ChatGPT answers, unedited

If your goal is specifically to discover competitors' top-performing pages and the keywords driving their organic traffic, these are the strongest options:

My recommendation by use case

If you're creating a content calendar:
Choose Semrush. Its Organic Research and Keyword Gap tools make it easy to answer:

• Which pages drive the most traffic?
• Which keywords send traffic to those pages?
• Which topics am I missing?
• Which keywords are easiest to compete for?

This makes turning competitor research into article ideas very straightforward. Zapier cloro

If SEO is your primary channel:
Choose Ahrefs. Many SEO professionals prefer its Site Explorer and Content Gap reports for finding:

• highest-traffic pages
• ranking keywords
• backlink opportunities
• content ideas competitors already validate with search traffic. Buffer cloro

If you also want market intelligence:
Choose Similarweb. It shows estimated traffic, traffic channels (search, referrals, social, direct), audience overlap, and top-performing pages, making it useful beyond SEO alone. SEO.com Zapier

Typical workflow

For each competitor:

1. Enter the competitor's domain.
2. Open Top Pages or Organic Pages.
3. Export the top 100 pages.
4. Review the keywords driving each page.
5. Identify:

• topics you haven't covered,
• keywords where competitors rank but you don't,
• pages with high traffic but relatively low keyword difficulty.
• Prioritize content based on search volume, relevance, and competitiveness.

This process gives you a data-backed content roadmap instead of brainstorming topics from scratch.

If you're working with a limited budget, a practical combination is:

• SpyFu for affordable keyword intelligence.
• Google Search Console for your own performance.
• Keyword Planner or another keyword tool for validating search demand.

That combination covers much of the core research at a lower cost than an all-in-one enterprise SEO platform.

If your goal is content planning via competitor research (finding their highest-performing pages, the keywords behind them, and turning that into a roadmap), these are the tools I’d shortlist:

1. ahrefs.com — best overall for SEO content intelligence

Best for: finding competitor pages, keywords, backlinks, and content gaps.

Key features:

• Top Pages: shows which competitor URLs bring in the most estimated organic traffic.
• Organic Keywords: reveals the search queries driving traffic to each page.
• Content Gap: compares your site against competitors to find topics you’re missing.
• Top linked pages: helps identify content that earns authority and links.

Ahrefs’ Site Explorer is specifically designed to analyze competitor traffic sources, top pages, keywords, and backlink profiles. Ahrefs

Workflow:

1. Enter competitor domain.
2. Export “Top Pages.”
3. Filter by:

• estimated traffic
• referring domains
• keyword count
• traffic value
• Open winning pages and extract:

• target keyword
• search intent
• content format
• headings/topics covered
• Build a better version or find adjacent gaps.

2. semrush.com — best for competitor keyword + content gap workflows

Best for: turning competitor data into an editorial calendar.

Useful tools:

• Organic Research: see competitor ranking keywords and the pages attached to them.
• Keyword Gap: find keywords competitors rank for that you don’t.
• Top Pages: identify pages driving visibility.
• Topic/intent analysis: understand what types of searches competitors capture.

Semrush’s competitor tools include page-level analysis, competitor keywords, traffic-driving pages, and keyword gap comparisons. Semrush Semrush

Good output for a content plan:

3. similarweb.com — best for broader traffic intelligence

Best for: understanding where competitors get visitors, not just SEO.

Useful when you want:

• organic vs paid vs referral traffic
• audience overlap
• top traffic-driving channels
• competitor market trends

Similarweb provides competitor traffic analysis, keywords, and channel insights. Similarweb Similarweb

4. screamingfrog.co.uk — best companion tool

Best for: auditing competitor page structures after you identify winners.

