Competitor Keywords: How to Find & Win Rivals’ Best Terms

Competitor keywords represent terms that are already working for other businesses in your space. They help you understand demand, pinpoint content gaps, and identify opportunities to outperform competing sites in unpaid and paid search. 

This guide explains what competitor keywords are, how to find competitor keywords, and how to use those terms in SEO and PPC strategies that drive results.

What Are Competitor Keywords?

Competitor keywords are the search terms your competitors rank for in organic (unpaid) and sponsored (paid) search results that you can target to achieve better results in both traditional search and AI search. 

Running a competitor keyword analysis helps you:

• Uncoverprofitable terms to use in paid campaigns
• Identify gaps in your existing content
• Find opportunities to improve pages and outperform rivals

What Are SEO Competitors vs. Business Rivals?

SEO competitors are websites that show in search results for the same keywords and terms you target, while business rivals are companies that sell similar products or services to the same audience.

Consider a soap business interested in targeting the term "organic shampoo thin hair." The top result (beneath products) is a blogsite—not another soap brand. The blog site is an SEO competitor but not a business rival. 

The keyword intent (the reason behind the search) for “organic shampoo for thin hair” is informational, which explains why a blog ranks first. In this case, the soap brand should mimic their SEO competitors' strategies over their business rivals' strategies.

To identify your SEO competitors, look directly at the search engine results pages (SERPs). Then, use Domain Overview to identify SEO competitors based on keyword overlap.

In Domain Overview, the "Competitive Positioning Map" will show you sites that:

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

Because your SEO competitors target similar topics and have similar metrics, studying them may reveal keyword opportunities you've missed.

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

"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]"

After entering your prompt into ChatGPT, you’ll get a list of potential competitors and rivals for deeper research. 

How to Find Competitors' Keywords

How to find competitors’ keywords depends on whether you’re analyzing unpaid search results, paid search terms, or using free versus paid methods.

You can use the following methods to find competitor keywords:

• Manually studying content: Study your competitors’ content to uncover their keywords
• 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

Find Competitor Keywords Manually (Free Method)

Find competitor keywords for free by reviewing which terms appear most often in a competitor’s on-page elements and search results.

Start by reviewing a competitor’s key pages—their homepage, main product or service pages, and recent blog posts—and look for repeated terms in places that are typically used to reflect a page’s primary keywords:

• Page titles and H1 headings
• Subheadings (H2, H3, etc.)
• Meta descriptions
• First and last paragraphs
• URL structures
• Image alt text

Manually finding rivals’ keywords works well for basic competitor keyword analyses, but it doesn’t show search volume, difficulty, or traffic potential. For deeper insights and scalable analysis, keyword research tools provide faster and more reliable data.

Check a Single Competitor's Keywords

Check a single competitor’s organic keywords using Organic Research.

Input a competitor's homepage URL and select your target location. Click "Search."

You'll see an overview of the competing 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 a competitor’s best keywords in Organic Research, click "View all # keywords" in the "Top Keywords" section.

You'll see a full list with the following data that you can use to evaluate whether a keyword is a good fit for your site:

• 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 difficult it is to rank on the first page of Google for a keyword (on a 1-100 scale)

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.

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.

To find gaps in Keyword Gap, 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 position.

You can close keyword gaps by creating content around missing topics. Prioritize the ones listed in the "Top Opportunities" section of the report because they may be quick wins for your website as long as your content matches the keyword's search intent.

You can also switch to the “Untapped” tab in Keyword Gap to find competitor keywords where none of your pages currently rank—these terms are ideal for new content ideas.

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."

Advertising Research will open on the "Positions" tab. The table will show the exact keywords that triggered one of your competitor's ads, and you'll also see your competitor's:

• Ad Rank Position: Where their ad ranked among 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 estimated portion of their total traffic cost that went to the keyword

Depending on your ad budget and Quality Score, you may want to target the same keywords. Later in this guide, you’ll use these competitor PPC keywords to build high-intent campaigns for your business.

How to Choose & Use Competitor Keywords

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

1. Evaluate Potential Keywords

Use the below keyword metrics together to find the best opportunities for visibility:

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 increase visibility on your site. Keywords with low search volume 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 identify quick wins for your site and rule out keywords that you're unlikely to rank for.
• Cost Per Click (CPC): Tells you which competitor keywords are within your PPC budget. It can also help you 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.

Should You Target High-Competition vs. Low-Competition Keywords?

Most sites should target a mix of high- and low-competition keywords, using high-competition terms for long-term growth and low-competition terms for faster wins.

