# How to analyse a competitor’s keywords, with and without a tool

You want what your rivals rank for and what you could. This guide gives you two tracks. First, a no‑tool pass you can do today. Then, how to use a tool to size the gap and choose what to ship next.

Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/guides/analyze-competitor-keywords

## What you need from this analysis

You want three outputs: a list of rival pages that earn search, the queries behind them, and the gaps you can fill with pages that fit your product.

- Pages to copy is not the goal. Pages to beat or flank is.
- Keep intent in view: informational, navigational, commercial investigation, transactional. The results page shows the intent Google assigned.
- Estimate potential by the cluster, not a single keyword. A query with an AI Overview or a featured snippet may send fewer clicks than its volume suggests.

## A no‑tool pass that works

1. **List real rivals** Name domains, not brands. For a SaaS, list the category leaders and the peers who pitch the same job. Add one adjacent tool that solves the job a different way.
2. **Read their sitemap** Open rival.com/sitemap.xml or rival.com/sitemap_index.xml. Note sections: /blog/, /guides/, /integrations/, /pricing/, /compare/, /alternatives/. This shows what they publish and how they structure it.
3. **Scan titles for targets** Load ten to twenty URLs from each key section. Note the title tag and H1. Titles say which queries they target. Example: "/compare/x-vs-y" or "/alternatives/z-alternatives".
4. **Use site: searches to see coverage** Run site:rival.com pricing, site:rival.com alternatives, site:rival.com vs. Add a term like your category name. This shows what Google holds and the patterns they scale.
5. **Collect SERP cues from Google** Type your category and your rivals into Google. Watch autocomplete for real searches people type, varied by your location and history. Open the page and scroll to People also ask and Related searches to expand the cluster.
6. **Map each page to one intent** Mark a page as informational, commercial, or transactional. If Google shows lists and comparisons for a query, treat it as commercial investigation. Do not plan a product page for it.

You now have a sheet with rival URLs, their likely queries, and the intent class. Highlight patterns you do not cover yet: "x vs y", "x alternatives", "how to do z", and integrations like "x with y".

> Rule: copy their structure for what Google expects, not their wording. Your comparison and alternatives pages must reflect your product and your view.

## Worked example: build a gap list from one rival

Say you ship a workflow SaaS at yourproduct.com. A rival lists these in sitemap.xml: /pricing, /integrations/slack, /guides/how-to-automate-invoices, /compare/them-vs-zapier, /alternatives/zapier-alternatives.

- Titles: "How to automate invoices" is informational. "Them vs Zapier" is commercial. "Zapier alternatives" is commercial too.
- site:rival.com alternatives shows a folder of twenty "X alternatives" pages. You have none. Gap.
- Google’s People also ask under "zapier alternatives" includes "Is there a free alternative to Zapier" and "What is better than Zapier for Slack". Add these as subheads on your "/alternatives/zapier-alternatives" page.
- Autocomplete for "zapier vs" shows "zapier vs make", "zapier vs n8n". If you integrate with these, plan "/compare/yourproduct-vs-zapier" and "/compare/yourproduct-vs-make". If not, skip. Intent fit first.

## Free volume checks without a suite

Search volume is an estimate of monthly searches, averaged over the last twelve months. Two tools disagree and both are approximations. Use ranges to size bets, not to set promises.

- Google Ads Keyword Planner shows ranges to accounts without spend and figures to accounts with it. It groups close variants. Treat a cluster as the unit.
- Bing Webmaster Tools has keyword research free. Use it to sanity check a topic and find variants.
- Use Related searches and People also ask to round the cluster. Autocomplete lists what people type, weighted by popularity and freshness, but it is not volume.

> Warning: a query with a featured snippet or an AI Overview may get fewer clicks than its volume suggests. Do not judge by volume alone.

## With a tool: pull ranked keywords and the gap

Pick one tool you can learn and keep using. Ahrefs and Semrush are broad. SE Ranking positions itself as more affordable. SpyFu focuses on competitor research and keyword history. Moz has long-standing education with Link Explorer and DA. Choose for the job you need now, not the brand.

