Competitors appear where you do not
Identify the query groups and page types behind that visibility. Determine whether the gap is relevant to your offer before commissioning a new page.
VortAxis · Competitive search research
SEO Competitor Analysis That Reveals Your Next Search Opportunities
Find out which websites compete for your buyers’ searches, how they cover important topics, and where your website has room to improve. VortAxis turns competitor keyword, page, and backlink research into commercially relevant priorities.
SaaS, software & B2B focusMarket-specific researchPrioritized opportunities, not raw exports
Make the research useful01 02 03
Know What Competitors Are Doing - and What Is Worth Your Attention
Competitor research is useful when it informs a decision. We assess search visibility alongside buyer intent, product or service fit, and the resources needed to pursue an opportunity.
Your team lacks a clear benchmark
Compare the right websites and page groups rather than relying on whole-domain traffic estimates or a single authority score.
You need to choose the next investment
Evaluate commercial page improvements, content coverage, internal links, and authority opportunities through one prioritized view.
Choose the right comparison set01 02 03
Your Business Competitors and Search Competitors May Differ
A company selling a similar product is not necessarily the website competing with you on every search. We identify the relevant comparison set for the agreed market and query groups.
Direct Business Competitors
Companies offering a comparable product or service to a similar audience. Useful for evaluating positioning, commercial pages, and buyer questions.
Organic Search Competitors
Websites appearing across relevant queries, including specialists, publishers, directories, and review platforms. Their presence helps explain what the search results reward.
Page-Level Competitors
Individual pages competing for a particular intent. A focused comparison can reveal requirements that a whole-domain overview would miss.
The research set is agreed upfront. We confirm the market, language, competitors, query groups, and page coverage. Large platforms or unrelated content sections are separated where they would distort the comparison.
What the analysis covers01 / Research workstream 02 / Research workstream 03 / Research workstream 04 / Research workstream 05 / Research workstream 06 / Research workstream
Competitor SEO Research From Visibility to Page-Level Opportunities
The project combines the workstreams needed to answer your question. We define research depth and coverage before starting.
Search Competitor Identification
Establish which websites matter for your actual search goals.
- Review the business competitors you already track.
- Inspect relevant query groups and competing result types.
- Separate product competitors, publishers, directories, and page-level rivals.
Your deliverable: An agreed competitor set with reasons for inclusion.
Competitor Keyword & Intent Analysis
Understand what competitors rank for and which searches fit your offer.
- Group available competitor keywords by intent and business relevance.
- Distinguish branded demand from non-branded opportunities.
- Identify meaningful gaps without treating every missing keyword as a target.
Your deliverable: Prioritized query clusters linked to realistic page opportunities.
Commercial Page Benchmarking
Assess how competing pages help buyers evaluate an offer.
- Review product, feature, service, use-case, and comparison pages as relevant.
- Compare explanations, evidence, buyer questions, and page structure.
- Identify information gaps and differentiation opportunities for your own pages.
Your deliverable: Page-specific observations and recommended improvements.
Content Coverage & Topic Gaps
Find useful questions competitors answer and your website does not.
- Compare agreed topic groups and supporting content.
- Assess depth, expertise, freshness, and links to commercial destinations.
- Identify opportunities to update existing content as well as create new pages.
Your deliverable: A content-gap assessment with recommendations grounded in audience fit.
Backlink & Authority Research
Assess relevant link opportunities with appropriate context.
- Compare available referring-domain data for agreed websites or pages.
- Review topical relevance, link destinations, and notable patterns.
- Identify prospect categories or useful assets that may support outreach.
Your deliverable: A contextual backlink comparison and research-led outreach opportunities.
Architecture & Internal Linking Review
Understand how competitors organize and support important pages.
- Review public navigation, page hierarchy, and relevant topic relationships.
- Inspect links between commercial pages, resources, and evidence.
- Compare useful structural patterns with your own website.
Your deliverable: Recommendations for page organization and internal support.
