.

But don't just stop at identifying their keywords - take action on this research by creating better content around those same topics or expanding into related areas that haven't been explored yet. By doing so, you can start outranking them in search engines and driving more traffic to your site.

In summary, researching competitors' keywords is crucial for staying competitive in the digital landscape. Encourage yourself (and others) to take action on this research by incorporating these findings into future content strategies. With diligent research and careful planning, you can use these insights for growth and success.

Find Competitors Keywords: An In-Depth Guide to Piggybacking Your Competitors

As an SEO specialist, I have a strong passion for keyword research and focus on exploring relevant topics.

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