High-competition keywords have many established sites competing for them and usually require more time and authority to gain visibility. They typically feature:

• Personal Keyword Difficulty scores above 70%
• Moderate to high search volume, which can vary by niche
• Longer timelines to see results, often six months or more

Low-competition keywords are easier to appear for and can drive earlier traffic gains. They typically feature:

• Personal Keyword Difficulty scores below 40%
• Lower or niche-specific search volume
• Shorter timelines to see results, often one to three months

Use PKD% in Semrush tools to see which high-competition keywords are realistic for your site based on your existing authority.

2. Apply the Right Strategy

Here are six ways to use competitor keywords to improve your SEO or PPC efforts.

Fill Content Gaps

If a rival ranks for a keyword you don't or that you rank poorly for, your site may not cover the topic well enough.

Do a keyword gap analysis using Keyword Gap to find "Missing," "Weak," or "Untapped" keywords worth pursuing.

Once you’ve identified keywords that represent a content gap:

• 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, etc.) 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 the Keyword Magic Tool with the "Broad Match" and "Phrase Match" tabs to filter for long-tail terms.

Once you have some long-tail terms:

• 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 long-tail keywords

Long-tail competitor keywords are especially useful for smaller sites. They help you attract qualified traffic while you slowly build authority for more competitive terms.

Build Topical Authority

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

Build your authority by publishing more in-depth content on many related subtopics. Here's how:

• Use Keyword Strategy Builder to plan content pillars
• Cover topics in multiple formats ("what is," "how-to," etc.)
• Publish new content consistently and refresh older content

Win High-Intent PPC Clicks

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

Here's how to see whether a competitor’s paid keyword is effective in your own campaigns:

• Use Advertising Research to do PPC keyword research
• Check CPC, competition, and Cost % (share of ad spend) to confirm affordability
• Run a short-term PPC campaign to test conversions
• Track results with event tracking in Google Analytics 4

For easier tracking and budget control, create a separate Google Ads campaign for competitor keywords instead of mixing them with your terms.

As you collect data, focus on the keywords that drive conversions. You can refine bids, messaging, and landing pages over time based on performance.

Bid on Branded Keywords Ethically

Bidding on keywords with a rival's brand name is allowed by Google and may help you divert traffic toward your site, but avoid using trademarked names in ad copy.

For your paid search ads, focus 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 user’s original search intent by showing a page related to pricing
• Showing a key differentiator from their competitor in the ad copy, which is "bundle payroll and bookkeeping"

To use a competitor’s branded terms the right way in your PPC ads:

• 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
• Use sitelinks (a feature that shows additional webpages) to provide as much information as possible to users who may be seeing your brand for the first time

Spot Emerging Keywords with AI

AI SEO tools can help you spot emerging keywords you may want to go after to get ahead of competitors.

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

To use Topic Finder, 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 started creating content
• Click "Start writing" to generate an article with AI or start writing on your own

To validate these ideas, compare AI-suggested topics with competitor keyword reports—like Organic Research or Keyword Gap—to confirm competitors aren’t already ranking for those terms. These gaps are topics with limited direct competition.

3. Track and Refine

Track competitor keywords over time to understand what’s working and where you need to adjust.

Add your target keywords to Position Tracking to monitor visibility, average position, and SERP features. Compare performance before and after optimizations to see which changes improve rankings.

To keep competitor insights current, add competitor domains directly to your Position Tracking campaign. This lets you see ranking changes side by side and quickly spot shifts in strategy.

As you uncover new competitor keywords or notice changes in rankings, update your Position Tracking campaign to include those terms. This keeps your data accurate and ensures you’re measuring progress against the right benchmarks.

Use the data from Position Tracking to refine your strategy: 

• Discover opportunities
• Act on them
• Track results
• Refine your approach

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 creating a Keyword Gap report. You'll see multiple competitor keywords and identify topics that are missing on your site. 

You can access Keyword Gap with a free Semrush account.

FAQs About Competitor Keywords

How Do You Find Competitors’ Keywords for Free?

To find your competitors’ keywords for free, review repeated terms in competitor page titles, headings, meta descriptions, and on-page content.

Which Competitor Keywords Should You Prioritize First?

Prioritize the competitor keywords that have clear relevance to your brand, attainable difficulty levels, and enough search volume to justify effort. Low-competition opportunities usually offer the fastest wins.

Are Competitor Keywords Good for PPC Campaigns?

Yes, competitor keywords are good for PPC campaigns, especially for commercial terms that signal strong purchase intent. Just monitor performance closely since competitor terms can be expensive.

How Often Should You Repeat Competitor Keyword Research?

It’s a good idea to review competitor keyword insights monthly. Competitors update content, shift budgets, and launch new campaigns frequently, so regular monitoring helps you react quickly to keep your content and ads competitive.