How to Analyze Local SEO Competition & Dominate Local SERPs

Want to dominate local search results and get more customers to your store or business? The first step is to analyze local SEO competition.

Understanding what your competitors are doing right (and where they fall short) can give you the insight needed to climb to the top of the local SERPs.

From assessing their keyword strategies to examining their Google Business Profiles, analyzing local SEO competition is all about finding opportunities to stand out and replicating the strategies that are already working.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the exact steps you need to take to perform a thorough local SEO analysis and uncover actionable insights to help your business rank higher, attract more local customers, and beat your competitors.

What is Local SEO Competition Analysis?

Local SEO competition analysis is the process of evaluating the online presence, strategies, and performance of businesses that compete with you in local search results.

Local SEO competitor analysis can be broken down into three processes:

1. Identifying who your competitors are
2. Analyzing their rankings on search engines like Google
3. Understanding the tactics they use to attract local customers

In essence, local SEO competition analysis is about finding ways to gain a competitive edge in your geographical area.

Why Analyze Local SEO Competition?

Analyzing local SEO competition is necessary if you want your business to stand out in your city, town, or neighborhood.

Without understanding what your competitors are doing, you’re essentially flying blind—guessing what strategies might work instead of focusing on proven tactics.

Here are a few key reasons why you should analyze local SEO competition:

Identify Gaps in Your Strategy

By analyzing your competitors, you can spot areas where they excel, such as keywords they rank for or backlinks they’ve earned, and identify opportunities where your business can do better.

Understand What Works in Your Market

Every location (town, city, neighorhood) is unique.

Analyzing your local SEO competition helps you see what tactics resonate with your local audience, from optimized Google Business Profiles to content that attracts the most engagement.

Boost Your Visibility in Local SERPs

By learning what drives your competitors’ rankings, you can refine your SEO strategy to climb higher in search results and capture more local traffic.

Stay Ahead of Competitors

SEO is always evolving. Regular analysis helps you stay updated on changes in the competitive landscape so you can adapt and maintain your edge.

Now, before you can even think of analyzing your local SEO competitors, you need to first determine who those competitors are.

Let's look at some ways of finding your local SEO competitors before we begin analyzing them.

How to Find Local SEO Competitors

Search for Local Keywords

The first and easiest method to find local SEO competitors is to just use Google.

Start by typing your primary keywords into Google along with your location. So if you own a plumbing business in Dallas, you'd type “plumbers in Dallas”.

The businesses that show up in the local pack (Google Maps listings) and organic results are your main competitors.

So for the plumbing business, my top three competitors would be:

• Public Service Plumbers
• Pure Plumbing
• Metro Flow Plumbing

Check Google Business Profiles

Search for services or products similar to yours on Google Maps.

The businesses with the highest ranking Google Business Profiles in your area are likely your strongest competitors.

Use Competitor Analysis Tools

Tools like SEOptimer can help you identify websites that rank for the same keywords you’re targeting. These tools provide insights into their rankings, backlinks, and traffic.

Check Online Directories

Websites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, or niche-specific directories often list businesses by category and location.

Use these directories to find competitors that are relevant to your industry.

For instance, let's take the example of plumbers in Dallas. I can use Yelp to find competitors in this area.

Now that you know some tactics for finding who your competitors are, let's look at how to analyze local SEO competition.

How to Analyze Local SEO Competition

1. Google Business Profile Audit

The first step in analyzing local SEO competitors is to audit their Google Business Profile (GBP).

Since this is the main "battleground" in local SEO, you should audit your top competitors' GBP listings to get an understanding of the tactics they are employing.

So what does a GBP audit actually check for?

• Accuracy of Business Information: Check if their name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent and correct. Accurate details not only improve search rankings but also build trust with customers.
• Primary and Secondary Categories: Look at the categories they’ve listed under. Are they targeting niche categories that might give them an edge? Understanding their choices can help you refine your own.
• Use of Keywords: Analyze how they incorporate keywords in their business description, posts, and even responses to reviews. Strategic use of local keywords is a hallmark of a well-optimized profile.
• Customer Reviews: Examine the volume, quality, and frequency of their reviews. Are they actively engaging with customers by responding to feedback? Positive and recent reviews boost rankings and influence customer decisions.
• Photos and Media: Take note of the types and quality of images they upload. Photos of products, services, or their storefront can make their profile more appealing, signaling areas you can improve upon.
• Posts and Updates: Look at how they use Google Posts to feature promotions, events, or updates. Regular, engaging posts can increase visibility and drive customer interest.

You could manually audit their GBP, but that can take quite a bit of time. Instead, why not use a Google Business Profile Audit tool.

LocalRanking offers a comprehensive GBP Audit tool that runs a detailed audit of any Google Business Profile.

The tool audits the Info, Posts, Ratings & Reviews, Messages, Photos and category-specific pages to provide an overall score with recommendations on how to improve.

2. Audit their Website

While local SEO often emphasizes optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP), your website plays an equally important role in dominating local search results.

A well-optimized website complements your GBP efforts by providing additional authority and relevance for local searches.

Auditing your competitors’ websites can reveal key strategies they use to rank higher and attract local customers.

