If you want to be successful in affiliate marketing, looking at what your competitors are doing is a smart move. Why? Because they’ve likely already put a lot of effort into figuring out which keywords bring traffic to their site. When you reverse-engineer your competitors’ SEO you can learn from their successes (and mistakes) to create a strategy that works for you.
Here’s how you can analyze your competitors and get insights into their keyword strategy.
Step 1: Identify Your Competitors
Before you can analyze your competitors, you need to find them! These are the websites or blogs that are targeting the same audience and promoting similar products or services. Use Google to find them. They are the ones that show up on the first page of search results for the niche you are considering.
Example: If you’re running a blog about fitness products, your competitors might be websites or blogs like:
- Nerd Fitness
- MyFitnessPal Blog
- Runner’s World
Once you know who your competitors are, it’s time to dig into their content.
Step 2: Explore Their Content
Go to the competitor’s website and check out their blog posts, articles, product reviews, and landing pages. What kinds of content are they creating? Take notes on these things:
- What topics are they covering? Are they talking about specific products, fitness routines, or dieting strategies?
- How long are their posts? Do they write in-depth, long-form articles, or are their posts shorter and to the point?
- Which posts have the most engagement (comments, shares)? This can give you clues about what’s resonating with their audience.
Example: If a competitor has an article titled “The 10 Best Protein Powders for Muscle Gain”, you can assume they’re targeting people interested in supplements for fitness. You might then think about writing something similar, but with a twist, like “Top 10 Budget-Friendly Protein Powders for Muscle Gain”. This way, you’re targeting a similar keyword but adding a unique angle to differentiate your content. DO NOT COPY THEIR CONTENT. This is not cool or legal. Write your own content. Yiou can use AI to help you.
Step 3: Look for Keywords They’re Targeting
Now that you’ve got a sense of the content your competitors are publishing, you need to figure out which keywords they’re using to rank on Google. There are a few tools that make this process easier.
Tool Example:
- Google Keyword Planner (Free and easy to use)
- SEMrush (Paid, more advanced)
- Ahrefs (Paid, very powerful)
In my opinion, the cost of the last two tools is way out of reach for someone just starting out. The monthly costs are very high. I let my accounts go after just one month as it was overkill for my needs. So I suggest you start with the free option and go from there.
With that in mind, let’s break this down using the free tool Google Keyword Planner.
Use Google Keyword Planner to Spy on Your Competitors’ SEO Strategy
If the term “spy” feels a bit sneaky (it’s really not in the world of marketing), think of this as reverse-engineering your competitors’ SEO strategy. It may sound technical, but it’s actually a straightforward process using a free and trusted tool: Google Keyword Planner.
Here’s how to do it:
Discover Competitor Keywords Using Google Keyword Planner
- Go to Google Keyword Planner
(You’ll need a free Google Ads account, but you don’t have to run any ads.) - Click on “Discover New Keywords.”
- Select the “Start with a Website” option.
This is where the reverse-engineering happens. - Enter your competitor’s website URL in the field provided.
You can choose to analyze the entire site or just a specific page. Example: If your competitor is nerdfitness.com, you can enter their homepage, or if they have a popular article like/best-protein-powders, you can paste that specific URL. - Click “Get Results.”
Analyze the Keyword Results
Google will now show you a list of keyword ideas based on the content from the website or page you entered. These are likely the same or related keywords your competitor is targeting.
Example:
If the page is about protein powders, you might see keyword suggestions like:
- “best protein powder for muscle gain”
- “top protein powders”
- “whey protein benefits”
- “vegan protein powder for women”
Look through the list and focus on:
- Search Volume: Indicates how many people are searching for that keyword monthly.
- Competition: Shows how competitive that keyword is for advertisers (it also gives you an idea of SEO difficulty).
- Keyword Relevance: Check if the keyword matches your content goals.
Step 4: Look for Gaps in Their Keyword Strategy
After you’ve identified the keywords your competitors are targeting, it’s time to look for gaps. This is where you can outshine them. Here are a few ways to spot opportunities:
- Look for similar but more specific keywords. If they’re targeting “best protein powders,” try targeting something more specific like “best protein powders for women over 40” or “best protein powders for weight loss.”
- Look for keywords that don’t have a lot of competition. Using a free tool like MOZ Keyword Research or Ryan’s Free Research Tool,, you can check the keyword difficulty. If a keyword is too competitive, it will be tough to rank for. But if it has lower competition, you have a better chance of ranking higher.
- Find long-tail keywords. These are longer, more specific keyword phrases. For example, instead of targeting just “protein powder,” you could target “best protein powder for weight loss and muscle gain.” Long-tail keywords are usually less competitive and more targeted, which can help attract a more specific audience.
Step 5: Create Better Content
Once you’ve found a few keywords your competitors are ranking for (or keywords they missed), it’s time to create content around them. But here’s the key: Don’t just copy what your competitors are doing. You need to do it better.
How to do it better:
- Add more detail. If your competitor’s article is 800 words long, write a more comprehensive post of 1,500-2,000 words. Include more information, tips, and recommendations.
- Update outdated information. If you notice that your competitor’s article is from 2018, make sure your content includes more recent information or new product reviews.
- Make your content more engaging. Use images, videos, and bullet points to make your content easier to read and more visually appealing.
- Offer something extra. Maybe you can create a downloadable guide, a comparison chart, or a helpful checklist that adds value to your content.
Example: If your competitor’s article on protein powders doesn’t include a comparison of the top products, you could create a detailed comparison chart with pros, cons, and ratings of each product.
Step 6: Track Your Results
Once you’ve published your content, monitor how it’s doing. Are you starting to rank for the new keywords you targeted? If you’re not seeing results right away, don’t worry—it takes time. Keep improving your content, adding new keywords, and refining your strategy.
When you reverse-engineer your competitors’ SEO, you can gain a huge edge in affiliate marketing. By checking out their content, using keyword research tools, and looking for gaps in their strategy, you can find great opportunities to rank higher and attract more visitors. Always remember: The goal isn’t to copy your competitors but to learn from them and create better, more valuable content. Over time, you’ll establish yourself as a trusted source in your niche—and that’s how you build a successful affiliate marketing business.
Check out this post for more information on Niche Keyword Research
