{"id":16253,"date":"2019-02-07T12:54:11","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T12:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mobidea.com\/academy\/?p=16253"},"modified":"2019-02-11T14:55:29","modified_gmt":"2019-02-11T14:55:29","slug":"serp-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mobidea.com\/academy\/serp-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Why SERP Analysis is Crucial for SEO (Step by Step Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Advertisement<\/div>\"\"<\/a><\/div>

There\u2019s a popular misconception about keyword research: that the process ends when we\u2019ve found the ideal balance between search volume and keyword difficulty.<\/p>\n

Newsflash: no, it doesn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s this thing called SERP analysis, which is an inseparable part of your keyword research<\/a>, and if done correctly, can be a true game-changer.<\/p>\n

In short, SERP analysis means to check the results you get after you search for relevant keywords and decide if you\u2019re going to optimize for these keywords based on your chances of beating the competition.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not over-exaggerating when I say that it actually doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re 100% sure that you\u2019ve found a great keyword with a reasonable search volume and level of competition.<\/p>\n

If you skip the search results analysis, it can still be a huge miss that causes you to lose money or time, or both.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve rounded-up the most important aspects of a SERP competitor analysis in 3 points:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Finding the right keywords<\/li>\n
  2. Understanding your competition<\/li>\n
  3. Doing SERP competitor analysis<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    Table of Contents<\/p>\nToggle<\/span><\/path><\/svg><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

    • Finding The Right Keywords<\/a><\/li>
    • Understanding Your Competition<\/a><\/li>
    • Doing SERP Competitor Analysis<\/a>
      • Doing SERP Analysis in Google Search<\/a><\/li>
      • Using keyword tools<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
      • Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n

        <\/span>Finding The Right Keywords<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

        Wow, I found the right keywords for my website, they are not too hard to rank for and their aggregated search volume should bring me a lot of relevant traffic! But wait, look at the SERP. The results are different from what I would want to rank in. Oh, it looks like the search intention behind them isn\u2019t what my customers would expect.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Yes, this can happen.<\/p>

        Advertisement<\/div>\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

        Here\u2019s a simplified example that does not take the metrics into account.<\/p>\n

        Let\u2019s say you\u2019re optimizing a product landing page<\/a> for a keyword research tool. Instinctively you may consider \u201ckeyword research\u201d to be one of the keywords you\u2019re going for.<\/p>\n

        But then look what happens on the 1st SERP:<\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

        All results lead to blogs and guides on keyword research.<\/p>\n

        The obvious intention behind this search query is to find free information, and not to buy a product.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        If you want to rank for the correct user intention, you\u2019re going to need a different search term. In this case, your best move is to include the word \u201ctool\u201d in your phrase.<\/p>\n

        The same applies the other way round.<\/p>\n

        Skipping SERP analysis is a common mistake when doing local SEO keyword research too.<\/p>\n

        A food blogger reviewing New York pizza restaurants won\u2019t find it useful to rank their article for online pizza delivery services for the same reason as in the first example – the intention mismatch.<\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

        SERP analysis basically shows you what users mean when they search for something and it eliminates the need to blind-guess the search queries.<\/p>\n

        Taking a simple look at the search results for a particular keyword is enough to understand whether it\u2019s relevant or not.<\/p>\n

        <\/span>Understanding Your Competition<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

        Let\u2019s focus on your competition now.<\/p>\n

        What you\u2019re aiming at is to rank on the 1st SERP or at least at the top of the 2nd SERP.<\/p>\n

        The CTR study<\/a> chart below shows the average CTR on the 1st and 2nd SERPs. The stats for the top positions on the 2nd SERP are a bit higher compared to those of the last positions from the 1st page.<\/p>\n

        Turns out it\u2019s not such a bad idea to appear on the second page of Google after all (as long as you nail the top spot).<\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

        However, your #1 priority is to have as many engaged organic users as possible by ranking high for similar middle and long-tail keywords in multiple SERPs.<\/p>\n

        This is what we\u2019ll try to discover now about your competition.<\/p>\n

        To analyze properly, you\u2019ll need a lot more data than what shows in the search results, that\u2019s why free tools come in handy.<\/p>\n

        Back in the days there weren\u2019t too many keyword research tools that included SERP analysis. One of the pioneers was KWFinder<\/a>, and it\u2019s their tool that I used to research \u201cbest pizza in new york\u201d.<\/p>\n

        Thanks to the SERPChecker<\/a> integration, I can analyze:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Link profile strength (LPS)<\/li>\n
        • Domain Authority (DA)<\/li>\n
        • Page authority (PA)<\/li>\n
        • Citation Flow (CF)<\/li>\n
        • Trust Flow (TF)<\/li>\n
        • Facebook shares (FB)<\/li>\n
        • Alexa Rank<\/li>\n
        • Number of external backlinks<\/li>\n
        • Referring Domains (RD)<\/li>\n
        • Referring IP Addresses (RI)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

          Check what all of these metrics mean here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          Wanna test it? Go for it!<\/p>\n