How to Perform SERP Analysis (+Free SERP Checker!)

Did you know that more than 80% of consumers research products and services on search engines? With a statistic like that, it’s essential to ensure that consumers can easily discover your business when they conduct a search online.

That’s where SERP analysis, or search engine results page analysis, can help. Performing a SERP analysis enables you to identify opportunities to help your website rank higher in the search results.

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll cover the ins and outs of analyzing the SERPs to help you outrank your competitors and drive better results for your company. Here’s a quick overview of the topics we’ll cover on this page:

• What is a SERP?
• What is SERP analysis?
• How to do SERP analysis
• The 3 best SERP analysis tools of 2024

Keep reading to learn more!

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What is a SERP?

SERP stands for search engine results page. In other words, a SERP is the page that’s displayed after searching for a word or phrase on a search engine like Google.

What is SERP analysis?

SERP analysis is the process of analyzing the top ranking websites in the search engine results pages to identify what those websites do to obtain top-ranking positions and opportunities to outrank them.

How to do SERP analysis

So, now that you know the answer to the question “what is SERP analysis”, you might  wonder how to conduct one yourself.

Here’s how to do SERP analysis in four easy steps:

1. Conduct keyword research
2. Identify search intent
3. Analyze your competitors
4. Identify opportunities

1. Conduct keyword research

Your first step to conducting SERP analysis is  keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases related to your business that your target audience searches for online. If you want your business to rank higher in the SERPs, you’ll need to insert the keywords your audience searches for online throughout your website.

For example, if your business sells comic books, a common keyword your audience might search for online could be “comic book stores near me.” As a result, you’ll want to ensure this keyword is included in your website to ensure that your business appears at the top of the results.

Identifying the words and phrases your audience searches for online is essential to ensure that you include the best keywords throughout your site. That’s where keyword research can help. Conducting keyword research helps you identify high-quality keywords for your business.

Once you’ve identified these words, you start trying to rank for them in the SERPs.

If you’re not sure how to get started with keyword research, we’ve got just the tool for you.

Check out our handy tool KeywordsFX to easily find the best keywords to target that provide the most value for your business.

2. Identify search intent

Search intent is the reason why users conduct searches online. Each user that searches for a word or phrase has a question in mind that they want answered. Identifying the search intent of your keywords is the next step in conducting your SERP analysis.

Think about what information a user wants to find out when searching for a specific keyword . You can also look at the titles and websites in the SERPs to gain an idea for the search intent.

For example, you might notice that a majority of the results have similar titles and provide comparable information on their page.

Once you’ve identified the search intent for your keyword, you can ensure that your website provides the answers and information your audience searches for online.

3. Analyze your competitors

The next step in how to do SERP analysis is to scope out your competition in the search results. In this step, you’ll search for your keyword on Google and check out the top ranking websites in the SERPs.

You can analyze the following characteristics of each website:

• Title
• URL
• Headings and subheadings
• Page content
• Keywords the page ranks for
• Featured snippet position
• And more

As a result, you can identify what your competitors do to earn higher rankings and any opportunities for you to outrank them. You can also use a position check tool for Google to find your competitor’s rankings faster.

4. Identify opportunities

Once you’ve analyzed the top ranking website in the SERPs, you can then think of ideas to help you boost your search rankings to get ahead of your competition and drive more traffic to your website.

For example, you might notice that your competitors use the target keyword in their headings and include lots of bulleted lists in their content.

As a result, you can adopt these techniques for your website and make improvements to ensure your website stands out and provides the best experience for users. You can also think about steps you can take to make your website even better than your competitors’.

For example, you might notice that on your competitors’ websites has a table of contents at the top of their page. You can take this idea a step further by including anchor links in your table of contents to improve user experience and make your website stand out from the competition.

The 3 best SERP analysis tools of 2024

If you’re ready to conduct your SERP analysis and want to use some tools to help you out, we’ve got you covered.

Here are the four best SERP analysis tools of 2024:

1. SERP Racer 
2. SEO Checker
3. Ahrefs

1. SERP Racer

If you want to see how your website stacks up against your competitors in the SERPs, give SERP Racer a try.

Just enter your target keyword, and SERP Racer will tell you how your competitors’ page speed and other essential website metrics measures up in relation to your website.

2. SEO Checker

Next on our list of SERP analysis tools is SEO Checker. Ensuring that your website performs well in search engines is essential if you want to reach the top of the SERPs.

With SEO Checker, you can enter the URL of your website and receive a free, comprehensive SEO report. Inside your report, you’ll find key details about how to fix any SEO issues on your website along with other suggestions for improvements you can make to your website to increase your rankings.

Looking for an all-in-one SEO audit tool? You’ve found it.

SEO Checker provides data on key metrics to give you:

• Complete SEO score
• Content Grade
• Site Speed Analysis
• and more.

Check My SEO Now!

Please input a valid URL (ex. webfx.com, www.webfx.com)

3. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a handy tool that can help you analyze your competitors and identify key opportunities to improve your website.

For example, with Ahrefs, you can enter the URL of one of your competitors’ website and analyze their current keyword rankings and other essential SEO metrics, like their organic traffic.

You can then use this information to make your website more competitive. For example, you can optimize your site for the same keywords your discovered in Ahrefs to try to rank higher in the SERPs.

Independent research from Clutch has named WebFX the

top SEO company in the United States.

Clutch has personally interviewed more than 250 WebFX clients to discuss their experience partnering with us.

Read More Clutch Reviews

Perform a top-tier SERP analysis and outrank your competitors with WebFX

If you want to help your website reach the top of the SERPs, we’ve got you covered. WebFX is an award-winning SEO agency specializing in crafting customized SEO strategies that suit the needs of your business.

Our team of SEO experts has more than 28 years of experience implementing and managing revenue-driving SEO strategies that boost rankings, web traffic, and sales for businesses just like yours.

If you’re ready to get ahead of your competitors, we can help! Contact us online to chat directly with one of our strategists by calling 888-601-5359 to learn more about how our industry-leading SEO services can help take your business to new heights.