How can you use keyword research to find local competitors?

1 Identify your target market and location

The first step in finding local competitors is to define your target market and location. You need to know who your ideal customers are, what problems they are trying to solve, and where they are searching from. This will help you narrow down your keyword list and focus on the most relevant terms for your business. You can use tools like Google Trends, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console to get insights into your market size, demand, and trends.

3 Analyze your competitors' keyword performance

Once you have a list of local competitors and their keywords, you need to analyze their keyword performance and see how they compare to yours. You can use keyword tools to measure various metrics, such as keyword difficulty, search volume, click-through rate, and cost per click. These metrics can help you assess the competitiveness and profitability of each keyword and identify gaps and opportunities in your keyword strategy. You can also use keyword tools to track your ranking position and changes over time.

4 Evaluate your competitors' content quality

The final step is to evaluate your competitors' content quality and see how they are using their keywords to create engaging and relevant content for their audience. You can use keyword tools to see the top-ranking pages for each keyword and analyze their content elements, such as title, meta description, headings, images, videos, and links. You can also use tools like PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, and Core Web Vitals to check their content performance, such as speed, usability, and accessibility. These factors can affect your ranking and user experience.

By using keyword research to find local competitors, you can gain valuable insights into your target market, your keyword potential, and your content strategy. You can use this information to optimize your SEM campaigns and improve your ranking and visibility in local search results.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?