Competitor analysis

OpenSEO Competitor Analysis

Goal

Analyze one competitor deeply enough to decide what to learn from, avoid, counter-position against, or outrank.

Use this for a named competitor. For identifying the market leaders first, use competitive-landscape.

Required inputs

• projectId
• Competitor domain
• User's domain when comparison is requested
• Optional topic/category/location/language

OpenSEO MCP tools

• get_domain_overview: baseline organic traffic and keyword count.
• get_search_console_performance: when comparing to the user's own domain and Search Console is connected, use it as the first-party baseline (real clicks/impressions/CTR/position) instead of estimating the user's own performance from third-party data.
• get_ranked_keywords: exact keyword, URL, rank, intent, traffic, CPC, and SERP-type rows for the competitor domain or page.
• get_backlinks_overview: backlink/referring-domain profile.
• find_serp_competitors: validate whether the named competitor is a real search competitor across the target keyword set.
• search_local_businesses, get_local_serp_results, and get_google_business_questions: use for local SEO competitors when Maps/local-pack visibility, nearby businesses, categories, or Google Q&A matter.
• get_serp_results: validate direct head-to-head SERPs for important keywords.
• research_keywords: expand gaps or category terms when needed.

Workflow

1. Call get_domain_overview for the competitor, passing provided location/language when supported.
2. If comparing to the user, call get_domain_overview for the user's domain too — and if Search Console is connected, get_search_console_performance for the user's real baseline.
3. Call get_ranked_keywords for the competitor. Use filters like maxRank, minSearchVolume, excludeBrandTerms, and resultTypes to keep rows relevant.
4. If comparing to the user, call get_ranked_keywords for the user's domain/page too, or use get_serp_results for the shared terms when a lighter check is enough.
5. For local SEO, use search_local_businesses and get_local_serp_results around the relevant business location(s) before drawing local-pack conclusions. Add get_google_business_questions only when Q&A evidence matters.
6. Use find_serp_competitors when the competitor was supplied by the user but its search overlap is unclear.
7. Group competitor keywords into themes:
   • Product/category terms
   • Alternatives/comparisons
   • Templates/tools/calculators
   • Educational guides
   • Branded demand
   • Local/neighborhood terms when relevant
8. Call get_backlinks_overview for the competitor, especially if authority appears to explain rankings. Continue without backlink evidence if it is unavailable.
9. Use get_serp_results for important shared or target keywords to compare positioning, passing provided location/language when supported.
10. Produce an actionable plan:
    • What they are doing well
    • Where they are vulnerable
    • Which pages/keywords to pursue
    • What to avoid copying

Output format

Start with:

• Competitor snapshot
• Biggest lesson
• Best opportunity to beat them

Then include:

Area	Competitor pattern	Evidence	OpenSEO opportunity

Include sections for:

• Top keyword themes
• Content/page types working for them
• Backlink/authority notes
• Head-to-head SERP observations
• Priority actions for the user

Guardrails

• Do not treat all competitor keywords as desirable. Filter for business fit.
• Separate evidence from inference.
• Do not infer competitor page/content-type patterns from keyword rows alone; use SERP or web evidence for page-level claims.
• For local SEO, do not infer Maps/local-pack strength from national organic domain metrics alone; use local business and local SERP tools when the location is known or reasonably discoverable.
• Do not recommend copying content; recommend a stronger angle or better answer to the same intent.
• If the user's domain is unavailable, frame the analysis as competitor-only.

<!-- Source: https://github.com/every-app/open-seo/tree/main/.agents/skills/competitor-analysis (MIT) -->