How to Do Competitor Keyword Research Without Guesswork

Competitor keyword research is arguably one of the most powerful strategies in your SEO toolkit. 

By understanding which keywords are driving traffic to your competitors, you can identify gaps in your own content, uncover new opportunities, and build a smarter strategy without starting from scratch. 

Whether you’re a solo marketer, an SEO strategist, or part of a content agency, competitor keyword research removes the guesswork and puts data-backed decisions at the center of your content plan.

So, in this guide, I’ll break down how you can perform competitor keyword research in 6 steps.

Let’s start with a definition.

What Is Competitor Keyword Research?

Competitor keyword research is the process of analyzing the keywords your competitors rank for in search engine results. 

Instead of guessing which keywords might work for your site, this method lets you see exactly what’s already bringing success to others in your niche. It’s like peeking into your competitor’s playbook and then writing a better one.

This research can reveal:

• High-performing keywords competitors use to drive traffic.
• Content gaps in your current SEO strategy.
• Opportunities for outperforming existing pages.
• Long-tail keyword ideas with less competition.

The Importance of Competitor Keyword Research

If you’re serious about scaling your SEO content, looking at your performance isn’t enough. You need context, and that comes from your competitors. 

By analyzing what others are doing well (and where they’re falling short), you can position your content to stand out.

It matters because instead of starting from a blank slate, you begin with proven keyword data, which saves time and resources.

You’ll find terms that your competitors rank for but you don’t, making them ideal targets for new content. And with these better insights, you can prioritize content efforts that are more likely to achieve higher rankings.

Remember, SEO is constantly changing. Watching your competitors helps you adapt faster.

6 Steps to Perform Competitor Keyword Research

Now that you understand the importance of competitive keyword research, let’s look into the 6 steps I use to ensure that I do it right.

1. Identify Your Competitors in Search Results

Before you can analyze competitor keywords, you need to know who your actual competitors are. They might not be who you expect. Your business competitors and your search competitors aren’t always the same. 

In SEO, your true rivals are the websites ranking on the first page for the keywords you want to target.

This step sets the foundation for the entire research process. If you skip it or get it wrong, you could end up analyzing the wrong websites and building your content strategy around irrelevant keywords.

Search results are dynamic, and they vary by industry, intent, and geography, so you need to approach this step strategically. Here’s how:

How to Find Your Competitors

To find the right competitors, you can do a manual search. Open an incognito browser tab and search your primary keywords. Make a list of the domains that frequently appear in the top 10 positions.

The caveat to this method is that it takes a lot of time.

So, what I normally do is use keyword research tools like Semrush, LowFruits and SEOBoost’s Topic Reports to identify competitors based on search intent and keyword difficulty.

These tools help you see which domains come up across multiple related search queries, allowing you to identify your SERP competitors easily.

Once you know who’s dominating your niche in search, you can reverse-engineer their keyword strategy. This approach provides a clear picture of what’s working in your industry and where you can make an impact.

2. Analyze Competitor Keyword Rankings Using SEO Tools

Now that you’ve identified your main SERP competitors, it’s time to dive into their keyword data. This is where the magic happens. Instead of guessing what’s working for them, you get direct access to keywords driving their traffic.

Manual analysis only takes you so far. 

To uncover keyword rankings, search volume, traffic potential, and keyword gaps, you need to rely on SEO tools. These platforms do the heavy lifting of crawling websites, aggregating keyword data, and presenting insights in a format you can act on.

Here are some of my favorite tools to use for keyword research:

SEOBoost’s Topic Reports Feature

If you’re looking for a smarter way to uncover what your competitors are ranking for, SEOBoost’s Topic Reports are a goldmine. Just plug in a keyword or competitor domain, and the tool pulls real-time data on high-ranking pieces, related keywords, and SERP trends. 

What makes it stand out is how it aligns keywords with its content statistics feature. With this feature, you can get insights about word counts, average use of multimedia, and other aspects of competitor content that help you spot content gaps.

LowFruits

LowFruits is a lightweight but powerful tool designed for low-competition keyword discovery. It really shines when you’re trying to outrank your competitors in underserved SERPs. 

You can input a competitor domain to find keywords they’re ranking for, but not fully optimized around. The magic lies in LowFruits’ ability to identify SERPs with weak competitors, so you can swoop in and win top spots with better content.

Semrush

Semrush is a heavyweight in the SEO space, and when it comes to competitor keyword research, it provides a comprehensive 360 view. 

To get started, use the Organic Research tool and enter a competitor’s URL. Then, see what keywords they rank for, traffic estimates, and position changes. You can also filter by keyword intent or export gap reports that show keywords they rank for, but you don’t. 

This makes Semrush especially useful for strategic benchmarking and identifying both short-term wins and long-term content opportunities.

What to Look For

While you’re using the SEO analysis tools, it’s also important to know what to look for in effective competitor keyword research.

Here are the 4 things I look for that help me select the right keywords to target:

• Top Performing Keywords: Which keywords are bringing the most traffic to your competitors?
• Keyword Positions: Where are their top pages ranking? First position or lower?
• Content Type: Is the keyword ranking coming from a blog, product page, or landing page?
• SERP Features: Are they ranking in featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, or just organic blue links?

By seeing what your competitors rank for and which pages those rankings come from, you can build a blueprint for your strategy. This allows you to learn from their successes (and weaknesses) instead of starting from scratch. 

3. Analyze Keyword Difficulty and Search Volume

After deciding on the competitor keywords, the next step is deciding which ones are actually worth targeting. That’s where keyword difficulty and search volume come into play. These two metrics can often make or break your SEO strategy.

