---
name: seo-competitor-analysis
description: "Analyzes competitor SEO strategies with keyword overlap, content gaps, backlink profiles, and ranking comparisons. Use when you need to benchmark against competitors."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# SEO Competitor Analysis

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Analyze competitor SEO strategies to find opportunities
- Identify keyword and content gaps between you and competitors
- Assess competitor backlink profiles and link building strategies
- Build an action plan to outrank specific competitors

**DO NOT** use this skill for paid ads competitor analysis, social media competitive research, or product feature comparisons. This is specifically for organic search competition.

---

## Core Principle

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS IS NOT ABOUT COPYING — IT IS ABOUT FINDING WHAT THEY DO WELL, WHAT THEY MISS, AND WHERE YOU CAN WIN WITH BETTER CONTENT, SMARTER TARGETING, OR STRONGER AUTHORITY.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Your website** | "What is your domain?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Competitors** | "List 3-5 competitors you want to analyze." | No default — must be provided |
| **Target keywords** | "What keywords are you competing for?" | Top 10 keywords for your niche |
| **SEO tools available** | "Do you have access to Ahrefs, SEMrush, or similar?" | Free tools only (GSC, manual research) |
| **Your current traffic** | "Approximate monthly organic traffic?" | Unknown |

**GATE: Confirm competitors and focus areas before starting analysis.**

---

## Phase 2: Competitive Analysis Framework

### Domain-Level Comparison

```
## Domain Overview

| Metric | Your Site | Competitor 1 | Competitor 2 | Competitor 3 |
|--------|----------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| Domain Authority/Rating | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
| Estimated organic traffic | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
| Referring domains | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
| Indexed pages | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
| Top country | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
```

### Keyword Gap Analysis

```
## Keyword Opportunities

**Keywords competitors rank for that you don't:**
| Keyword | Competitor | Their Position | Est. Volume | Difficulty | Opportunity |
|---------|-----------|---------------|------------|------------|------------|
| [keyword] | [Comp 1] | [X] | [X] | [X] | High/Med/Low |

**Keywords you both rank for (you're losing):**
| Keyword | Your Position | Their Position | Gap | Priority |
|---------|-------------|---------------|-----|----------|
| [keyword] | [X] | [X] | [X positions] | High/Med/Low |

**Keywords only you rank for (your advantages):**
| Keyword | Your Position | Volume |
|---------|-------------|--------|
| [keyword] | [X] | [X] |
```

### Content Gap Analysis

```
## Content Opportunities

**Topics competitors cover well that you don't:**
| Topic | Competitor | Their Top Page | Our Opportunity |
|-------|-----------|---------------|----------------|
| [Topic] | [Comp] | [URL] | [Create guide / blog post / resource] |

**Content they have but yours is better:**
| Topic | Their Content | Your Content | Action |
|-------|-------------|-------------|--------|
| [Topic] | [Weakness] | [Strength] | Update and promote |
```

**GATE: Review the analysis before building the action plan.**

---

## Phase 3: Competitive Strategy

### Backlink Profile Comparison

```
## Link Analysis

**Competitor link sources you could replicate:**
| Source Type | Competitor | Link Source | Acquirable? |
|------------|-----------|------------|------------|
| Guest post | Comp 1 | [site.com] | Yes — pitch similar topic |
| Resource page | Comp 2 | [site.com] | Yes — submit our resource |
| Directory | Comp 1 | [directory] | Yes — submit listing |

**Competitor link strategies:**
- Competitor 1: Heavy on guest posting in [niche] blogs
- Competitor 2: Original research and data studies earning media links
- Competitor 3: Active in industry forums and communities
```

### Content Strategy Recommendations

```
## Content Action Plan

**Quick Wins (outrank with better content):**
1. [Topic] — their content is [weak/outdated]. Create [type] that [specific improvement].

**Gap Fills (new content they rank for, you don't):**
2. [Topic] — create [content type] targeting [keyword]. Estimated opportunity: [X] visits/month.

**Defend (they're catching up to your strengths):**
3. [Topic] — update and expand your existing [page] to maintain advantage.
```

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Competitive Dashboard

Create a tracking template:
- Monthly ranking comparison for top 20 keywords
- Traffic estimate comparison (quarterly)
- New content published by each competitor
- New backlinks acquired by each competitor

### 2. 90-Day Action Plan

Prioritized list of actions based on the analysis:
- Month 1: Address quick wins and content gaps
- Month 2: Link building targeting competitor link sources
- Month 3: Publish new content for untapped keywords

### 3. Ongoing Monitoring

- Set up Google Alerts for competitor brand names
- Check competitor new content monthly
- Re-run full analysis quarterly

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **Copying competitor content** — duplicate content hurts both of you. Use their topics as inspiration but create original, better content.
- **Obsessing over Domain Authority** — DA is one signal. A lower-DA site can outrank higher ones with better content and relevance.
- **Analyzing too many competitors** — focus on 3-5 direct competitors. Analyzing 20 creates noise without actionable insight.
- **Only looking at what they do well** — their weaknesses are your biggest opportunities. Find the gaps.
- **Ignoring your own strengths** — competitor analysis should reinforce what you do well, not just highlight what you lack.

---

## Recovery

- **No SEO tools available:** Use free methods — manual SERP review, Google Search Console data, and site:competitor.com searches to estimate indexed pages and content topics.
- **Competitors are much larger:** Focus on long-tail keywords and niche topics where their large site doesn't have specific content.
- **No clear competitors:** Search your target keywords and analyze whoever ranks on page 1 — those are your SEO competitors regardless of business similarity.
- **Analysis is overwhelming:** Focus on one competitor and 10 keywords first. Expand the analysis once you've acted on the initial findings.
