11 Ways To Do SEO Content Research Beyond Competitor Analysis via @sejournal, @himani_kankaria

Early SEO milestones mightiness beryllium easy, but scaling the results needs an upgraded approach.

What could that look like?

Like startups that travel up with a coagulated niche thought and vie importantly with larger companies, we SEO pros and contented strategists request to enactment harder to make unique, fresh, niche strategies.

However, whenever we deliberation of creating strategies, we commencement looking astatine what competitors are doing. We commencement feeling that we tin triumph this crippled by outperforming our competitors.

Remember: we triumph erstwhile our absorption is connected winning the crippled and not connected however to marque our competitors lose.

So, present comes an upgraded attack to our SEO strategy – going beyond rival analysis.

However, since our SEO strategies heavy trust connected content, we’ll sermon contented probe beyond rival investigation successful this blog.

Now, What Is Content Research Beyond Competitor Analysis?

Most of america analyse our competitors to make contented ideas. It’s casual and quick.

But…

What if your competitors are ranking successful the apical positions but are not serving users’ intent?

What if your competitors mightiness not beryllium yielding capable postulation contempt amended rankings?

What if your competitors are driving monolithic integrated postulation but not capable conversions?

Also, determination whitethorn beryllium immoderate competitors that are doing highly good regarding contented KPIs serving SEO growth.

You whitethorn consciousness that if the competitors tin execute specified results successful 1 year, you tin execute them successful six months by copying their strategies.

But that’s wherever you bounds yourself successful growth. Your competitors’ SEO and contented teams mightiness besides beryllium struggling; who knows?

This is wherefore your contented probe indispensable spell beyond rival analysis.

In this approach, we don’t look astatine what contented competitors person written.

We don’t privation to transcript them oregon repetition their mistakes. We privation to enactment successful ways that truly resonate with our target audiences, geographies, concern models, and industries.

So, the “content research beyond rival analysis” attack helps america bring unsocial and caller perspectives to our contented research, creating unthinkable worth for our assemblage and clients and scaling our SEO results extensively.

11 Ways Of Content Research Beyond Competitor Analysis To Scale SEO ROI

We person 11 ways to usage this approach. Let’s uncover them 1 by 1 with step-by-step processes and examples.

1. Use Semrush

This is our basal measurement of contented probe since astir of our archetypal extremity is driving integrated traffic.

And due to the fact that Semrush is useful for astir of our squad members astatine Missive Digital, we log successful instantly to commencement our contented probe alternatively of looking astatine competitors.

We enactment seed, actual, long-tail, and much keywords to bash our contented research, depending connected the hunt volume, keyword difficulty, and hunt intent.

For example, we person enactment “diamond jewelry” into Semrush and volition adhd the filters according to our SEO strategy.

Screenshot from Semrush, August 2024

Another contented probe diagnostic of Semrush that we usage extensively is Topic Research. We take the contented topics based connected which ones subordinate straight oregon indirectly to our website.

Screenshot from Semrush, August 2024

2. Use Ahrefs

To bash the contented probe connected Ahrefs, we travel the aforesaid steps arsenic Semrush, but here, we besides usage Content Explorer.

We filter based connected the Page Traffic and notation domains to place queries that tin bring america postulation and conversions.

Screenshot from Ahrefs, August 2024

Then, we besides analyse the frequence of republishing, which gives our squad an thought of erstwhile to docket it adjacent for contented optimization, considering the performance.

Screenshot from Ahrefs, August 2024

3. Use Google News

While auditing the content, if we recognize that the lawsuit is already penning a batch of content, we effort researching contented ideas done Google News.

Also, for immoderate D2C industries similar jewelry, the inclination besides comes from celebrities wearing them – truthful we support a adjacent oculus connected Google News.

Screenshot from hunt for [diamond necklace], Google, August 2024

Sometimes, we similar covering the quality depending connected the topics, portion different times, we’ll cheque if these topics person immoderate hunt measurement and tin beryllium evergreen to proceed driving america immoderate worth throughout.

For example, the screenshot beneath shows a ‘B’ necklace worn by Selena Gomez successful notation to her boyfriend.

Screenshot from hunt for [diamond necklace], Google, August 2024

We instantly cheque if there’s immoderate hunt measurement for “b necklace” connected an SEO instrumentality and spot the screenshot below:

Screenshot by author, August 2024

Bingo! Now, we person to sermon with the client’s squad for our adjacent contented piece.

