SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template (Free PDF Download)

In today’s competitive digital landscape, understanding your rivals’ SEO strategies is not just beneficial—it’s essential for survival and growth. As we approach 2025-2026, the SEO landscape continues to evolve with AI-powered search, voice queries, and changing user behaviors. A comprehensive SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template provides the framework you need to stay ahead of these changes and outperform your competition in search results.

Whether you’re a small business owner trying to gain visibility or an agency managing multiple clients, having a structured approach to competitor analysis saves time, reveals opportunities, and guides your strategy. This article provides a complete SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template that you can start using immediately.

What Is an SEO Competitor Analysis?

An SEO competitor analysis is the process of evaluating the search engine optimization strategies of websites that rank for your target keywords. This comprehensive examination helps you understand what your competitors are doing right, where they’re vulnerable, and how you can outrank them.

For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and digital agencies, this analysis is particularly crucial because resources are limited. You can’t afford to waste time and money on strategies that don’t deliver results. A systematic SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template helps you focus on what truly matters in your industry.

There are two main types of SEO competitor analysis:

1. Organic Competitor Analysis: Focuses on websites competing for the same keywords in organic search results across all locations.
2. Local Competitor Analysis: Examines businesses competing for visibility in specific geographic areas, particularly important for brick-and-mortar businesses.

For example, a national e-commerce store selling fitness equipment would analyze organic competitors across the country, while a local gym in Auckland would focus on local competitors within their service area. The SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template provided in this article covers both scenarios.

Why You Need a Competitor SEO Analysis Checklist

Implementing a structured SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template offers numerous advantages that directly impact your bottom line:

With SEO Competitor Analysis	Without SEO Competitor Analysis
Strategic keyword targeting based on competitor weaknesses	Random keyword selection based on assumptions
Content that addresses gaps in competitor offerings	Generic content that fails to differentiate
Backlink acquisition from sources that work in your industry	Wasted efforts on ineffective link building tactics
Technical optimizations that match or exceed competitors	Technical issues that hurt rankings go unnoticed
Measurable improvement in rankings and traffic	Stagnant or declining search visibility

How to Use This SEO Competitor Analysis Template (Step by Step)

Our SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template is designed to be comprehensive yet user-friendly. It breaks down the complex process of competitor analysis into manageable steps that anyone—from SEO beginners to experienced professionals—can follow.

The template consists of several key sections:

Each section of the SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template includes detailed instructions, examples, and auto-scoring to help you prioritize your efforts. The template is color-coded to quickly identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.

Step-by-Step SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist

1. Identify Your Real SEO Competitors

Before analyzing competitors, you must first identify who they actually are. There are several types of competitors to consider:

• Direct Business Competitors: Companies offering the same products/services to the same audience.
• Content Competitors: Websites ranking for your target keywords, even if they don’t compete directly in business.
• Emerging Competitors: New players gaining traction in your space.
• Local Competitors: Businesses targeting the same geographic area (if applicable).

To find your real SEO competitors:

1. Google Your Target Keywords: Search for your most important keywords and note the top-ranking domains.
2. Use SEO Tools: Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz offer competitor discovery features based on overlapping keywords.
3. Analyze Your Referral Traffic: Check your analytics to see which competitors are mentioned alongside your brand.
4. Ask Your Customers: Survey customers about which other businesses they considered before choosing you.

Our SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template includes a competitor identification worksheet to help you organize this information and prioritize which competitors to analyze first.

2. Analyze Competitor Keywords

Keyword analysis is the foundation of any SEO strategy. Understanding which keywords drive traffic to your competitors’ websites reveals opportunities for your own site.

When analyzing competitor keywords, focus on:

• Top Keywords: Identify the keywords that bring the most traffic to your competitors.
• Keyword Difficulty: Assess how challenging it would be to rank for these keywords.
• Search Intent: Determine what users are looking for when searching these keywords (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional).
• Keyword Gaps: Find keywords that competitors rank for but you don’t.

The SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template provides a structured approach to this analysis, with fields to record keyword metrics and prioritize opportunities.

For example, if you’re a digital marketing agency, you might discover that a competitor ranks for “small business SEO packages” with a monthly search volume of 800 and a difficulty of 35. If you don’t currently rank for this term, it represents a clear opportunity.

Keyword	Search Volume	Difficulty	Competitor Rank	Your Rank	Opportunity Score
small business SEO packages	800	35	#3	–	High
local SEO services	1,200	42	#5	#18	Medium
SEO audit cost	650	28	#2	#7	Medium

For more detailed keyword research, check out our Keyword Research Guide or read our KWFinder Review for tool recommendations.

