Why Competitor Research is so important in SEO

For those familiar with us here at Eye10, Competitor Research is the name of one of our amazing tools that is included with all Eye10 subscriptions. 

So why is it important you know who your competitors are in SEO, along with what you need to do to rank above them? 

Quite simply, knowledge is power. By implementing the right changes to your SEO strategy based on what makes for a winning format, your website has a much better chance of ranking higher on search engines.

Here is the lowdown on why researching your competitors is so important we built a tool so you can do just that. Plus, how to get the most out of the information you discover about your SEO rivals. 

H2: Every good SEO strategy must start with Competitor Research 

Think about it. If it was just you trying to compete for any given search term, there probably wouldn’t be a need for SEO. However, even for the nichest of topics, this just isn’t the case! With over 1 billion websites currently in existence, there’s a good chance you have some competition on your hands for whatever your website is about.

Sometimes it’s easy to see our competitors. For local businesses or services, you may know all of your competitors by name. But in the grand scheme of things, you can never know who is competing for your website traffic. Unless of course, you use Competitor Research. 

With Eye10, you can enter your URL, the main target keyword of that page along with the country you most want to target with your content. Getting specific allows us to show you exactly who is competing for your traffic, and we’ll be able to pull up the top 20 closest results. 

We strongly recommend anyone creating a website, or looking to improve an existing website, undertake research into their competitors. Specifically, SEO research that uses data to create an informed strategy. 

H3: What will Competitor Research show me?

How you research your competitors will depend on what information you can find out about them. But if you do happen to use Eye10’s Competitor Research tool, you’ll receive over 20 different pieces of information – that’s in addition to seeing your closest 20 competitors too!

Some of the helpful information you’ll find out includes: 

• Current search engine rank (position #100 or higher)
• Page word count
• Keyword in meta description
• Keyword in H1 tag
• Keyword density 
• Schema enabled
• Page traffic
• Page speed
• Total backlinks 

All of which will show you what it really takes to rank above your competitors. So aside from just the number of keywords, you’ll be given a complete picture of the page to know what you need to do to get ahead. 

H2: Writing better SEO friendly content with Competitor Research

Once you have all of this invaluable information about your competitors, you can put it to good use. 

So for instance, say the #1 position for your chosen keyword has a page word count of 2,100 words, and your page only has 650 words – you can aim to write more than this. Of course, the added content does need to provide value, such as using more keywords and expanding on the original topic. 

But, it gives you a starting point as you can see how your pages differ from the top rankings pages. In fact, we know that low word counts are frowned on by search engines. Not writing enough also doesn’t take the opportunity to expand on the main keyword. Sometimes website owners aren’t even aware their pages have a low word count until they use a tool such as Competitor Research. 

You can also see the full list of keywords your competitors rank for, including where the page ranks and the search volume of the keywords. These can then be exported and added into your own content to create more visibility for your pages on search engines. 

H2: Technical SEO & off-page SEO 

As noted, our Competitor Research tool won’t just tell you about on-page SEO content, but also how your competitors’ websites are performing in general. Plus, how many other websites are linking to their pages (backlinks). 

Use this information to see where you can make improvements, but also when your SEO efforts would be best spent elsewhere. 

For example, if a page has 7,500 backlinks and your page has 0 backlinks, it’s unlikely that your page will rank above this competitor without a lot of effort. 

As a website owner, you can decide whether it’s going to be worth your time and energy in trying to rank above an existing, highly authoritative page. This all depends on the keyword you are trying to target, and the potential value it could bring for your business. 

Something that is easier to control is making sure your website is technically sound. So make sure your pages aren’t slower than your competitors, and that everything works as it should.

Without a doubt, comparing your website to the technical and off-page efforts of your competitors can seem deflating if they are way ahead of you. However, as we’ve mentioned before on this blog, SEO is also a game of persistence and patience. Those who persist, especially with an informed strategy will be greatly rewarded. 

H2: What happens if I don’t research my competitors?

In short: You’ll miss out on all the amazing information above, that will make it so much easier to rank above others on search engines. The further down the rankings your website slides, the less likely it is people will visit your website, let alone become loyal customers – because your website simply won’t be found. 

No SEO expert in the land would create a piece of content for their client without researching the keyword in full first. This includes researching other websites which also target the same keywords. 

However, the great thing about SEO research is that you don’t need to be an expert to do it, let alone benefit from it. But if you don’t bother at all, it’s going to be really difficult to know how to structure your content so that it’s SEO friendly. 

H2: Eye10 – Try our Competitor Research tool today! 

Ready to take a peek at your competitors? Eye10 is an affordable, simple to use SEO tool that makes researching your competitors easier than ever. 

In just a couple of clicks, you’ll see who is competing for your top keywords in your target locations. You’ll also discover what your competitors are doing to rank above you, giving you a much better shot of beating their search engine positioning.

Try Eye10 today from just $39 per month, and receive a generous amount of daily lookups across all of our tools. Intelligent SEO research into your competitors is just moments away!