Use it to analyze:

• title tags
• H1s
• word count
• internal links
• schema
• content structure

My recommended stack for a content team

Lean budget

• Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (if applicable)
• Google Search Console
• Free versions of Semrush/Ahrefs tools
• Screaming Frog free crawl

Serious content operation

1. Ahrefs → discover competitor winners
2. Semrush → find keyword gaps and prioritize topics
3. Screaming Frog → analyze page structure
4. Spreadsheet/Notion/Airtable → maintain content backlog

Simple competitor content research template

Create columns:

• Competitor URL
• Estimated organic traffic
• Primary keyword
• Secondary keywords
• Search intent
• Content type
• Word count
• Backlinks
• Last updated date
• What they missed
• Your improved angle
• Priority score

For most content teams, I’d start with Ahrefs + Semrush: Ahrefs is excellent for discovering what already works, while Semrush is strong for turning competitor rankings into keyword opportunities. Ahrefs Semrush

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ highest-performing pages + the keywords bringing them traffic, then turn that into content opportunities,” I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — strongest fit for your exact workflow. It lets you inspect a competitor’s top pages, organic keywords, estimated traffic, and ranking history. Its Content Gap tool can also identify keywords competitors rank for that you don’t. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center
• semrush.com — good alternative. Its Top Pages report surfaces competitor pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks, while Organic Rankings shows the keywords and landing pages generating organic traffic. Semrush Semrush
• ahrefs.com — useful if you're more focused on content ideation. You can find top-performing pages around a topic and filter by page traffic, referring domains, and other SEO metrics. Ahrefs

What I'd use for a content plan

Ahrefs is probably the cleanest choice if you want this workflow:

Competitor → Top pages → Keywords → Traffic → Content gaps → Your content brief

For example, you could take 5 competitors and identify:

One particularly useful tactic is to exclude branded keywords, then sort competitors' keywords by estimated traffic. Ahrefs explicitly supports this workflow. Ahrefs

If you give me your website/domain + 3–5 competitors + target country, I can also lay out a competitor-content research template showing exactly what to extract and how to turn it into a prioritized editorial calendar.

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ best pages → show me the keywords bringing them traffic → turn that into content ideas,” I’d shortlist these:

1. semrush.com — best all-around recommendation

• Its Top Pages report identifies competitor pages winning in search and lets you analyze traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. Semrush Semrush
• Organic Rankings shows the keywords competitors rank for, the landing pages appearing for those keywords, estimated organic traffic, and topic-level opportunities. Semrush
• Best for: turning competitor research directly into a content calendar and keyword list.
• ahrefs.com — best for SEO/content-gap research

• Site Explorer's Top Pages and Organic Keywords reports let you see which competitor pages generate organic traffic and which keywords drive it. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center
• Its Content Gap tool identifies keywords competitors rank for that you don't, which is particularly useful for finding topics to add to your plan. Ahrefs Help Center
• Best for: SEO-heavy teams that want to go deep on keyword opportunities.
• similarweb.com — best for broader traffic intelligence

• Its Landing Pages tool can show top-performing competitor pages, traffic trends, the keywords driving each page, and estimated clicks from those keywords. Similarweb
• It also provides broader traffic/channel data beyond SEO. Similarweb
• Best for: understanding the whole competitive traffic picture, not just organic search.

My pick

Start with Semrush if you're building a content plan for a business. It gives you the most direct workflow:

Competitor → top pages → traffic-driving keywords → content gaps → content ideas.

If SEO is the core of your strategy, I'd choose Ahrefs instead.

A useful spreadsheet structure is:

That turns competitor intelligence into an actual editorial backlog rather than just a pile of keywords.

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ best-performing pages + the keywords driving them + turn that into a content plan,” I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — my top pick. Its Site Explorer has a Top Pages report that identifies competitors’ pages generating the most estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. Its Content Gap tool then finds keywords competitors rank for that you don’t. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center
• semrush.com — best all-in-one alternative. Organic Rankings lets you see competitors’ keywords, ranking pages, estimated traffic, traffic-driving topics, and ranking changes. Its Keyword Gap functionality is particularly useful for converting competitor research into a list of content opportunities. Semrush Semrush
• semrush.com — good free starting point. Enter your site and it identifies organic competitors based on shared keywords. Semrush

What I'd use for a content plan

Ahrefs is probably the cleanest fit if your workflow is:

Competitor → Top pages → Keywords → Content gaps → Prioritized topics

For each competitor, I'd export:

Ahrefs specifically lets you inspect the keywords sending traffic to competitors and drill from a keyword into the ranking page, which is very useful for building briefs rather than simply collecting keyword lists. Ahrefs

If you tell me your website/industry and 2–5 competitors, I can also help you turn this into a concrete competitor-content research workflow and prioritization framework.

If your goal is specifically “show me which competitor pages perform best, what keywords drive them, and turn that into a content plan,” I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — best overall fit. Its Site Explorer shows competitors’ top-performing pages and the keywords those pages rank for; its Content Gap report then identifies keywords competitors rank for that you don’t. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center

Best for: building a page-by-page content roadmap from competitor data.

