If you’re a blogger looking to expand your reach, competitor analysis is a powerful way to uncover what your rivals are doing right—and where you can outperform them. By studying which keywords and backlinks drive their success, you can refine your own strategy, address content gaps, and attract new readers. While SEMrush is a well-known tool that offers in-depth competitor analysis, it can be overly complex (and expensive) for many bloggers. That’s where All Great Things comes in as a budget-friendly, user-focused alternative.
Step 1: Setting Up SEMrush and Identifying Competitors
Creating a SEMrush Account
To begin, visit SEMrush and create an account. Note that the Pro plan starts at over $100 per month. While this plan offers a variety of advanced features, it can quickly become too big of an investment if your blogging income is just starting to trickle in.
Pinpointing Your Competitors
After logging in, determine which blogs or websites you’re competing with. Focus on sites in your niche that have substantial visibility in search results. Look for factors like domain authority, social media following, and the type of content they publish.
Step 2: Navigating the Domain Overview
Once you’ve identified a competitor, plug their URL into SEMrush’s Domain Overview feature. This dashboard highlights key metrics:
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Organic Traffic: How many visitors a site gets from search engines
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Organic Keywords: Which keywords drive that traffic
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Backlinks: The number of external sites linking to the competitor’s domain
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Authority Score: SEMrush’s measure of a website’s overall strength
SEMrush also shows trending data over time, helping you identify whether a competitor’s traffic is growing or declining.
Step 3: Keyword Gap Analysis
One of SEMrush’s standout features for bloggers is the Keyword Gap tool. Enter both your domain and a competitor’s domain to see which keywords you share—and where they’re ranking for terms you’re missing. This data is crucial for uncovering new content ideas or optimizing existing posts.
For instance, if your competitor ranks for “vegan breakfast ideas” but you don’t, you can create a new post targeting that keyword. Combine it with our detailed keyword research insights from Mastering Keyword Research for Bloggers with Serpstat for even better results.
Step 4: Backlink Analysis
Checking Competitor Backlinks
SEMrush provides data on which sites link to your competitors. By examining these backlinks, you can see what content performs best, which guest posting opportunities exist, and which industry sites are open to collaborations.
Why Backlinks Matter for Bloggers
Backlinks help establish domain authority. The more high-quality, relevant sites link to your blog, the more likely search engines are to trust your content. For bloggers on a tight schedule, focusing on the most impactful link opportunities can speed up ranking improvements.
Step 5: Turning SEMrush Insights into Action
Content Strategy
Use competitor data to prioritize topics. If you spot high-traffic keywords or popular blog series on a competitor’s site, figure out how to add more value with your own unique angle.
Missing Keyword Gaps
Pay special attention to the keywords that are missing from your blog but generating traffic for competitors. Address these gaps with new posts, or update existing ones to capture untapped traffic.
Future Content Ideas
Look at recurring themes or categories that attract consistent engagement on rival sites. These might inspire entire content clusters for your blog.
SEMrush vs. All Great Things
Complexity and Price
SEMrush is a robust tool, but for bloggers who only need basic competitor analysis and a deeper look at missing keyword gaps, it can feel overwhelming. Its monthly pricing (starting above $100) can also be out of reach for those who haven’t monetized their blog extensively.
In contrast, All Great Things offers similar keyword insights and competitor data at just $19.99 for its Starter package. This lower entry cost gives you the essentials without the high-end extras you might not use.
Automated Content Creation
All Great Things goes beyond simple analytics. It also includes automated content creation features, giving bloggers ready-to-publish outlines or even draft articles based on target keywords.
Actual Backlinks to Your Own Content
Backlink-building is often a manual process, but All Great Things aims to streamline this. The platform provides actionable backlink opportunities to help you build your domain authority more quickly.
Coming Soon: SEMrush Reports
A future update will allow All Great Things users to generate simplified SEMrush-style reports without paying SEMrush prices. This feature is designed to let you maintain competitor research without a hefty monthly bill.
Step 6: Next Steps and Final Thoughts
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Apply Your Findings: Take the data from SEMrush’s Domain Overview and Keyword Gap tools to inform your next blog topics.
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Optimize Existing Posts: Identify missed keyword opportunities and update your posts accordingly.
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Explore All Great Things: If you want a simpler, cost-effective approach, sign up for All Great Things and learn more about its affordable plans.
Conclusion
For bloggers serious about competitor analysis, SEMrush can be a goldmine of data. However, the platform’s complexity and higher price points make it less accessible to newer or budget-conscious bloggers. That’s why All Great Things stands out as an alternative. It offers user-friendly competitor insights, automated content creation, and soon, SEMrush-style reports—all starting at just $19.99.
Whether you stick with SEMrush or opt for All Great Things, the key is to continually monitor your competitors, fill in keyword gaps, and invest in high-quality content. By doing so, you position your blog to attract more readers, gain authority, and achieve sustainable growth over time.