Steal Like a Pro: Find Your Competitors' Keywords by Reading Their Pages (Free, No Tools)
Content Strategy
Step-by-step
Competitor keyword research
Trigger Marketing
The Trigger team
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Your competitors spent months figuring out which words sell. Then they published the answer. On their homepage. For free.
You just have to read it.
Semrush laid out this by-hand method on Oct 20, 2026. Yes, Semrush, the company that sells keyword tools, showed the free way first. Here it is, plus the filter that keeps you from building pages nobody buys from.
Quick words (one line each):
Keyword: the words someone types into Google or asks an AI.
Modifier: an extra word that narrows a search, like "same-day," "licensed" or "near me."
Buyer intent: the person searching wants to hire or buy, not just learn.
Path to conversion: a clear route from that search to a call, form or sale.
Cluster: a group of keywords that all belong on one page.
Step 0: Set up one spreadsheet
Pick 2-3 real competitors. (Ask the business who they lose jobs to. Local? Check who shows up in the Google map results for the main service plus the city.)
Columns: term | where you found it | customer's words? | buyer intent? | path to a sale? | do we have a page?
Semrush says to log every term you're not already targeting (Oct 20, 2026).
Step 1: Read their homepage
Write down the main phrase they lead with, its variations, their category names, and what they say sets them apart. Semrush's example: "premium beard products."
Step 2: Read their menu
The order of their menu is what they think sells. Steal the idea, and use it for your own site layout too.
Step 3: Read their category or service pages
Look for related phrases and benefit words written the way customers talk. Semrush's examples: "beard itch," "healthier, fuller growth."
Step 4: Read their FAQs
Every question is a possible search. Semrush adds that FAQs also hand search engines and AI tools a ready answer to quote. Mark every question your site doesn't answer.
Step 5: Read their product or service pages
Copy the titles and H1s, and every modifier. Semrush's examples: "non-greasy beard butter," "easy to apply."
Step 6: Read the reviews
Reviews are customers talking in their own words. "Makes my beard look healthy" turns into the search "how to make my beard look healthier" (Semrush).
Step 7: Read their blog
Post titles are question ideas. Also look at how their posts link to their product pages. That's their sales path.
Speed-up: the free tool free-seo-mcp has a page_outline command that grabs a page's title and headings in seconds (we tested it Nov 1, 2026). Still read the page yourself.
Step 8: Don't ask ChatGPT to do this for you
Semrush says it straight: ask ChatGPT for a competitor's keywords and it hallucinates and gives you far more than you can use. Doing it by hand teaches you the market. Use AI only to tidy the spreadsheet.
Step 9: Filter hard
Keep a term only if all 3 are true (Semrush, Oct 20, 2026):
It fits the business.
It shows buying intent.
You can see the path from that search to a sale. If ranking wouldn't bring sales or sign-ups, skip it, even if a competitor ranks.
Don't drop a term for low volume. Jonathan Berthold of Ziff Davis (SEJ, Oct 27, 2026): a search a tool calls "0" or "10 a month" is worth it. His example is a fiberglass conduit maker where 10 searches brought 2 visits, and one of them was a potential half-million-dollar contract.
Step 10: Group them
One page per cluster, not one page per keyword (Semrush). "Emergency AC repair," "AC repair same day" and "AC not cooling repair" all go on one page.
Step 11: Build 1-3 pages and wait
Berthold's order when traffic is flat and there's no budget: find the topic gaps, then build pages for buying searches. Top-of-funnel "what is" traffic is being taken by AI answers and "doesn't really convert," he says.
Build 1-3 pages first. Give them about 30 days. Then judge them (see the related post on small SEO tests).
The 3 don'ts
Don't copy their text. Use their pages for ideas. Write your own.
Don't chase their biggest terms first. Start where they're weak or silent.
Don't judge it in week one.
Do this today
List 3 competitors who actually take your customers.
Read each one's homepage, menu and FAQs.
Copy 10 customer phrases from their reviews.
Cross out every term with no path to a sale.
Group what's left into 3 page ideas.
Related reading
Sources
Don't worry if this seems like it's a pain in the ass for someone who doesn't build websites. That's because it is. The good news: just click the link below, pull the trigger, and we'll take care of the rest.
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