Competitor analysis is one of the most actionable things you can do in SEO — it tells you exactly what is working for the sites beating you, which backlink sources are available to target, and which content gaps you need to fill. And unlike many SEO activities, a solid competitor analysis can be done thoroughly using entirely free tools if you know the right methodology.
Who are your real SEO competitors?
Your SEO competitors are not necessarily your business competitors. They are the websites ranking in the top ten for the keywords you most want to rank for. A local plumber's SEO competitors include national DIY guides, trade association sites, and local directories — most of which they have never heard of as business competitors.
To identify your true SEO competitors:
- List your five most important target keywords
- Search each keyword in Google in a private/incognito window (to remove personalisation)
- Note which domains appear consistently across multiple searches
- The domains appearing in positions one to ten across three or more of your target keywords are your primary SEO competitors
You will likely identify three to five recurring domains. These are your most important competitive benchmarks.
How do you analyse a competitor's content strategy for free?
Step 1: Content inventory with the site: operator
Search site:competitor.com in Google to see approximately how many pages they have indexed. Then narrow it: site:competitor.com "your topic" shows how many pages they have specifically about your topic area. Compare this to your own site:yourdomain.com count for the same topic.
Step 2: Find their top-performing content
In Google, search your main topic keywords and note which specific competitor pages rank. These are their proven performers — content that Google has rewarded. Analyse the structure, depth, format, and angle of their best-ranking pages to understand what Google is rewarding in your niche.
Step 3: Find the content gaps
Use our Wayback URL extractor to pull a historical URL list from competitor domains. Scroll through their topics and identify subjects they cover that you do not. These are your content gap opportunities. As covered in our guide to content gap analysis with AI tools, you can then use AI to rapidly expand these gap topics into content briefs.
How do you find keywords your competitors rank for but you don't?
The free method: in Google Search Console → Performance → Queries, export your query list. Search your competitor in Google and note which pages rank for queries you are not targeting. Compare the two lists manually. Paid tools (Semrush, Ahrefs) automate this comparison, but the manual approach surfaces the most valuable gaps — the keywords where you have clear content gaps against your main competitors.
How do you analyse a competitor's backlinks for free?
Moz Link Explorer provides 10 free searches per month — enough to analyse your top three competitors' backlink profiles at a headline level. For each competitor domain, Moz shows:
- Domain Authority score
- Total number of linking domains
- Their top linking domains (the most authoritative sites pointing to them)
The tactical insight from this analysis: the top linking domains of your competitors are pre-qualified as willing to link in your niche. They have already linked to similar content. Focus your link building outreach on domains that link to multiple competitors in your space — these have the highest likelihood of also linking to you.
Use our anchor text analyser alongside Moz data to compare your own backlink profile against competitors and quantify the authority gap you need to close.
What does a competitor's technical SEO health tell you?
Competitor technical weaknesses are SEO opportunities. Run your top three competitors through our free tools:
- Speed tool — if competitors have poor Core Web Vitals scores and you can match their content quality with better performance, page experience becomes your differentiator
- SSL checker — HTTPS issues on competitors signal technical carelessness that you can outperform with a clean technical foundation
- Broken link checker — run it on competitor sites to find broken outbound links that point to content you could create and pitch as a replacement — the foundation of broken link building
How often should you run a competitor analysis?
A full competitor analysis is worth doing quarterly. Things change: competitors publish new content, earn new backlinks, change their technical stack. Monthly, do a lighter check — search your five most important keywords and note any position changes. If a new competitor suddenly appears in your top rankings, investigate what they have done and adapt.
Summary
- Your SEO competitors are sites ranking for your target keywords — not necessarily your business competitors
- Identify them by searching your target keywords and noting which domains recur across multiple results
- Analyse content gaps with the site: operator, their ranking pages, and our Wayback extractor
- Analyse backlinks with Moz Link Explorer's 10 free monthly searches — focus on domains linking to multiple competitors
- Identify technical weaknesses with our free tools — speed, SSL, and broken links are your competitive intelligence
- Run full analysis quarterly; check key rankings monthly for new competitor movements
Continue reading: What is Google Search Console and how do you use it for SEO?