---
title: "IMPORTANCE OF SEO COMPETITOR ANALYSIS"  
description: "Competitor research is a core part of website optimization and involves studying websites that rank well for keyword targets.Competitor research is im"  
author: "Ashish srivastava"  
published: 2016-04-23  
updated: 2018-03-14  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/blog/11035/importance-of-seo-competitor-analysis  
category: "search engine optimization"  
tags: ["seo"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# IMPORTANCE OF SEO COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Competitor [research](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/311609/how-to-research-the-companies-before-applying-to-their-open-positions) is a core part of [website](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/13110/why-copywriting-is-crucial-for-new-website-build) [optimization](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/85459/what-is-conversion-rate-optimization-and-how-to-get-started) and involves studying websites that rank well for keyword targets.

Competitor research is important for several reasons:

- It highlights gaps in our keyword targets.
- It helps [identify](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159425/java-app-crash-arrayindexoutofboundsexception-identify-invalid-index) content areas where we are weak
- It shows keyword and content areas where we rank well and have [competitive advantage](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/116600/branding-and-competitive-advantage-in-the-take-my-class-online-industry)
- It provides insight to help you define realistic [SEO](https://www.mindstick.com/services/search-engine-optimization) targets

The most important output of competitor research is a greater [understanding](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/12918/cat-5e-vs-cat-6a-understanding-the-major-differences) of what is helping websites to rank highly for [keywords](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/12899/how-to-spot-if-you-re-optimizing-for-the-wrong-keywords) [relevant](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/12026/5-things-you-must-know-as-a-blogger-to-stay-relevant-in-2018) to our website.

##### Some Criteria For SEO Competitor Analysis

##### \
1. Website Structure

##### 2. Which Technology Used to Create the Site

##### 3. Keyword Consistency

##### 4. Check Sitemap and Robots.Txt File

##### 5. Backlink and Traffic Analysis

##### 6. Rich Snippets

##### 7. Content Analysis

##### 8. Top-Ranking Keywords

##### 9.Social Media Reach Analysis

**\**You can also visit this useful related blog---Competitor Keywords [Analysis](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/323533/prospective-analysis) to Expose Top keywords \

---

Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/blog/11035/importance-of-seo-competitor-analysis

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