Competitor Keywords Guide: How to Find & Win Rival Terms

What Are Competitor Keywords?

Competitor keywords are the search terms your competitors rank for in organic (unpaid) and sponsored (paid) search results. 

They provide insights for your SEO and paid search ads strategies, such as:

• Topics that attract your target audience
• Keywords to target or avoid in SEO or PPC campaigns
• Opportunities to capture traffic from competitors 

Understanding ‘True’ SEO Competitors vs. Business Rivals

A true SEO competitor is a website that ranks in organic search engine results pages (SERPs) for the same keywords your business targets. 

They aren’t always your direct business rivals. And knowing the difference is critical for accurate competitive analysis. 

For example, if a soap business targets “organic shampoo thin hair,” the top result (beneath products) is a blogging site, not another soap brand.

The keyword intent (reason behind the search) is informational, which explains why a blog ranks first. In this case, the soap brand should mimic their SEO competitors' strategy over their business rivals’.

To identify your true SEO competitors, look directly at the SERPs. Then, analyze your website in Domain Overview to identify potential business rivals.

In the tool, the “Competitive Positioning Map” will show you sites that:

• Share many keywords with you 
• Cover similar topics 
• Have similar organic traffic
• Have Authority Scores (a Semrush metric that estimates the quality and ranking potential of a website) within your range 

Because of these similarities, these sites may reveal keyword opportunities you’ve missed. 

You can also ask ChatGPT to identify both SEO competitors and business rivals. Use this customizable prompt: 

"Act as an SEO and competitive analysis expert and identify my true SEO competitors (those who rank for the same keywords and attract similar organic traffic) and my business rivals (companies offering similar products/services to the same audience, regardless of their SEO performance). Base your analysis on the following information about my business:

• Industry: [Insert your industry]
• Target audience: [Insert demographic, psychographic, or buyer persona details]
• Products/services: [List core offerings]
• Primary SEO keywords: [Insert 5–10 keywords you're targeting or ranking for]
• Geographic focus: [Insert local, regional, national, or global focus]”

This will generate a list of potential competitors and rivals for deeper research. 

How to Find Competitors’ Keywords

Semrush offers keyword tools that show the keywords your competitors rank for.

Including:

• Organic Research: View a competitor’s top keywords and pages
• Keyword Gap: Compare your keywords with multiple competitors
• Advertising Research: Find keywords triggering competitors' ads

We’ll cover how to see competitors’ keywords with each tool. 

Check a Single Competitor’s Keywords

Use Organic Research to see a competitor’s keywords and visibility.

Input your rival’s homepage URL and select your target location. Click “Search.”

You’ll see an overview of the site’s organic search presence, including:

• Total Keywords: The number of organic keywords they rank for
• Top Keywords: The keywords generating the most visibility for their site
• Keywords by Intent: A breakdown of their keywords by search intent (more on this later)

To see a list of their best keywords, click “View all # keywords,” under the “Top Keywords” section. 

You’ll see a full list with the following data:

• Position: Where the site ranks in the order of organic search results
• Traffic: The estimated number of clicks they get from a keyword each month
• Traffic %: The percentage of the SERP traffic they capture (out of all traffic for the keyword)
• Search volume: The estimated average number of searches a keyword gets each month (over the past 12 months)
• Keyword Difficulty (KD%): How competitive a keyword is to rank for on the first page (on a 1-100 scale)

You can use these metrics to evaluate whether a keyword is a good fit for your site (more on this later).

And when you find a keyword you like, select the box to the left of the term. Then, click “+ Add to keyword list” to reference later on.

Compare Multiple Competitors’ Keywords

Use Keyword Gap to compare your site’s keywords with up to five competitors and identify gaps in your search visibility.

Enter your homepage URL and the sites you want to compare with. Choose a keyword type (e.g., organic, paid, or PLA), select your target location, and click “Compare.”

You’ll see a high-level overview of your keyword overlap. Place your cursor over the intersections in the chart to see how many keywords you share with those other sites.

And to find gaps, click the “Missing,” tab above the keyword table. This will filter the table to the topics that you’re not ranking for but your competitors are.

The green highlight indicates the competitor ranking in the highest SERP position.

You can close keyword gaps by creating content around missing topics. Prioritize the ones listed in the “Top Opportunities” section of the report. 

They may be quick wins for your website, as long as you create high-quality content that aligns with the keyword’s search intent. 

Find a Competitor’s Paid Keywords

Use Advertising Research to uncover keywords triggering a competitor’s ads.

Enter your rival’s homepage URL and select your location. Then, click “Search.”

The report will open on the “Positions” tab. The table will show the exact keywords that triggered one of your competitor’s ads. 

You’ll also see your competitor’s:

• Ad Rank Position: Where their ad ranked in the order of sponsored results
• Cost per click (CPC): The estimated cost per click to appear for the keyword (based on historical paid search data)
• URL: The landing page their search ad directed users to
• Costs %: The portion of their budget that went to the keyword

Depending on your ad budget and Quality Score, you may want to target similar ads. But we’ll cover the best ways to use these keywords later on. 