How findings become priorities
A Missing Keyword Is a Starting Point, Not a Recommendation
We assess whether each opportunity deserves a place in your SEO plan. A competitor’s ranking alone does not establish business value or explain why the page ranks.
| Criterion | Question we ask | How it informs your plan |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial relevance | Does the opportunity connect to a product, service, or customer you actually serve? | Exclude searches that look attractive but do not fit your business. |
| Search intent | What answer or page type does the buyer need? | Decide whether to improve a page, create a distinct destination, or leave the topic alone. |
| Evidence & differentiation | Can your team provide useful expertise, product detail, or supporting proof? | Prioritize opportunities where the page can offer credible value. |
| Competitive demands | What content, authority, and technical conditions appear relevant in the results? | Assess the likely work involved without promising a ranking outcome. |
| Resources & dependencies | What must your team do before the opportunity can be pursued? | Sequence the work around writing, development, expert input, and approval capacity. |
What your team receives01 02 03 04 05 06
A Competitive Picture and a Clearer Next Action
Competitor Comparison Workbook
An organized view of the agreed competitors, page groups, and query coverage. Definitions and scope make the comparisons easier to interpret.
Keyword & Page Gap Map
Relevant query clusters mapped to existing pages or justified new destinations, with intent and business-fit context.
Page-Level Recommendations
Specific observations about content coverage, commercial explanations, evidence, and internal links for the agreed pages.
Backlink Research Findings
A contextual comparison of available link data and selected opportunities worth investigating further.
Prioritized Opportunity Backlog
Recommended actions with reasons, dependencies, and suggested ownership. Estimates and assumptions are clearly distinguished from confirmed observations.
Research Walkthrough
A discussion of the findings, limitations, and next steps so your team understands how to use the materials.
The proposal specifies formats, competitor count, target markets, page coverage, query depth, and whether backlink research is included. It also defines the handover session and any follow-up support.
A hypothetical SaaS example
From a Competitor Integration Page to a Decision for Your Product
Suppose a competing product ranks for a CRM integration. Your product supports a related workflow, but the existing site only mentions it briefly.
Check the intent
Review what users need to know and the types of pages appearing for the agreed query group.
Validate product fit
Confirm the supported workflow, setup requirements, limitations, and factual evidence with your product team.
Assess the destination
Decide whether your existing page needs more detail or a dedicated integration page is justified.
Define the action
Specify the page purpose, required input, internal links, and review measures before commissioning the work.
This is an illustrative workflow, not a client result. If your product does not support the required capability, the recommendation may be to exclude the topic.
Know what the data can show
Useful Competitive Research Makes Its Limits Clear
Observed Pages & Estimated Metrics
Public pages and sampled search results provide evidence about visible content and positioning. Third-party keyword, traffic, and backlink data provide directional comparisons with incomplete coverage.
We record the market and research date, and identify where a metric is an estimate. A single position or snapshot does not describe every buyer’s search experience.
Competitor Revenue Remains Private
Organic traffic estimates do not reveal qualified lead volume, conversion rates, revenue, acquisition cost, or the full reason a competitor ranks.
We avoid presenting those outcomes as facts. Your own GSC, analytics, and sales context help determine which observed gaps matter to your business.
Backlink gaps need review. A link pointing to a competitor is not automatically available, relevant, or appropriate for you. Research identifies opportunities for assessment, not guaranteed placements.
When to commission the research01 02 03 04 05 06
Support a Specific Decision, Launch, or Change in Direction
Entering a Market or Category
Understand the relevant result landscape, competing offers, and page requirements before committing to a website structure or publishing program.
Reworking Commercial Pages
Assess what buyers are being shown elsewhere and where your own pages need clearer explanations, proof, or differentiation.
Planning a Content Investment
Find relevant topic gaps and assess whether existing pages could meet the need. Use the findings to inform a broader content strategy.
Reviewing Your SEO Direction
Add an independent competitor perspective to the current roadmap. Identify opportunities that may have been missed or given too much weight.
Investigating Lost Visibility
Compare changes on agreed competing pages and search results alongside your own performance evidence. Competitor changes are one hypothesis, not an automatic explanation.
Prioritizing Limited Resources
Choose which page improvements or research questions deserve attention first, with the implementation effort and business relevance made explicit.
How we work
From an Agreed Research Question to a Usable Opportunity Plan
Define the question
Confirm your offer, audience, market, known competitors, and the decision the research should support.
Agree the sample
Select competitors, query groups, page types, and data sources. Confirm scope and access requirements.
Compare & validate
Review keywords, content, pages, and links as agreed. Check business fit and distinguish observations from hypotheses.
Prioritize & hand over
Deliver the comparison and action backlog. Discuss limitations, ownership, and a practical next step for your team.
