Competitors: find or add rivals, content gap and head-to-head

The Competitors page finds the domains competing with you for the same keywords on Google and compares their keywords with yours. The data comes from DataForSEO Labs on your own account. Location and language are taken from the site settings.

#Before you start

• DataForSEO must be connected: Integrations → DataForSEO. Otherwise the page shows a DataForSEO is not connected card.
• You need edit rights to add, detect and sync competitors.

#Finding competitors automatically

1. Open Competitors and pick the site from the list at the top.
2. Click Find competitors on the Competing domains card.
3. SEOAsist looks at shared organic keywords and adds up to 10 competing domains. They are tagged auto.
4. Then click Sync all. Detection does not pull keywords; the content gap and head-to-head need a sync.

#Adding a competitor manually

1. In the Add a competitor card on the right, type the domain (for example competitor.com).
2. Click Add. The competitor is tagged manual and its keyword sync is queued automatically.

You cannot add your own domain as a competitor. An invalid entry shows “Enter a valid domain”.

#How the sync runs in the background

Sync all, or the sync icon on a row, adds a job to the background queue. For each competitor, the worker pulls the keywords it ranks for, matches them with your keywords in the same location and language, and replaces that competitor's previous keywords. When it finishes, the Last sync column updates.

There is no weekly automatic job for competitors. Run Sync all again whenever you want fresh data.

If a sync ends with a DataForSEO error, a Sync failed notification appears under the bell icon (“… competitor sync failed”) and is sent to your enabled notification channels. If the error is on the account side, the remaining competitors are skipped and an orange DataForSEO is not working box appears at the top of the page.

#Reading the competitor table

Click a domain name to narrow the Content gap and Head-to-head cards to that competitor. Click it again to clear the selection. The trash icon removes the competitor and its keywords.

#Turning the content gap into ideas

1. On the Content gap card, optionally set the Competitor, Min. volume and Max. KD filters, then click Apply.
2. The list starts with keywords shared by the most competitors. The Best competitor pos. and Example URL columns show which page is ranking.
3. Click Track to monitor a keyword. It is added to your Keywords list with its volume, KD and intent.
4. Click Content idea to put it into your content plan. The keyword is tracked with the “gap” tag.

#Comparing head-to-head with one competitor

1. Click a domain name in the competitor table.
2. The Head-to-head · domain card lists the keywords you both rank for, both positions and a Delta column.
3. A positive delta means you are ahead. Keywords with a negative delta are where your page needs work.

#Check that it worked

• The “… synced” count under the Competitors card at the top goes up.
• The Content gap card shows a keyword list instead of “Competitor keywords have not been pulled yet”.

#FAQ

#Find competitors returned nothing. Why?

If the site is new or ranks for very few keywords, there may be no shared keywords to work from. Add competitors manually instead. If you see an error saying your DataForSEO account is not verified, follow this article.

#Where do the location and language come from?

Competitors are detected using the location and language in the site settings. The card description shows which ones are in use.

#What happens when I remove a competitor?

The competitor and all of its keywords are deleted. Keywords you already added to tracking stay in your Keywords list.

#Why is the content gap empty?

Either no sync has run yet or the filters are too narrow. Run Sync all, or loosen Min. volume and Max. KD.