Hey dude! Dream no more, because this blog post is going to show you how to ethically steal your competitor’s best keywords, content, and traffic. We’ll dive into the exact methods that savvy marketers use to uncover hidden opportunities and propel their own websites to the top.
The Shocking Truth About Your Competitors: They’re Not That Smart
Okay, maybe some of them are. But here’s the thing: they’re likely leaving behind a trail of breadcrumbs, a roadmap to their success that you can follow. Competitive analysis is not about copying; it’s about learning. It’s about understanding what’s working for your competitors and then leveraging that information to create something even better.
But First, Who Are You Really Up Against? (Hint: It’s Not Always Who You Think)
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, we need to identify your true competitors. It’s not as simple as just googling a few keywords and picking the first few results. Here’s the breakdown:
- Direct Competitors: These are the companies that offer the same products or services as you. Think of them as your immediate rivals, battling for the same customers.
- Indirect (or Organic) Competitors: These are websites that rank for the same keywords as you, even if they don’t offer the same products. They might be blogs, informational sites, or even online publications.
Why this distinction matters: You need to analyze both types of competitors. Direct competitors show you what’s working in your specific market, while indirect competitors reveal the broader content landscape.
- Pro Tip: Don’t rely solely on your own knowledge. Use tools like G2 or Capterra to find a list of competitors and alternatives.
The Secret Weapon: The Keyword Gap Analysis (It’s Like a Treasure Map)
Now that you know your competitors, it’s time to uncover their most valuable keywords. This is where the Keyword Gap Analysis comes into play. This process helps identify keywords that your competitors rank for, but your website does not.
The Tool That Will Change Your Life: Ahrefs (or its Free Version)
While you could spend hours manually searching for keywords, there’s a much easier way. The video recommends using Ahrefs (or the free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools). This tool allows you to analyze your competitors’ websites and see which keywords they’re ranking for.
How to do a keyword gap analysis in Ahrefs:
- Enter your domain: Start by entering your website domain into Ahrefs.
- Find your competitors: Use the organic competitors report to identify indirect competitors or use the method of searching for competitor lists online to find direct competitors.
- Use the Competitive Analysis Tool: Rather than going to the Content Gap report, use Ahrefs’ Competitive Analysis Tool. This tool allows you to analyze multiple competitors simultaneously.
- Add your competitors: Input your direct and indirect competitors into this tool.
- Analyze the Keyword Gap: The tool will then show you a list of keywords that your competitors rank for, but you don’t. This is your treasure map.
- Add keywords to a list: Review the keywords and add any relevant ones to a new or existing keyword list. Don’t be too picky here, you can filter this list later.
- Dig Deeper: If you want to learn more about a specific keyword, click on it to see the content that ranks for it.
- Rinse and Repeat: Add every relevant keyword that you find in the competitive analysis.
Why this is important: This process lets you see where your competitors are winning and where you have an opportunity to improve. It’s about finding the gaps in your own content strategy and filling them with high-value keywords.
From Keywords to Topics: The Power of Keyword Clustering (Stop Cannibalizing Your Own Content!)
Okay, you’ve got a massive list of keywords, now what? This is where keyword clustering comes in. Without clustering, you may fall into the trap of keyword cannibalization, which is where you have multiple pages on your website that are about the same topic, confusing search engines.
The Semantic Search Secret: Google Doesn’t Read Like You Do
Google uses semantic search to interpret the meaning behind your queries. It doesn’t just look for exact matches. It tries to understand the topic you’re interested in. This means that different keywords with the same underlying meaning can produce the same search results. For example, “AI chatbots” and “chatbots AI” are likely to generate the same results in Google. Therefore, you would want one page that targets both keywords, rather than two separate pages.
How to Use Ahref’s Clustering Tool
Ahrefs has a powerful tool that can do this for you. Here’s how to use it:
- Go to Keywords Explorer: Go to the Keywords Explorer tool and open your keyword list.
- Cluster by Parent Topic: Choose the “Cluster by parent topic” option. This tool analyzes the search results for each keyword and groups together keywords that produce similar results.
- Review Your Clusters: Ahrefs will then group your keywords into clusters based on the broader topic.
Why clustering matters: Instead of creating multiple pages for slight variations of the same keyword, you’ll create one comprehensive page that targets all the relevant keywords in a given topic. This helps avoid keyword cannibalization and improves your chances of ranking.
Keyword Clusters vs Topic Clusters: What’s the Difference?
It can be easy to confuse keyword clusters and topic clusters.
- Keyword Clusters: Are groups of similar keywords that should be targeted by one page.
- Topic Clusters: Are groups of content pages on your site that cover different facets of the same topic. Think of it as a content hub and spoke model, where you have one central page about a topic and several supporting pages that dive into subtopics.
