How To Find Competitors’ Keywords

Finding the right keywords is essential to developing an effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Researching keywords that your competitors are using to improve their rankings is the first step in finding keywords that work for your company. Do you know how to find competitors’ keywords so you can use them as part of your SEO strategy?

Why Should You Find Competitors’ Keywords?

Competitors’ keywords are the terms or short phrases that other websites in your industry or business vertical are using to rank highly through search engine algorithms.

When consumers need information, they often turn to the internet, choosing a keyword or keyword phrase and typing it into search engines. The search engines scan websites that use that keyword and generate pages of results that give users the information they need. Unsurprisingly, websites in related industries may use similar keywords to target the same audience.

If you want your content to compete with currently ranking web pages, you need to use the right keywords. Certain SEO tools, such as Google Analytics, can help you see how competitive various terms are. Keywords with a score of 1 are common in your vertical and may be too competitive for smaller companies to target, but you can choose slightly less competitive keywords to boost your content and improve your chances of ranking highly on search engines.

Finding and using competitors’ keywords makes developing an SEO strategy that works easier. The keywords already have a proven track record, so you can use them without constantly running analytics to determine their efficacy. You must dedicate a lot of time to keyword tracking if you use phrases without researching to see which terms offer the most value to your competitors.

Now that you understand how competitors’ keywords are helpful, you should learn how to find them and choose the ones that will most benefit your content marketing strategy.

How Do You Find Competitors’ Keywords?

You can use many online tools to find competitors’ keywords easily. Google Keyword Planner is one great option that helps you identify effective keywords on competitors’ websites.

Before planning your keyword strategy, you must understand the user intent behind specific terms and how they relate to your content. User intent falls into one of four categories:

• Transactional
• Navigational
• Commercial
• Informational

If your content offers users valuable insight on a specific subject, it is informational. If the content encourages users to make a purchase, it is transactional. Navigational content helps users find a specific website or location, while commercial content gives people additional insight so they can make an informed purchase. You must understand your content type to identify your digital competition.

Once you understand which type of keyword you need, do some research to find your digital competitors. Remember that digital competition is different than local competition. Your local brick-and-mortar competitors may offer no competition in the digital market, so you need to know which keywords yield the best results on the internet if you want to become a major player in search engine rankings.

Finally, use an online tool to search competitor websites and get a list of keywords they use. Input each keyword into Google Analytics to see how competitive it is. A score of 0 means the keyword is not competitive, while a score of 1 indicates a highly competitive keyword. For best results, choose a keyword with a score of around 0.8.

How Do You Know Which Competitors’ Keywords To Use?

You want your content to stand out, so choosing the right keywords is essential. Once you find competitors’ keywords, how do you choose which ones to use in your marketing strategy?

Think about the four categories of successful keywords. While most keywords do not overlap and meet all four criteria, they often fall into at least two of these categories:

• Competition
• Relevance
• Search volume
• Conversion value

Analyze your competitors’ keywords and see how they stack up against each other. The most powerful keywords will meet two or more of the above criteria. Choose the keyword that offers the best value and fits into your current SEO strategy.

It’s important to remember that overusing competitors’ keywords can hurt your content. Use the keywords sporadically throughout your article to attract the attention of search engines without flagging the content as keyword-stuffed copy. If search engines believe your content contains too many keywords, including competitors’ keywords, they are more likely to push your article down on search engine results pages (SERPs) so users are less likely to find your content easily.

How Do Competitors’ Keywords Boost Your SEO Strategy?

Keywords are the building block of any content marketing strategy. Choosing effective keywords can be challenging, but if you analyze your competition to see which keywords already have a proven history, you’re one step ahead in developing a successful SEO strategy.

Not only does using competitors’ keywords give you a shortcut to developing a successful keyword strategy, but it also helps you remain competitive on search engines. When users search for specific terms, you want your web page to rank highly on SERPs. If you use many of the same keywords as your competitors, search engines will classify your web page as competition, making you more likely to rank on the same SERP.

Your SEO strategy should evolve to meet the needs of your website, so it’s important to be aware that keywords can change. Make it a point to regularly analyze competitors’ keywords to ensure you are not missing out on any new keywords that could boost your marketing strategy.

Why Choose Our Team for Help Choosing the Right Competitors’ Keywords?

Selecting the right keywords is the cornerstone of any effective SEO strategy. Identifying which keywords competitors use to drive website traffic is an important first step. At BKA Content, we specialize in helping you find the most effective keywords to boost your website’s ranking on search engines. Learn more about how we can help you create a thriving content strategy.