In this post, you’ll learn a new way to approach SEO competitor analysis. You can download Moz’s template Google sheet from this link.
Yet more value lies in understanding the concept of velocity metrics explained below.
In August 2023, our team at indiagold got 280,000 organic visitors on our website. It took 312 days and it was very, very difficult.
While the journey was hard, we learned invaluable lessons about SEO competitor analysis.
The Common Pitfall: Benchmark Snapshots
SEO professionals rely on competitor benchmark snapshots to gauge their standing.
These snapshots include metrics like:
- Number of blog posts indexed
- Volume of organic traffic
- Ratio of branded traffic
- Count of backlinks
- Domain Rating
These metrics offer a snapshot of where your competitors are. But they don’t reveal much about how they got there or where they’re headed.
Focus on Velocity Metrics and Winning Moves
What are Velocity Metrics?
Velocity metrics measure the rate of change of your competitor’s online presence. These metrics show you not where they are, but how fast they’re moving and in what direction.
You would see competitor’s organic traffic growth using tools like Ahrefs or SEMRush. But that’s a lagging indicator of the work that competitor has already done.
You would benefit from knowing where your competitor is likely to be in 6 months from now.
You do that by understanding what they’re working on right now, and at what pace.
Core Velocity Metrics for SEO Competitor Analysis
- Content Velocity
- Stop looking at the number of posts indexed.
- Measure how many new posts your competitor is indexing per week.
- Tool: Ahrefs, Similarweb
- Outreach Velocity
- Tech Velocity
- Stop digging into the latest shiny tech stack.
- Track how often a competitor is making improvements in their tech stack.
- Tool: BuiltWith, PageSpeed Insights
But the first step to this process is picking the right competitor.
Identifying SEO Competitors
There are 2 types of SEO competitors:
- Direct Competitors = Same Keywords + Same Business Model
- Indirect Competitors = Same Keywords + Different Business Model
Take the example of a Astrotalk, a spiritual tech startup. Their core business model is offering one on one consultations with astrologers online.
One of its most important keywords it would want to rank is ‘horoscope today’.
But, many competitors with different business models rank on the same keywords. Examples include media sites like Hindustan Times and lifestyle blogs like Vogue.
You should begin this analysis with Direct competitors. And you can find those using the Ahrefs Organic Competitor Comparison feature. Check out the direct competitors of Astrotalk here.
Finding the Velocity Metrics
Content Velocity
Instead of looking at the number of posts indexed, measure how many new posts your competitor is indexing per week.
Use an alert site like zelolab.com –
If you want to see the history of content velocity, use Ahrefs Overview –
Another way is to use Semrush Eyeon.
Outreach Velocity
Observe the rate at which your competitor is acquiring high-quality links per week. Use the “New Backlinks” feature of Ahrefs.
A good starting point is to find the number of DoFollow links being acquired daily. Then filter to see only the websites with traffic higher than 5000 visitors.
You can also use the “Best Links” feature of Ahrefs.
Tech Velocity
Don’t just note the technologies your competitor uses. Track how often they are making changes to their tech stack.
For example, use a tool like VisualPing to check their most important pages and tools.
Identifying Winning Moves
Velocity metrics show you where to focus.
Then identify the top-performing aspects or ‘winning moves’ for each category. Examples –
- Content Winning Moves: Look at the top 5 posts that are driving the most traffic for your competitor.
- Outreach Winning Moves: Find the top 5 referring domains that were added in the last week.
- Tech Winning Moves: Monitor the top 5 posts that have shown improvements in core web vitals every week.
Why Velocity Metrics Matter
Velocity is more important than speed.
It is speed in a given direction.
Understanding the velocity metrics and winning moves of your competitors helps you expect their future moves.
The way to outperform competitors is at the intersection of Quantity Analysis and Quality Analysis.
In SEO competitor analysis, focusing on velocity metrics and winning moves is crucial.
It offers a perspective that traditional snapshot metrics can’t provide.
