Local SEO Competitor analysis is essential for any marketing campaign, allowing your business to stay ahead of the competition and maintain a consistent web presence.
In local SEO, competitive analysis aims to get your business listed on Google Maps and Google Organic, when the search intent is local. This will be part of the initial discovery phase of your local SEO project, but it should be something you continue to do.
In this guide, we’ll help you understand what local competitive analysis is and how you can conduct it to stay ahead of the competition.
What is local SEO competitor analysis?
Local SEO competitor analysis includes all businesses ranking for your target (local) keywords in Maps and organic results (including the local pack). When it comes to local SEO, the main goal of competitive analysis is to identify why your local competitors are ranking well in the local pack, Google Maps, and Google Organic. Once you’ve identified who’s ranking and how, you’ll be able to see how to capitalize on these opportunities.
Additionally (and simultaneously), any competitive analysis should serve other important purposes:
- Better understand your target market—that is, your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, their pricing strategies, and the needs of your potential customers. This will help you make informed decisions about product development (and positioning) and marketing strategies.
- Identify opportunities—that is, gaps in your market that your competitors haven’t yet filled. This way, you can develop new products or services that give your brand a competitive advantage.
- Stay ahead of the competition: By understanding your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, you can develop strategies to stay ahead of the competition.
- Enhance your brand by pinpointing the unique qualities that set you apart from the competition. This will help you develop unique selling points and marketing messages that resonate with your customers.
How to Identify Your Local Competitors
It’s not as simple as looking through the window at the local business; discovering your local competitors may require a little more effort. Don’t assume you already know your competition, as businesses competing online may be different from those you see on your street.
Start with Local Keyword Research
The first step in identifying your local competitors is knowing your keywords. I’ve created a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to research your local keywords, in case you need a helping hand. These are the search queries people use to find the products or services your business sells. Here, we’ll cover three sections of the search results page (SERP):
Those that rank on Google Maps for your target keywords (with or without your target location included in those keywords);
- Those that rank in local packages enabled by those keywords; Those who rank in Google Organic for location-based keywords (i.e., queries that include your target location);
- Once you know what to search for, search on Google.
- The first step in identifying your local competitors is to Google your target keywords. If you live in your target location, Google will personalize the results based on your (precise) location, so you’ll likely see similar results to your target customers.
Furthermore, you can never be sure exactly what your target audience will see when they search for these keywords:
- The key factor in local ranking is location—that is, proximity to a business. Local rankings (especially on Google Maps) can be slightly different even if your customer is a few blocks from your current location, especially if you have many competitors nearby.
- Your customers’ search results can be further personalized based on their search history, the businesses they’ve interacted with, their devices, etc.
Nonetheless, this is the best first step we can take, so start by making a list of the businesses you found in the search results and note:
- The keyword you searched for
- Where you are located: Maps, Local 3-Pack, or Organic
- Ranking for every search query across each section of the search engine results page.
- Your location (where you searched from)
- Number of matches (how many times did each domain appear when searching for different keywords in all three sections?) The more you see a specific competitor, the more attention that business deserves in your audit.
For organic competitors, to make this step easier, disable Google’s infinite scroll and use this browser add-on to extract plaintext URLs from ranking pages and number the search results.
Obviously, ignore results from directories (like Yelp or Tripadvisor) or list them elsewhere: these are marketing opportunities, not competitors. I also tend to limit my organic competitors to about 5 to 10 URLs per keyword. After all, local SEO is all about appearing on maps. Organic competitors aren’t that important.
In the coming steps, it will become more obvious why we need them.
SEO Competitor Analysis Tools for Local SEO
Whether or not you use dedicated SEO competitor analysis software, performing Google searches remains a valuable exercise. It allows you to experience the buying journey firsthand, mirroring the process your potential customers go through. Local SEO tools can help you identify and compare competitors based on your business location and industry. They analyze the search results, including listings in local packs and maps, for specific keywords and areas you target. This method not only validates the list you compile through manual searches but also expands it by uncovering additional competitors. Moreover, integrated local search grids offer innovative ways to deepen your SEO competitor analysis.
Create Your Spreadsheet
Assuming you’re using at least two data sources, your spreadsheet will include many tags, and you’ll need to scroll back and forth to find overlapping businesses that have managed to rank for multiple queries and even appear in organic search.