1. **Get your rival’s ranked keywords** In Ahrefs Site Explorer, Semrush Domain Overview, SE Ranking, or SpyFu, enter rival.com. Export their organic keywords with URL, position, and estimated volume. Filter to positions 1 to 20 first.
2. **Pull your own ranked keywords** Do the same for your domain, or use Google Search Console’s Performance report to export your queries and pages. This is pre‑click and shows where you already appear.
3. **Run a gap or comparison** Use the tool’s Keyword Gap or compare two domains. The goal: queries and pages they rank for that you do not. Group by URL, intent and topic, not just by keyword.
4. **Check intent on the SERP** Open ten gap queries in Google. Confirm the page type Google shows. If it is lists and comparisons, plan a comparison page. If it is how‑to guides, plan a guide. Skip navigational queries for their brand.
5. **Cluster and size the bet** Cluster close variants. Sum their volumes. Note if an AI Overview or featured snippet dominates. Mark quick wins: positions 11 to 20 you could move with a better page and links.

> Rule: keyword difficulty is a tool’s link‑based estimate. It differs per tool and says nothing about intent fit. Always look at the page types ranking.

## What to target and what to ignore

- Target gaps where your product fits the intent. For a SaaS, families that matter: category names and best‑of lists, "X alternatives", "X vs Y", jobs your product does, integrations, pricing and comparisons of rivals, and your own brand.
- Ignore pure navigational and off‑topic informational. "rival login" will not convert. "what is crm" is broad if you sell a niche workflow tool.
- Deprioritise gaps where the top ten are locked by government sites, docs, or giant publishers. Your cost to win is high.
- Skip mimicking thin pages. If a rival wins on a thin list, it is fragile. Build a better resource, or choose a more specific angle you can own.

A fixed page looks like this: "/compare/yourproduct-vs-zapier" with a table of differences that matter to your buyer, links to docs and integrations, and clear next steps.

## Turn the list into pages you can ship

1. **Draft page list and owners** Create rows for: "/alternatives/rival-alternatives", "/compare/yourproduct-vs-rival", "/guides/how-to-do-z", "/integrations/x-with-y". Assign a name and a date.
2. **Outline to match intent** For a comparison, include who each tool suits, where it falls short, and FAQs from People also ask. For a how‑to, include steps, screenshots, and when to use your product.
3. **Write titles that reflect queries** Keep about 60 characters. Example: "Zapier alternatives: 9 options for Slack workflows". Do not stuff variants. Add the main phrase once.
4. **Link from relevant pages** Link comparison pages from "/pricing" and "/integrations". Link guides from "/blog/" hubs and feature pages. Use anchor text that matches the query naturally.
5. **Ship, then promote lightly** Announce on your changelog or a newsletter. Add to navigation only if it answers a core job. Do not buy links you would not want to explain.

## How to read results and avoid false signals

- Watch Search Console for impressions and clicks by page and query. Use the last 28 days once Google has crawled the page.
- A rise in impressions without clicks can be fine at first. It means you now appear. Improve the title and add internal links.
- If a query shows a featured snippet or AI Overview, your title needs to promise a reason to click. Answers on the page still matter for coverage.
- New queries appear all the time. Google has said about 15% of daily searches are new. Keep your cluster flexible.

> Warning: do not copy a rival’s page list wholesale. You inherit their dead ends and their cannibalisation. Build only what you can maintain and update.

