Who are your true SEO competitors? Spoiler: They’re not always the businesses you think you’re competing against. In this episode of The Small Business Sweet Spot, I break down one of the most misunderstood aspects of SEO. You’ll learn how to identify your real competition online, why it matters for your business growth, and how emerging AI search engines like Perplexity are reshaping the landscape.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Common misconceptions about SEO competitors and why your competitors in real life aren’t always your competitors online.
- How to identify your true SEO competitors based on visibility, not similarity.
- Practical steps to uncover your competitors using Google, TikTok, SEO tools, and AI search engines.
- Why understanding your competitors helps you create smarter, more effective strategies for content and SEO.
Action Steps After Listening
Explore AI search engines like Perplexity to see who’s visible in conversational search results.
Search your target keywords on Google and TikTok. Take note of the websites, platforms, or influencers dominating the results.
Resources
Get Your SEO Power-up Plan
Perplexity.ai
Previous episode about SEO tools
Listen on Spotify
Listen on Apple
Watch the Podcast or Read the Post Below
One of the biggest misconceptions about SEO is that your competitors online are the same as your competitors in real life. For example:
If you’re a business coach, you might think other local coaches or consulting firms are your primary SEO competitors. Or even possibly the IG channels with a lot of followers. But if those businesses don’t have a strong online search presence, meaning they don’t show up in google, or aren’t targeting the same keywords as you, they may not even show up in the search results your audience is seeing.
Instead, your SEO competitors might include a national platform like SCORE offering free business coaching resources, or a popular blog on entrepreneurship that ranks highly for terms like “how to grow my small business.”
The truth is, your real SEO competitors are the ones who show up when your audience is searching online. They’re not necessarily the same businesses you’re competing with for clients directly. And that’s why this topic is so important.
Your SEO competitors are any websites that rank for the same keywords or phrases your audience is searching for. This means they might not even be selling the same product or service as you. They could be blogs, news sites, or even directory aggregators, those websites that list other websites.
Here’s a couple of examples.
For an interior designer, your competitors might include Pinterest boards or blog posts about DIY home makeovers, or national chains offering virtual design consultations, or a local furniture store ranking for “modern living room ideas.”
For a copywriter, your competitors could include online tools like Grammarly, which rank for “writing tips,” or freelance platforms like Upwork, where potential clients search for copywriters, or marketing blogs dominating keywords like “how to write a compelling sales page.”
The key point is that your SEO competition is based on visibility, not similarity.
Now that you know who your competitors might be, let’s talk about how to find them.
The most common way is to search like your audience does.
If you believe they mostly use Google, start by typing your target keywords or topics into Google. For example, if you’re targeting “best family photographer in Chicago,” look at the websites that show up on the first page. Those are your direct SEO competitors.
If you believe they mostly use TikTok, start by typing your target keywords or topics into TikTok. See what comes up.
Another option is to use SEO tools.
They can show you which sites are ranking for specific keywords. There are plenty of tools out there to choose from, but I won’t dive into all the details today. Instead, I’ll link to a previous episode in the show notes where I break it all down for you.
And we now have AI Search Engines to think about.
AI-driven search engines like Perplexity.ai are changing the SEO game by pulling information from a wide array of sources and generating summarized conversational answers. This means you might have new competitors to consider—those dominating answers in these emerging platforms. Searching your keywords on Perplexity or similar engines can help you identify who’s winning visibility in the AI-driven space.
It’s important to remember that these types of tools are pulling information from other sources. Other search engines. Other websites. Here’s what I put on my proverbial splat hat, an asterisk over my head because that statement is true at the time of this recording but it can change at any moment. It’s a very roller coastery thing right now so what I’ll suggest is to review the sources that these AI search engines cite.
And finally, consider analyzing search intent.
It’s not just about who ranks, but why they rank. Pay attention to the type of content that’s performing well—whether it’s blog posts, product pages, or videos—and think about how you can create something even more relevant or useful for your audience.
Understanding your true competitors is essential because it allows you to create smarter strategies. And here’s 3 reasons why:
- You’ll uncover content opportunities. By studying your competitors, you can identify gaps where your content could stand out—like targeting underused keywords or answering questions your audience is searching for.
- You can benchmark your performance. Knowing where you stand compared to your competitors gives you clear goals to aim for.
- You’ll make informed decisions. Instead of guessing what works, you can use real data to refine your SEO and content strategies.
Ultimately, identifying your true SEO competitors helps you stay visible and relevant in the ever-changing website marketing world.
The Takeaway
Your SEO competitors might surprise you, but that’s a good thing! By identifying them, you gain valuable insights into how to improve your online visibility and help grow your business.
