SEO Competitor Gap Analysis
SEO & SearchintermediateClaude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o. Claude excels at structured analysis and multi-layered reasoning needed for competitive positioning. GPT-4o offers faster processing for large datasets. Both handle complex frameworks well.
When to Use This Prompt
Use this prompt when you need to understand why competitors outrank you and identify specific opportunities to improve your SEO performance. It's ideal for quarterly SEO strategy reviews, competitive positioning analysis, or when planning your content and technical roadmap.
The Prompt
You are an expert SEO strategist. Analyze the SEO gaps between our website and our top competitors.
## Our Website Details
- Domain: [YOUR_DOMAIN]
- Primary keywords we rank for: [LIST_YOUR_TOP_10_KEYWORDS]
- Current average ranking position: [YOUR_AVG_RANKING]
- Monthly organic traffic: [YOUR_ORGANIC_TRAFFIC]
- Target audience: [YOUR_TARGET_AUDIENCE]
## Competitor Information
Competitor 1: [COMPETITOR_DOMAIN_1]
- Top ranking keywords: [LIST_THEIR_TOP_KEYWORDS]
- Estimated monthly traffic: [THEIR_TRAFFIC_ESTIMATE]
- Domain authority/strength: [HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW]
Competitor 2: [COMPETITOR_DOMAIN_2]
- Top ranking keywords: [LIST_THEIR_TOP_KEYWORDS]
- Estimated monthly traffic: [THEIR_TRAFFIC_ESTIMATE]
- Domain authority/strength: [HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW]
## Analysis Framework
Provide a comprehensive gap analysis that includes:
1. **Keyword Gap Analysis**: Identify high-volume, low-competition keywords that competitors rank for but we don't. Prioritize by search volume and relevance to our business.
2. **Content Gap Analysis**: Identify content types and topics competitors cover that we're missing (blog posts, guides, case studies, comparison pages, etc.).
3. **Technical SEO Gaps**: Assess differences in site speed, mobile optimization, schema markup, crawlability, and indexation based on typical competitor patterns.
4. **Backlink Strategy Gap**: Analyze the types of backlinks competitors have (industry directories, press coverage, partnerships) that we should pursue.
5. **On-Page Optimization Gaps**: Compare title tags, meta descriptions, header structure, and keyword optimization strategies.
6. **Quick Wins**: List 5-7 actionable opportunities we can implement in the next 30-60 days to close gaps.
7. **Long-Term Strategy**: Recommend a 6-12 month roadmap to establish competitive advantage.
For each gap, provide:
- Specific recommendation
- Estimated difficulty (Easy/Medium/Hard)
- Potential impact (High/Medium/Low)
- Timeline to implement
Format the output as an executive summary followed by detailed sections.
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Tips for Best Results
- 1.Provide actual keyword data from tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz for accuracy. Estimates will produce generic recommendations; real data produces actionable insights.
- 2.Include your business goals and revenue impact per ranking position. This helps prioritize gaps by business value, not just search volume.
- 3.Update this analysis quarterly. SEO is dynamic; competitor strategies change monthly. Track progress against your roadmap.
- 4.Focus on 2-3 competitors, not 10. Deep analysis of your closest competitors is more valuable than shallow analysis of many.
Example Output
# SEO Competitor Gap Analysis Report
## Executive Summary
Your domain ranks for 45 keywords with an average position of 18, while Competitor A ranks for 127 keywords at position 8. The primary gaps are in long-tail keyword coverage, technical optimization, and content depth across your target categories.
## Keyword Gap Analysis
**High-Priority Opportunities:**
1. "[keyword] + guide" - 2,400 monthly searches, low competition, Competitor A ranks #3
2. "[keyword] + comparison" - 1,800 monthly searches, medium competition, Competitor B ranks #2
3. "[keyword] + best practices" - 1,200 monthly searches, low competition, neither competitor ranks
**Quick Win Keywords:** 8 keywords with 500-1,000 monthly searches where you can reach top 5 with optimized content.
## Content Gap Analysis
Competitors publish 2-3x more pillar content and topic clusters. Missing content types:
- Comparison guides (Competitor A has 12, you have 0)
- Industry reports (Competitor B has 4, you have 0)
- Video transcripts (Both competitors optimize video content)
## Quick Wins (30-60 Days)
1. Create 3 comparison pages targeting mid-funnel keywords (Difficulty: Easy, Impact: High)
2. Optimize existing pages with target keywords in H2s and meta descriptions (Difficulty: Easy, Impact: Medium)
3. Build internal linking structure around topic clusters (Difficulty: Medium, Impact: High)
4. Add schema markup to product/service pages (Difficulty: Easy, Impact: Medium)
## Long-Term Strategy (6-12 Months)
Develop a content hub strategy with 20-30 pillar pages and 100+ supporting articles to match competitor coverage and establish topical authority.
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