42: My SEO Competitor Research Process (14 steps for endless content & backlink ideas)

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Hey hey!

Ever wonder how your competitors seem always to be one step ahead?

Today, I'm sharing my comprehensive SEO competitor research process that helps me keep up and even outpace them in the digital race.

Use this guide to research your SEO competition, learn what's working, & duplicate their SEO success.

Run this process 1x/quarter to generate new ideas & stay on top of the space. Never get behind w/ your SEO.

1/ Make a list of competitors

- Identify your 10 top competitors.

- Add them to a Google Doc or somewhere you store data.

- Take each through this process:

2/ Choose one to start with

- Pick your biggest competitor first.

- Make sure they have enough SEO data.

- Someone you really admire.

3/ Search on Ahrefs, Semrush, or any SEO tool

- Put the competitor into your SEO tool of choice. I prefer Ahrefs and Semrush.

- You want their SEO data.

- DR, Backlinks, Organic Search stats, Keyword Rankings, Search Traffic, etc.

4/ Analyze key SEO metrics

- Look at DR, Backlinks, Referring Domains, Keywords, Traffic, & Paid. 

- How do you compare?

- Compare to others you've analyzed.

5/ Analyze All Time growth

- Look at how their backlinks & SEO traffic has grown since they started.

- Get a gauge for how it could impact your biz.

6/ Analyze their backlinks

- Go into their specific backlinks.

- Order from highest to lowest DR & analyze.

- Look at types of pages they are coming from.

- Look at the newest backlinks they’ve acquired.

7/ Find backlink opportunities

- Filter for backlinks from DR sites of 30-60.

- Identify pages, blogs, & sites where you could potentially get a backlink.

- DR 30-60 is achievable.

8/ Research referring domains

- Get into the specific domains they get backlinks from.

- Again, filter for 30-60.

- Make a Hit List of websites to outreach & get a backlink from.

9/ Analyze ranked keywords

- Get deep into the keywords they rank for.

- Sort for Position #1 to highest.

- See where they get traffic from.

- Relevant keywords?

10/ Find keyword opportunities

- Filter for Difficulty 0-25.

- Look for Low Difficulty, Good Traffic keywords.

- Save these.

- We'll use them later!

11/ Create a To Do list from it all

- Go through your research & create To Do's based on what you've found.

- This is a new SEO Gameplan for the next Quarter.

12/ Go get quality backlinks

- Do outreach.

- Answer questions on HARO, Featured (formerly Terkel), & Quora.

- Build backlink partnerships.

13/ Target keywords w/ new content

- Make a Content Calendar.

- Publish new blogs & pages targeted at the competitor keywords.

- Be consistent!

14/ Track your SEO results

- Use Ahrefs or your SEO tool of choice, GSC, & GA to track your backlinks & keyword rankings.

- Make progress monthly.

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Advice:

Schedule 1-2 days just for competitor research.

Do it 1x at the start of each quarter.

Outcomes:

Smart SEO based on data, better opportunities, & an endless To Do list.

Bonus:

Buy my SEO course, The SEO System, for access to ALL of my SEO strategies & processes.

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Summary

This 14-step competitor analysis is crucial for staying ahead in SEO.

By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, you can better position your content and build a more robust link profile.

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Action Steps

1. Schedule a dedicated day for competitor research at the start of each quarter.

2. Follow the steps outlined to gather data and insights.

3. Update your SEO strategies based on your findings to remain competitive.

Remember, SEO is not just about following best practices but also about being adaptable and learning from those around you.

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Best,

Connor

Whenever you’re ready, here’s 3 ways I can help you:

1. My SEO Course: “The SEO System” teaches the exact daily, weekly, and monthly SEO processes I’ve used to scale multiple companies to 6, 7, & 8 figures in sales. Available for pre-sale now!

2. TrioSEO: Hire me & my team to create SEO content for your business. We’ll create a comprehensive SEO plan, execute, & keep you updated so your business gains more traffic, leads, & sales. Get a Free SEO Audit.

3. Promote yourself to 70,000+ SEOs, marketers, & entrepreneurs by sponsoring this newsletter and my social channels. (Booked out 1 month). Email me for info.