3. Analyze Competitor Content Strategy

Content is the vehicle that carries your keywords to your audience. Analyzing competitors’ content strategies reveals what resonates with your shared audience.

When examining competitor content, evaluate:

• Best Performing Pages: Identify which pages drive the most organic traffic and engagement.
• Topic Clusters: Look for groups of related content that demonstrate topical authority.
• Content Depth: Assess how thoroughly competitors cover topics (word count, media elements, etc.).
• Content Freshness: Note how frequently competitors update content and publish new material.

The SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template includes a content analysis worksheet to track these elements and identify gaps in your own content strategy.

For example, you might discover that a competitor’s comprehensive guide to “Local SEO for Small Businesses” (3,200 words, published 6 months ago, updated monthly) ranks for 47 keywords and drives 1,800 monthly organic visits. This suggests that creating an even more comprehensive guide could be a valuable content opportunity.

4. Analyze On-Page SEO Factors

On-page SEO elements determine how search engines understand and rank individual pages. Analyzing these factors in competitor pages reveals optimization opportunities for your own content.

The on-page SEO checklist in our SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template includes:

• Title Tags and H1s: How competitors structure their page titles and headings.
• Meta Descriptions: How they entice clicks from search results.
• Internal Links: How they distribute authority across their site.
• Keyword Usage: How and where they place target keywords.
• Page Speed: How quickly their pages load.
• Schema Markup: How they enhance search result appearance with structured data.

For example, you might notice that top-ranking pages for your target keyword consistently include the exact keyword in the title tag, use question-based H2s, and implement FAQ schema markup. These insights can directly inform your own on-page optimization strategy.

For a more comprehensive approach to on-page optimization, check out our Advanced SEO Audit Checklist.

5. Analyze Competitor Backlinks

Backlinks remain one of the most important ranking factors. Analyzing competitors’ link profiles helps you understand their authority and identify link building opportunities.

When examining competitor backlinks, focus on:

• Domain Authority/Rating: Compare the overall authority of competing domains.
• Link Sources: Identify which websites link to your competitors.
• Anchor Texts: Analyze how competitors optimize anchor text.
• Lost/New Links: Track recent link changes to identify trends.

The SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template includes a backlink gap analysis table to help you prioritize link building opportunities based on competitor success.

Referring Domain	Domain Authority	Competitor Links	Your Links	Link Type	Priority
industryblog.com	72	3	0	Editorial	High
newsportal.org	68	2	0	Guest Post	Medium
resourceguide.net	54	1	0	Directory	Low

6. Check Technical SEO Signals

Technical SEO determines how easily search engines can crawl, index, and understand your website. Analyzing technical elements in competitor sites helps you identify baseline requirements and potential advantages.

The technical SEO checklist in our SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template includes:

• Crawlability: How easily search engines can access and navigate the site.
• Indexing: How many pages are indexed versus published.
• Core Web Vitals: How the site performs on user experience metrics.
• Mobile Usability: How well the site functions on mobile devices.

For example, you might discover that all top-ranking competitors have mobile-friendly designs, HTTPS security, and Core Web Vitals scores in the “Good” range. This indicates these are baseline requirements for ranking in your industry.

7. Review Competitor Local SEO (If applicable)

For businesses targeting specific geographic areas, local SEO analysis is crucial. Understanding how competitors appear in local search results helps you optimize your own local presence.

When analyzing local SEO competitors, examine:

• Google Business Profile: How competitors optimize their GBP listings.
• Reviews: Quantity, quality, and sentiment of competitor reviews.
• Local Keywords: How they target location-specific terms.
• Local Citation Profile: Where they’re listed in local directories.

The SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template includes a local SEO analysis worksheet to track these elements. For more detailed guidance on local keyword research, check out our Local Keyword Research Guide.

Free SEO Competitor Analysis Template (Downloadable PDF + Google Sheet)

Our comprehensive SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template is designed to streamline your competitive research process and deliver actionable insights. This template is the result of years of SEO experience and incorporates best practices from leading digital marketing agencies.

Using this SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template will save you hours of research time while ensuring you don’t miss critical elements of your competitors’ strategies. The structured approach helps you organize data, identify patterns, and make informed decisions about your own SEO efforts.

