SEO Competitor Analysis Template
This SEO competitor analysis template helps you compare the sites that rank for your target topics and turn what you find into a list of opportunities. It covers both business competitors and the sites you compete with in search results, which are often different. It is designed for site owners, freelancers and SEO trainees. Follow the process below, add one row per competitor and finish each row with clear next actions.
How to use this spreadsheet
- Find your competitors. Search your main keywords and list the domains that rank repeatedly, marking each as a business or SERP competitor.
- Analyse their ranking pages. Record their ranking URLs, content strengths and gaps compared with your own pages.
- Check links and technical SEO. Add backlink and technical notes from your SEO tools and Google's free testing tools.
- List opportunities. Turn each finding into a specific action and add the actions to your content plan.
Columns in this spreadsheet
| Column | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Competitor domain | The competing site. |
| Type (business/SERP competitor) | Business: sells the same thing. SERP: ranks for your keywords but may not be a direct business rival. |
| Pages ranking for target topics | Their URLs that rank for your important keywords, with the keyword. |
| Content strengths | What their content does well: depth, examples, original photos, tools, freshness. |
| Content gaps | Topics or questions they miss, or cover poorly, that you can cover better. |
| Backlink notes | Types of sites linking to them (from your backlink tool), not just totals. |
| Technical notes | Anything notable: mobile experience, page speed, structured data, site structure. |
| Opportunities | Specific actions for your site based on this row. |
Example rows
Illustrative entries showing how to fill the sheet in. Replace them with your own data.
| Competitor domain | Type (business/SERP competitor) | Pages ranking for target topics | Content strengths | Content gaps | Backlink notes | Technical notes | Opportunities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bakingschool.example | Business | Example: /classes/bread/ for "bread making workshop" | Example: clear class schedule, photos from real sessions | Example: no eggless options, no beginner FAQs | Example: listed in local event directories and a food blog roundup | Example: slow mobile pages, no breadcrumbs | Example: add a beginner FAQ and eggless options to our workshop page |
| recipeblog.example | SERP | Example: /easy-bread/ for "how to make bread at home" | Example: step-by-step photos, troubleshooting section | Example: no video, no guidance for Indian kitchen ovens or OTGs | Example: links from recipe roundups | Example: Recipe structured data in place | Example: create a bread guide with OTG instructions and step photos |
| example.org | SERP | Example: /cake-faults/ for "why is my cake dense" | Example: covers many cake faults in one page | Example: thin answers, no photos of the faults | Example: few relevant links | Example: none notable | Example: publish a cake problems guide with photos from our classes |
| onlinecookery.example | Business | Example: /courses/cakes/ for "eggless cake baking course" | Example: detailed syllabus, course previews | Example: no in-person option, no local pages | Example: links from education directories | Example: clear breadcrumbs and course category pages | Example: improve our course page syllabus and add a preview video |
Step 1: Identify SERP competitors
- Search your most important keywords Note which domains appear repeatedly in the top results across your keyword list.
- Separate business and SERP competitors A recipe blog may never sell classes, yet it competes with you for informational searches.
- Use a tool to confirm overlap Most SEO suites have a competing domains or keyword overlap report; use it to check what you saw manually.
- Pick three to five competitors per topic More than that becomes hard to analyse properly.
Step 2: Compare pages and signals
- Compare the ranking page with your equivalent page Look at format, depth, examples, visuals, freshness and how quickly it answers the question.
- Look at who links to them Note the types of linking sites, such as local directories, blogs or news, to see which are realistic for you.
- Check technical basics Test mobile usability and page speed with PageSpeed Insights, and note any structured data with the Rich Results Test.
- Record facts, not assumptions Write what you can see on the page or in a tool; label anything else as a guess.
Step 3: Find gaps and act
- List keywords they rank for and you do not A content gap or keyword gap report in your SEO tool speeds this up.
- Note questions nobody answers well These are often the best chances to add first-hand experience.
- Turn every gap into a task Write a specific action in the Opportunities column, then add it to your content calendar.
- Repeat the analysis periodically Results pages change, so revisit your main competitors every few months.
Frequently asked questions
What is a SERP competitor?
A site that ranks for the keywords you target, whether or not it sells the same thing. Blogs, marketplaces and publishers are common SERP competitors for small businesses.
Should I copy what my competitors do?
No. Use their pages to understand what searchers expect, then offer something more useful, such as first-hand experience, clearer examples or better structure.
Can I do competitor analysis without paid tools?
Yes, at a basic level. Manual searches, reading competitor pages and Google's free tools such as PageSpeed Insights and the Rich Results Test cover a lot. Paid tools add backlink and keyword gap data.
More free templates
Checklist · 56 checks
SEO Audit Checklist
A complete website SEO audit checklist: crawling, architecture, on-page, content, Core Web Vitals, links, local and tracking.
View and download
Checklist · 36 checks
On-Page SEO Checklist
Check every important page before publishing: title, meta description, headings, URL, intent, internal links, images, schema and E-E-A-T.
View and download
Checklist · 50 checks
Technical SEO Checklist
Technical SEO checks for robots.txt, sitemaps, canonicals, redirects, HTTPS, hreflang, JavaScript, Core Web Vitals, logs and schema.
View and download