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I used to assume big marketing budgets and recognizable names guaranteed top Google rankings. But when smaller businesses started outranking industry giants, I used Semrush to investigate their traffic, keywords, and backlink profiles.
What I uncovered changed how I view competition. In search, visibility isn’t about being the biggest brand, it’s about being the most relevant answer.
The Search Results Told a Different Story
Consider someone looking for a security camera for a property without Wi-Fi. Their first thought might be to visit a major electronics retailer or a well-known camera manufacturer.
But what if a smaller specialist website appeared first?
That business might have published a detailed guide explaining cellular security cameras, compared different connection options, and addressed common concerns about installation and data plans.
It might not have the reputation of a major brand, but it has something equally important: content that closely matches what the visitor is looking for.
This is when I realized that there are two different ways to look at competitors.
| What I Used to Look At | What I Pay Attention to Now |
| Company size | Relevance to the search |
| Brand recognition | Quality of individual pages |
| Number of products | Topics being covered |
| Marketing budget | Content gaps and opportunities |
| Industry reputation | Actual search visibility |
The difference might seem small, but it completely changed how I approached online research.
Three Things I Started Doing Differently
Rather than simply keeping a list of the biggest companies in an industry, I started looking at what their websites were doing.
Here are three areas that became particularly useful.
- Studying the pages, not just the businesses
A company might have a strong website overall, but that does not mean every page performs equally well.
I started examining individual articles, product guides, and comparison pages that appeared in search results. I wanted to understand what made them useful.
Were they answering a question that other websites ignored? Did they include practical examples? Were they explaining something in a way that was easier for readers to understand?
Sometimes, the most interesting competitor was a website I had never heard of before.
- Finding keywords that larger competitors overlook
This was another important discovery.
Broad search terms often attract established brands with significant online authority. Trying to compete with them immediately can be difficult, particularly for a smaller business.
However, more specific searches can reveal opportunities.
For example:
- Broad topic: Security cameras
- More specific topic: Outdoor security cameras without Wi-Fi
- Narrower topic: Solar security cameras for remote properties without internet access
These searches attract different audiences and often reflect more specific needs.
I began using Semrush to explore these opportunities. Its Keyword Gap tool is particularly useful for comparing websites and identifying keywords that competitors rank for but your own website may be missing.
Instead of guessing what topics might be worth covering, I could start with actual search data.
- Looking for content that could be improved
Another thing I learned was that an existing article does not automatically mean a topic is already covered well.
I started asking myself:
- Is the information outdated?
- Does the article explain the subject clearly?
- Are there important questions left unanswered?
- Could a comparison make the topic easier to understand?
- Does the content offer something genuinely useful?
These questions helped me identify opportunities beyond simply publishing another article about the same subject.
Turning Competitor Research Into a Practical Strategy
I eventually stopped looking at competitor research as a way to see who was winning and started using it to find opportunities.
My approach became simple: compare three competing websites, look at the pages performing well, identify keywords they target, and find topics they have not covered effectively.
Tools like Semrush make this easier through competitor analysis and keyword research. Its Keyword Gap tool, for example, helps uncover search terms that competitors rank for but your website may be missing.
The goal is not to copy their content but to find ways to provide something more useful.
The Biggest Competitor Might Be the One You Overlook
I learned that a company’s size does not always determine its online visibility. Smaller businesses can compete by understanding their audience, covering specific topics, and answering questions that larger competitors overlook.
I still study established brands, but I no longer ignore smaller websites. Sometimes, they reveal the best opportunities.
With Semrush, I can better understand what competitors are doing and where there is room to improve. Ultimately, success is not about being the biggest business in the search results. It is about giving people a better reason to visit your website.