Turning Data into a Content Plan: Prioritization is Key (Don’t Waste Your Time on Dead-End Topics!)
Now comes the fun part: turning your keyword clusters into a content plan. But, before you start writing, you need to prioritize your topics. Not all topics are created equal.
The Three Pillars of Prioritization (Forget Search Volume Alone!)
Don’t just focus on the keywords with the highest search volume. You need to consider three key factors:
- Search Volume: Yes, it matters. How many searches are there per month for this topic?
- Keyword Difficulty: How competitive is this keyword? Is it something you have a realistic chance of ranking for?
- Business Value: How valuable is this topic to your business? Will it attract the right kind of traffic?
The Basic Prioritization Score: Keep It Simple (But Not Too Simple!)
The most basic prioritization score is:
Search Volume / Keyword Difficulty (+1)
This formula gives you a starting point, balancing potential traffic with the difficulty of ranking.
But wait, there’s more! This formula doesn’t take into account the business value. This means it might prioritize keywords that bring lots of traffic but don’t really generate sales for your business.
The Advanced Prioritization Score: Business Value is the Missing Piece
To make things more sophisticated, we need to factor in the business value. Here’s how:
- Use Tim Solo’s Rubric: Assign each topic a score from 1 to 4 based on the centrality of that topic to your business.
- 1: No way to mention your product in the article.
- 2: Your product can be mentioned fleetingly.
- 3: Your product is a solution, but not the only solution.
- 4: The topic is core to your business, and your product is the best solution.
- Calculate the Advanced Prioritization Score: (Search Volume * Business Value) / (Keyword Difficulty + 1)
This formula will help you prioritize topics that not only have good search volume but also align with your business goals.
- Use CPC Value as a Proxy for Business Value (Search Volume * CPC) / (Keyword Difficulty + 1) You can use the cost-per-click value as a proxy if you don’t know how to score for business value.
Export Your List and Create a Content Plan
Now that you know how to prioritize, it’s time to turn these topics into a content plan:
- Export your data from Ahrefs: Export your clustered keywords from Ahrefs as a CSV file or Google Sheet.
- Add your prioritization scores: Add the necessary columns and use your preferred prioritization formulas in your spreadsheet.
- Sort your list: Sort your list by your prioritization score to see the most valuable topics at the top.
- Plan your content: Now you can start assigning these topics to your content calendar, knowing you are focusing on the most impactful topics.
Bonus Opportunities: Don’t Stop There!
The keyword gap analysis is a great start, but there are other ways to learn from your competitors. Here are some bonus opportunities:
The Top Pages Report: Find What’s Driving Traffic
Instead of focusing on individual keywords, look at your competitors’ top pages. This shows you which topics are driving the most traffic to their website. This is another great way to find content ideas.
Competitor Link Analysis: Steal Their Link Thunder
Analyzing your competitors’ backlinks will show you who is linking to them. Use this to identify link-building opportunities for your website.
- Pro Tip: Look at the context of the links to understand why people link to your competitor.
AI-Powered Keyword Research: Stay Ahead of the Curve
Use AI-powered keyword research tools to identify emerging trends and topics. This can help you uncover opportunities that your competitors may not have discovered yet. Ahrefs’ AI keyword suggestion tool can help you with this.
Conclusion
You now have a roadmap to understanding and leveraging your competitor’s successes for your own gain. By combining the power of keyword gap analysis, keyword clustering, prioritization, and competitor research, you can craft a content strategy that will attract more traffic, leads, and sales.
This isn’t about being a copycat; it’s about using data to make informed decisions. It’s about learning from those who are already winning, and then using that knowledge to create something even better. Now get out there, do your analysis, and start creating the content that will propel you to the top of the SERPs.
FAQs
What do I do if I am already ranking for the best keywords? Even if you’re dominating the SERPs, you can still use competitive analysis to identify smaller, niche topics that you may have missed. It can also help you refine your existing content strategy and make sure that your site is comprehensive for any given topic. You can also use this information to ensure that you stay on top of any changes in the content strategies of your competitors.
How do I stop my competitors from stealing my keywords? While you can’t prevent competitors from seeing what keywords you rank for, you can focus on building brand authority and creating high-quality, unique content. If your competitors are trying to emulate your content, this will help you to be viewed as the original source of that content. Make sure you are producing content that is of the highest quality. Additionally, focus on building your brand and making sure that the value of your brand is more than just the content that you create.
Is it ethical to “steal” keywords from my competitors? Absolutely! This is not about plagiarism; it’s about using data to make smart decisions. Competitive analysis is a common practice in marketing and is essential for staying competitive. No one “owns” keywords, and all websites are vying for the same ranking spots in SERPs. You are simply using available information to understand your industry and create your own content strategy.