Here’s what a thorough website audit should check:

• Local Keywords: Analyze the keywords your competitors target on their website. Check if they’re using location-specific keywords in their titles, headings, meta descriptions, and throughout their content.
• Location Pages: Review whether they have dedicated pages for specific locations or service areas. These pages often help businesses rank for searches in multiple local areas.
• NAP Information: Check if their Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) information is prominently displayed and consistent across their website, particularly on the homepage, contact page, and footer.
• Mobile Friendliness: Assess if their website is mobile-friendly. Many local searches happen on mobile devices, so a responsive design is essential. Tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test can help analyze this.
• Page Load Speed: Evaluate how fast their website loads. Slow-loading websites can lead to higher bounce rates and lower rankings. Use tools like PageSpeed Insights to check their site performance.
• Schema Markup: Look for local business schema markup on their site. This structured data helps search engines understand their business details, such as operating hours, locations, and services offered.
• Content Quality: Review the content on their site. Are they publishing blog posts, FAQs, or guides that cater to local audiences? High-quality, relevant content can drive traffic and improve rankings.
• Backlink Profile: Check the backlinks pointing to their site. Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush can help identify where their links come from and uncover opportunities for you to build similar links.
• User Experience (UX): Explore their website’s navigation, layout, and overall usability. Is it easy for users to find information, contact them, or make a purchase? A seamless UX improves engagement and rankings.

By auditing your competitors’ websites, you can gain valuable insights into their local SEO strategies and identify opportunities to enhance your own site.

Like with the GBP audit, you can do all of this yourself. However, there are tools like SEOptimer that can audit any website or URL in seconds.

The tool divides each website audit into different sections:

• On-Page SEO: Checks all of the on-page elements of a website including title tags, keyword consistency, header tag usage, etc.
• Links: Gives a summary of a website's backlink profile, including Domain Strength, Page Strength, top backlinks, etc.
• Usability: Evaluates a website's usability across different devices, checks Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed, etc.
• Performance: Tests a website's performance including page loading information, website compression, minification, etc.
• Social: This checks if your website has any social profiles linked to it and the site's overall social performance.
• Local SEO: Runs a series of checks such as NAP consistency, local business schema, etc.
• Technology Results: This is useful for evaluating the technology and web infrastructure your competitors are using.

Instead of spending a significant amount of time manually auditing your competitor's website, consider running a free SEO and website audit using SEOptimer to get an understanding of the strategies your local competitors are using.

3. Check Local SEO Competitor Rankings

Understanding where your competitors stand in local search rankings is the next step in analyzing local SEO competition.

Rankings reflect how well a business is performing in terms of visibility and relevance for local search queries.

By evaluating your competitors' positions, you can identify their strengths, weaknesses, and areas where you can outperform them.

Competitor rankings reveal which keywords are driving traffic to their website or Google Business Profile. This insight can help you refine your own keyword strategy and target terms with high potential.

Furthermore, by identifying keywords or local queries where your competitors are ranking moderately (e.g., 5th or 6th position), you can focus on these to gain traction more quickly.

So how can you actually check your local SEO competitor's rankings?

I'm going to split this into two different sections:

1. Checking your competitor's GBP rankings
2. Checking your competitor's website rankings

You can check your competitor's Google Business Profile rankings using our Free Local Rank Checker.

This tool can be used to check the rankings of any Google location and shows these rankings in a live GeoGrid Map.

If you want to check the rankings of your competitor's website, you can use SEOptimer's Keyword Research or Keyword Tracking tools.

In the Keyword Research tool, simply paste the URL of your competitor's website in the "Search by URL" tab.

You'll see all of the keywords that your competitor is ranking for, along with their Position, Estimated Traffic, Total Searches, and other useful information.

Alternatively, you can use the Keyword Tracking tool to track the keyword positions of your competitors.

4. Compare Local Citations

Citations boost your business's visibility and credibility across the web.

A local citation refers to any mention of your business’s Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) on websites, directories, and other online platforms.

Consistent and accurate citations help search engines verify your business's legitimacy, which improves your local search rankings.

By comparing your competitor's citations with yours, you can take note of all the directories, websites, or platforms where your competitors are listed.

Are there any high-quality directories they use that you’re not listed on yet? If so, try to replicate what your top competitors are doing by creating citations where you're not already listed.

Luckily there are several tools that can help you manage this entire process. One tool that comes to mind is the Moz Local Citation Tracker.

5. Leverage Your Competition’s Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are a goldmine of insights, and analyzing your competitors’ reviews can provide valuable opportunities to improve your business.

By going through both negative and positive feedback, you can uncover areas where competitors fall short and areas where they excel. This allows you to fine-tune your offerings to stand out in your market.

Negative reviews highlight customer pain points and areas where competitors are underperforming. Use this information to position your business as a better alternative. Here's how:

• Identify Common Complaints: Look for recurring issues in your competitors’ reviews, such as poor customer service, faulty products, or slow response times. Use these insights to avoid similar mistakes in your own business.
• Address Unmet Needs: If customers are voicing unmet needs or frustrations, find ways to meet these demands better than your competitors. For example, if reviews mention long wait times, focus on streamlining your processes to offer faster service.

Positive reviews, on the other hand, can reveal what customers value most about your competitors’ products or services. These insights can guide you in improving your offerings and creating a better customer experience.

• Spot Strengths to Replicate: Identify what customers love about your competitors, such as friendly staff, quality products, or unique perks. Consider implementing similar strengths in your own business.
• Build on Competitor's Strengths: Use positive reviews as a baseline to offer even more value. For instance, if competitors’ reviews praise their customer support, focus on making your support even more accessible and responsive.

Wrapping Up

Analyzing your local SEO competitors is a powerful way to find opportunities and refine your local SEO strategy.

By following the steps and tactics that we've covered, you can gather actionable insights that reveal their strengths, weaknesses, and untapped potential.

These steps can help you make informed decisions, outshine your competitors, and position your business as the top choice for customers in your city or town.