Project options & pricingCustom scope & quote Custom scope & quote Custom scope & quote
Match the Research Depth to the Decision You Need to Make
Focused Competitor Review
For one defined product, service, page group, or commercial question.
- An agreed set of relevant competitors and queries.
- Targeted page and keyword comparisons.
- A concise opportunity assessment and next actions.
Main output: A decision-ready review of the selected opportunity.
Comprehensive SEO Competitor Analysis
For a broader view of your competitive search position.
- Agreed keyword, commercial page, and content coverage.
- Backlink and architecture research where included.
- A consolidated comparison and prioritized opportunity backlog.
Main output: A wider research foundation for your next SEO plan.
Research & Strategy Handover
For teams that need help turning findings into an execution plan.
- Competitor research tied to your agreed priorities.
- Page mapping and the next implementation sequence.
- A workshop or advisory handover within scope.
Main output: Research translated into an agreed roadmap for your team.
Final pricing depends on competitor count, markets, languages, query coverage, page volume, and research depth. We agree the scope, deliverables, schedule, and fee before starting. Implementation and outreach execution are separate unless explicitly included.
Use the findings across your SEO program
Put Competitive Insight Into the Right Workstream
Content & Page Planning
Use validated gaps to guide updates and new destinations. Our SEO content strategy services can extend the findings into a page map, editorial roadmap, and agreed briefs.
Strategy & Implementation
Use SEO consulting to assess choices with your internal team, or discuss managed SEO services when you need a broader execution scope.
VortAxis is built around Ivan Kirsanov’s SEO experience since 2012, with recent work focused primarily on SaaS and IT. Research priorities are assessed in the context of your offer and resources.
Before we begin
SEO Competitor Analysis FAQs
What is SEO competitor analysis?
SEO competitor analysis examines the websites and pages competing for relevant searches. It compares keyword coverage, content, commercial pages, internal structure, and backlinks to identify useful opportunities for your own website.
How do you choose which competitors to analyze?
We combine your business context with the websites appearing for agreed query groups. The research can include direct businesses, specialist pages, publishers, and directories where they are relevant to the decision.
How many competitors are included?
The competitor count is agreed in the proposal. A focused page review and a broader category analysis need different samples. Markets, query groups, and page coverage are defined alongside that count.
Can you analyze competitors in a specific country?
Yes. We define the target country, language, and relevant query groups before research. Findings are tied to the research scope and date rather than presented as a universal ranking picture.
Will you give us all the keywords our competitors rank for?
The main deliverable prioritizes useful query groups and opportunities within the agreed scope. A raw export is not exhaustive and contains branded, irrelevant, or unsuitable terms that need filtering and interpretation.
Can you tell us how much revenue competitors get from SEO?
No. Public pages and third-party tools do not establish competitor organic revenue, conversion rates, or qualified leads. We identify estimated metrics as estimates and focus recommendations on your own business fit.
Does the research include backlink analysis?
Backlink research can be included when it helps answer the project question. The proposal defines its depth. An observed competitor backlink is a research lead, not a guaranteed or automatically suitable placement.
How is this different from an SEO audit?
A competitor analysis focuses on the external search landscape and comparisons. An SEO audit focuses on diagnosing your website. They can inform one another, but their scope and deliverables are agreed separately.
How much does SEO competitor analysis cost?
Pricing is quoted for the agreed scope. Competitor count, markets, languages, query groups, page volume, and research depth affect the work. The final fee is confirmed before starting.
How long will the analysis take?
The schedule depends on research depth and the agreed comparison set. We confirm timing after scoping and receipt of the required materials rather than promising the same turnaround for every project.
Will you implement the recommendations?
The research delivers findings and recommendations. Page updates, writing, development, and outreach execution are included only when explicitly scoped. We can discuss separate implementation support.
Will copying a competitor’s approach improve rankings?
Not necessarily. Rankings reflect multiple factors, and the same approach may not fit your product, audience, or website. We use comparisons to inform a relevant strategy, not to reproduce another company’s pages or claims.
Make your next move an informed one
Find the Competitive Gaps Worth Acting On
Share your website, target market, and the competitors you have in mind. We’ll discuss the research needed to identify opportunities that fit your business.
The initial conversation establishes fit and scope. Detailed competitor research is paid project work.