## Quick checks when you compare two rivals

| Check | Why it matters | How to do it fast |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Share of non‑brand keywords | Brand queries do not transfer to you | Filter out brand terms in the tool export |
| Depth of comparison content | Commercial intent wins pages that convert | Count /compare/ and /alternatives/ URLs in sitemap.xml |
| Integration coverage | Integrations align with problem, solution searches | Search site:rival.com "with" or "/integrations/" |
| Jobs content | Guides pull top‑funnel with a path to product | List /guides/ and map to your features |
| Intent fit of top gaps | Wrong intent wastes builds | Open the SERP and match the page type |

## Troubleshooting odd results

- A tool shows huge volume but Google shows shopping carousels. That is transactional for retailers. If you are SaaS, skip.
- Your rival ranks for "{rival} pricing". You built "/rival-pricing" and it does not move. It is navigational. Kill it or noindex it.
- Keyword difficulty shows low, but all top results are government domains and docs. Cost to beat is still high. Pick a longer query or a different angle.
- You built ten "X alternatives" pages and none rank. Your category may be too broad. Start with the main brand alternatives page and build depth before long tails.

## Questions

### How to analyze competitor keywords without a tool?

Read their sitemap to see structure. Scan title tags to spot targets. Use site: searches to find patterns. Expand topics with Google’s autocomplete, People also ask, and Related searches. Map each page to one intent and list the gaps you do not cover.

### How can I find out what keywords my competitors are using?

Pull an export from a suite like Ahrefs, Semrush, SE Ranking or SpyFu. Export URL, keyword, position and estimated volume. Cross‑check intent on Google for a sample. Use your own Search Console to remove overlaps you already rank for.

### What should I ignore in competitor keyword lists?

Skip navigational queries for their brand. Drop topics where the results page shows a different intent than you can serve. Deprioritise pages locked by docs and government sites. Do not chase volume with no product fit.

### Do I need search volumes to do this well?

They help size bets but are estimates. Google Ads groups variants and third‑party tools disagree. Sum a cluster, check the live results page, and factor in featured snippets or AI Overviews that can cut clicks.

### How do I use this for a SaaS?

Start with category, "best X", "X alternatives", and "X vs Y". Add jobs your product does, integrations like "X with Y", and rivals’ pricing and comparisons. Build comparison and alternatives pages that reflect your product, not theirs.

### How do you analyse competitors overall?

For search, map their information architecture from sitemap.xml, their target queries from titles, and their real reach from a keyword export. For product, read pricing, docs and changelogs. Keep it tied to actions you can ship in weeks, not months.

## Read next

- [Competitor keyword analysis by hand, with free data](https://porteur.ai/guides/competitor-keyword-analysis): Choose the right rivals, read their sitemaps, pull free keyword clues, find the gaps, and turn them into pages you can ship this week.
- [Keyword gap analysis: the searches your rivals hold and you do not](https://porteur.ai/guides/keyword-gap-analysis): See how to find rivals’ search traffic you could win, filter it to your product, group it into pages, and turn gaps into briefs you can ship.
- [Read a rival’s sitemap: their whole content plan in one file](https://porteur.ai/guides/read-a-rivals-sitemap): Open a rival’s sitemap, spot their page families, see what they update, and turn it into a list of pages you can build and win.
- [Comparison pages: the “vs” page your buyers are searching for](https://porteur.ai/guides/comparison-pages): Buyers search “x vs y”. Here is how to pick rivals, write an honest comparison, structure the page and table, and measure what it earns.
- [How to write an alternatives page that ranks and converts](https://porteur.ai/guides/alternatives-pages): Plan the page for leavers, not lurkers. Map reasons to switch, list options by need, state your place plainly, and avoid spam that kills trust.
- [Search intent: what the results page tells you to build](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-intent): Learn the four intents, read intent from the results page, and fix pages that will never rank by changing their kind, not just the words.
- [Keyword research for a SaaS: the six families that matter](https://porteur.ai/guides/keyword-research-for-saas): The six keyword families that drive SaaS signups, how to find and size each, what to build first on a new product, with a worked example.
- [The best keyword research tools, free and paid, by what you need](https://porteur.ai/guides/best-keyword-research-tools): Choose a keyword research tool by what you need: free ways first, beginner picks, full suites, question tools, and a no‑tool method that still works.

Paste a rival’s URL to get a free check that reads their site, the searches around it and the rivals on them in about thirty seconds, and shows three findings whole. Free check: https://porteur.ai/