When you’re a website owner, your different ways of conducting traffic are your bread and butter. Among other means like email marketing or social media, ranking for a popular search term ensures you’ll continue getting consistent traffic for that keyword over time, meaning the revenue will continue coming in, too.
In this blog, we’re going to specifically focus on ranking for search terms as a means to building traffic. More granularly, we’re going to zero in on how to research competitors’ websites in your niche to make sure that what you’re doing is on par with what they’re doing – and maybe even steal some keyword rankings.
Stay tuned for a breakdown of the following four ways to research competitors’ websites in the same niche:
- ChatGPT
- Keyword research tools
- NicheIQ
- People Also Ask & Other Google Snippets
1. ChatGPT
The first way you can research competitors’ websites is by putting our new friend ChatGPT to work. ChatGPT has a lot of capabilities in terms of recognizing patterns across the internet and helping you to do the same.
Here are a few ways you can utilize ChatGPT for free to get started on researching competitors’ websites:
- Identify your competitors: Start by identifying your main competitors by conducting a thorough search of your industry or niche. Look for companies that offer similar products or services, target the same audience, or operate in the same geographical area. Once you have identified your competitors, make a list of their names and website URLs.
- Analyze their website content: Use online tools such as NicheIQ, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to analyze your competitors’ website content. These tools allow you to view the types of content that your competitors are publishing, the keywords they are targeting, and their backlink profile. This information can give you insights into your competitors’ content marketing and SEO strategies.
- Look for strengths and weaknesses: Analyze your competitors’ websites to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Look for areas where they are performing well, such as high-quality content or strong social media presence, as well as areas where they may be lacking, such as poor website design or weak customer service. By understanding your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, you can identify areas where you can differentiate yourself and gain a competitive advantage.
- Compare your website: Use the information you gather from your competitor analysis to compare your own website against theirs. Look for areas where you can improve and areas where you can differentiate yourself. For example, if your competitors are all using similar keywords, you may need to find unique keywords to target. Alternatively, if your competitors are all focusing on one particular social media platform, you may want to consider targeting a different platform to reach a different audience.
- Learn from their strategies: Take note of any strategies or tactics that your competitors are using that you may be able to replicate or improve upon. This could include their content marketing, social media, or SEO strategies. For example, if your competitors are creating high-quality blog content, you may want to consider investing in a content marketing strategy of your own. Alternatively, if your competitors are using social media to engage with customers, you may want to consider ramping up your own social media efforts.
Remember that competitor research is an ongoing process. As your competitors’ strategies and tactics evolve, you will need to continue to monitor their websites and adjust your own strategies accordingly. By staying on top of industry trends and keeping a close eye on your competitors, you can stay ahead of the competition and achieve long-term success.
Also keep in mind, there is of course the limitation of ChatGPT being trained in 2021 – same with the latest version included in GPT Plus. But this could still be a good starting point that you can consult completely for free to see websites that have been competitors for a couple of years.
2. Keyword research tools
Not to be forgotten, this is an obvious way to research competitors’ websites that you should definitely consider in your process. There are tons of lists out there of the best tools for the job – a couple we like are Ahrefs and SEMRush.
There are several keyword research tools that bloggers can use to identify the best keywords to target in their content. Here are some of the most popular ones:
- Google Keyword Planner: This is a free tool provided by Google AdWords that allows you to research keywords and estimate their search volume. You can also use it to identify related keywords and get ideas for new content.
- Ahrefs: Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool that offers a keyword explorer feature, which allows you to search for keywords and get detailed information about their search volume, competition, and potential traffic. It also offers features like keyword difficulty score and content gap analysis, which can help you identify new keyword opportunities and stay ahead of your competition.
- SEMrush: SEMrush is another popular SEO tool that offers a keyword research feature. It allows you to search for keywords, analyze their search volume and competition, and get ideas for related keywords. It also offers features like keyword difficulty score and domain vs. domain analysis, which can help you identify new keyword opportunities and stay ahead of your competition.
- Moz Keyword Explorer: Moz is a popular SEO tool that offers a keyword research feature called Keyword Explorer. It allows you to search for keywords and get detailed information about their search volume, competition, and potential traffic. It also offers features like keyword difficulty score and SERP analysis, which can help you identify new keyword opportunities and stay ahead of your competition.
- Keyword Tool: Keyword Tool is a free online keyword research tool that can help you identify long-tail keywords that are relevant to your blog. It allows you to search for keywords based on your niche or industry and get ideas for related keywords. It also offers features like search volume, competition, and CPC data, which can help you make informed decisions about which keywords to target.