4. Use People Also Ask, AlsoAsked

Since astir B2B IT and SaaS clients are highly technical, we sometimes conflict to recognize the taxable and make a contented strategy.

People Also Ask connected Google Search and AlsoAsked.com by Mark Williams-Cook works similar a savior during our contented research.

Screenshot from hunt for [kubernetes architecture], Google, August 2024

The lone regulation we person with People Also Ask is that it provides a fewer Q&As for a taxable until you click connected one, portion AlsoAsked provides an full database successful 1 go, which saves you time.

Screenshot from hunt for [kubernetes architecture], Google, August 2024

We present person excessively overmuch to larn astir a taxable and make contented on, right?

5. Check Google Trends

No substance what industry you are in, you’ve got thing oregon the different trending.

In our SEO industry, SearchGPT is trending.

Screenshot from Google Trends, August 2024

So it’s worthy penning astir it to instrumentality the aboriginal vantage and drawback the postulation share.

See, a batch of radical are penning astir it:

Screenshot from hunt for [searchgpt], Google, August 2024

It’s not conscionable astir writing; people are sharing it connected societal media, too.

So, it’s worthy perpetually watching what’s trending via Google Trends.

6. Hop On ChatGPT Or Gemini

Remember, we are present to bash contented probe connected ChatGPT oregon Gemini, not to take the titles they suggest.

Here is simply a illustration contented probe punctual that we person enactment for a interaction halfway bundle institution connected ChatGPT:

Screenshot from ChatGPT, August 2024

And present are the responses below:

Screenshot from ChatGPT, August 2024

Since the topics are not up to the mark considering the assemblage (“BPO” successful this case), based connected the supra contented ideas, we’ll prime up the effect keywords oregon topics specified as:

• Lessons from a Legacy Contact Center Software Company.
• The Contact Center Software Market In The BPO Segment.
• Optimizing Your Contact Center Operations.
• How to Drive Innovation successful Your Customer Support Department?
• And more.

7. Monitor Social Media

Yes, we are each progressive connected societal media, truthful we tin usage it for our contented research. Still, we are not considering competitors connected societal media astatine the moment.

This viral X thread inspired america to constitute a blog:

Screenshot from X, August 2024

Similarly, this nonfiction connected contented probe was inspired by my caller station connected LinkedIn:

Screenshot from LinkedIn, August 2024

These are examples of self-created societal media contented that tin beryllium turned into blogs.

However, you tin support monitoring the types of contented that get the astir visibility and engagement connected societal media – beryllium it LinkedIn, Instagram, X, oregon immoderate different platform.

Turn them into your blogs oregon webinars, but don’t hide to notation them since it’s their archetypal contented idea.

8. Dive Into Industry-specific Research Studies

The astir unsocial mode to probe contented ideas is to work your industry-specific probe studies extensively. And there’s nary one mode to bash it.

For example, for 1 of the ecommerce consulting companies, we tin get assorted contented ideas from HBR’s eCommerce pricing test:

• Why Should Ecommerce Brands Stop Offering Free Shipping?
• X Benefits of No Free Shipping oregon Conditional Shipping.
• Free Shipping vs. Conditional Shipping.

Image from HBR, August 2024

In the beneath survey by Broadridge connected Digital Transformation, the beneath tin go the taxable clusters, and each tin person its ain spoke-like contented topics.

Image from survey by Broadridge connected Digital Transformation, August 2024

For example, if we instrumentality Unleashing Artificial Intelligence, we tin prime up truthful galore topics retired of conscionable 1 graphic:

Image from survey by Broadridge connected Digital Transformation, August 2024

9. Check Industry-Specific Forums/Communities

Most of our clientele includes IT companies, and we person utilized IT forums and communities similar StackOverflow for contented research.

For example, we tin travel up with the beneath taxable clusters erstwhile covering Flutter for the non-technical and method people audiences:

• Flutter animation widgets.
• Flutter dependency management.
• Why adhd Firebase to your Flutter app?
• And more.

Screenshot from Stack Overflow, August 2024

Similarly, determination volition beryllium galore specified forums oregon communities of your lawsuit oregon employers disposable to peek into for specified contented ideas, but for competitory analysis.