• semrush.com — best if you want broader SEO workflow. Organic Rankings connects competitor keywords with estimated traffic and the specific landing pages ranking for them, while Keyword Gap surfaces terms competitors rank for that you’re missing. Semrush Semrush

Best for: keyword research + competitor analysis + turning findings into briefs.

• similarweb.com — best for traffic intelligence. It provides competitor traffic estimates, top keywords, clicks, traffic sources, and competitive keyword gaps. Its Website Keywords tool can also analyze individual URLs/subsections and compare up to five sites. Similarweb Similarweb

Best for: understanding why a competitor gets traffic, beyond Google rankings alone.

My recommendation

Start with Ahrefs if content planning is the primary use case. A practical workflow is:

1. Put 3–5 competitors into Site Explorer.
2. Export their Top Pages.
3. For each high-traffic page, pull the ranking keywords.
4. Group those keywords into topics/clusters.
5. Run Content Gap against your own domain.
6. Prioritize topics by traffic potential, business relevance, ranking difficulty, and whether you can create something substantially better.

That gives you a much more useful output than a giant keyword list: “These are the competitor pages already attracting search demand, these are the queries behind them, and these are the topics we should consider creating.” Ahrefs Ahrefs

If you tell me your industry/site + 2–5 competitors, I can also help you design the exact competitor-content spreadsheet/template and prioritization formula.

For exactly that use case, I’d shortlist Semrush, Ahrefs, and Similarweb.

• semrush.com — best overall for a content plan. Its Top Pages report identifies competitor pages performing well in search, while Organic Rankings shows the keywords and landing pages generating organic traffic. Its Keyword Gap tool is particularly useful for turning competitor research into topics you don’t currently cover. Semrush Semrush
• ahrefs.com — best for SEO/content-focused research. Site Explorer lets you uncover competitors’ top pages, keywords, high-traffic site sections, and backlinks, making it strong for figuring out why a competitor page performs. Ahrefs
• similarweb.com — best if you care about total traffic, not just SEO. It estimates traffic-driving keywords, clicks, traffic sources, and can analyze specific URLs or sections of a competitor site. Similarweb Similarweb

My recommendation

Start with Semrush if your goal is to turn competitor intelligence directly into a content calendar.

A useful workflow is:

1. Find your 3–5 real organic competitors.
2. Pull their top pages.
3. For each page, identify the keywords, search intent, traffic potential, and ranking position.
4. Group those keywords into topics rather than treating every keyword as a separate article.
5. Run a Keyword Gap against your own site.
6. Prioritize topics where competitors have meaningful traffic but your site has little/no visibility.
7. Build briefs around the winning pages, while looking for ways to make your content substantially better rather than simply copying them.

If you give me your website/domain + your niche, I can also suggest the best competitor-research workflow and the exact reports/filters I'd use.

If your goal is specifically “show me which competitor pages get the most organic traffic, and which keywords drive that traffic,” I’d shortlist these:

• Ahrefs — Site Explorer: probably the best fit. Its Top Pages report ranks competitor pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into each page to see the keywords it ranks for. Ahrefs Ahrefs

ahrefs.com

• Semrush — Organic Rankings: a strong alternative. It shows competitors' ranking keywords, landing pages, estimated traffic, top pages, and competing domains. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

My pick for a content plan

Ahrefs if the workflow is:

1. Enter competitor domain.
2. Sort Top Pages by organic traffic.
3. Identify pages with substantial traffic in your target market.
4. Open the page's keywords.
5. Filter out branded terms.
6. Group the remaining keywords into content topics/clusters.
7. Prioritize topics based on traffic potential, ranking difficulty, search intent, and how closely they match your offering.

Ahrefs explicitly supports using competitor top pages and their ranking keywords to uncover content opportunities. Ahrefs

Semrush is particularly attractive if you also want broader competitive mapping and topic-level analysis; its Organic Rankings tools can identify competitors, top pages, keywords, and non-branded topics driving traffic. Semrush

If you give me your website + 2–5 competitors, I can also help you turn the competitor data into a prioritized content calendar (topic, target keyword, intent, suggested title, priority, and rationale).

