Performing competitive keyword research is one of the best ways that you can boost your organic search results. The idea is that if you can figure out the keywords that your main competitors are ranking for, then you can use this insight to drive your own SEO strategy and by default, improve your search results.
In this post, we’ll explain how you can see your competitors’ relevant keywords, know what keywords they are ranking for and most importantly, how you can use that associated information for your own benefit.
Before we dive into that, however, it’s worth taking a few minutes to take a closer look at what competitive keyword research is.
In essence, when we talk about competitor keyword research we’re initially referring to keywords that your competitors rank for but also those relevant keywords that your top competitors are targeting but so far have failed to rank for.
Both categories can be used to form an extensive keyword research strategy.
Now, you could of course go looking for a comparative tool that generates lists of competitive keywords with just one click of a button but it isn’t really that simple. Why? Because you will need to do some manual digging if you are looking to compile a comprehensive list of relevant keywords.
Here are some ways that you can do exactly that…
HTML page source
Go to your competitor’s website in your internet browser and choose a page to search for keywords in. On dental websites, this may be the Home Page or alternatively, it might be treatment or services pages.
Next, simply right click on the page and you’ll see the ‘view page source’ option. Click on this and you’ll open the HTML source code for that particular page. Look in the code for relevant keywords in the meta title, meta description and H1 tag sections. Also, check the alt tags and alt image tags and you should see a pattern of keyword research emerging.
SEO audit tools
Also, you might want to consider running an SEO audit tool on competitors’ dental websites. Most are paid tools that allow you to run endless reports but many of them have free elements that allow you to crawl say 50 pages. Some of the more popular ones are AHrefs and SEM Rush, although there are many others out there that will do the same job.
Google Keyword planner tool
All you need is a free Google AdWords account to begin. Simply navigate to keyword planner and locate the ‘find new keywords’ option. Then:
- Select ‘search for new keyword’ using a category or phrase
- Once the form is opened up click on the text field under ‘your landing page’ and enter your competitors URL.
- Finally, click ‘get ideas’
Google will then crawl your competitor’s dental website and return a whole bunch of keywords. Some will be relevant keywords.
How to take advantage of competitive keyword research?
Okay, so by now, you should have an extensive list of relevant keywords that have been incorporated into your competitors’ dental websites but also, you may have a list of other keywords that your competitors aren’t ranking for – or are ranking for but unsuccessfully – in the search results. The question is… what do you do with them now?
There are many different ways that you can use your new-found search results. You could for example…
Look for gaps in your existing content
It may be possible for you to tweak your existing content to incorporate competitive keywords that other dental websites are ranking for. 
Naturally, it pays to use relevant keywords that are already closely related to your present content to make any changes easier.
Alternatively, you may want to consider creating new pages for your dental website that naturally incorporate some of the words found in your keyword research. This may include new keyword-rich blog posts based around your competitive keyword research findings or more-detailed treatment and services pages highlighting treatment specifics.
Did you know that the majority of dental websites only contain around 5-7 pages? The good news is that the more pages of quality content your website has, the more chance of showing up in the search results.
Think about it this way, every page of informative content is another chance for visitors to know that your dental practice exists. Therefore, adding more keyword-rich content is probably the single best thing that you can do for your website if you want to enhance your search results.
Finally, you can also use new keyword research to build out the content for your social media campaigns.
Use competitive keyword research as inspiration
Aside from using the existing keywords, you could also use them as inspiration for a whole host of other keywords that you hadn’t initially thought. Again, these could be used to enhance your existing SEO strategy by building out further content based around your competitive keyword research findings.
Finding new competitors
In an extremely competitive industry, it’s always good to know who your competitors are so you can keep a close eye on what they are currently doing. You can also use these new keywords to find competitors you may not have even considered.
Simply take one of your competitor keywords and type it into the search bar, hit send and see which dental websites come up in the search results. If you want you can utilise their site as a springboard to finding other new and relevant keywords.
So what should you do next?
If this sounds like a lot of hard work or you’re not entirely sure what to do with your keyword research results then contact the team at Mediboost. We’re Australia’s #1 patient growth marketing agency and can assist you to grow your patient base using a whole bunch of proven techniques including competitive keyword research.
Call Mediboost at 1300 163 058 for a free no-obligation strategy consultation today and let us show you how we can help.