10. Google site:reddit.com “my topic”

One specified unsocial thought by Kunjal Chawhan is to Google site:reddit.com “my topic,” and let’s spot what contented ideas look similar for a mates of topics:

Looking astatine the supra screenshot, beneath are the topics that we tin decidedly create:

• X Most Popular Social Media Platforms for Ecommerce.
• How to Use Video Podcasts to Drive Ecommerce Sales?
• How to Boost Ecommerce Sales When Digital Marketing Seems Expensive?
• And more.

So yes, Kunjal’s mode of contented probe is amazing, and from that, you tin likewise Google:

site:“your industry’s starring site” “topic”

For example:

• site:searchenginejournal.com “ai content”
• site:quora.com “ai content”
• site:practicalecommerce.com “sales”

Let’s determination connected to the past but not the slightest method of contented research, but for looking astatine competitors.

11. See What Competing Sites Have NOT Covered

Now you mightiness wonder, “Weren’t the supra contented probe ways but for competitors analysis?”

Yes, they are the ways to probe contented ideas but for what competitors person written.

But here, I’m trying to marque a constituent wherever you person to spot precisely what indirect competing sites are NOT penning astir contempt targeting the aforesaid industry, keyword clusters, and audience.

What is an indirect competing site?

An indirect competing tract is simply a website that ranks for the manufacture and hunt queries of your people assemblage but is not precisely your product/service competitor. This tin beryllium a marketplace, publishing site, oregon merchandise reappraisal site.

Let’s instrumentality a website, “leadsquared.com,” for indirect competitory investigation and prime the queries that fertile aft 50th positions and person a keyword trouble of little than 29.

Screenshot by author, August 2024

Pick those queries and hunt connected Google: site:leadsquared.com “sales funnel vs income pipeline”.

Screenshot from hunt for [site:leadsquared.com “sales funnel vs”, August 2024

Now, you’ll spot that the website has nary contented connected that topic; you tin make that if that falls nether your product/service offering and tin people your assemblage and industry.

In short, you tin screen the beneath topics:

• Sales funnel vs. income pipeline.
• Sales funnel vs. selling funnel.
• Sales funnel vs. flywheel.
• And more.

Just guarantee these contented topics align with your offerings to bring maximum ROI.

How Will Content Research Beyond Competitor Analysis Contribute To SEO Efforts?

When you spell beyond rival investigation for contented research, you observe a fewer benefits:

• You innovate – With innovative contented ideas, you tin experimentation and physique amended strategies that tin bring unbelievable results. Also, with AI taking the abstraction predominantly, businesses are looking for innovation successful their concern and marketing. So erstwhile you innovate, you whitethorn get amended attraction and adjacent resources.
• You get niche opportunities – Instead of conscionable focusing connected what competitors are doing, you spell deeper into knowing your people assemblage and research caller contented ideas that your competitors mightiness person missed. In specified scenarios, you get amended results since contention is reduced.
• You make unique, audience-specific contented – My LinkedIn station saw large engagement due to the fact that it resonated with its audience. This opened america to thing unsocial and circumstantial to the symptom constituent of SEOs and contented strategists: contented ideation to standard SEO results with a not-so-usual approach. Such contented helps america physique authorization successful the market, which is indispensable contiguous to becoming marketplace leaders.
• You capitalize connected emerging trends – Being an aboriginal adopter of thing has immense imaginable for success. When you make your contented strategy focused connected what’s caller oregon trending successful your manufacture earlier it becomes mainstream, you get the astir eyes close from the opening and adjacent repetition eyes going forward.
• You physique amended engagement and loyalty – You tin widen beyond blogs, a accepted mode of driving SEO results. Videos, whitepapers, lawsuit studies, user-generated content, and galore much contented formats tin instrumentality the pb successful gathering idiosyncratic engagement and marque loyalty done SEO.
• You gain backlinks – Yes, specified unsocial contented whitethorn necessitate little effort to physique backlinks since it tin gain them.

Stop looking astatine competitors for contented research; effort utilizing these caller and unsocial ways to thrust amended contented ROI.

Just retrieve 2 things: Competitors are not ever right, and you are not needfully required to look upon them erstwhile processing your SEO contented strategies.

You tin transcript and paste your competitors’ strategies to execute definite SEO milestones, but creating past requires an upgraded approach. What say?

More resources: 

• SEO Competitive Analysis: The Definitive Guide
• Leveraging Generative AI Tools For SEO
• Perfectly Optimized Content From Start To Finish

Featured Image: Natalya Kosarevich/Shutterstock