For a content plan, you’re looking for SEO competitor intelligence tools — specifically ones that show:

• competitors’ highest-traffic pages
• keywords each page ranks for
• estimated organic traffic
• content gaps and opportunities
• backlinks/content authority signals

My recommendations:

1. Ahrefs — Best overall for content research

ahrefs.com

Best for: finding “what content is already winning” and building a content roadmap.

Key features:

• Top Pages: shows competitor pages bringing in the most organic traffic. Ahrefs
• Organic Keywords: reveals the search terms driving traffic to each page, including ranking positions and estimated traffic. Ahrefs
• Content Gap: compares your site against competitors to find keywords they rank for that you don’t.
• Backlink analysis: helps identify why certain pages outperform.

Workflow:

1. Enter 3–5 competitors.
2. Export their top pages.
3. Filter by: - high traffic
4. low/medium keyword difficulty
5. topics relevant to your audience
6. Turn those into briefs.

Best choice if your goal is: “Give me a list of articles we should create next.”

2. Semrush — Best for competitive gap analysis

semrush.com

Best for: combining SEO research with broader marketing intelligence.

Useful features:

• Top Pages identifies competitors’ strongest pages and the keywords behind them. Semrush
• Organic Research shows competitor rankings, landing pages, and traffic-driving topics. Semrush
• Keyword Gap highlights terms competitors rank for but you don’t.
• Competitor analysis covers keywords, traffic trends, and backlinks. Semrush

Best choice if your team also does:

• paid search
• market research
• reporting for clients
• brand monitoring

3. Similarweb — Best for broader traffic intelligence

similarweb.com

Best for: understanding the full traffic picture beyond SEO.

It can show:

• top traffic sources
• competitor keywords
• referral channels
• audience behavior
• traffic comparisons Similarweb

Its keyword tools help identify terms driving traffic to competitor websites and uncover opportunities. Similarweb

Best choice if your content plan includes:

• SEO + social
• partnerships
• referral strategies
• market positioning

4. Surfer SEO — Best after you find topics

surferseo.com

Best for: turning competitor research into optimized briefs.

Use it to:

• analyze SERPs
• compare competing pages
• generate outlines
• optimize drafts

It’s less of a competitor discovery tool and more of a content production tool.

My suggested stack

If you’re a solo marketer or small team:

Ahrefs + Google Sheets

• Find competitor winners
• Build your editorial calendar
• Track opportunities

If you run a content team:

Semrush + Ahrefs

• Semrush → keyword gaps and market view
• Ahrefs → page-level content research

If budget is limited:

Start with:

• Semrush free tools
• Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (for your own site)
• Google Search Console
• manual SERP analysis

A simple content research template:

For most content planning workflows, I’d start with Ahrefs if your priority is discovering winning content, or Semrush if you need a broader competitive marketing platform. Ahrefs Semrush

Yes — Ahrefs is probably the closest fit for exactly what you’re describing.

ahrefs.com lets you enter a competitor’s domain and reverse-engineer:

• Top-performing pages — see which URLs generate the most estimated organic traffic. Ahrefs Ahrefs
• Traffic-driving keywords — see the keywords each competitor ranks for, including estimated traffic and rankings. Ahrefs
• Keywords by individual page — click into a competitor's top page to see the full set of keywords it ranks for. Ahrefs
• Content gaps — identify keywords competitors rank for that you don't, then turn those into potential content topics. Ahrefs
• Low-competition opportunities — filter competitor keywords by search volume and keyword difficulty to find easier targets. Ahrefs
• Competitor discovery — find sites competing for the same search terms, including competitors you may not have thought of. Ahrefs

My recommendation for a content-planning workflow

I'd use Ahrefs Site Explorer → Top Pages → individual page keywords → Content Gap.

For each competitor, build a spreadsheet with:

Then prioritize topics where multiple competitors have successful pages around the same topic. That's generally more useful than simply copying the single highest-volume keyword.

Semrush is the main alternative I'd consider. Its Top Pages tool also analyzes competitors' pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks, and now incorporates Google/AI-search visibility. Semrush

If your primary goal is "show me what content my competitors have that I should create next," I'd pick Ahrefs. Ahrefs urlAhrefs Top Pages documentationturn0search1

If your goal is “show me which competitor pages actually drive search traffic, and which keywords are responsible”, I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — best overall fit. Its Top Pages report ranks a competitor’s pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. Its Organic Keywords report also shows the keywords sending competitors traffic. Ahrefs Ahrefs

Best workflow: Competitor → Top Pages → pick high-traffic pages → inspect their keywords → turn those into content briefs.

