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Keyword Competitive Analysis

We should understand well, at this point, that we are creating webpages with the goal of ranking high on specific search queries. We also understand that not all consumers will use the exact same search query to address a specific need. Let’s go back to the search queries we used to introduce this chapter and assume we are trying to create a webpage that will address the consumer need of wanting to know how to bathe a cat. As a reminder, those queries were the following:

  • “how to bathe my cat”
  • “easiest way to wash my cat”
  • “wash a cat”
  • “cat wash soap”

These are different search queries, and how competitive they are will thus be different. A few easy steps can help you understand how likely you are to rank high on a specific search query. The first step is to understand how old the domains that show up on the first SERP are. This is because the older the domain, the more time they have had to build content and backlinks, and the harder they will be to displace from the first SERP. The older the domains on the first SERP, the more competitive the search query.

To know how old domains are, pick the keywords you want to rank on. Search these keywords on a search engine (e.g., Google). Then, use a Whois service (e.g., who.is) and check the “registered on” date. For example, for the search “how to bathe my cat,” the first domains are:

  • wikihow.com, registered in 2004
  • bhg.com, registered in 1999
  • catster.com, registered in 2000

It seems that most domains for this search query have been registered prior to 2010, which makes it likely to be a competitive search query. Additionally, most of these webpages seem to have been created to rank on this exact search query, or something closely related:

  • The Wikihow page title is “How to bathe a cat”
  • The Bhg page title is “How to bathe a cat”
  • The catster.com page title is “How to bathe a cat”

This combination of webpages clearly positioned on specific keywords that compete against yours and older domains means that trying to rank a webpage on “how to bathe my cat” might thus be a rather difficult exercise. It doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to do, but it would require a lot of work to create backlinks and a page that answers consumer needs better than other pages. Trying to position the webpage on other keywords might be an easier path. You can repeat this exercise with new keywords until you find a search that you believe consumers will be using and that is not overly competitive.

Another approach to studying keywords is to search for webpages that are exactly positioned on the keywords you are aiming for. A few Boolean search operators can help you here:

  • Allintitle (e.g., allintitle: how to bathe a cat) returns results where the keywords are in the page title
  • Allinurl (e.g., allinurl: how to bathe a cat) returns results where the keywords are in the page URL
  • Allinanchor (e.g., allinanchor: how to bathe a cat) returns results where webpages are linked to the keywords in the anchor text

These are useful because, as we just covered, SEO should lead webmasters to put the keywords on which they want to rank in the page title and page URL, and because being linked to keywords in anchor text helps our rankings. In short, by using these Boolean search operators, you can get a clear list of exactly who your competition is for a specific search query. This becomes useful, for example, if you want to understand what kind of content their pages offer, how the pages are structured, whether they have multiple types of media, and so on. Or, put differently, you can analyze the webpages of your competition to create a general benchmark to beat and create a better webpage that will more clearly and fully answer consumers’ needs.

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