Using SEMrush for Competitive Research: A Guide for SMBs

Small and medium businesses often grapple with one critical question when entering or expanding in a market: “Who exactly am I competing against, and how can I outrank them?” While you might have a solid sense of local competitors—perhaps that new bakery down the street or a well-established marketing firm across town—gaining detailed, data-backed insights can be challenging without the right toolset. That’s where SEMrush shines. Originally known for keyword analytics, SEMrush has evolved into a comprehensive platform that covers everything from keyword research and on-page SEO audits to advanced competitive analysis, link building, and local SEO campaign optimization.

In this guide, we’ll explore how small and medium businesses (SMBs) can tap SEMrush’s competitive research features to understand rivals’ strategies, identify local ranking opportunities, and ultimately refine your brand’s own content plan. Whether you’re looking to outrank the pizzeria down the road or a bigger e-commerce site shipping to your region, SEMrush’s robust data helps you chart the path to higher visibility and leads. We’ll delve into how to set up your competitor tracking, interpret core metrics, and develop a local or niche blueprint to stay one step ahead—an essential advantage in today’s crowded digital landscape.

Why Competitive Research Matters for SMBs

Revealing Market Gaps and Opportunities
Many SMB owners rely on gut feeling to decide which keywords to target or which offerings are unique in their locale. Data-driven competitive analysis clarifies these assumptions, highlighting how your best-known competitor might be missing certain product lines or ignoring certain neighborhood segments. If your local craft store sees that the big-box retailer overlooks “DIY wedding décor in [City],” you can corner that market with specialized blog content or a dedicated section on your site.

Learning from Competitors’ Triumphs (and Pitfalls)
While no two businesses are identical, you can draw valuable lessons from how other brands succeed (or stumble). A competitor’s thriving blog might signal that in-depth tutorials on region-specific concerns—like “plumbing tips for older homes in [City]”—resonate with local audiences. Alternatively, seeing high bounce rates or poor search visibility for a competitor’s certain keywords suggests you can produce better, more relevant content on that topic.

Supporting Your Local SEO Strategy
For SMBs with a strong local footprint, the distinction between local competitors and broader ones is crucial. A competitor across the country might rank for general industry terms, but your real challenge could lie with that small firm in the next town over. SEMrush’s geo-focused data can tell you precisely how well local rivals rank in “near me” searches, which local keywords they appear for, and where you can outshine them with location-based enhancements.

Maximizing ROI
Without competitive research, you risk investing in the wrong content or ad campaigns—chasing terms too saturated or ignoring less obvious terms that nonetheless yield strong local conversions. SEMrush analytics minimize guesswork, letting you prioritize high-potential targets. For an SMB with finite resources, every marketing move must be strategic and measured, ensuring the best possible returns on time, budget, and effort.

Setting Up Competitor Analysis in SEMrush

Identifying Core Competitors

Before diving into SEMrush, it helps to list your known rivals:

  • Direct Competitors: Brands offering the same product line or service in your region.
  • Indirect Competitors: Sites that might fulfill similar user needs, though not exactly identical in service (for instance, a local gym might consider wellness influencers or sports clubs as partial competitors if they vie for the same audience).
  • Online-Only or E-commerce Rivals: Even if your local shop mostly competes with the store next door, certain e-commerce sites might attract your city’s shoppers if they deliver quickly.

Armed with these names, head into SEMrush’s Domain Overview or Competitive Research module. Plug in each competitor’s domain to glean data on their top pages, traffic estimates, and keyword footprint. In the local SEO context, watch for location-based terms—like “caterers in [City],” “affordable seo for small business near me,” etc.

Domain Overview Essentials

SEMrush’s Domain Overview reveals fundamental metrics:

  • Authority Score: Gauges how “trusted” or “influential” a domain appears based on backlinks, traffic, and other signals.
  • Organic Traffic: An estimate of monthly search visits (though actual numbers might differ). A competitor with a surprisingly high or low figure suggests you examine their content strategy or marketing approach.
  • Top Organic Keywords: See which queries drive the lion’s share of their traffic. If you’re contending for local SEO, note how many references to city names or local phrases appear.
  • Main Organic Competitors: SEMrush suggests additional domains that rank for similar keywords. This can reveal unexpected players in your market, like a community blog or a newly launched brand.

