Here’s a actionable, step-by-step framework to perform an On-Page SEO competitive analysis that moves beyond “just looking at keywords” into tactical execution.

Phase 1: Identify Your True Competitors (Not Just Who You Think They Are)

SERP competitors ≠ Business competitors. You’re competing with whoever ranks, not just similar companies.

1. Seed Keyword Mapping: List your 10–15 highest-intent target keywords (not just volume; focus on purchase-intent terms).
2. SERP Extraction: Search each keyword in an incognito/private window. Record the top 10–15 ranking URLs that appear consistently across multiple keywords.
3. Categorize them:
   • Dominators: Rank for 30%+ of your target keywords (your primary study subjects)
   • Niche specialists: Rank for specific long-tail clusters (study their topical depth)
   • New entrants: Recently broke into top 3 (study their on-page tactics—they’re doing something Google currently favors)

Quick Win: Use Ahrefs (Site Explorer > Competing Domains) or SEMrush (Organic Research > Competitors) to automate this, but manually verify the list against your actual business keywords.

Phase 2: Technical On-Page Element Audit

Create a spreadsheet with these columns and analyze your top 3–5 Dominators:

Red Flag to Look For: If competitors are ranking with poor technical elements (missing H1s, weak titles), that signals opportunity—you can out-optimize them on fundamentals alone.

Phase 3: Content Depth & Semantic Analysis

This is where most competitive analysis fails. Don’t just check word count; analyze topical coverage.

The “Content Gap” Method:

1. Extract their subheadings: Copy/paste competitor URLs into Surfer SEO, Clearscope, or Page Optimizer Pro. If budget is tight, use Hemingway Editor + manual inspection.
2. Map the entities: What related concepts do they cover that you don’t? (e.g., if you’re writing about “protein powder,” do they mention “bioavailability,” “amino acid profile,” or “third-party testing”?)
3. Check the “People Also Ask” coverage: Do they explicitly answer the questions Google shows in the PAA boxes within their content?

The Freshness Audit:

• Check the “Last Updated” date (if visible) or use Wayback Machine to see update frequency.
• Action: If competitors update quarterly and you haven’t touched your post in 2 years, that’s your first move.

Phase 4: Internal Linking & Architecture Analysis

On-page SEO is also about how equity flows through their site.

1. Crawl their site with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb (free trial).
2. Check: Do they link from high-authority pages (homepage, category pages) to money pages using exact-match or partial-match anchor text?
3. Content Clustering: Do they use hub-and-spoke models (Pillar page → Cluster content)? Look for “Related Articles” sections or breadcrumb trails that reinforce topical authority.

Tactic to Steal: If Competitor A links from 15 different blog posts to their main service page using varied anchor text, map those same source pages on your site and add strategic internal links.

Phase 5: UX & Engagement Signals (The New On-Page)

Google’s page experience signals are competitive differentiators.

1. Core Web Vitals: Run their URLs through PageSpeed Insights. If they score poorly (red) but rank well, they have strong off-page authority—you’ll need to beat them on technical quality to compensate for weaker backlinks.
2. Content Formatting:
   • Do they use tables of contents (TOC) for jump links?
   • Bullet vs. paragraph density?
   • Image-to-text ratio?
   • Video embeds above the fold?
3. Mobile Rendering: Use Chrome DevTools (Toggle Device Toolbar) to see how their content adapts. Do they hide content on mobile that you show? (Bad practice, but check it).

Phase 6: Build Your Action Matrix

Don’t just collect data—prioritize actions based on effort vs. impact:

Recommended Tool Stack (Budget-Conscious to Pro)

• Free/Low Budget: Screaming Frog (free tier), SEO Minion extension, Google Sheets, PageSpeed Insights, AlsoAsked.com (for PAA data)
• Mid-Tier: Surfer SEO Basic ($19/mo), Ahrefs Lite ($19/mo)
• Enterprise: Sitebulb, Clearscope, SEMrush Business

Quick Start Checklist (Do This Today)

1. Pick your top 3 target keywords
2. Identify the 3 URLs that consistently rank #1–3 for those terms
3. Open all 3 competitor pages + your page in separate tabs
4. Ask: “If I were a user, which page answers my next question better?”
5. Whatever they do that you don’t—add it to your content calendar for next week.

To tailor this specifically for you:

1. What industry/niche are you analyzing? (The competitive dynamics differ wildly between local plumbing, SaaS, and affiliate content sites)
2. Are you analyzing a specific page that’s stuck on page 2, or building a new content strategy from scratch? (This changes whether you do defensive optimization vs. offensive gap-filling)
3. What’s your current tool budget? (I can suggest manual workarounds if you’re bootstrapping vs. automated workflows if you have software access)

Which specific competitor pages are you currently losing to, and what keywords are you targeting? I can help you reverse-engineer the exact on-page factors to prioritize.

