Eight checks for local SEO competitor research that hold up

What to take away

• The commonest mistake is opening with a keyword gap. That shows what rivals rank for, not what local buyers still cannot get.
• Treat the work as audience research. You are testing whether rivals meet the needs your clients' customers describe.
• Size the local market first, so you know which rivals deserve the effort.
• Date every piece of evidence and keep the source URL beside it.
• End with a one-page matrix: need, rival, gap, action.

Set the boundary of the market

Pick the area you actually serve. A Bristol agency covering three counties faces a different set from a single-town firm, so write the boundary down before collecting anything.

Then list the rivals a buyer would seriously consider. Search the service plus the place, and add every firm named in enquiries. Ten to twelve names is usually enough for a first pass.

If you are still deciding which questions to put to buyers, the Local SEO: audience research guide for England sets out a desk research sequence you can copy.

Size the market before you judge the competition

Before you treat a rival as a threat, check how many businesses could buy from either of you. The ONS changes to business release carries UK business births, deaths and survival rates. That makes it a sound starting point for sizing the SME client base in a service area.

A town with a shrinking pool of independent traders supports fewer agencies than one with steady new registrations. The same figures can recast a crowded market as evidence of room to grow, or the reverse.

For example, a team hunting 200 independent retailers across one borough might find only 40 with a realistic budget. The rival count then matters far less than the budget count.

Eight checks to run on every rival

Run these in order and log the evidence as you go. The sequence matters, because pricing and claims checks shape a brief far more than a keyword gap does.

1. Service pages. Note which services they lead with and which they leave out. The second list is your opening.
2. Pricing signals. Record whether prices sit on the page, hide behind a form, or appear only as starting figures.
3. Location pages. Count the towns they cover properly, then note how many pages repeat the same text.
4. Reviews. Read the most recent fifty for repeated complaints rather than trusting the star average.
5. Enquiry routes. Send one message as a buyer would, then time the reply and note what it asks.
6. Content depth. Judge whether their guides answer the questions buyers raise in a first call.
7. Technical basics. Check mobile layout, page speed and how page titles read in search results.
8. Claims. Flag any promised ranking or traffic figure, then test it against the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which govern honest commercial claims in the UK.

How to record what you find

One row per rival, one column per check, and a date beside every note. Screenshots in a shared folder beat memory when a client asks why you shortlisted a firm.

How to weigh machine-drafted rival pages

Some rivals now publish AI-written location pages at volume. Judge them on accuracy and usefulness rather than volume alone. If your own team uses generative tools, the IPA's legal guidance on using generative AI in advertising covers the disclosure and copyright points to check first.

Turn the matrix into briefs

The matrix only earns its keep if it changes output. Convert each gap into a page brief, a question for the sales call, or a test on the site.

Where a gap turns on motivation rather than wording, the Local SEO customer interviews in England method shows how to test it with real buyers before spending budget.

Common questions

How many competitors should I review?

Ten to twelve is enough for most single-service local campaigns. Extra names add noise once the same needs and gaps keep repeating.

How often should the research be repeated?

Twice a year suits most agencies, plus a refresh whenever a rival changes pricing or launches a new set of location pages.

Do I need paid tools?

No. Search results, rival sites, review pages and official business population data carry a first pass. Paid tools speed up collection, not judgement.

Who should own the matrix?

Whoever writes the briefs. Research that never reaches a copywriter or a sales script is a hobby, not a deliverable.