What to Do When Your Competitors Keep Outranking You

It’s a frustrating moment—you search for the product or service you offer, and there they are again. Your competitors. Higher in the rankings. Getting more clicks. More leads. And seemingly always one step ahead. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and it might be time to get help from an award-winning SEO agency.

But don’t panic. Falling behind in rankings isn’t the end—it’s often the wake-up call you need to rethink your strategy and play smarter.

Understand Why They’re Ranking Higher

Before you can catch up, you need to know what’s actually working for them. Start by reviewing their content. Is it more in-depth, up to date, or better formatted for mobile? Check the backlinks they’ve built—are they landing high-quality mentions from reputable sources?

Look at the structure of their site. Are they using schema markup? Are their pages loading quickly? SEO today isn’t just about keywords—it’s a mix of technical finesse, content strength, and user experience.

Fix the Gaps in Your Own Website

Many businesses unknowingly sabotage their own SEO efforts by letting the basics slip. Thin pages, duplicate content, slow page speeds, or outdated site architecture can all hold you back.

It’s worth doing a full audit to uncover hidden problems. You might find things like broken links, missing metadata, or poor mobile responsiveness. These can be fixed—but only once you know they exist.

Don’t Just Copy—Be Better

It’s tempting to mirror your competitors’ strategies exactly. But that can backfire. Instead, use what you find as a starting point—and then take it further.

If they’ve written a “Top 5 Tips” blog post, you write the in-depth “Ultimate Guide.” If they’ve got generic service pages, you build out local landing pages tailored to each suburb or region you serve. If they’ve got backlinks from industry directories, look for ones they missed—and go after those instead.

Double Down on Content That Serves

Content is still king—but only if it’s written for real people, not just search engines. Your content should solve a problem, answer a question, or make life easier for your readers.

That doesn’t mean writing essays for the sake of word count. Focus on clarity, quality, and usefulness. Blog posts, FAQs, how-tos, and case studies can all boost visibility and build trust at the same time.

Build Authority with Links That Matter

Backlinks are one of the most influential factors in SEO—but they’re also one of the trickiest to get right. Skip the shady tactics and focus on building real relationships. Guest posts, partnerships, interviews, and media mentions are all great places to start.

You want links from sites that are relevant, credible, and respected—not just anything that’ll give you a quick boost.

Getting outranked doesn’t mean you’re failing—it just means there’s room to grow. The good news? You don’t have to go it alone. With the right strategy (and the right team behind you), it’s absolutely possible to turn the tables—and become the business everyone else is trying to outrank.