Understanding how another website approaches SEO can provide valuable insights for your own strategy. Whether you are analyzing competitors, evaluating a potential partner, or auditing a site you recently acquired, it is useful to know which keywords a website targets, how its pages are optimized, what technical setup it uses, and where its authority comes from. The good news is that much of this information is publicly accessible. This guide explains how to find out the main SEO a website uses, from checking page source code to using professional research tools, so you can learn from what works and identify opportunities to outperform.
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Check the Page Source for On-Page SEO
Every website's HTML contains important SEO clues. Right-click a page and select "View Page Source," or press Ctrl+U on Windows or Cmd+Option+U on Mac. Look for the following elements:
- Title tag: Found within the <title> element, it often reveals the primary keyword for the page.
- Meta description: Shows how the site describes the page in search results.
- Heading tags: H1, H2, and H3 tags reveal content structure and secondary keywords.
- Canonical tag: Indicates the preferred version of the page.
- Robots meta tag: Shows whether the page is set to index or noindex.
- Hreflang tags: Reveal international targeting.
- Structured data: JSON-LD scripts show schema types such as Organization, Product, Article, or FAQ.
Identify the SEO Plugin or Platform
Many websites use SEO plugins or platforms that leave identifiable traces. In the source code, you may see comments or markup from plugins such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All in One SEO on WordPress sites. Browser extensions such as Wappalyzer or BuiltWith can identify the content management system, ecommerce platform, analytics tools, and other technologies a website uses. Knowing the platform helps you understand the site's technical capabilities and limitations.
Use SEO Browser Extensions
SEO extensions provide quick summaries of on-page elements without reading raw code. Tools such as SEO Meta in 1 Click, Detailed SEO Extension, or the MozBar display titles, descriptions, headings, word counts, image alt text, links, and schema data. These extensions are ideal for quickly reviewing multiple pages.
Review Robots.txt and XML Sitemaps
Visit domain.com/robots.txt to see which areas of the site are blocked from crawlers and where the sitemap is located. Then open the XML sitemap, often located at domain.com/sitemap.xml. Sitemaps reveal the site's structure, the types of content it prioritizes, and how frequently pages are updated. They can also show how many pages the site maintains in each section.
Discover Target Keywords With SEO Tools
Professional tools such as Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, and SE Ranking estimate which keywords a website ranks for, the traffic each keyword drives, and the pages that rank. Enter a domain into the tool's organic research or site explorer feature to see:
- Top organic keywords and their ranking positions
- Estimated organic traffic over time
- Top-performing pages
- SERP features the site appears in, such as featured snippets
- Keyword gaps compared to your own site
This data reveals the site's main SEO focus and the topics that generate the most visibility.
Analyze the Backlink Profile
Backlinks are a major part of most SEO strategies. Backlink analysis tools show the number of referring domains, the most linked pages, anchor text distribution, and the types of sites linking to the domain. This helps you understand whether the site relies on digital PR, guest posting, partnerships, directories, or content that naturally attracts links. It may also reveal link-building opportunities for your own site.
Evaluate Content Strategy
Browse the site's blog, resource center, and landing pages. Note the topics covered, content formats, publishing frequency, and depth. Look for topic clusters, pillar pages, and internal linking patterns. A site that publishes comprehensive guides around specific themes is likely using a topical authority strategy.
Check Technical Performance
Use Google PageSpeed Insights to evaluate Core Web Vitals and performance. Crawling tools such as Screaming Frog can analyze the site's structure, status codes, redirects, and metadata at scale. Technical strength often explains why some websites outperform competitors with similar content.
Look at Local and Social Signals
For local businesses, review their Google Business Profile, reviews, categories, and citations. Check social media profiles for consistency and activity. These signals show whether the website relies heavily on local SEO and how it integrates SEO with broader digital marketing efforts.
Turn Insights Into Strategy
Analyzing another website's SEO is most valuable when it informs your own decisions. Identify keywords you can target, content gaps you can fill, link sources you can pursue, and technical improvements you can make. Avoid copying content directly. Instead, aim to create better, more useful resources that serve your audience.
Conclusion
To find out the main SEO a website uses, examine its page source, identify its platform and plugins, use SEO browser extensions, review robots.txt and sitemaps, analyze keywords and backlinks with professional tools, evaluate content strategy, and assess technical performance. These steps reveal how a website earns visibility and where opportunities exist. With these insights, you can build a smarter SEO strategy and compete more effectively in search results.
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