How to Perform Competitive Analysis for On-Page SEO

Competitive analysis for On-Page SEO involves dissecting top-ranking pages for your target keywords to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities in elements like titles, headers, content structure, and technical optimizations. This helps you optimize your pages to outrank competitors. Here's a practical, step-by-step guide using free and paid tools. Aim to spend 1-2 hours per keyword cluster.

Step 1: Define Your Target Keywords and Goals

• Action: List 5-10 primary keywords (e.g., "best wireless earbuds") and related long-tail variations using Google Keyword Planner (free), Google Suggest, or AnswerThePublic.
• Why? Focus analysis on high-intent terms where you want to rank.
• Tools:

  Tool	Free Tier?	Best For
  Google Keyword Planner	Yes	Volume & competition
  Ahrefs Keywords Explorer	Limited free	Keyword difficulty & ideas
  SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool	10 searches/day free	Long-tail keywords

• Pro Tip: Prioritize keywords with 1K-10K monthly searches and Keyword Difficulty (KD) < 40.

Step 2: Identify Top Competitors

• Action:
  1. Search your keywords on Google (incognito mode, location-specific).
  2. Note the top 5-10 organic results (ignore ads/PPC).
  3. Use tools to expand:
     • Ahrefs/SEMrush: Enter keyword → "Organic Competitors" tab.
     • Free alternative: Enter domain into SimilarWeb or Ubersuggest.
• Output: Create a spreadsheet with columns: Competitor URL, Domain Rating (DR), Traffic Estimate.
• Example Spreadsheet Row:

  Keyword	Rank 1 URL	DR	Est. Traffic
  wireless earbuds	example.com/review	75	50K/mo

Step 3: Audit On-Page Elements (Core SEO Signals)

Crawl or manually inspect top pages for these elements. Use a checklist.

• Action:

  1. Title Tags & Meta Descriptions:
     • Copy/paste from SERP or view page source (Ctrl+U).
     • Metrics: Length (50-60 chars titles, 150-160 meta), keyword placement (front-loaded?), CTR potential.
  2. Header Structure (H1-H6):
     • Use browser dev tools (F12 → Elements) or Screaming Frog.
     • Check: Keyword in H1? Hierarchy? Topic clusters?
  3. Content Quality:
     • Word count, readability (Hemingway App), E-E-A-T signals (expert quotes, stats).
     • Tools: Copy content to SurferSEO (free trial) for on-page score.
  4. Images & Media:
     • Alt text with keywords? File size/compression? Schema markup?
  5. Internal/External Links:
     • Anchor text relevance, link count (aim 2-5% keyword density).

• Tools for Bulk Audit:

  Tool	Free Tier?	Key Feature
  Screaming Frog SEO Spider	500 URLs free	Crawl & export on-page data
  Sitebulb	Free trial	Visual audits
  Google PageSpeed Insights	Yes	Core Web Vitals

• Spreadsheet Addition: Columns for Title Length, H1 Keyword Match, Word Count, etc.

Step 4: Analyze Technical On-Page Factors

• Action:
  1. Run pages through Google Search Console (if you have access) or Lighthouse (Chrome DevTools).
  2. Check: Schema markup (JSON-LD), mobile-friendliness, page speed (>90 score), canonical tags.
  3. Use Ahrefs/SEMrush Content Audit for gaps like thin content or duplicate headers.
• Benchmark: Compare your page's metrics side-by-side.

Step 5: Synthesize Insights & Create an Action Plan

• Action:
  1. Score competitors (1-10) on each element.
  2. Identify gaps: E.g., "Competitors average 2,500 words; mine is 1,200 → Expand with FAQs."
  3. Prioritize wins: High-impact/low-effort first (e.g., fix titles before rewriting content).
  4. Track post-optimization: Re-run analysis in 4-6 weeks.
• Example Action Items:
  • Rewrite title: Include power words + keyword (e.g., "Best Wireless Earbuds 2026: Top 10 Tested").
  • Add H2s for user intent (e.g., "Pros & Cons", "Buying Guide").
  • Optimize images: Compress + keyword alts.

Common Tools Summary (Budget-Friendly Stack)

• Free: Google Search Console, Screaming Frog (limited), Ubersuggest.
• Paid (Start $19/mo): Ahrefs/SEMrush for SERP overviews.
• Time Estimate: 30 min setup, 1 hour analysis per keyword.

Follow this for 3-5 keywords weekly to see ranking lifts in 1-3 months.

What niche or specific keywords are you targeting (e.g., e-commerce, SaaS)? Share a competitor URL or your target keyword, and I can walk through a live example or customize this further!