Quick Definition
Analyzing competitor websites to identify their ranking strategies, content gaps, and link building opportunities.
In-Depth Definition
SEO competitive analysis is the systematic evaluation of competitor websites to understand their organic search strategies, identify strengths and weaknesses, and discover opportunities to outperform them. This analysis covers keyword rankings, content strategy, backlink profiles, technical health, and now AI citation share.
In AI search optimization, competitive analysis extends to monitoring which competitors are being cited by AI platforms, understanding why they are cited (content quality, authority signals, entity strength), and identifying gaps in their AI visibility that you can exploit.
A thorough competitive analysis includes backlink gap analysis, keyword overlap and opportunity identification, content quality comparison, technical performance benchmarking, AI citation share monitoring across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, and identification of competitor strategies you can replicate or improve upon.
Related Terms
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