For each competitor, ask: Which local or niche terms are they capitalizing on, and which relevant terms might remain untapped? By answering that, you can craft your own cluster of content to fill gaps or outrank them in city-based queries.

Uncovering Keyword Opportunities

The Keyword Gap Tool

One of SEMrush’s most popular features is the Keyword Gap analysis. You enter your domain and one or more competitor domains, and the tool highlights where your rivals rank while you don’t. For SMBs aiming to grow local market share, filtering these results to area-specific queries can expose terms like “pet-friendly restaurant in [Neighborhood]” or “best day spa near [Landmark].” From there, decide which of those uncovered phrases align with your offerings, then produce or optimize content accordingly.

Pro Tip
Look for queries with moderate search volume but high local intent. A phrase like “outdoor wedding venue in [City Park]” might not be global in scale, but it can convert strongly if you run a local event space. The Keyword Gap tool helps you see if a competitor’s site ranks for that phrase—while you remain absent from results.

Keyword Magic Tool

SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool is also invaluable. Typing in a seed keyword (e.g., “coffee shop [City]”) yields long-tail variations and question-based terms (“coffee shops open late in [City],” “best coffee near [Landmark],” etc.). Group these terms into clusters, referencing advanced topic modeling strategies to ensure each cluster resonates with user intent. Having these clusters allows you to form pillar content or subtopics, systematically covering a subject in a way that surpasses competitor pages.

Local SEO Example
If your domain is a local bakery, input “bakery in [City],” examine the related queries, and notice “vegan bakery [City],” “cupcake delivery near me,” or “coffee and pastries downtown [City].” Each subtopic can be a future blog post or landing page. Meanwhile, check if competitor sites outrank you. If so, refine your content’s depth, add user testimonials, or highlight local references to outrank them.

Beyond keyword rankings, inbound links remain a key factor in search engine visibility. SEMrush’s Backlink Analytics reveals how many sites link to your domain (and how many link to your competitors). Observing competitor backlinks shows you potential link-building avenues:

  • Are they listed on local directories or city chamber of commerce sites that you overlooked?
  • Which industry blogs mention them but not you? Possibly you can pitch a guest post or highlight a unique product offering to earn coverage.
  • Do they maintain cross-promotional partnerships with local charities or events?

For a local florist, noticing competitor listings in a wedding vendor directory might prompt you to sign up too. A few high-authority local references can boost your domain authority enough to outrank them for “[City] wedding flowers.” Tools like Moz’s list of local SEO references also guide you on how to replicate or surpass competitor link profiles.

Not all backlinks hold equal weight. The “Referring Domains” tab in SEMrush shows domain-level authority. If your competitor has many links from well-known local news sites or city government subdomains, it indicates strong local trust signals. Meanwhile, a chain of suspicious or low-quality links might hamper them. If you spot such patterns, you can position your brand to highlight authenticity, forging ties with more reputable local institutions. If your competitor thrives on questionable link-building, their success may be temporary; you could outrank them with a more stable, white-hat approach.

Content Marketing Insights

Topic Gap & Content Gaps

SEMrush also offers content gap functionality in the Organic Research or Keyword Gap sections. It flags topics your competitors cover extensively but your site hasn’t touched. For example, if you see a competitor’s blog frequently mentions “holiday decorating tips for [City],” but you’ve never produced a holiday post referencing local deals or décor, that’s a chance to jump in with local flair. Meanwhile, if competitor coverage seems shallow, you can produce a more in-depth guide that might outrank them.

Tracking Competitor SERP Features

Check which SERP features your rivals occupy, such as Featured Snippets, Local 3-Pack listings, or “People Also Ask” expansions. If they secure a snippet for “How to repair a leaky faucet in [City],” examine how you can optimize a how-to article or embed step-by-step structured data. Tools like Google’s Developer Documentation show how to format Q&A pages or how-to markup, which might elevate your content above competitor results.

Monitoring Local Advertising & PPC Overlaps

Though primarily an organic SEO tool, SEMrush also reveals competitor ad campaigns. If local competitors frequently bid on “emergency plumbing [City],” that might explain why your site doesn’t appear in top results for those paid queries. While you might not intend to run extensive PPC campaigns, gleaning your rivals’ top paid keywords can clarify which terms they consider profitable. You can then produce robust blog content or service pages organically targeting the same keywords. If the cost-per-click is high, ranking for those terms organically might net a substantial competitive edge.

