What is the best way to prioritize your keyword targets based on competitor performance?

1 Step 1: Identify your competitors

The first step is to identify who your main competitors are in your industry and niche. You can use tools like Google Search, Alexa, or SimilarWeb to find out which websites rank for the same or similar keywords as you. You can also use your own analytics to see which websites refer traffic to you or take traffic away from you. You should focus on the competitors that have a similar size, audience, and content as you, and avoid comparing yourself to giants like Wikipedia or Amazon.

2 Step 2: Research their keywords

The next step is to research what keywords your competitors are ranking for and how they are using them in their content. You can use tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to get a comprehensive list of their organic keywords, their search volume, their difficulty, their position, and their click-through rate. You can also use these tools to see how they optimize their title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and body text for their keywords. You should look for the keywords that have high volume, low difficulty, and high relevance to your niche and audience.

3 Step 3: Evaluate their strengths and weaknesses

The third step is to evaluate how well your competitors are performing for their keywords and where they have gaps or opportunities. You can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, or Screaming Frog to assess their technical SEO, such as their site speed, mobile-friendliness, security, and crawlability. You can also use tools like BuzzSumo, Social Blade, or Google Analytics to measure their content quality, such as their engagement, social shares, bounce rate, and conversions. You should look for the areas where your competitors excel or fall short and how you can leverage or improve them for your own website.

4 Step 4: Prioritize your keyword targets

The final step is to prioritize your keyword targets based on your competitor analysis and your own goals and resources. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or AnswerThePublic to generate more keyword ideas and variations based on your competitors' keywords. You can also use tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, or KWFinder to filter and sort your keywords by their relevance, volume, difficulty, and opportunity. You should aim for the keywords that match your user intent, offer high traffic potential, have low competition, and align with your content strategy.

By following these four steps, you can prioritize your keyword targets based on competitor performance and optimize your website for better rankings and results. Remember that keyword research is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and updating to keep up with the changing search trends and user behavior.