• semrush.com — best if you want broader competitive intelligence. Its Organic Rankings reports show competitor keywords, landing pages, estimated organic traffic, top-performing topics, and ranking changes. Its dedicated Top Pages tool analyzes pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. Semrush Semrush
• similarweb.com — useful when you care about traffic beyond SEO. Its Keyword Explorer can show which URLs receive traffic from particular keyword sets and lets you examine traffic share and clicks over time. Similarweb

My recommendation

For a content planning workflow, I'd start with Ahrefs. It maps particularly cleanly to what you're asking for:

Competitor → Top-performing URLs → keywords per URL → search intent/topic → content opportunity.

Then use Content Gap to find keywords competitors rank for that you don't. Ahrefs explicitly supports this competitor-to-content-opportunity workflow. Ahrefs Help Center

If you tell me your site/industry and 2–5 competitors, I can also help you design a practical competitor-content spreadsheet with columns like competitor page, estimated traffic, primary keyword, secondary keywords, intent, content type, difficulty, and your opportunity score.

If your goal is specifically “show me which competitor pages perform best, then tell me which keywords are driving those pages”, I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — Best overall for content planning. Its Site Explorer/Top Pages reports show competitors’ highest-traffic pages, the keywords each page ranks for, and estimated organic traffic. You can then use Content Gap to find keywords competitors rank for that you don’t. Ahrefs Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center
• semrush.com — Best if you want a broader competitive SEO workflow. Its Top Pages report analyzes competitors’ pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks, while Organic Rankings exposes the keywords and landing pages generating organic traffic. Semrush Semrush
• similarweb.com — Best for traffic intelligence beyond SEO. Its Landing Pages and Website Keywords tools connect individual competitor pages with the keywords and estimated clicks driving traffic, including organic and paid search. Similarweb Similarweb

My pick for your use case

Start with Ahrefs if you're building a content calendar. A useful workflow is:

1. Enter 3–5 competitors.
2. Open Top Pages and sort/filter by organic traffic.
3. For each promising page, inspect its ranking keywords.
4. Group those keywords into a topic/content cluster.
5. Run Content Gap against your site to identify topics you haven't covered.
6. Prioritize topics based on traffic potential, ranking difficulty, relevance to your product, and how well you can make the competing content better.

That gives you a much more actionable output than simply copying a competitor's keyword list: competitor page → keywords → topic → content opportunity → calendar entry.

If you tell me your industry/site and 2–3 competitors, I can also help you turn this into a concrete competitor-content research framework.

If your goal is content planning based on what competitors are actually winning with, I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — my top pick. Its Top Pages report shows which competitor URLs generate the most estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. Ahrefs Ahrefs
• semrush.com — excellent alternative. It shows competitor keyword rankings, landing pages, estimated organic traffic, and the topics driving non-branded traffic. Semrush Semrush
• semrush.com — particularly useful for content teams. It focuses on identifying competitor pages that perform well by traffic, rankings, and backlinks. Semrush
• similarweb.com — better for broader competitive intelligence. It provides traffic/engagement estimates alongside SEO keywords, referring domains, and other acquisition data, rather than being purely an SEO content tool. Similarweb

What I'd use for your content plan

Ahrefs + a simple workflow:

1. Enter 3–5 competitors into Site Explorer.
2. Export their Top Pages, sorted by estimated organic traffic.
3. For each high-performing URL, pull its ranking keywords.
4. Remove branded terms and irrelevant keywords.
5. Cluster the remaining keywords into content topics.
6. Prioritize topics where competitors have substantial traffic but your site has little/no visibility.
7. Add SERP intent, estimated traffic, ranking difficulty, and your business relevance to turn the research into a publishing backlog.

Ahrefs explicitly supports analyzing competitors' top pages, seeing the keywords behind those pages, and comparing competitors' keyword performance. Ahrefs help.ahrefs.com

If you want just one tool: choose Ahrefs. If you already use Semrush, you don't need to switch—the equivalent workflow is there too.

If you give me your industry/niche and 3 competitor domains, I can also lay out exactly how I'd turn them into a prioritized content plan.

