Top Tools for Conducting Competitor Research

SparkToro has become my go-to, and not for the obvious reasons.

Most people use it to find where competitors advertise.

I use it backwards. I plug in my competitor’s audience and look at what podcasts they listen to, what YouTube channels they follow, what niche publications they read.

That tells me where my competitors aren’t showing up yet.

Found a manufacturing podcast with 40k listeners that our entire industry was ignoring. Sponsored three episodes; got inbound leads for months from an audience nobody else was touching.

The other thing I love is the “hidden gems” social accounts feature. It surfaces smaller creators who have genuine influence over your target buyers but fly under the radar of traditional influencer tools. These people actually respond to partnership pitches because they’re not drowning in requests.

Honestly, the biggest value isn’t the data itself; it’s that SparkToro forces you to think about competitors through the lens of shared audience behavior rather than just keyword overlap.

ChatGPT — not because it replaces SEO tools, but because it turns raw data into strategy fast.

We’ll still pull competitor keywords, backlinks, and top pages from Semrush, but ChatGPT is what helps us think with the information. We use it to spot patterns in competitor messaging, summarize what their site structure is really doing, and generate ideas for content gaps we can exploit.

It’s also great for speeding up analysis questions like:

“Why is this page ranking?”

“What angles are they using repeatedly?”

“What topics are missing from our site compared to theirs?”

The biggest benefit is time. Instead of staring at spreadsheets, we turn research into clear action steps — and that’s where competitor research actually becomes valuable.

I use Ahrefs the most since it shows me how rankings, backlinks, and content performance are related in a way that I can utilize immediately. We can do more than simply look at the rankings; we can also look at which pages are getting organic traffic, how our competitors are building authority, and where there are glaring holes in our own plan.

It has helped us find high-intent keywords that competitors were ranking for with content that wasn’t very good, find backlink patterns that are worth copying, and put SEO projects in order of importance based on true competitive benchmarks. The most important thing about Ahrefs is that it lets us go from insight to action quickly, which is really important in a competitive market like ours.

We use SimilarWeb often, though not for the reasons most people expect.

Instead of focusing on competitor traffic alone, we look for momentum signals. Where new visitors originate, which partnerships trigger spikes, and how seasonality shapes visibility over time all matter. When we layer that data with LinkedIn activity and funding timelines, patterns start to take shape. You can often tell when a company is preparing for a move rather than simply reacting to the present.

That context helps us guide founders on timing. Investor outreach and digital PR perform better when they align with real market movement instead of instinct.

It is not a flashy approach, but it is dependable. That consistency is what makes it one of the most useful tools we rely on.

My top resource for competitor research is the initial client immersion session, supported by Ahrefs and hands-on SERP analysis.

Client insight reveals who they truly compete with and where deals are won or lost, context no tool can provide alone. I then use Ahrefs to validate insights, uncover keyword and content gaps, and analyse link strategies, while manual SERP analysis shows intent shifts, commercial bias, and features like AI Overviews. Together, this ensures keyword targeting, content priorities, and technical fixes reflect real-world competition, not just tool assumptions.

Our favorite tool for competitor research is SERanking — hands down.

It gives us a full 360deg view of what’s working (and what’s not) in our client’s industry landscape. With SERanking, we can dive into competitors’ keyword rankings, traffic trends, backlink profiles, and even page-by-page SEO health. This lets us quickly identify gaps and opportunities — whether it’s a missed keyword cluster, weak metadata structure, or a high-ranking blog we can outperform with better content.

Why has it been so helpful?

Because it fuels our strategy with data, not guesswork. We don’t just benchmark against competition — we reverse-engineer their growth engines. That’s how we help clients leapfrog stale competitors and dominate their niche.

Subtle insight?

Too many businesses look at competitors — but we look through them. With the right tools and the right lens, competitor research becomes your blueprint for outperforming, not just imitating.

I primarily use SEMrush for competitor research. It’s very helpful because you can see what competitors are doing in search, ads, and backlinks without jumping between multiple tools. For a client with several products and audiences, it quickly showed where traffic and engagement were coming from, which saves a lot of time.

One thing I often do is look for content gaps. For example, I look for pages where competitors are ranking well, but my client isn’t. I then focus upcoming content updates in those areas to improve performance.

SEMrush is a go-to for me when I’m digging into what the competition is up to.

It’s especially useful because it pulls together a complete picture of a rival’s online footprint. You get the scoop on their organic search, paid advertising, content game, backlinks, and even the trends in their messaging. Rather than just speculating about their success, SEMrush lays out the sources of their traffic, the keywords they’re targeting, and how their overall strategy is shifting.

Moz has been my go-to for competitor research because it surfaces why pages rank, not just who ranks. It’s especially helpful for spotting gaps in authority, intent coverage, and link quality without getting lost in noise. What’s more, it keeps analysis practical, making it easier to translate competitive insights into page structure, internal linking, and content decisions that actually move rankings.

Ahrefs is my favorite tool for competitor research when it comes to online exposure in search engines and how they are getting that exposure. This tool does a lot of things, but I use it for a few specific tactics related to competitor research.

Checking the keywords your competitor is ranking well for and getting traffic from. You can then use this to see the actual content or URL and use that as an idea to write your own blog on the same topic in your own way.

Checking the other domains that are linking to your competitor. It’s a pretty common fact that getting linked by other relevant and trusted websites boosts your authority in the algorithm, and boosts your rankings. Checking what domains are linking to your competitors can be a good opportunity to try and get some of their best links for yourself as well.