Before you work on keyword research or build any SEO strategy, you need to understand who your real competitors are. I am not talking about brands you think you compete with.
I am talking about the websites that rank for the same keywords, attract similar organic traffic, and consistently appear in your search results. These are your true organic competitors.
Ahrefs makes this research easy with a feature called Organic Competitors. It shows websites that share similar keywords with you, along with their top pages, ranking keywords, estimated traffic, and authority metrics.
I use this feature for almost every project because it helps me understand the competitive landscape before planning content or link building.
In this guide, I will take you through the exact steps I follow to find organic competitors using Ahrefs.
Steps to Find Organic Competitors Using Ahrefs
1. Go to Site Explorer
Log in to your Ahrefs account and open the Site Explorer tool. Enter your website URL into the search bar and click the search button.
Ahrefs will load a complete analysis of your website, including backlinks, organic keywords, and ranking overview.
When I run this step, I make sure to enter the root domain so I get the complete picture of every keyword my website ranks for.
2. Look for Organic Competitors
After the data loads, look at the left-hand sidebar and click on the Organic Competitors option. This section shows websites that share the highest number of keywords with you.
Ahrefs compares your against other domains and identifies those that overlap the most.
This feature helps me instantly see which websites fight for the same search terms. Sometimes the results surprise me because the actual competitors often differ from what I assumed.
3. Analyse Your Organic Competitors
Once the report appears, you will see a complete list of competing domains along with useful metrics like:
- keyword overlap
- estimated traffic
- domain rating
- top competing pages
- number of common keywords
You can click on any competitor’s domain to explore their SEO strategy in more depth. I usually start by opening their top pages to understand which topics bring them the most traffic. It helps me discover new content opportunities and identify gaps in my own site.
Do you know?
Over 96.55% of webpages get no organic traffic from Google, mostly because sites do not analyze or target the right keywords.
How to Analyze Organic Competitors?
Finding competitors is only the first step. The real value comes from analyzing what they are doing well and how you can improve your strategy.
Here are the methods I personally use when breaking down competitor data inside Ahrefs.
Analyse Their Top Pages
Look at the Top Pages report to see which URLs bring the most traffic to your competitor. This tells you exactly what topics work well in your niche.
Study Their Ranking Keywords
Open the Organic Keywords report and check which keywords drive the highest search visibility. I often find long-tail keywords or low competition keywords that I can target immediately.
Check Their Backlinks and Referring Domains
Analyze their backlink profile to understand how they build authority. Pay attention to:
- DR of referring domains
- anchors they use
- topically relevant links
- new backlinks they recently gained
This research helps you shape your link building approach.
Compare Their Content Strategy
Look at how frequently they publish, what type of content they create, and how well they structure their articles. It gives a clear direction on how you can improve your editorial strategy.
Evaluate Their Site Architecture
Check how they organize categories, internal linking, and navigation. Many times I have found simple structural improvements just by observing competitor websites.
Conclusion
Now you know exactly how to find organic competitors using Ahrefs and use that data to refine your SEO strategy.
The Organic Competitors report gives you a clear view of who you truly compete with, which pages bring them traffic, and what keywords you should focus on next.
This insight helps you make smarter content decisions and build a more effective SEO plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between direct competitors and organic competitors?
Direct competitors compete with your business, while organic competitors share the same ranking keywords and compete with you in search results.
Does Ahrefs show competitors for new websites?
If your website has very few ranking keywords, Ahrefs may show limited competitor data. As your site grows, the list becomes more accurate.
Can I find keyword gaps using competitor data in Ahrefs?
Yes, the Content Gap feature lets you find keywords your competitors rank for but you do not.
Should I track competitors regularly?
Yes, competitor rankings and strategies change over time. I check competitor data at least once a month.
Is Ahrefs the best tool to find organic competitors?
Ahrefs is one of the most reliable tools for competitor research because it provides accurate keyword overlap, traffic estimates, and backlink data.