How to Choose & Use Competitor Keywords 

Follow these steps to choose the best competitor keywords and use them effectively. 

Step 1. Evaluate Potential Keywords

Use keyword metrics to find the best opportunities for visibility. 

Here are the most important metrics and why they matter. 

Here’s a bit more on each metric:

• Search Intent: Use search intent to identify what type of content is ranking (and what type you should create). Content that matches keyword intent is more likely to rank well. And keywords with certain intent types (e.g., transactional, commercial) may be more likely to result in a conversion.
• Search Volume: Ranking for higher-volume keywords can generally get more eyes and visibility on your site. And keywords with search volume that’s too low may not be worth targeting or bidding on.
• Personal Keyword Difficulty (PKD%): Unlike Keyword Difficulty, PKD% measures the competition level for your specific site based on your topical authority and domain strength. It can help you narrow in on quick wins for your site and rule out keywords that you’re unlikely to rank for.
• Cost Per Click: Helps you identify competitor keywords that are within your PPC budget. Or find more affordable keywords that still have conversion potential.
• Competitive Density: Estimates how competitive a keyword is among advertisers, which may mean more competition for clicks with your search ads. 

Step 2. Apply the Right Strategy 

Here are six strategies for using competitor keywords to improve your SEO or PPC. 

Fill Content Gaps 

If a rival ranks for a keyword you don’t, your site may not cover the topic well enough.

Run a Keyword Gap report to find the “Missing,” “Weak,” or “Untapped” keywords. 

Then:

• Study search intent to decide what type of content to create (blog post, product page, etc.)
• Go deeper than your competitor. Add original insights, research, or subtopics they don’t cover. 
• Check SERP features (e.g., schema markup, FAQs) and optimize for them

Find Long-Tail Keyword Alternatives

If an SEO competitor ranks for a high-difficulty keyword that’s out of reach for your site, target long-tail keyword variations.

Use Keyword Magic Tool with “Broad Match,” and “Phrase Match” tabs to filter for long-tail terms.

Then:

• Choose variations with similar intent
• Prioritize low-PKD% terms for quick wins
• Add FAQs with long-tail variations to existing content 
• Consider running paid ads for the long-tail keyword

Build Topical Authority

If a rival ranks for more keywords than you, it may be because they have more topical authority (i.e., subject matter expertise). 

Build yours by publishing more in-depth content. 

Here’s how:

• Use Keyword Strategy Builder to plan content pillars
• Cover topics in multiple formats (“what is,” “how-to,” etc.)
• Add internal links to related pages with descriptive anchor text
• Publish new content consistently and refresh older content 

Win High-Intent PPC Clicks

If a competitor bids often on a keyword, that keyword is likely driving conversions.

Here’s how to test this for your own campaigns: 

• Use Advertising Research to find their topic paid keywords
• Check CPC, competition, and Cost % to confirm affordability
• Run a short-term PPC campaign to test conversions
• Track results with event tracking in Google Analytics 4

Bid on Branded Keywords Ethically

Bidding on keywords with a rival’s brand name may help you divert traffic toward your site. Google Ads allows it, but avoid using trademarked names in ad copy. 

Focus instead on highlighting your unique value proposition (UVP).

For example, Intuit QuickBooks does a great job of this by:

• Avoiding using their competitors’ names or any trademarks in their ad copy
• Meeting the original search intent of the user by showing a page related to pricing
• Showing a key differentiator from their competitor in the ad copy, which is “bundled payroll and bookkeeping”

To use this strategy in your PPC:

• Create a dedicated campaign for brand-name targeting 
• Target long-tail keywords that include brand names (i.e., “competitor name + reviews,” “competitor name + pricing,” “competitor name + alternatives, etc.)
• Highlight a key differentiator in your ad copy to entice the searcher to click on your ad and learn more
• Use sitelinks to provide as much information as possible to users who may be seeing your brand for the first time

Spot Emerging Keywords with AI

If your competitors aren’t investing in SEO, AI SEO tools can help you identify emerging keywords you may want to go after.

For example, Topic Finder evaluates keyword metrics for you, saving you time and helping you go after high-traffic potential topics faster. 

To use the tool, follow these steps:

• Enter a broad topic, select your audience’s location, and click “Find topics”
• Look for topics that are labeled “Low-hanging fruit”
• Use the title ideas to help you get you get started creating content
• Click “Start writing” to generate an article with AI or start writing on your own 

3. Track and Refine

After targeting a keyword, track your keyword rankings to measure results and refine your strategy. 

Add your keywords to Position Tracking to monitor visibility in real time. Compare performance before and after optimizations.

If your visibility doesn’t improve for a keyword, follow these steps to refine your strategy:

• Do a website audit to see technical issues that may be impacting your visibility
• Use Content Optimizer to find ways to improve your content’s quality
• Find keyword variations with lower competition and reoptimize for them

Get Started with Competitor Keywords 

Now that you know how to find and use competitor keywords, start making a list of new opportunities to go after.

Start by running a Keyword Gap report. You’ll see multiple competitor keywords and identify topics that are missing on your site. 

You can access it (and many of the tools mentioned in this article) with a free Semrush account.