Competing keyword analysis: understanding and successfully implementing your SEO strategy

Through our SEO Agency Optimize 360

on the theme : SEO tools

To improve your positioning on search engines and increase your online visibility, it is essential to take an interest in the keywords used by your competitors.

The analysis of competing keywords is a crucial stage in the implementation of a high-performance natural referencing strategy.

In this article, we'll explain what competitor keyword analysis is and how to carry it out in just a few simple steps.

What is competitor keyword analysis?

Competitor keyword analysis consists of identifying and studying the terms and expressions used by your competitors to attract traffic to their site. website. This enables us to discover the keywords on which they are positioned and to gain a better understanding of their natural referencing strategy.

This examination has several objectives:

Identify keyword opportunities to exploit
Optimise your own content strategy by tailoring your pages to the keywords you have identified
Benchmarking: assessing your SEO performance against that of your competitors

In short, analysing competing keywords will enable you to determine on which keywords to concentrate your efforts in order to improve your positioning and therefore the effectiveness of your natural referencing..

How do you carry out a competitor keyword analysis?

To carry out an exhaustive study of the keywords used by your competitors, you need to follow a number of steps:

1. Identify your main competitors

Start by researching the most important players in your online sector. This doesn't just mean your direct competitors, but also those who are positioned on similar themes or for terms close to your own target keywords. You can do this research using search engines, professional directories or social networks.

2. Select relevant keywords

The next step is to distinguish between keywords according to their relevance to your own business. Don't hesitate to eliminate certain keywords that are too specific, not much searched for or not relevant to your product or service offering. You can also classify these keywords by type:

- Generic keywords: these describe your sector of activity as a whole (e.g. " hotel "restaurant")
- Specific keywords: these focus on a specific aspect of your sector (e.g. "luxury hotel", "vegetarian restaurant").
- Long tail keywords: these are made up of longer, less competitive expressions (e.g. "hotel with spa in Brittany", "vegetarian restaurant in Nice").

3. Use keyword analysis tools

Several online tools can be used to analyse the keywords used by your competitors:

- Free tools like Google Search Console which will reveal the keywords on which your site is already positioned and those used by your competitors.
- Pay tools such as SEMrush, Ahrefs or Moz Pro with more advanced features for in-depth analysis of keywords and competitor sites.

These tools will help you identify the keywords on which your competitors are positioned, their search volumeTheir level of competition and other useful information for refining your SEO strategy.

4. Analyse your competitors' content

In addition to keywords, it is also important to study the content of competing pages. Look at how these pages are structured, what types of content they offer (text, images, video, etc.), and the internal and external links they use. This can give you ideas for optimising your own content to better meet the expectations of web users.

A few tips for effective competitor keyword analysis

To make the most of this study, here are a few recommendations:

Diversify your sources of information Don't be satisfied with just one tool or method for carrying out your analysis. By combining the different resources and approaches available, you'll get a more complete and accurate picture of the keywords used by your competitors.
Target several competitors By analysing the keywords of different players in your sector, you'll increase your chances of discovering terms that you haven't yet thought of positioning yourself on.
Regularly update your analysis The market is constantly evolving and new keywords may emerge. So it's important to carry out this study at least once a year to stay competitive and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Analysing competing keywords is an essential part of understanding and controlling your digital environment, improving your position on search engines and developing a sustainable competitive advantage.