Ultimately, the best keyword research tool for bloggers will depend on their individual needs and budget. Some bloggers may prefer free tools like Google Keyword Planner or Keyword Tool, while others may prefer more advanced tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. It’s important to experiment with different tools and find the ones that work best for you.
You can check out this blog or this one for other compilations of lists of great competitor research tools.
3. NicheIQ
Our very own SEO tool is a great way to research competitors. Let me show you what it does.
When you head to NicheIQ > Topics > Competitors Overview, NicheIQ shows you competing domains with the most overlap in ranking keywords. It also shows you which competitors consistently rank better than you. This would be a great place to start finding competitors and seeing how to beat them.
When you head to NicheIQ > Topics > Competitors List, Niche IQ shows you a list of competitors, the number of keywords you have that overlap, and even shows you how much better or worse you are performing than them.
4. People Also Ask, SERP, & Google Snippets
Another easy place to find research competitors’ websites in your niche is to look at the search results that show up for you when you look up your keywords or similar ones.
For instance, in this scenario, pettravel.com should probably look at the Humane Society blog and see some other keywords that they might try to work on. In this scenario, the Humane Society might have a high domain authority that could be hard to beat, but it is always worth knowing who else is ranking for your terms out there.
Competitor research is an essential part of blogging, and using tools such as People Also Ask, SERP, and Google Snippets can help you gain valuable insights into your competitors’ strategies. Here’s how you can use each of these tools to conduct effective competitor research in your niche:
- People Also Ask:
The “People Also Ask” (PAA) feature is a section in Google’s search results that displays related questions based on the user’s search query. By analyzing the PAA section for your target keyword, you can gain insights into the types of questions that people are asking and the types of content that are ranking well.
To use the PAA feature for competitor research, start by searching for your target keyword in Google. Then, scroll down to the PAA section and take note of the related questions that are displayed. Next, click on one of the questions to expand the section and see the related answers.
By analyzing the answers provided in the PAA section, you can get ideas for creating content that answers the same questions in a more comprehensive or engaging way than your competitors.
- SERP Features:
SERP (Search Engine Results Page) features refer to the various types of content that are displayed in Google’s search results beyond the traditional blue links. These can include features such as featured snippets, knowledge panels, image carousels, and more.
To use SERP features for competitor research, start by searching for your target keyword in Google and take note of the different types of content that are displayed in the search results. Then, analyze the content that is ranking well for your target keyword and take note of the types of SERP features that are being displayed.
By analyzing the SERP features, you can gain insights into the types of content that are performing well for your target keyword and how you can create content that is optimized for these features.
- Google Snippets:
Google Snippets refer to the preview of a webpage’s content that is displayed in Google’s search results. By analyzing the snippets of your competitors’ content, you can gain insights into the types of content that are performing well and how you can optimize your own content for better visibility in the search results.
To use Google Snippets for competitor research, start by searching for your target keyword in Google and take note of the snippets that are displayed in the search results. Then, analyze the snippets of your competitors’ content and take note of the types of content that are being displayed.
By analyzing the snippets, you can gain insights into the types of content that are performing well for your target keyword and how you can optimize your own content to improve your visibility in the search results.
Overall, using tools such as People Also Ask, SERP features, and Google Snippets can provide valuable insights into your competitors’ strategies and help you create better content that is optimized for the search engine results page. By analyzing these tools regularly, you can stay up-to-date with the latest trends in your niche and continually improve your blogging strategy.
Wrapping it all up: How to Research Competitors’ Websites
The success of a website largely depends on its ability to generate traffic, and one effective way of doing so is by ranking for popular search terms. In this regard, researching competitors’ websites in the same niche becomes an essential task to ensure that you remain competitive and even gain a competitive edge.
There are several ways to research competitors’ websites, including using ChatGPT, keyword research tools, NicheIQ, and Google snippets like People Also Ask. ChatGPT can be utilized to identify competitors, analyze their website content, look for strengths and weaknesses, compare your website, and learn from their strategies. Keyword research tools, on the other hand, allow bloggers to identify the best keywords to target in their content by providing information on search volume, competition, and potential traffic.
Ultimately, keeping an eye on competitors and monitoring their websites’ strategies is an ongoing process that requires constant adjustments to your own strategies to stay ahead of the competition and achieve long-term success.
No matter what level of comfort you have with operating a website, there are a ton of easy ways you can get started to research competitors’ websites in your niche. What’s even better is that so many of these ways are free because of how quickly technology is advancing!
Looking inward is a great way to get your website improved, but how are you going to know what you’re up against unless you research your competitors’ websites?
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