How to Fill Out the Competitor Analysis Checklist (With Example)

To illustrate how to use the SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template, let’s walk through an example using “ABC Plumbing, New Zealand” as our sample business.

Sample Competitor Identification

First, we identify ABC Plumbing’s main SEO competitors in the Auckland region:

Competitor	Type	Market Overlap	Priority
Auckland Plumbing Co.	Direct Business	85%	High
NZ Emergency Plumbers	Direct Business	70%	High
Plumbing Tips Blog	Content	40%	Medium

Sample Keyword Gap Analysis

Next, we analyze keywords that competitors rank for but ABC Plumbing doesn’t:

Keyword	Search Volume	Difficulty	Auckland Plumbing Rank	NZ Emergency Rank	ABC Plumbing Rank	Opportunity
emergency plumber auckland	450	38	#2	#1	–	High
hot water cylinder repair	320	32	#5	#3	#18	Medium
blocked drain services	280	35	#4	–	#12	Medium

Sample Backlink Gap Analysis

We then identify referring domains that link to competitors but not to ABC Plumbing:

Referring Domain	Domain Authority	Auckland Plumbing Links	NZ Emergency Links	ABC Plumbing Links	Priority
aucklandnz.com	65	2	1	0	High
homestars.nz	58	4	3	0	High
buildmagazine.co.nz	52	1	0	0	Medium

Sample Content Gap Analysis

Finally, we identify content opportunities based on competitor performance:

Content Topic	Competitor	Traffic	Keywords	Word Count	ABC Plumbing Content	Opportunity
Plumbing Maintenance Guide	Auckland Plumbing	650/mo	24	2,400	None	High
Water Heater Comparison	NZ Emergency	420/mo	18	1,800	Basic (800 words)	Medium
Emergency Plumbing Tips	Plumbing Tips Blog	380/mo	15	1,500	None	Medium

Sample Scoring

Based on this analysis, the SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template would generate opportunity scores for each area:

• Keyword Opportunities: 85/100 (High potential in emergency services)
• Content Opportunities: 78/100 (Clear gaps in educational content)
• Backlink Opportunities: 72/100 (Several high-authority domains missing)
• Technical SEO: 65/100 (Some improvements needed in site speed)
• Local SEO: 68/100 (Opportunities in Google Business Profile optimization)

This scoring helps ABC Plumbing prioritize their SEO efforts, focusing first on keyword and content opportunities before addressing technical and local SEO improvements.

Competitor Analysis Tools You Can Use (Free + Paid)

While our SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template provides the framework, various tools can help you gather the necessary data more efficiently. Here’s a breakdown of useful tools for competitor analysis:

Free Tools

Paid Tools

When selecting tools, consider your budget, specific needs, and technical expertise. A combination of free and paid tools often provides the best balance of cost and functionality for most SMBs and agencies.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Competitor SEO Research

Even with a comprehensive SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template, it’s easy to fall into common traps that undermine your competitive research efforts. Here are mistakes to avoid:

By avoiding these common pitfalls, you’ll ensure your competitor analysis delivers actionable insights that drive real results for your business.

Competitor SEO Analysis FAQ

Download Your Free SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist PDF

Ready to gain a competitive edge in search results? Our comprehensive SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template provides the structure you need to analyze competitors effectively and develop a winning SEO strategy.

Our SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template has helped hundreds of businesses and agencies:

• Identify valuable keyword opportunities they were missing
• Discover content gaps that drove significant traffic increases
• Find high-authority backlink sources that boosted rankings
• Uncover technical issues that were holding back their performance
• Develop data-driven SEO strategies that outperformed competitors

Don’t fly blind in your SEO efforts. Download our SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template today and start making informed decisions that drive results.

Final Thoughts

In the ever-evolving world of search engine optimization, competitive intelligence is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. A systematic approach to competitor analysis, guided by our SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template, provides the insights you need to make strategic decisions and allocate resources effectively.

Remember that competitor analysis is not about copying what others do—it’s about understanding the landscape, identifying opportunities, and developing a unique approach that sets you apart. Use the insights from your analysis to create content that’s better, build links that are more valuable, and optimize your site more effectively than anyone else in your space.

As we approach 2025-2026, the SEO landscape will continue to evolve with new technologies and changing user behaviors. Regular competitor analysis ensures you stay ahead of these changes and maintain your competitive edge.

Download our SEO Competitor Analysis Checklist Template today and take the first step toward a more strategic, data-driven approach to SEO. Your competitors won’t know what hit them.