5 Competitor Analysis Moves That Feel Like Cheating (but Are Not)

Your competitor ranks higher than you. They seem to get more reviews, more traffic, and more customers. It is frustrating, but it is also an opportunity. Because everything they are doing to succeed is visible if you know where to look.

These five competitor analysis moves might feel sneaky, but they are completely ethical, publicly available, and seriously effective.

Move 1: Steal Their Best Keywords (Legally)

Your competitors have already done the keyword research for you. All you need is a way to see which keywords are driving their traffic.

How to do it:

1. Go to Ubersuggest (free) or Ahrefs (paid) and enter your competitor’s domain
2. Look at their “Top Pages” report to see which pages get the most organic traffic
3. Check which keywords those pages rank for
4. Identify keywords where they rank in positions 4 to 15 (vulnerable positions where you can realistically compete)

Now create better, more comprehensive content targeting those same keywords. This is not copying their content. It is competing for the same audience with a superior product.

We covered keyword research fundamentals in our guide on finding what your customers search for.

Move 2: Reverse-Engineer Their Backlink Profile

Backlinks are one of the strongest ranking factors, and your competitors’ backlink sources are publicly visible. If a local news site linked to your competitor, they might link to you too.

How to do it:

1. Use Ahrefs Free Webmaster Tools or Ubersuggest to pull your competitor’s backlink profile
2. Filter for links from high-authority, relevant sites
3. Identify the patterns: Are they getting links from local news? Industry directories? Guest posts?
4. Reach out to the same sources with your own pitch

Pro tip: Look for broken links pointing to your competitors. If a link leads to a 404 page on their site, contact the linking site and offer your content as a replacement. This is called broken link building, and it works incredibly well.

For more link building strategies, check our post on link building for local business.

Move 3: Audit Their Google Business Profile

Your competitor’s GBP is a goldmine of intelligence. And it is right there for anyone to see.

What to look for:

• Categories: What primary and secondary categories are they using? You might discover a category you have not claimed.
• Posts: How often do they post? What topics get engagement?
• Reviews: What do customers praise? What do they complain about? Their weaknesses become your marketing angles.
• Photos: How many do they have? What quality? Businesses with 100+ photos get 520% more calls than those with fewer than 10.
• Q&A section: What questions are customers asking? These are content ideas for your website.

We covered GBP optimization in our post on 5 Google Business Profile hacks.

Move 4: Monitor Their Content Strategy

What are your competitors publishing? How often? What topics get engagement? This tells you what is working in your market.

How to do it:

1. Subscribe to their blog or newsletter (use a personal email if you prefer)
2. Set up Google Alerts for their business name and key personnel
3. Check their blog monthly using the Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) to see how their content strategy has evolved
4. Use BuzzSumo or social media search to see which of their posts get shared most

You are not looking to copy their content. You are looking for gaps. Topics they have not covered. Angles they have missed. Questions they have left unanswered.

This is essentially the competitive side of content strategy for small business.

Move 5: Ask AI Search Engines About Your Competitors

This one is new, and it is incredibly powerful. Open Perplexity or ChatGPT and ask:

• “What are the best [your service] companies in [your city]?”
• “Compare [your business] and [competitor] for [specific service]”
• “What do customers say about [competitor]?”

The responses show you exactly how AI search engines perceive your competitor, and by extension, how they perceive you. If AI consistently recommends your competitor but not you, you know exactly where you need to improve your GEO strategy.

Putting It All Together

Here is a monthly competitive analysis routine that takes about two hours:

Week 1: Keyword gap analysis. Find five new keyword opportunities from competitor data.

Week 2: Backlink check. Identify three new link opportunities from competitor profiles.

Week 3: GBP and content audit. Check their latest reviews, posts, and content for insights.

Week 4: AI search check. Query AI engines about your industry and track where you and competitors appear.

Document everything in a simple spreadsheet. Over time, you will build a clear picture of your competitive landscape and know exactly where to focus your efforts.

The Ethics of Competitor Analysis

Let’s be clear: none of this involves hacking, scraping private data, or anything remotely shady. All of this information is publicly available. Your competitors can (and should) be doing the same analysis on you.

The difference between businesses that grow and businesses that stagnate is often just awareness. Knowing what works for your competitors gives you a roadmap for your own strategy.

Want help running a comprehensive competitive analysis for your market? Get in touch and we will show you exactly where you stand and how to get ahead.