Sending the Right SEO Signals to Google

SEO is a competitive game, and to win, you need to send stronger SEO signals than your competitors. But how do you know what they’re doing and more importantly, how do you do it better?

In this guide, we’ll cover:

•   How to analyse your competitors’ SEO strategies
•   Tools to track and compare their efforts
•   Key ways to outperform them with stronger SEO signals

1. Analyse Your Competitors’ SEO Signal’s

Before you can beat the competition, you need to see what they’re doing right (and wrong). Here’s where to start:

Check Their Content Strategy

• How many pages do they have?
• How much content do they publish?
• What topics do they cover?

? Tools to Use:
Ahrefs Free Site Explorer – Check how many indexed pages your competitors have.
Google Search Operators – Use site:competitorwebsite.com in Google to see their indexed pages.

What You Should Do:

 Publish more high-quality pages than your competitors.
  Write longer, more detailed content that actually helps users.
  Break long content into multiple, topic-focused articles for better readability and SEO.

Example: If your competitor has 50 pages with 500 words each, aim for 60+ pages with 1,000+ words per page—while keeping content valuable and user-friendly.

2. Get More & Better Backlinks

Backlinks remain one of the strongest SEO ranking factors. If your competitors have 100 backlinks, you need 150+ high-quality ones to outdo them.

How to Find Competitor Backlinks

Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker – See how many backlinks your competitors have.
Moz Link Explorer – Check domain authority and linking sites.

What You Should Do:

1.  Secure backlinks from high-authority sites (e.g., industry blogs, news sites).
2.   List your business on relevant directories.
3.   Publish guest posts on authoritative websites in your niche.
4.   Reach out to websites linking to competitors and offer better content.

Example: If your competitor has backlinks from five industry blogs, aim for ten high-quality blogs linking to your site.

3. Optimize Your Google Business Listing & Social Signals

Local SEO is critical for business visibility. Your Google Business Profile (GBP) and social mentions send strong SEO signals.

What You Should Do:

1.  Claim and fully optimize your Google Business Profile.
2.   Encourage customer reviews & follow up on them.
3.   Post regularly to social media and direct traffic to your site.
4.   Engage with customers on social platforms to boost mentions and credibility.

? Tools to Use:

• Google Business Profile Manager – Keep your business info updated.
• Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Insights – Track social engagement.

Example: If your competitor has 20 reviews, aim for 40+ positive reviews with responses.

4. Fix Technical SEO Issues

Technical SEO issues can hurt your rankings even if you have great content and backlinks.

How to Check & Fix SEO Errors

Ahrefs Free Website Health Checker – Detect site issues.
Google Search Console – Check for errors, indexing issues, and site health.

What You Should Do:

1.  Improve page speed & performance.
2.   Fix broken links & 404 errors.
3.   Ensure your site is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate.
4.   Use schema markup for enhanced search visibility.

Example: If your competitor’s website has a slow loading time, fixing yours could give you a ranking advantage.

Final Thoughts: SEO is About Sending the Right Signals

Every part of SEO—content, backlinks, technical health, and social signals—works together to tell Google your site is the best choice.

•  Analyze competitors
•   Create more helpful, user-focused content
•   Earn more, higher-quality backlinks
•   Leverage social media & Google Business Profile
•   Fix technical errors

By consistently outperforming your competitors in these areas, you send stronger SEO signals to Google—resulting in higher rankings, more traffic, and better business growth.