SERP Analysis: Investigate What’s Ranking and Spot Opportunities

Getting found on search engines takes more than a great keyword strategy and amazing content. Algorithm updates and SERP feature shakeups  require a more keen analysis of search engine results pages to understand: 

• Who Google thinks meets the search intent.
• What Google believes people are searching for when they run this query.
• Whether it’s worth targeting a specific keyword.
• Who you’ll be competing with if you want to capture this search term.
• What type of content can help you rank
• How to create content that provides information gain.

In this post, I’ll show you why SERP analysis is a critical skill for SEOs and SEO content marketers and how you can use this skill to your advantage. 

What Is a SERP Analysis?

A SERP analysis is the process of examining the top results of the search engine results page (SERP) to understand what it would take to rank for a particular keyword. 

A SERP analysis will typically ask the following questions: 

• Is this keyword relevant to my audience?
• How difficult will it be to rank in the top results?
• What is the search intent of this keyword?
• Will ranking for this keyword generate clicks?
• What type of content will I need to produce?
• What are the commonalities among top-ranking pages?
• Do I need to optimize for SERP features?
• Will I need to acquire backlinks?

Answering these questions can help you determine whether creating new content to target the potential keyword is worth the investment and assess its impact on your SEO campaign.

A SERP analysis is also vital when updating underperforming content to identify the types of updates that will help you rank higher. 

Why Is a SERP Analysis Important?

A SERP analysis helps you understand both the audience and the competition on a deeper level so you can tailor your content accordingly and ensure it stands out. 

If you skip it, you may end up chasing irrelevant keywords or missing opportunities to produce content that resonates with your audience. 

Performing a SERP analysis allows you to:

• Check for keyword relevancy.
• Uncover search intent.
• Determine the value of the keyword.
• Understand the quality and length of the content needed to rank.
• Find new keywords and content ideas to incorporate.
• Discover what SERP features to optimize for.
• Gain deeper insights into the level of competition.

A good way to illustrate the importance of a SERP analysis is to consider the insights you might miss out on by relying on keyword data alone. 

For example, a certain keyword may have a low difficulty rating, but in doing further analysis, you could find that the top pages have a very high Domain Authority (DA), making it nearly impossible to outrank them.

Or, you may find that several of the top results are similar to each other. This would make it easy for you to outrank them by providing a fresh take and adding something new to the conversation.

How To Do a Manual SERP Analysis

Step 1: Google a Keyword From Your Keyword List

There are several ways to identify relevant keywords:

• Use a keyword tool like Semrush or Ahrefs to run a competitive keyword analysis. This will show you what keywords your top competitors are ranking for.
• Use the keyword overview tool to find additional long-tail keywords that are relevant.
• Type a desired keyword into Google and look at the Related Searches field toward the bottom of the page.
• Follow our keyword research guide.

Once you have your keyword list narrowed down, pick one that you want to target and type it into Google. Open up the first three to five organic results and start assessing them. 

Step 2: Determine the Search Intent

After you’ve identified a relevant keyword to target, analyze the search intent so you understand where in the customer journey potential content would fit and what type of content the keyword requires.

Search intent can be divided into five main categories:

• Informational: The user is looking for some information or specific answers. These are usually blog posts, guides, or video tutorials.
• Navigational: The user is looking for a specific page, such as a login page or a homepage. They usually include branded terms like “PayPal login.”
• Transactional: The user would like to make a purchase. These are usually product pages or landing pages for ecommerce sites. Think search terms like “flatscreen TVs” or “cheap iPhone cases.”
• Commercial: The user wants to learn more about a specific product before purchasing. These are usually product reviews or product roundups. Think search terms like “best iPhone alternatives” or “top selling cars 2024.”
• Local: The user is looking for a product, place, or service within a certain location. For example, “best Boston crab chowder” or “Logan Square carpet cleaning.”

Understanding the search intent is one of the most important — and often underrated — factors in SEO. If your content doesn’t line up with users’ needs, you’ll have a hard time ranking and an even harder time converting visitors into customers. 

Step 3: Look at Content Types

Once you’ve analyzed the search intent, examine the types of content that are ranking well. This will give you insight into what formats searchers are connecting with. 

For example, some keywords may warrant a listicle-type article, while others may demand an in-depth walkthrough. In other cases, you may want to include lots of rich media, a video, or create a landing page rather than a blog post.

When you analyze the top results for a search term, make sure to ask yourself the following questions: 

• How is the information presented? 
• How thoroughly is the topic covered?
• How is the content formatted?
• How can you improve on what exists?

Analyzing the types of content that are ranking high will help you understand what searchers want so you can provide them with valuable content that satisfies their needs.

Step 4: Scope Out the Competition

Naturally, you’ll want to scope out the competition to see what you’re up against. And to be perfectly fair, great content and relevant keywords aren’t always enough to dominate the search results. Factors such as domain authority and backlink profiles play a crucial role in search rankings, so you’ll want to take them into consideration, too. 

