If you are planning to optimise your website and beat your competitors then you must start by doing a competitive analysis. SEO analysis is done to identify the strengths and weaknesses between you and your competitors. It saves your time and increases your chances of succeeding.
Do you want to find out how you can run an SEO competitive analysis? Let's discuss SEO competitive analysis in detail to find out more about it.
Why SEO Competitive Analysis is Important
Running SEO competitive analysis is important as it will help you in understanding the strengths of your competitors so you can modify your SEO strategy accordingly to ensure that you are staying ahead of the competition. It will let you know about the strategies, and keywords they are using, so you don't have to take any risks with your SEO Malaysia strategy.
SEO Competitive analysis will help you in - Improving your SEO performance - Identify your competitor's winning strategies - Identify the weaknesses of your competitor - Analyse your current performanceHow to Run an SEO Competitive Analysis
You can run competitive analysis in different ways and we will discuss some of them below.
Determine the Keywords you will Use
Keyword research is the most important part when it comes to SEO strategy. So you must always start with proper keyword research and shortlist the keywords you very useful for your website. Keywords help you in Google ranking and reaching your target audience.
Keywords research also lets you know about your competitor that's why it should be your priority.
Find your Competitors
Once you are done with keyword research the next important thing is to look for your competitors who are also using those keywords. You can type those keywords in the Google search bar to find out which websites are ranked for those keywords. Don't focus on general keywords while searching for competitors instead use long-tail keywords to find more relevant results?
Now make a list of the competitors, note down their strengths and weaknesses, and plan your SEO strategy accordingly.
Use Website Analyser Tools
To find out about your competitor's SEO strategy you should use Website analyzer tools such as Moz, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, and others.
These tools work simply, all you have to do is to add the name of your competitor's website and click 'Search'. And these tools will automatically suggest the data about your competitor's SEO. This data will be helpful for you in planning your SEO Malaysia.
Analyse Your Competitor's Top Pages
Finding your competitors isn't enough, the next thing you have to do is to identify and analyse their most popular pages.
- Which webpage gets the most traffic? - Which page is ranked for the most keywords? - Which page has the higher percentage of traffic?You can never know about the most popular pages of any competitor's website unless you do your research. Be ready as the results might be surprising!
Look at your Competitor's Keywords
You must know the keywords your competitors have used to gain ranking. Wondering why? It is because it will let you know the success of a particular keyword in bringing the traffic. Moreover, it will also help you with understanding whether you should use those keywords or not.
For instance, if your competitor is a big marketplace and is selling internationally, then they might be using difficult keywords and it might be a better option for you if you target other keywords.
Check your Competitor's On-Page SEO
Getting an idea about your competitor's on-page SEO is also crucial. But why? Just like keyword research, on-page SEO will be a reference for you so you can modify your SEO strategy to get the best results. Web analyser tools will provide you with a detailed analysis of your competitor's on-page SEO. Most web tools are paid, so it is better to hire SEO Specialist Malaysia so you don't have to buy a subscription to those tools.Review Competitor's Backlink
Analysing backlinks is essential to find out about the backlink strategy of your competitor i.e., where the backlink is heading, how anchor text is used, etc. It will also help you in identifying which anchor text you should use to improve the ranking of your website. When your competitor has high-quality backlinks from reputable websites, it means that you will have to work harder to compete against them.
Before you start following the backlink strategy of your competitor is important to know about their quality of backlinks because if your competitor has low-quality links and you follow in their footsteps then you will end up hurting your SEO. Consider these questions while checking your competitor's backlinks.
- Are they recommended on high-profile websites in your industry? - Are they recommended in major organisations? - How can you become part of those recommended resources?Identify Search Features
Always consider the presence of search features such as people also ask, videos, or images while doing a competitor analysis. And note where you and your competitors appear in the search features to improve your SEO.
Choosing a featured Snippet to Focus On
The best strategy to get a featured snippet is by writing quality content in a format that will be immediately ranked by Google. If you want to work on a featured snippet, then you should look at your competitor's snippets. Open their featured snippet your URL and optimise your content accordingly to take over it.
Conclusion
If you want to stay competitive then running a competitive analysis every six months to one year is very important. It lets you know about the changes your competitors are making in their strategies to gain ranking and visibility. Search results and websites are continuously evolving so if you want to stay in the competition, you must start acting now.
BThrust MY is the best SEO company in Malaysia that will help you in staying ahead of your competitors. Contact us now to find out more about our SEO services.