So, the next time you evaluate your competitors, remember –
TL;DR
Velocity = Speed + Direction
Velocity > Snapshot
If you need help optimizing your ads or SEO strategy, connect with me.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What are some other metrics that could be beneficial to track in SEO competitor analysis?
Other useful metrics to consider in SEO competitor analysis could include:
- User Engagement Metrics: Such as average time on page and conversion rate. These metrics tell you how effective the competitor’s content is at keeping users engaged.
- Keyword Gap Analysis: Identifying keywords for which your competitors rank well but you don’t will help you discover opportunities for content creation.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): A high CTR often signifies that a page has a compelling meta description and title tag.
- Page Load Time: Faster websites often rank higher, so it’s worth examining how quickly competitors’ pages load. Find it for their top 5 traffic generating pages.
Q2: How to integrate the concept of velocity of metrics into current SEO strategy?
- Regular Monitoring: Set up a regular schedule to monitor competitors’ velocity metrics. This could be weekly or monthly, depending on your resources.
- Data Analytics: Use specialized tools to collect and analyze these metrics, then compare them against your own velocity metrics.
- Strategic Planning: Use the insights gained to inform your content, outreach, and tech strategies. For instance, if a competitor is rapidly gaining backlinks, consider ramping up your own outreach efforts.
- KPIs Update: Update your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to include velocity metrics as they offer a more dynamic perspective than static snapshots.
- Team Collaboration: Make sure your SEO, content, and tech teams are aligned on the new focus on velocity metrics and adapt their strategies accordingly.
Q3: What are some tools other than Ahrefs, Similarweb, SEMrush, and BuiltWith that could be useful for tracking velocity metrics?
- Moz: Offers similar functionalities to Ahrefs and you can use it for tracking backlinks and keyword rankings.
- GTmetrix: Provides insights into page load times and suggests optimizations, assisting with tech velocity.
- SpyFu: Specializes in competitor keyword research, allowing you to analyze the keyword velocity of competitors.
Q4: How can a focus on velocity metrics affect resource allocation in your SEO efforts?
Focusing on velocity metrics may require reallocating resources in several ways:
- Data Collection: You may need to invest in additional tools or upgrade existing ones to effectively track velocity metrics.
- Team Training: Your team members might need training to understand and analyze these new metrics, which could require time and possibly financial resources.
- Content Strategy: If you find that your competitors are publishing high-quality posts at a high velocity, you may need to allocate more resources to content creation (or create content non-linearly, programmatically)
- Outreach Efforts: If your competitor is acquiring high-quality backlinks at a fast rate, you may need to allocate more time and resources to your own outreach efforts (or acquire links non-linearly, via link baiting).
- Technical Upgrades: If tech velocity is high among competitors, you may need to invest in optimizing your website’s performance, which could involve hiring specialized talent or moving to the right tech stack.
Q5: What challenges do you anticipate when shifting focus from traditional metrics to velocity metrics in SEO competitor analysis?
- Data Overwhelm: The amount of data to track and analyze could increase, making it challenging to distill actionable insights.
- Learning Curve: Understanding and making effective use of new metrics can take time, especially for teams accustomed to traditional metrics.
- Adaptation: Changing strategies and tactics based on new insights could be met with resistance from team members used to the old ways.
- Benchmarking: Initially, it might be challenging to set realistic goals or benchmarks when you’re still learning what ‘good’ velocity metrics look like in your industry.
Q6: Are there any industry-specific metrics that could be more relevant than general SEO metrics? If so, what are they?
Industry-specific metrics are often more relevant. For example:
- E-commerce: Metrics like ratio of velocity of commercial to velocity of informational pages growth could be highly relevant.
- SaaS: Growth rate of content that targets recurring search queries could be a more important indicator of success.
- Healthcare: Metrics related to patient satisfaction or the effectiveness of online appointment systems could be critical.
- Real Estate: Metrics such as the speed at which properties are marked sold or rented could be more relevant.
Before You Go
Remember, SEO is a very powerful growth channel, but make sure you don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Any new strategies you try make need to drive meaningfully traffic that eventually translates into sales.
If you need help optimizing your ads or SEO strategy, that translates into sales, connect with me.