Here are some things to look at “behind the scenes” to determine how strong your competition is:

• Domain authority: This is a proprietary number that keyword tools like Semrush and Ahrefs assign to websites to gauge how “authoritative” the website is. Basically, the higher the domain authority is, the easier it is for that website to rank content. If most of the websites that are already ranking for your desired keyword have a much higher domain authority than your site, it may be a challenge to compete against them.
• Number of backlinks. This is one of the most important factors in ranking for high-competition keywords. You can use a tool like Semrush or Ahrefs to see how many backlinks a competing page has and what domains they are coming from. You can then use this data to try and build similar backlink profiles. 
• Topical authority: Brands known for something may have an easier time ranking for related terms. For example, Semrush, Ahrefs, and Backlinko all create content about SEO. They’ve established that they’re experts in the industry and have build up topical authority over time. Often, the content they create ranks more quickly than their competitors and snags the top spots.

Step 5: Scan SERP Features

These days, most SERPs contain additional elements beyond organic listings. You will notice things like featured snippets, AI overviews, or image packs that give searchers the information they need without having to click through.

Good SEOs know how to use this to their advantage by optimizing their content to show up in these areas. So when you’re performing a SERP analysis, make sure to pay attention to SERP features such as:

• Featured Snippets: Optimize your content by providing clear and concise answers to common questions. Implement proper H2 and H3 headers and use bullet points or numbered lists to display answers in an easy-to-read format. You should also incorporate related keywords naturally within the content.
• AI Overviews: This new SERP feature may be acquired through the same steps as a featured snippet.
• People Also Ask (PAA): You can optimize for People Also Ask boxes by creating FAQ sections on your page that address common questions related to the topic at hand. Make sure to provide thorough answers to potential follow-up questions.
• Image Pack: Include high-quality, relevant images on your pages. This usually works best for product pages or recipe guides. You can also include descriptive alt text with keywords for each image. Make sure to use keyword-rich file names for your images.
• Rich Snippets: Implement structured data like Schema Markup to provide additional information to the search engine. Make sure the content is high quality and relevant. 

Step 6: Use What You’ve Found To Create or Optimize Your Content

Now that you’ve completed your SERP analysis, it’s time to put your findings to use. 

To create new content, use your findings to flesh out your idea and note them in your content brief. Create your outline while keeping formatting in mind. Give your writer the information and context they need to create a high-ranking piece of content.

To optimize existing content, compare your piece to what’s currently ranking and determine which places can be updated. Do you need to reformat it? Rewrite for search intent? Include rich media? 

For both new and existing pieces, optimize for SERP features like rich snippets and People Also Ask by using proper headers and implementing structured data.

Doing a SERP Analysis in Semrush

The Keyword Overview Tool is the quickest and easiest way to see how difficult it will be to break into the top SERP results.

Simply click on Keyword Overview on the left sidebar and then enter the keyword into the search bar. The main thing you want to look at right now is the Keyword Difficulty score. This will tell you how much competition there is and the amount of effort it will take to rank high.

You can also look at the Intent box to see what most people search for when using that keyword.

Then you can scroll down and see a list of the top results.

Here you can see in-depth data for each page, such as:

• Authority score
• Referring domains
• Number of backlinks 
• Estimated monthly organic search traffic
• Number of keywords the page ranks for

You can also see if the page has won additional SERP features, such as an image pack, featured snippet, reviews, and more.

This is great because it gives you a high-level overview of what it takes to rank high for the keyword you want in one easy-to-read screen.

How To Track SERP History With Ahrefs

The Ahrefs Rank Tracker tool lets you track your rankings over time and compare your performance against competitors. Depending on your subscription level, you keep track of up to 10,000 keywords and get weekly updates on any changes that occur.

To get started, navigate to the Rank Tracker tool from the top menu and click on “+ New Project.” Select “Add manually” to add your website URL. 

You can then start adding keywords manually, or you can import them from a list.

The next thing you’ll want to do is use the Overview Report to view ranking data for the keywords you are tracking. 

Here, you can keep track of valuable data points such as:

• Average position
• Estimated monthly volume
• Traffic
• SERP history
• SERP features
• Current SERPs

It’s worth noting that the data available will only go as far back as the date you started tracking those keywords. You, can, however, click the keyword to see more data that doesn’t relate to your specific page.

To view the history for a given data point, simply select the option at the top of the screen — in this case, I’m using average position — and then set the date filter to see your performance within the given date range. 

The SERP features graph is worth spending time with as well, because it gives you insight into how many SERP features, such as featured snippets, you have won for your tracked keywords. You can use this data to optimize your content and become more competitive for SERP features.

If you want to track performance for individual keywords, you can do that by scrolling further down the page and selecting the keyword you want. Then click on either the positions history graph button or the SERP button to see how your site has performed over time.

Climb to the Top of SERPs

If you really want to dominate search results and get your brand name out there, you need to go beyond the standard SEO playbook and take a close look at what’s ranking to understand why those pages are winning. That means diving deep into search intent, content types, SERP features, and more. 

Victorious is an award-winning search-first agency that combines high-impact SEO strategy with quality content creation and reliable web maintenance services. We go beyond the standard SEO playbook to build you a strategy that consistently aligns with your growth goals. Contact us today to learn what we can do for you.