How to Benchmark Your Website with Semrush: SEO Competitor Analysis Tutorial

If you want to grow your traffic and rank higher on Google, you can’t just look at your own site. You need to know what your competitors are doing, too. That’s where Semrush comes in. With its competitor analysis tools, you can benchmark your site against others, see where you’re falling behind, and spot new opportunities to grow. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through how to use Semrush for SEO competitor analysis step by step.

 

Step 1: Introduction to Semrush

Semrush is an all-in-one SEO tool that shows you:

• What keywords does your site rank for?
• Who are your true SEO competitors?.
• Where your traffic comes from.
• How your backlinks stack up.

 

Think of it like your website’s health report, but with a side-by-side comparison against competitors.

 

Step 2: Identify Your True SEO Competitors

Your business competitors aren’t always your SEO competitors. For example, if you run a local bakery, another bakery across town may compete with you for customers, but not necessarily for keywords.

In Semrush, go to Organic Research > Competitors. Here you’ll see the websites that rank for the same keywords as you. This is your real SEO competition.

 

Step 3: Run a Keyword Gap Analysis

Once you know who your SEO competitors are, you need to find out what keywords they rank for that you don’t.

1. Go to Keyword Gap in Semrush.
2. Enter your domain and up to four competitors.
3. Semrush will show you “missing” keywords, terms your competitors rank for, but you don’t.

These are golden opportunities. If competitors are already ranking, it means there’s demand. Your job is to create content targeting those same keywords, but with more depth and value.

 

Step 4: Analyze Backlinks

Backlinks are one of the biggest ranking factors. If your competitors have more high-quality backlinks, they’ll likely outrank you.

In Semrush:

• Go to Backlink Analytics to see a competitor’s backlink profile.
• Use Backlink Gap to compare your backlinks against theirs.

You’ll see where competitors are getting links and spot opportunities to reach out to those same sites for guest posts, mentions, or partnerships.

 

Step 5: Review Competitor Content

Ranking isn’t just about keywords, it’s also about content quality. Look at your competitors’ top pages inside Semrush.

• How long is their content?
• What topics do they cover?
• Do they use visuals, FAQs, or case studies?

This gives you clues on how to structure your own content so it can compete. If they have a 1,000-word blog post, you might create a 1,500-word post with more detail, better formatting, and updated insights.

 

Step 6: Track Your Rankings Over Time

Once you start improving your site, you’ll want to measure progress. Use the Position Tracking tool in Semrush:

1. Enter your target keywords.
2. Track daily rankings across desktop and mobile.
3. Compare performance against your competitors.

This lets you see if your new content, backlinks, and optimizations are moving the needle.

 

Step 7: Build a Custom Report

To stay consistent, create a custom Semrush report. Include:

• Organic traffic.
• Keyword rankings.
• Competitor comparisons.
• Backlink progress.

You can schedule reports to be emailed weekly or monthly, so you’re always on top of your SEO game.

 

Action Plan After Benchmarking

Once you’ve benchmarked your website against competitors, here’s what to do next:

• Create high-quality blog posts targeting your missing keywords.
• Refresh old content to improve rankings.
• Build backlinks from competitor sources.
• Track progress weekly and adjust.

 

Final Thoughts

Benchmarking your website with Semrush isn’t just about tracking numbers; it’s about finding gaps, learning from competitors, and making smart moves to grow your rankings.

Start by identifying your true SEO competitors, running a keyword and backlink gap analysis, and tracking your results over time. With consistent action, you’ll build authority, drive more traffic, and outperform the competition.