Competitor SEO Audit Checklist: Key Steps

A competitor SEO audit helps you understand how your competitors rank, their strategies, and where you can improve. Here's a quick summary of what you'll learn:

• Find Content Gaps: Discover topics your competitors cover that you don't.

• Keyword Insights: Identify high-performing keywords in your industry.

• Technical SEO Tips: Learn from their site speed, mobile performance, and structure.

• Backlink Opportunities: Analyze their backlinks and spot link-building chances.

• Social Media Strategy: See how they amplify content and engage audiences.

Key Tools: Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze competitors effectively. Track your progress with automated reports through Metrics Watch.

This guide breaks down the process into actionable steps for on-page, technical, and off-page SEO, ensuring you can improve your search visibility with clear, data-driven strategies.

Audit Setup Steps

Choose Target Competitors

Pick competitors who operate in the same market and aim for similar keywords as your business.

Technical SEO Audit Checklist: Essential Steps for Better Performance

On-Page SEO Checklist

Here’s what to focus on when analyzing on-page SEO elements:

Title and Meta Description Review

Take a close look at competitors' title tags and meta descriptions to refine your approach:

Tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs can help you export and analyze these elements efficiently.

Content and Keyword Analysis

Once you’ve reviewed titles and meta descriptions, shift your attention to content and keyword strategies. Key areas to evaluate include:

• Proper use of HTML headings and seamless keyword integration.

• Depth of content and how well it covers the topic.

• Placement of keywords in a natural, non-forced way.

• Use of lists, tables, and formatting to improve readability.

Leverage content analysis tools to uncover gaps in your competitors’ content and identify opportunities to stand out.

Internal Links and Media

Internal linking and media elements play a big role in improving site structure and user experience. Here’s what to check:

• Distribution of links between related pages.

• Variety and relevance of anchor text.

• Proper use of alt text and descriptive image names.

• Image and media performance, including loading speed.

Tools like Metrics Watch can help track SEO metrics and monitor shifts in competitor strategies. Use these insights to refine your on-page SEO game plan.

Technical SEO Review

Examining the technical setup of competitors' websites can reveal opportunities to improve your own site's performance. Here's what to focus on:

Speed and Web Vitals Check

Site speed and Core Web Vitals play a big role in both user experience and search rankings. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to assess these key metrics:

For ongoing tracking, tools like Metrics Watch can automate reports and help you monitor trends in competitors' performance.

Mobile Performance

Optimizing for mobile is essential for search visibility. Evaluate these areas:

• Ensure the site uses a responsive design and the viewport is configured correctly.

• Maintain a minimum spacing of 8 mm (0.31 inches) between touch targets.

• Set body text to at least 16px for readability.

• Make sure content fits the screen without horizontal scrolling.

• Scale and compress images for mobile use.

You can use Chrome DevTools' device emulation feature to test how competitors' sites perform across various screen sizes and orientations. After mobile checks, dive into site structure and security.

Site Structure and Security

A clear site structure improves navigation and helps search engines crawl the site effectively. Here's what to review:

1. XML Sitemap Implementation

Ensure the XML sitemap is well-organized, regularly updated, and includes all important URLs. Check that modification dates, priorities, and update frequencies are properly configured.

2. Robots.txt Configuration

Look at the robots.txt file to confirm correct access permissions, crawl rate settings, and any restrictions or allowances for specific paths.

3. Security Protocols

Verify the use of HTTPS, valid SSL certificates, and proper security headers. Also, check for any mixed content issues that could harm the site's security.

For a detailed analysis, tools like Screaming Frog can help you export and examine these elements. Pay close attention to how competitors handle pagination, faceted navigation, and URL parameters to uncover further optimization opportunities.

Off-Page SEO Check

Off-page SEO plays a key role in improving rankings and building authority. To get ahead, analyze competitors' backlinks and social signals to spot potential opportunities.

Backlink Review

Dive into competitor backlinks using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Pay attention to these metrics:

Here’s what to focus on:

• Check if the links come from industry-relevant domains.

