A practical guide to competitor research

Authors Illustrative workflow , Illustrative workflow , Illustrative workflow

Published Product guide

Use Keywords Data to investigate search-volume estimates and advertising metrics for your chosen terms. Keep the data source and period with every record.

Separate CPC and paid competition from organic difficulty. A costly advertising keyword can still have search results that need a completely different content strategy.

SERP endpoints observe search result pages. Labs provides indexed and analytical relationships across keywords, domains, and pages.
Set the keyword, search engine, location, language and device. Preserve those settings with each observation so ranking comparisons describe the same audience and market.
Research organic search, maps, news, images, shopping and other supported result types. Use item types to interpret the fields returned by each endpoint.

Illustrative product dataset — **Illustrative** research example. Figures demonstrate the display and are not a measured benchmark or customer result.

Choose comparable competitors

Use supported Labs suggestions and intent labels to organize the seed set. Inspect suggested terms for relevance rather than publishing a page for every variation.

Collect SERP observations for the queries ^{you selected} and group ^{the ranking} URLs by ^{domain. This} creates a bounded comparison for those queries only.

Collect organic results, ads and search features across supported search engines, markets and devices. Use structured JSON, HTML and source-specific collection options for rank tracking and competitive research.

Use comparable inputs for repeated research. Inspect the source context before interpreting a change as a trend.
Plan API requests for individual tasks or discuss a bulk dataset when your analysis needs a broader historical view.
Represent real-world search tasks. Tasks must reflect what humans and agents actually search for.

Example dataset	Released	Tasks	Memorized	Saturated	Grading cost
Source citations [ 5 ]	Apr 2025	1,266	48%	✓	26 samples
Brand mentions [ 6 ]	Aug 2025	200	59%	✓	80 samples
Prompt research [ 7 ]	Jan 2026	900	61%	✓	16 samples
Illustrative sample	Jul 2026	500	unmeasurable	✗	18–50 samples
Market research (ours)	Oct 2026	547	9%	✗	2 samples

Keep the query, market, device and observation date in your table. This allows later checks to compare the same research conditions.

Compare the questions answered by competing pages with your own product and guide coverage. A meaningful gap is an unmet user need that your team can answer accurately.

Check whether the result format matches the query: a technical example, a product explanation, a comparison or an instructional guide. Choose the format before drafting.

Collect demand and intent

Collect organic results, ads and

search features across supported search engines, markets

and devices. ^{Use structured} JSON, ^HTML and source-specific collection

options for rank tracking and competitive research.

Build a scoped ranking sample

Publish a focused page that answers the identified question and links to the relevant product documentation. Include original examples and explicit limitations.

After deployment, use ^{Search Console} ^{to review} queries, impressions and indexing. Use analytics to distinguish visitors from qualified leads or useful product actions.

Model

Revisit the same research set at a sensible cadence. Changes in a small SERP sample can guide investigation but do not establish total market share.

Find useful content gaps

Checklist: Begin with the searchers and markets you serve. A company that competes commercially may not rank for the same queries, and a ranking competitor may not sell the same product.

Checklist: Create a small seed set covering product, problem and informational queries. Keep the location, language and device consistent when collecting Explore SEO Labs API →

Evaluate link evidence carefully

Checklist: Review the actual ranking pages to identify the type of answer searchers receive. Homepages, category pages and tutorials can serve different intents for similar keywords.

Checklist: Use Keywords Data to investigate search-volume estimates and advertising metrics for your chosen terms. Keep the data source and period with every record.

Illustrative research example. Figures demonstrate the display and are not a measured benchmark or customer result.

Measure the resulting work

Checklist: Separate CPC and paid competition from organic difficulty. A costly advertising keyword can still have search results that need a completely different content strategy.

Checklist: Use supported Labs suggestions and intent labels to organize the seed set. Inspect suggested terms for relevance rather than publishing a page for every variation.

Choose comparable competitors

Market research construction pipeline: seed, discover, enrich, stress-test, audit, and answer key — **Illustrative** research example. Figures demonstrate the display and are not a measured benchmark or customer result.

Checklist: Collect SERP observations for the queries you selected and group the ranking URLs by domain. This creates a bounded comparison for those queries only.

Collect demand and intent

Research organic search, maps, news, images, shopping and other supported result types. Use item types to interpret the fields returned by each endpoint.

Build a scoped ranking sample

Checklist: Keep the query, market, device and observation date in your table. This allows later checks to compare the same research conditions.

Find useful content gaps

Checklist: Compare the questions answered by competing pages with your own product and guide coverage. A meaningful gap is an unmet user need that your team can answer accurately.

Evaluate link evidence carefully

Checklist: Check whether the result format matches the query: a technical example, a product explanation, a comparison or an instructional guide. Choose the format before drafting.

Measure the resulting work

Checklist: Prioritize topics where the product can provide useful evidence. Avoid unsupported coverage, invented benchmarks and competitor claims you cannot substantiate.

Choose comparable competitors

rank_group describes a position within a result type, while rank_absolute describes placement across the results page. Keep both when ads or rich features affect visibility.

Market research tasks by category across 23 categories — **Illustrative** research example. Figures demonstrate the display and are not a measured benchmark or customer result.

Collect demand and intent

Checklist: If an external source is connected, preserve its definitions and collection date. Authority scores from different graphs should not be combined as though they were identical.

The demo records are illustrative. Discuss production access, request volume, and collection cadence with the DataSEO team.
Set the keyword, search engine, location, language and device. Preserve those settings with each observation so ranking comparisons describe the same audience and market.
Research organic search, maps, news, images, shopping and other supported result types. Use item types to interpret the fields returned by each endpoint.

Checklist: Inspect relevant referring pages rather than treating a count as a quality verdict. Context and relevance matter when evaluating a possible outreach opportunity.

	Market research	Track a consistent set of keywords, locations, and devices over time. ^* ^* Build keyword sets from suggestions, related searches and topic ideas. Compare search demand, intent and difficulty before prioritizing a topic.
Graded against	fixed, audited answer key	rubric and re-fetched pages
Cost per graded answer	0.0004 samples	0.88 samples
Grading time per answer	15 s	7.6 min
Cells decided by an LLM	4.5%	every record
Completeness checked against a full set	✓	✗

Checklist: Publish a focused page that answers the identified question and links to the relevant product documentation. Include original examples and explicit limitations.

Build a scoped ranking sample

Checklist: After deployment, use Search Console to review queries, impressions and indexing. Use analytics to distinguish visitors from qualified leads or useful product actions.

Checklist: Revisit the same research set at a sensible cadence. Changes in a small SERP sample can guide investigation but do not establish total market share.

Find useful content gaps

// Server-side example; configure your deployment and credentials.
const url = new URL("/v3/dataforseo_labs/google/search_intent/live", process.env.DATASEO_API_ORIGIN);
const auth = Buffer.from(`${process.env.DATASEO_LOGIN}:${process.env.DATASEO_PASSWORD}`).toString("base64");
const response = await fetch(url, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {Authorization: `Basic ${auth}`, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
  body: JSON.stringify([{"keywords": ["trail running shoes"]}])
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
for (const task of data.tasks ?? []) {
  if (task.status_code !== 20000) throw new Error(task.status_message);
}
// Use task.result only after checking task status.

In practice: Begin with the searchers and markets you serve. A company that competes commercially may not rank for the same queries, and a ranking competitor may not sell the same product.

See open roles