Local SEO Angle
Looking at competitor ads might also highlight “near me” phrases or city-based terms you’d overlooked. For instance, a competitor’s ad copy referencing “24/7 water damage repair in [City Suburb]” suggests that suburb has demand. Building a specialized landing page for that suburb could help you organically capture those residents searching for round-the-clock service.

Integrating SEMrush Findings into Your SEO Strategy

Building a Content Roadmap

The best use of SEMrush’s data—keyword gap analyses, competitor domain breakdowns, content gap insights—is to inform a content roadmap. Outline new topics you’ll address, existing articles you’ll optimize with local references, or videos or infographics that might fill holes in your competitor’s coverage. Prioritize them based on potential search volume, competitor difficulty, or alignment with your business’s revenue goals. Tools like Trello or Asana can help schedule these content tasks into an editorial calendar.

Enhancing On-Page SEO

If competitor research shows they heavily include “affordable seo for small business in [City]” throughout their headings and anchor texts while you only mention it once, you can adjust your meta titles, headings, or internal link anchor text accordingly. If your competitor outranks you with well-structured subheadings, bullet points, or local references, match or surpass that level of detail. Keep in mind user experience—merely repeating keywords without real substance can backfire.

Armed with insights from competitor backlink profiles, you might:

  • Approach the same local directories or business associations for an inclusion or feature.
  • Request guest post slots on the same local blogs that link to your competitor, offering a unique angle or data set to stand out.
  • Collaborate with organizations your competitor missed. If they haven’t engaged a local philanthropic group or festival, you might fill that gap for fresh local linking opportunities.

Monitor your new links in SEMrush’s “Backlink Audit” or “Referring Domains” to confirm that they’re recognized and strengthening your domain authority.

Measuring Impact Over Time

SEMrush’s tools allow domain-level and page-level ranking tracking. After implementing new content or link-building tactics, track how your domain or specific URLs climb (or not) for targeted queries. If you produce a “Local HVAC Maintenance Guide” to outdo a competitor, see if you soon outrank them for “HVAC tips in [City]” or “HVAC repair near me.” Adjust as needed—some queries might require more robust content or additional local references.

Avoiding Pitfalls in SEMrush Competitive Analysis

Obsessing Over High-Volume Terms Only
Many SMB owners chase big keywords like “SEO agency” ignoring that “SEO agency in [City Suburb]” might yield fewer monthly searches but a higher conversion rate. A thorough SEMrush approach includes evaluating these smaller, more precise terms—particularly for local markets.

Copying Rivals Blindly
Competitive insights aim to reveal what’s working for others. But don’t replicate competitor content verbatim. Instead, seek to produce deeper or more relevant material, add unique brand insights, or present a local viewpoint they lack. Straight duplication may risk plagiarism or fail to differentiate your brand.

Overlooking Niche Opportunities
If you see an entire cluster of terms your competitor overlooks—like a neighbor association’s directory or a specialized local holiday event—capitalize on it. Sometimes the best strategy is covering unserved local queries rather than clashing head-on over ultra-competitive words.

Failing to Update Analysis
Competitive landscapes shift. A competitor might pivot to new services, or a new brand might pop up in your region. Revisiting SEMrush insights monthly or quarterly ensures you respond swiftly to any changes—like new local events or competitor content that threatens your current ranking.

Conclusion

For small and medium businesses aiming to thrive in local or niche markets, competitive research is more than a cursory glance at rival websites—it’s a vital step in shaping a winning SEO plan. SEMrush offers powerful capabilities for analyzing competitor keywords, domain authority, backlink strategies, and local search presence. By synthesizing these insights, you can isolate profitable or under-served terms, develop well-structured content clusters, strengthen your local domain authority, and refine your site’s user experience to outmatch even bigger rivals.

A well-executed strategy means consistently revisiting SEMrush data, spotting new opportunities or threats, and evolving your editorial or promotional approach. Over time, you’ll see how each refined blog post or new local link translates to better rankings for queries that matter—like “emergency locksmith in [City Suburb]” or “healthy meal kits delivered near me.” Ultimately, a thorough competitor analysis lifts you beyond guesswork, ensuring your every SEO move stands on robust, data-informed foundations.

If you’re looking to seamlessly integrate SEMrush analysis into a targeted, local SEO strategy, Rank & Scale can help. We’ll guide you in interpreting competitor data, organizing content priorities, and forging stronger local link-building partnerships.

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