How to analyze a competitor

There are two places to size up competitors: the one-off Competitor Analysis tool for a full report, and the client's Local → Competitors tab for ongoing monitoring.

How to run a one-off analysis

1. Go to SEO Tools → Competitor Analysis. You land on the New analysis tab.
2. Under Your Client's Business, pick one of your clients. For a prospect, pick Other (Enter URL Manually) and fill in the Client's Website URL (and optionally Client's Business Name (Optional)).
3. Enter the Competitor Business Name and Competitor Website URL.
4. Optional: under Google Business Profile Comparison (Optional), paste the Client's Google Maps Link and Competitor's Google Maps Link to compare reviews, ratings and descriptions.
5. Click Send Zeus After Them. The cost shows on the button.

It takes a few minutes, and the progress bar shows what Zeus is comparing. You can leave the page: the analysis saves its progress, carries on and appears in Past analyses. A slow or busy data source is asked again a little later rather than left out. If a part still can't be checked after several tries, the report says so at the top (Couldn't check everything) with the reason.

The report

It opens with an Executive Summary: Keyword gaps, High-opportunity keywords, Competitor town pages in your areas and Content opportunities, then the Top 3 Opportunities. The tabs:

• Keyword Gaps: keywords the competitor ranks for in the top 20 (US-wide search data) where the client doesn't rank or ranks 5+ places lower. Searches for the competitor's own name are left out. Difficulty shows — when there's no estimate.
• Meta Tags: page titles and descriptions side by side.
• Content Gaps: the competitor's pages that bring them search traffic, with an estimate of that traffic. Check the client has a page for each topic. Town pages in your service areas lists the competitor's location pages for towns the client serves (its service areas and town; for a service-area business, never the registered town), with the searches each ranks for. For a prospect entered by URL every location page is listed.
• Google Profile: found from each Maps link. If a link doesn't lead to that exact business, the section is left out rather than showing a neighbor's reviews, and the report says which profile couldn't be found.
• Backlinks: both sites' link profiles.
• Technical SEO: read from both homepages after any redirect. A homepage that couldn't be read shows Not checked and never counts as the competitor's advantage. Domain age, renewal date and traffic value are for information only.
• AI Overview: the keyword gaps searched from the client's town. It counts only real AI Overviews (not featured snippets) and lists ones that cite the competitor and not you, with Create a Blog.

Click Download PDF Report to share it, or Track Competitor to add the competitor to a client. The PDF uses your agency's logo, name and color on Growth and Agency plans, and shows the first 20 meta-tag pages (the rest are in the app). It's rebuilt automatically if the report, your branding or the PDF design changed since it was made.

Past analyses lets you filter by business, search, reopen, download or delete.

How to monitor competitors for a client

On the client's Local → Competitors tab there are three tabs:

• Competitors (n/3): up to 3 competitors Zeus actively watches. Click Add Competitor, enter a name and website and click Add.
  • Analyze finds content and ranking gaps for that one competitor (cost on the button).
  • Send to Shadows parks a competitor without deleting it, to free a slot. Find it under In the Shadows and bring it back with Move into Sight.
  • To clear a competitor's data, send it to the shadows, then click the bin icon. You're asked "Permanently delete this competitor and all their data?" This deletes its keyword gaps and citations. Right now the competitor's name still stays listed under In the Shadows.
• Keyword Gaps: keywords the competitors rank for, with volume and both ranks. Click a tile to filter: Content Gaps (the client doesn't rank at all), Ranking Gaps (the competitor ranks more than 5 places higher) or Competitive (both rank close together). Up to 100 rows show.
• Citations: the client's directory listings beside each competitor's, with NAP status (Match ✓, Mismatch, Unverified).

Zeus uses these competitors in his findings and watches the top map pack competitors each month (see competitor watch).

Examples

• A prospect losing to the big franchise: pick Other (Enter URL Manually), enter both sites and Maps links, and bring the PDF to the meeting.
• A client's monthly watch: add their 3 closest rivals, click Analyze on each, and turn the Content Gaps into blog posts.
• A rival closed down: Send to Shadows, then add the new one.

Limits and what it can't do

• One competitor per full analysis.
• 3 actively watched competitors per client. Competitors in the shadows don't count.
• Keyword gaps use US-wide search data.
• Full analyses are limited to 10 a minute and 150 a day per agency; client Analyze clicks share the same limit. PDF downloads: 30 a minute and 1,000 a day.
• You can't enter the client's own website as the competitor, and a client needs a website on file.

Credits

• Competitor analysis: one charge per Send Zeus After Them. It's one of the bigger charges, because each run makes dozens of live search, backlink and AI Overview lookups. Charged once, however long it takes. If it fails, the credits are returned.
• Competitor keyword gaps: one charge per Analyze click on a client's saved competitor. Returned if it fails. Zeus's monthly scan refreshes these gaps for free.
• Reopening past analyses and PDFs is free.

You can also run a saved competitor's keyword check from a connected AI assistant, which shows the cost first. See Connect an AI assistant.

Who can use it

• The full tool: Owners and Admins, and Members with Competitor Analysis on.
• The client's Local → Competitors tab: anyone with the Clients tool.
• A Member limited to some clients sees only those clients' analyses on Past analyses, plus analyses that match no client.
• Client people can't use either.

Troubleshooting

• "Please fill in all required fields": fill in the business, competitor name and competitor website.
• "Please enter your client's website URL": you picked Other (Enter URL Manually); add the client's site.
• "Please enter a valid competitor website URL" or "Please enter a valid client website URL": check for typos; include the full domain.
• "[Client] has no website on file. Add it to the client first.": add the website on the client's details.
• "That's the client's own website. Enter a competitor's website.": use the rival's site.
• "This analysis failed and its credits were returned. Run it again.": start a new analysis.
• "The analysis couldn't be finished: … Its credits were returned.": often the keyword data for one site couldn't be had. Check both sites load, then run it again.
• "Lost touch with the analysis. It carries on in the background — find it in Past analyses.": your connection dropped. Nothing is lost; open Past analyses in a few minutes.
• "This analysis is still running. Check back in a few minutes.": it's not done yet.
• "Maximum 3 active competitors. Send one to the shadows first." or "Zeus is already watching 3 competitors for [client]. Send one to the shadows first.": send one to the shadows to free a slot.
• "Run competitor analysis to discover keyword gaps": no gaps yet. Click Analyze on a competitor.
• "You're going too fast — try again in 1 minute.": wait the time shown.