To find competitors ranking for multiple keywords, sort the results by the first column. This is where you can calculate “overlaps,” which are domains that appear for multiple keywords and in multiple SERP sections.
Obviously, creating this spreadsheet will take some time. I suggest starting with a maximum of 3 to 5 keywords. Once you’ve examined the initial group of competitors, you can use more keywords and expand your list.
Analyze Your Local Competitors
Compare Google Business Profiles
Google Business Profiles (GBP) include much more than many people realize. Take the time to explore your competitors’ profiles and note any unique or notable aspects:
- GBP optimization tactics you’re considering
- If the local panel is claimed
- Your business description and categories (GMB Everywhere will allow you to see your profile categories directly in Google Maps, so you can annotate them when adding your competitors to your spreadsheet)
- Number of customer reviews and average rating
- Interaction with the owner (do they respond to comments or Q&As?)
- Google Posts published by your competitors. Do you promote special or seasonal offers on your local profiles?
- Images and videos they’ve added to their profile (and how long ago they did so)
- Attributes your competitors might be using:
Carefully examine each profile and note everything you can. Tools like GBP Audit capture much of this information so you can complete your task much faster:
Analyze the Site’s Landing Pages
It’s well known that on-page signals contribute to local rankings, but I suggest prioritizing pages that also rank in organic search. These are undoubtedly competitors doing something right. A tool like WebCEO’s SEO Content Wizard is the fastest way to compare your landing page to your competitors’ and identify what’s missing:
Schema analysis is another useful step. Run your competitors’ pages through the schema validator and note in your spreadsheet whether they use local schemas. Add comments if the plan seems detailed. This is useful for finding any possible correlation between improved rankings and on-page optimization tactics.
A Note on Conversion Funnels
This isn’t part of a traditional SEO audit, but being able to engage and convert customers is essential for maintaining consistent organic visibility.
Examine each competitor’s landing page and see if there are any conversion optimization tactics you can copy and experiment with:
- Do you have an online chat option?
- Do you offer an instant appointment scheduling option (if so, is it linked to your Google Business profile)?
- Do you receive phone calls? Are you using innovative tactics, such as IVR or CEH?
- Do you have an FAQ section or knowledge base? Are they well-positioned?
Your competitors may be using many more methods of customer interaction, and you never know if any of them are effective. However, it’s important to be aware of this, as many of your customers may expect certain customer service options based on their experience on competitors’ websites.
Analyzing your competitors’ technology is important to keep yours innovative, so keep track of anything worth investigating later.
Audit Local Citations
Local citation analysis is essential for any competitive analysis, as local citations influence rankings. Google also relies on external citations to determine if a local business is trustworthy and if there are any red flags (e.g., customer review manipulation).
You can search your competitor’s brand or address on Google to identify their primary sources of citations (and rankings). You can use tools like Local Citation Tracker to make this step easier by collecting and organizing your citations and those of your competitors for a more detailed review:
Examine your backlink profiles
Backlinks are very important organic search ranking factors, but it’s always a good idea to check how your competitors generate backlinks and what they do to generate links from local publications, blogs, and communities.
Monitoring your competitors’ backlinks can help you improve your link building strategy and create local connections that can reveal new business opportunities for you and your brand.
SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush can be of great help here. Both tools allow you to filter backlinks by keyword within a domain or by anchor text, so you can quickly find links from local publications:
Start monitoring your local competitors’ rankings
While identifying and analyzing your local competitors can be done manually, monitoring their rankings will likely require a separate dashboard, as it will be difficult to conduct manual research regularly, especially if you’re focusing on multiple search queries and locations.
This is where BrightLocal’s local search grid will be a lifesaver. It gives you a comprehensive view of what users see in your neighborhood, city, or town and allows you to measure map search visibility for your most important keywords:
Conclusion
Competitive analysis for local SEO takes a lot of time and effort, but it can be incredibly rewarding, especially if you take the time to thoroughly analyze each of your competitors and record all the aspects that may have helped them turn the tables.
Local search isn’t easy. In many cases, you’ll wonder why Google chooses to display certain local businesses over others, but a thorough analysis will give you a deeper understanding of your market than you ever imagined. Good luck!
Local SEO Competitor Analysis: The Ultimate Guide to Outranking Your Rivals
