It is often impossible to pinpoint why one page ranks higher than another in the organic rankings – some factors such as click-throughs, long clicks, site authority, reputation, etc. are known only to Google.
However, public data can be useful: examples include keyword use, content structure, backlinks, etc.
We present tools to help you easily extract public signals and compare them with your competitors.
Through
Through We provide a free tool to compare two URLs side-by-side. The comparison includes:
- Word count,
- Number of images,
- Publication date and “last updated” date
- The number of internal and external links pointing to the page (not the links themselves)
- Using Schemas,
- Content headings,
- Frequently used terms and their numbers, as well as “unique” terms not found on competing pages.
The comparison of headings and unique terms was most helpful to me. Below is a snapshot of the unique terms comparison of the two pages I analyzed, which can serve as a useful guide for what to add.
Thruuu allows you to compare two URLs side-by-side for common and unique terms. Click on image to enlarge.
Search engine
Search engine Another free comparison tool with useful ranking data.
The tool also evaluates the in-page optimizations for each URL, but in my testing, there was no correlation with higher rankings, so I won’t be focusing on these rankings.
Here is a screenshot of the “Image SEO” comparison.
Seobility’s tool includes an image optimization comparison of two URLs. Click on image to enlarge.
Moz Link Explorer
Moz Link Explorer It is one of the easiest ways to compare the backlink strength of two URLs.
This tool compares:
- Moz’s unique domain authority and page authority
- Spam score (developed by Moz based on a database of sites penalized by Google)
- total Backlinks,
- The percentage of total external links and followed links,
- External links,
- Internal follow links,
- External nofollow links,
- Internal nofollow links,
- Total linking domains,
- I followed the linked domain.
The comparison chart is color coded, with winning metrics displayed in green.
Moz’s comparison chart colors leading metrics green. In this example, they compare Search Engine Land to Digital Marketing Institute. Click on image to enlarge.
Sem Rush
Sem Rush Compare the rankings of two or more URLs within the Keyword Gap analysis. Once you paste a URL, the Share tab will show you the keywords it ranks for and in what position.
The report includes:
- Organic positions for all ranking keywords,
- The search volume of each keyword,
- Keyword Difficulty,
- Search intent,
- Cost per click.
To target queries, add keywords to your pages.
Other tabs containing useful keyword data include:
- “Missing.” Keywords that your competitors rank for but that your page doesn’t rank for.
- Keywords where a “weak” competitor ranks much higher than you
- “Strong.” The keywords on the page rank higher than your competitors.
Semrush’s Keyword Gap Analysis reveals terms that are “shared,” “missing,” “weak,” “strong,” “underutilized,” and “unique.” Click on image to enlarge.