• Look at anchor text diversity and link attributes (like dofollow/nofollow).

• Identify which types of content are attracting high-quality backlinks.

• Review the geographic distribution of links.

Export and organize competitor backlinks by authority level using Ahrefs or SEMrush. Pinpoint their highest-quality links to uncover actionable link-building opportunities.

Once you've analyzed backlinks, move on to social signals to complete your off-page audit.

Social Media Presence

Social metrics provide insights into how competitors amplify their content. Here's what to evaluate:

1. Engagement Metrics Analysis

Measure performance on social platforms by tracking:

• Average engagement rates per post.

• Content types generating the most interaction.

• Posting schedules and frequency.

• Trends in audience growth.

• Share of voice in industry discussions.

2. Content Distribution Strategy

Understand how competitors share content on social media by analyzing:

• How they adapt content for different platforms.

• Their use of platform-specific features (e.g., Stories, Reels, etc.).

• How social media integrates with their SEO efforts.

• Response times and interaction with user comments.

• Use of branded hashtags.

3. Social Listening Setup

Use social listening tools to monitor brand mentions and industry conversations. Pay attention to competitors’ earned media coverage, customer feedback patterns, and emerging trends that could influence SEO strategies.

Regularly tracking backlinks and social signals will help you spot trends and make informed strategic decisions.

Results and Next Steps

Key Findings Report

Create a report that summarizes the critical insights from your competitor SEO audit. Break the report into these main categories:

Document the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor. Use this analysis to focus on areas where your performance needs improvement.

Action Items List

Turn your findings into actionable tasks:

High Impact, Low Effort:

• Fix broken links

• Improve meta descriptions

• Add or update image alt text

• Refresh outdated content

High Impact, High Effort:

• Overhaul site architecture

• Build comprehensive content clusters

• Launch link-building campaigns

• Add schema markup

Low Impact, Low Effort:

• Refresh social media profiles

• Include internal links in recent content

• Compress images for faster load times

• Correct minor CSS issues

Progress Tracking Setup

Once you’ve outlined your key actions, set up a system to track results. Consider using Metrics Watch for real-time, automated reporting.

Here’s what to include in your tracking dashboard:

1. Performance Metrics
   

   Keep an eye on Core Web Vitals, page speed, and mobile optimization. Metrics Watch makes it easy to get weekly updates via email.

2. Ranking Progress
   

   Track keyword positions and visibility compared to competitors. Metrics Watch’s Pro plan ($100/month) supports up to 25 custom reports, making it ideal for monitoring multiple competitors.

3. Backlink Growth
   Monitor new backlinks and their quality. Apostolos Tsiter, Product Owner at onvista, said:

   "Metrics Watch was the only tool that met our requirements regarding both functionality and usability. After meticulous comparison and testing of over 30 tools, we partnered with Metrics Watch to provide our clients with high-precision tailor-made reports on their products. The level of support and communication has made us true worshipers. Thanks!"

Set clear milestones and review your progress monthly.

Summary

Conducting a competitor SEO audit can help you improve your website's performance and stay ahead in the game. Regular audits uncover trends and opportunities, ensuring your SEO strategy remains effective.

To get the most out of a competitor SEO audit, focus on these core areas:

• Technical foundation: Check your site's Core Web Vitals, mobile compatibility, and overall structure to meet current performance standards.

• Content strategy: Look into keyword usage, spot content gaps, and evaluate how topics are grouped to boost organic traffic.

• Off-page factors: Examine the quality of backlinks and social signals to build a stronger domain presence.

For effective results, keep these practices in mind:

• Use structured reports to document your findings clearly.

• Rank action items by impact and resource needs to prioritize effectively.

• Use automated tools to track your progress regularly.

• Adjust your strategies based on performance data and new insights.

Staying consistent with monitoring helps you quickly identify problems and seize opportunities.

As search engines update their algorithms and market trends shift, ongoing monitoring and adjustments allow you to apply competitor insights to refine your SEO approach. Tools like Metrics Watch can simplify this process by delivering clear, consolidated data to your team for faster decision-making.

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