serp-spy

name

serp-spy

description

Map a competitor's ranking content for a topic and find the gaps you can exploit. Use when the user says "spy on a competitor", "what content does competitor X rank for", "competitor content gap analysis", "what's competitor.com ranking for in topic Y", "map their SERP coverage", or names a competitor domain plus a topic. Uses DataForSEO when available for live SERP/ranked-keyword data; otherwise works from SERP results the user pastes.

SERP Spy

Build a content map of how a competitor covers a topic — which pages rank, for which queries, in which formats — then surface the gaps where you can win. The goal is a prioritized list of content to create or improve, derived from what's actually ranking, not guesswork.

Input

• A competitor domain and a topic (seed keyword / theme).
• Optional, preferred: DataForSEO access for live data. Otherwise: ask the user to paste SERPs — for each of several seed queries in the topic, the top 10 organic results (URL + title), which they can copy from a manual search or an export.

Using DataForSEO (when available)

DataForSEO meaningfully upgrades this skill. If the user has API access, pull:

• Ranked Keywords (dataforseo_labs/google/ranked_keywords) for the competitor domain filtered to the topic — gives every query the domain ranks for, with position and volume.
• SERP API (serp/google/organic/live) for the seed queries — gives the live top results, SERP features (AI Overview, People Also Ask, featured snippet, video), and competitor positions.
• Keyword volume to weight opportunities.

Load these via ToolSearch if a DataForSEO MCP is connected; if not, fall back to pasted SERPs and tell the user what extra precision the API would add (volume weighting, full keyword coverage, SERP-feature detection).

Steps

1. Collect the competitor's ranking pages for the topic (from DataForSEO ranked keywords, or by reading which of their URLs appear across the pasted SERPs).
2. Classify each page by:
   • Intent (informational / commercial / transactional / navigational).
   • Format (listicle, ultimate guide, comparison/"vs", how-to tutorial, definition/glossary, tool/calculator, product/category, case study, FAQ).
   • Sub-topic it targets.
3. Build the content map — group their pages into the sub-topics and formats that cover the topic.
4. Find gaps by comparing their map to the user's coverage (ask for the user's site or relevant URLs if useful):
   • Coverage gaps — sub-topics the competitor ranks for that the user has no page for.
   • Format gaps — the competitor wins with a format the user hasn't tried (e.g. they have a comparison page, the user only has a blog post).
   • Depth gaps — both cover it, but the competitor ranks higher; note what to improve.
   • SERP-feature gaps (DataForSEO only) — queries where a featured snippet / PAA is winnable.

Output

A competitor content map table:

Competitor URL	Sub-topic	Intent	Format	Ranks for (top queries)	Est. volume*

*Volume only when DataForSEO is available; otherwise omit or mark "unknown."

Then a gap list prioritized by opportunity: each gap as a proposed page (working title, intent, format, target queries) and why it's winnable. End with the top 3 content pieces to create first. If working from pasted SERPs only, state the coverage limitation (you saw a sample, not their full footprint) and recommend DataForSEO for a complete keyword map.