What Keywords Does My Website Rank For? 3 Ways to Check Your Site and Competitors
Use Search Console for real data on your own site and a ranked-keywords database for competitors. How the two differ, and a walkthrough with real data for backlinko.com showing how to find content ideas in a competitor’s keywords.
Use Search Console for real data on your own site and a ranked-keywords database for competitors. How the two differ, and a walkthrough with real data for backlinko.com showing how to find content ideas in a competitor’s keywords.
"Which keywords does my site rank for?" and "which keywords bring my competitors traffic?" are two of the most common SEO questions. The first has real data behind it; the second relies on third-party estimates.
1. Three Methods
| Method | Best for | Data source | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console Performance report | Your own site | Google’s real impressions and clicks | Rare or privacy-sensitive queries are hidden; verified sites only |
| Ranked keywords checker | Any site, including competitors | A third-party keyword database built by regularly crawling results for many keywords | Only covers keywords in the database; traffic is estimated from position and volume |
| Checking keywords one by one | A known keyword list | Live search results | One keyword at a time; good for monitoring, not discovery |
2. Real Example: Where backlinko.com Gets Its Traffic
On 9 October 2026 we checked backlinko.com (United States) with the ranked keywords checker: 35,080 keywords rank on Google. Sorted by estimated traffic, the top ones are:
| Keyword | Position | Monthly volume | Ranking page |
|---|---|---|---|
| reddit popularity | 2 | 90,500 | /reddit-users |
| google trend | 8 | 368,000 | /hub/content/google-trends |
| patreons | 14 | 1,220,000 | /patreon-users |
| netflix subscribers | 9 | 450,000 | /netflix-users |
| semrush | 4 | 90,500 | /hub/seo/semrush |
| seo marketing tools | 5 | 110,000 | /best-free-seo-tools |
- The biggest earners are not SEO tutorials but statistics pages ("how many users does X have"). They get cited and linked often, and they are one of backlinko’s traffic pillars.
- Competitor brand terms such as "semrush" and "ahrefs" rank through review pages: comparisons and reviews are a steady traffic source in SaaS.
- High-volume keywords sitting at positions 8–14 (google trend, patreons) deserve the most attention: a few places higher multiplies traffic.
3. Turning Competitor Keywords Into Content Ideas
- Group by page type: see which kind of page (statistics, reviews, tools) drives most of a competitor’s keywords to understand its content strategy.
- Find the gap: list the keywords a competitor ranks for and you do not with the keyword gap tool.
- Check top pages: the website top pages tool ranks a competitor’s strongest pages by traffic, faster than reading keyword by keyword.
Ranked Keywords Checker
See how many keywords any site ranks for on Google in your chosen country, plus its top 50 keywords by traffic with ranking URLs. One free check a day.
Website Top Pages
List a site’s strongest pages by estimated traffic to see what content earns its visits.
Keyword Gap Tool
List keywords a competitor ranks for and your site does not, ready to use as a content plan.