Competitor analysis isn't a one-time exercise. The SEO landscape shifts constantly — competitors gain new backlinks, lose existing ones, publish new content, and move up or down in rankings. Competitive Monitoring keeps you informed about these changes automatically, so you can react to opportunities and threats without manually checking dashboards every day.
Why Monitoring Matters
A competitor earning a high-authority backlink today could mean they outrank you for a key term next month. A competitor losing a major link could create an opening for you to capture that link source. Without monitoring, you're always reacting to changes after they've already impacted rankings. With it, you can spot shifts early and respond strategically.
Setting Up Competitor Alerts
Navigate to Settings > Alerts from the main menu.
Enable Competitor Monitoring.
Select which competitors you want to monitor (you can monitor all or choose specific ones).
Choose which events to track:
Event Type | What It Tracks | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
New backlinks gained | When a competitor earns a new link from a previously unlinked domain | Could reveal a new outreach opportunity or content strategy you should replicate |
Backlinks lost | When a link to a competitor is removed or the linking page goes offline | The linking site may now be open to linking to you instead |
Ranking changes | When a competitor moves into or out of the Top 10 for tracked keywords | Signals content or link strategy shifts worth investigating |
New content published | When a competitor publishes significant new content | Helps you stay ahead of emerging content strategies in your niche |
Set your notification preferences (email digest frequency: daily, weekly, or as they happen).
Click Save.
Tip: A weekly email digest strikes the best balance for most users — frequent enough to catch important changes without creating alert fatigue. Switch to daily if you're in a highly competitive niche where speed matters.
What to Watch For (and What to Do About It)
New High-Authority Backlinks
When a competitor gains a backlink from a site with a high Domain Rating (50+), investigate immediately.
Ask yourself: Where did they get it? Is it a guest post, editorial mention, resource page, or something else? Can I create comparable content and pitch the same site? Is this a source I should add to my Link Gap outreach list?
Links from authoritative sites often indicate a successful strategy that's worth understanding — even if you can't replicate the exact link, you may be able to apply the underlying approach.
Lost Backlinks
When a competitor loses a backlink, it may be because the linking page was removed, the link was editorially removed, or the linking site went offline entirely.
Your opportunity: If the linking page still exists but no longer links to the competitor, the site owner may be open to linking to a new resource on the same topic — yours. If the linking site went offline, there may be an opportunity to create a replacement resource that captures links previously pointing to that domain (sometimes called the "broken link building" approach).
Ranking Changes
Significant ranking movements — a competitor jumping from position 15 to position 3, or dropping from position 5 to position 25 — are worth investigating.
For upward moves: Check if the competitor recently updated the ranking page, earned new backlinks to it, or improved its content. Understanding why they moved up helps you replicate the approach.
For downward moves: This could signal a Google algorithm update penalty, lost backlinks, or outdated content. If a competitor drops, there's often a window of opportunity where their traffic is up for grabs.
New Content Published
Monitoring competitor content publication helps you stay ahead of trends in your niche. If multiple competitors start publishing content on the same topic around the same time, that's a strong signal that the topic is gaining traction and worth covering.
Recommended Monitoring Cadence
Different activities warrant different review frequencies:
Activity | Frequency | Why |
|---|---|---|
Review alert emails | Weekly | Stay aware of significant changes |
Check competitor metrics | Monthly | Track whether the gap is closing or widening |
Re-run Link Gap Analysis | Monthly | New competitor links create new gap opportunities |
Re-run Content Gap Analysis | Quarterly | Rankings shift; new keyword gaps emerge over time |
Full competitive review | Quarterly | Reassess competitor set and overall strategy |
Next Steps
Enable Competitive Monitoring and configure your alert preferences.
Set a recurring calendar reminder for monthly metric reviews.
When you receive alerts about new competitor backlinks, cross-reference them against your outreach list and add promising targets.
Review Competitive Strategies by Situation to choose the right approach based on where you stand relative to competitors.