One thing you have to understand is that not all keywords are created equal. Some may bring tons of traffic, but are nearly impossible to rank for unless you’re already an authority in your niche. Others may have low competition but minimal search volume, offering little return for your efforts.

By evaluating both keyword difficulty and search volume, you can prioritize opportunities that strike the right balance between attainability and impact.

How to Assess These Metrics

So, while SEO analysis tools can definitely help you, here’s exactly what you should be looking for when using those tools:

• Keyword Difficulty (KD): This metric estimates how hard it is to rank for a keyword based on the strength of the top-ranking pages.
• Search Volume: This tells you how often a keyword is searched per month.
• Competitive Benchmarking: Identify the keywords your competitors rank for that also have a low KD. These are often overlooked gems.

When you assess difficulty alongside volume, you stop wasting time on unachievable keywords or irrelevant traffic. Instead, you build a focused strategy that targets terms you can actually rank for and bring value to your business. 

This is especially important if you’re working with a smaller site, limited backlink profile, or overall low-authority domain.

4. Look for Keyword Gaps and Untapped Opportunities

Once you’ve mapped out your competitors’ keyword rankings, it’s time to find what they, or you, have missed. This is where keyword gap analysis comes in, and it’s one of the most powerful parts of competitor keyword research.

Keyword gaps are keywords that your competitors are ranking for, but you’re not. These represent untapped opportunities that have been proven to drive traffic you haven’t targeted yet.

There are 2 types of keyword gaps:

• True Gaps: Keywords that are totally missing from your site.
• Performance Gaps: Keywords you are targeting but your content ranks poorly for.

How to Find Keyword Gaps

You can use SEOBoost to find keyword gaps. The Topic Reports feature highlights 7 different types of reports that make it easy for you to identify these gaps. 

You can use this data to build on your strategy.

Alternatively, you can also use Semrush’s Keyword Gap Tool. Enter your domain and several competitors to get a side-by-side comparison of keyword overlap. It also helps you identify search intent for specific keywords.

While analyzing, look out for:

• Long-tail keywords with clear intent.
• Mid-volume keywords that aren’t overly competitive.
• Content gaps where your competitors have blog posts or pages ranking, but you don’t have anything similar.

This process helps you skip the guesswork and identify SEO opportunities that already have demand. In my opinion, it’s a beneficial tactic for catching up to more established competitors or outmaneuvering them in niche topics.

5. Group Keywords by Intent and Relevance

Finding the right keywords is one thing, but knowing why someone is searching for them is what truly powers an effective SEO strategy. 

I’ve mentioned this a few times before, but that’s because it’s really that important. Grouping your keywords by search intent helps you map them to the right content format and stage in the buyer journey.

The thing is that Google’s algorithm is laser-focused on understanding keyword intent. If your content doesn’t match what the user is actually looking for, it won’t rank, even if your keywords are spot-on.

By aligning your keywords with intent, you ensure that your content meets the user’s expectations, leading to higher rankings, lower bounce rates, and better conversions.

How to Group Keywords by Intent

Start by categorizing your target keywords into these core intent types:

• Informational: The user is looking to learn.
• Navigational: The user wants to find a specific site or brand.
• Commercial: The user is comparing options and considering a purchase.
• Transactional: The user is ready to make a purchase or take action.

You can use SEO tools we’ve discussed in the previous sections to tag keywords by intent automatically. You can also scan the SERPs manually to infer intent based on the type of content ranking, but it will take longer.

Intent-based keyword grouping gives structure to your content calendar. 

It helps you decide:

• What kind of content to create (blog post, landing page, comparison page).
• Which stage of the funnel it supports.
• What CTA (call-to-action) to include.

This makes your SEO strategy more targeted, measurable, and ultimately more effective.

6. Track Your Competitor’s Keyword Performance Over Time

Competitor keyword research isn’t just a one-time task. 

To stay competitive, you need to monitor how your rivals evolve their strategies and how these changes affect your own rankings.

Remember, SEO is dynamic. Your competitors may start targeting new keywords, update their content, or earn backlinks that push them ahead in rankings. If you’re not keeping tabs on these shifts, you could lose valuable visibility without realizing it.

By continuously tracking competitor keyword performance, you can:

• Identify new keyword trends or gaps.
• Spot sudden ranking drops or gains.
• Refine your strategy based on competitor movements.

How to Track Keyword Performance

I recommend using AI SEO tools to keep a steady eye on your competition. These include tools like SEOBoost that leverage AI to enable you to monitor competitors’ keywords and top-performing content.

You can also use Google Alerts to set alerts or track lists for certain keywords that you want to monitor.

And of course, even without a tool, searching your target keywords regularly can reveal who’s rising or falling, and what kind of content is ranking.

Long-term tracking turns your competitor research into a strategic advantage. Instead of reacting to changes after you’ve lost traffic, you’re proactively adjusting your SEO efforts, keeping your rankings stable and your traffic growing.

Competitor Keyword Research FAQs

Final Word

Competitor keyword research saves your time and gives you a proven roadmap to what works in your niche. 

With tools like SEOBoost, you can uncover high-performing keywords, identify content gaps, and make smarter decisions that push your site ahead in rankings.

The key? Stop guessing. Start analyzing.

Alina Zahid Content Writer

Alina is an SEO professional with specialized knowledge of content marketing. When she’s not busy researching and creating awesome content for SEOBoost, she can be found practicing piano, writing fiction and traveling.

See Full Bio

Content Marketing SEO Content Strategy