competitor-analysis

# Competitor Analysis Workflows Chained workflows for analyzing, comparing and benchmarking competitor domains with DataForSEO. Every block below is one `api_request` call: the first line is the `method` and `path`, the second is `data`. Before the first call to a path, read its page with `docs_search` and agree a budget (`cost-awareness` skill). Paths and minimal bodies for the whole API are in `../mcp-patterns/references/endpoint-paths.md`. ## Workflow 1: Domain Overview Build a high-level snapshot of any domain's organic and paid performance. ### Step 1 — Get Domain Rank Overview Run it once per domain. It returns organic traffic estimates, keyword counts and the distribution of ranking positions. ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/domain_rank_overview/live data: [{"target": "competitor.com", "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en"}] ``` ### Step 2 — Repeat for Your Domain Run the same call for your own domain and compare side by side: organic keyword count, estimated traffic value, top-3 positions. ### Step 3 — Check Historical Trends Monthly snapshots show whether a competitor is growing or declining. ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/historical_rank_overview/live data: [{"target": "competitor.com", "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en"}] ``` For backlink metrics, add one call to `/v3/backlinks/bulk_ranks/live` with `{"targets": [<all domains>]}`; it covers up to 1000 targets. Build a comparison table: domain, organic keywords, estimated traffic, estimated traffic value, rank, trend direction. ## Workflow 2: Discover Competitors Find domains that compete for the same organic keywords. ### Step 1 — Identify Organic Competitors Set `exclude_top_domains` to `true` to drop the generic giants (Wikipedia, YouTube and the like) and surface relevant competitors. ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/competitors_domain/live data: [{"target": "yourdomain.com", "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en", "exclude_top_domains": true, "limit": 50}] ``` ### Step 2 — Profile Each Competitor For the top 5 to 10 competitors, run domain rank overview (Workflow 1, Step 1). ### Step 3 — Identify Common Keywords Ranked keywords on the most relevant competitors shows which keywords they rank for and at what positions. ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/ranked_keywords/live data: [{"target": "competitor.com", "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en", "limit": 200}] ``` Sort competitors by `avg_position` and `intersections` (shared keywords) to find the most direct ones. ## Workflow 3: Keyword Intersection Find shared and unique keywords between two domains. The endpoint compares exactly two domains; for a third, run it again with another pair. ### Step 1 — Run Domain Intersection `intersections: true` returns the keywords both domains rank for; `false` returns the keywords `target1` ranks for and `target2` does not. ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/domain_intersection/live data: [{"target1": "yourdomain.com", "target2": "competitor1.com", "intersections": true, "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en", "limit": 500}] ``` ### Step 2 — Analyze Gaps Swap the roles to get the gap: `target1` is the competitor, `target2` is you, `intersections` is `false`. Filter to search volume above 100 and keyword difficulty below 50 for actionable targets. ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/domain_intersection/live data: [{"target1": "competitor1.com", "target2": "yourdomain.com", "intersections": false, "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en", "limit": 300, "filters": [["keyword_data.keyword_info.search_volume", ">", 100]]}] ``` ### Step 3 — Analyze Overlaps In the shared set, compare position distributions. Keywords where a competitor ranks 1 to 3 and you rank 10 or lower point at content to improve. ## Workflow 4: SERP Competition Analyze who competes for specific keyword clusters in search results. ### Step 1 — Identify SERP Competitors Which domains appear most often across the SERPs of a keyword set (up to 200 keywords). ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/serp_competitors/live data: [{"keywords": ["project management software", "task management tool", "team collaboration app"], "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en"}] ``` ### Step 2 — Deep-Dive on Top Competitors Run ranked keywords (Workflow 2, Step 3) for the top domains, filtered to your keyword cluster, to see exact positions and page URLs. ### Step 3 — Inspect Individual SERPs For the highest-priority keywords, read the full SERP including featured snippets, people-also-ask and other features. ``` POST /v3/serp/google/organic/live/advanced data: [{"keyword": "<priority keyword>", "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en", "depth": 10}] ``` ## Workflow 5: Content Gap Analysis Find pages and content opportunities competitors have that you lack. ### Step 1 — Page Intersection Queries where specific competitor pages rank. `pages` is an object keyed "1", "2", and so on, with absolute URLs (up to 20; `*` is a wildcard). ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/page_intersection/live data: [{"pages": {"1": "https://competitor1.com/blog/topic-guide", "2": "https://competitor2.com/resources/topic-overview"}, "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en", "limit": 200}] ``` ### Step 2 — Find Top Content A competitor's highest-performing pages by organic traffic. ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/relevant_pages/live data: [{"target": "competitor.com", "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en", "limit": 100}] ``` ### Step 3 — Analyze Subdomains Traffic distribution across the competitor's subdomains (blog, docs, app) shows which content hubs drive the most traffic. ``` POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/subdomains/live data: [{"target": "competitor.com", "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en"}] ``` ## Interpreting Results Key metrics in domain rank overview and ranked keywords responses: | Metric | Description | Use | |--------|-------------|-----| | `metrics.organic.count` | Total organic keywords the domain ranks for | Overall organic footprint | | `metrics.organic.etv` | Estimated traffic value | Monetization proxy | | `metrics.organic.pos_1` | Keywords in position 1 | Brand/authority strength | | `metrics.organic.pos_2_3` | Keywords in positions 2-3 | Near-top-of-funnel strength | | `metrics.organic.pos_4_10` | Keywords in positions 4-10 | First page presence | | `metrics.organic.pos_11_20` | Keywords in positions 11-20 | Page 2, optimization targets | | `metrics.organic.is_up` | Keywords that moved up | Positive momentum | | `metrics.organic.is_down` | Keywords that moved down | Declining performance | | `avg_position` | Average ranking position for intersection | Relative strength comparison | | `intersections` | Number of shared keywords | Competitive overlap degree | ## Building a Competitive Report 1. **Executive summary**: the domain rank overview comparison table for all domains 2. **Competitor discovery**: competitors_domain results, ranked by relevance 3. **Keyword landscape**: shared, unique and gap keywords from domain_intersection 4. **Content analysis**: relevant_pages and subdomains for the top competitors 5. **SERP features**: the live SERP, showing feature ownership (snippets, people-also-ask) 6. **Recommendations**: keywords to target (low-difficulty gaps), content to create (competitor top pages you lack), positions to defend (keywords where you lead and competitors are closing) <example> User: "Compare our domain against two competitors" Workflow: 1. docs_search for domain_rank_overview and domain_intersection; show the plan (3 overview calls, 2 intersection calls); get the user's budget 2. api_request POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/domain_rank_overview/live once each for "yourdomain.com", "competitor1.com", "competitor2.com" 3. Build the comparison table: organic keywords, etv, position distribution 4. POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/domain_intersection/live with target1 "competitor1.com", target2 "yourdomain.com", intersections false, limit 300; repeat for competitor2 5. For the gap keywords: search_volume > 200 and keyword_difficulty < 50 (score them with /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/bulk_keyword_difficulty/live) 6. Present: overview table, gap opportunity list, and the top recommended actions </example> <example> User: "Who are our main organic competitors and what are they doing better?" Workflow: 1. docs_search for the paths below; get the user's budget 2. api_request POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/competitors_domain/live with target "yourdomain.com", exclude_top_domains true, limit 30 3. Take the top 5 by intersection count 4. POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/domain_rank_overview/live on each of the 5 5. POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/relevant_pages/live on the top 2, limit 50 each 6. POST /v3/dataforseo_labs/google/domain_intersection/live, your domain against the top competitor, intersections false, limit 300 7. Present: competitor profiles (traffic, keywords, trend), their top-performing pages, the keyword gaps to pursue, and the content types that drive their traffic </example>