Yes — for exactly that use case, I’d shortlist Ahrefs and Semrush, with a slight edge to Ahrefs if your primary goal is building a content plan.

Best options

• ahrefs.com — best overall for content research.

Its Site Explorer lets you see a competitor’s top pages by estimated organic traffic, then drill into the keywords each page ranks for. It also has Content Gap for finding keywords competitors rank for that you don't. Ahrefs Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center
Best workflow: Competitor → Top Pages → identify high-traffic pages → inspect their keywords → filter for relevant/achievable topics → add them to your editorial plan.

• semrush.com — best if you want a broader competitive-research suite.

Organic Rankings shows competitors' keywords, landing pages, estimated traffic, ranking changes, and SERP features. Its Topics Report can group the competitor's non-branded traffic around topics and show the pages and keywords within them. Semrush Semrush

• similarweb.com — useful for traffic intelligence beyond SEO.

Its Website Keywords functionality reveals keywords driving traffic to a competitor and lets you examine SEO/PPC metrics, while its broader platform covers traffic sources and engagement. Similarweb Knowledge Center Similarweb

What I'd choose

If you're specifically building a content calendar, I'd start with Ahrefs. It maps particularly cleanly to the questions you need answered:

Which competitor pages get traffic? → What keywords bring that traffic? → What topics are they covering? → Which gaps can we attack?

One caveat: competitor organic-traffic numbers are estimates, not their actual Analytics data, so use them primarily for relative comparison and prioritization. Ahrefs Help Center

If you give me your site/industry and 3–5 competitors, I can also show you a practical competitor-content research framework—what columns to put in your content plan and how to prioritize the opportunities.

Yes — Ahrefs and Semrush are the two tools I’d shortlist for exactly this use case.

• ahrefs.com — my first choice for content planning. Enter a competitor’s domain and its Top Pages report shows the pages bringing in the most estimated organic traffic. You can then drill into each page to see the keywords it ranks for. Ahrefs Ahrefs
• semrush.com — excellent alternative. It shows competitors’ organic keywords, landing pages, estimated traffic, ranking changes, and SERP features, with tools for identifying content gaps. Semrush Semrush
• Ahrefs Content Explorer is particularly useful after competitor research: it lets you discover top-performing content and filter by metrics such as page traffic, traffic value, referring domains, and publication date. Ahrefs

What I'd use for your content plan

Ahrefs → Site Explorer → competitor → Top Pages → click keywords

For each competitor, build a spreadsheet with:

Then prioritize pages where the competitor has high traffic + relevant keywords + realistic ranking difficulty. This turns competitor research into an actual editorial backlog rather than just a list of keywords.

If you only want one tool, I'd pick Ahrefs for this particular workflow. Its Top Pages → keywords workflow maps especially cleanly to “what content should we create next?” Ahrefs help.ahrefs.com

If you give me your website + 2–5 competitors, I can also lay out a competitor-content research process and the exact columns/filters I'd use.

If your goal is specifically “show me which competitor pages perform best, then tell me the keywords behind that performance”, I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — best overall fit. Its Top Pages report ranks a competitor’s pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. Ahrefs Ahrefs

• Great workflow: competitor → Top Pages → pick high-traffic page → inspect keywords → turn those keywords into content briefs.
• You can also filter out branded terms and look for lower-difficulty opportunities. Ahrefs
• semrush.com — best if you want broader competitive research. It shows competitors' keyword rankings, landing pages, estimated organic traffic, and topics driving non-branded traffic. Semrush Semrush

• Its Top Pages tool is particularly useful for deconstructing competitors' content strategies and finding pages that win visibility. Semrush
• It also has a free Competitor Finder for discovering SEO competitors in the first place. Semrush

My recommendation

Start with Ahrefs if content planning is the primary job. It maps especially cleanly to:

Competitor → top-performing URL → traffic-driving keywords → search intent → content opportunity.

For example, I'd build your content-planning workflow around a spreadsheet with:

Ahrefs explicitly supports analyzing competitors' top pages and then opening the keywords associated with each page. Ahrefs

If you want, give me your website + 2–5 competitors and I can show you exactly how I'd turn their top pages/keywords into a 30–90 day content plan.

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ best pages → show me the keywords behind them → turn that into content opportunities,” I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — my top pick. Its Top Pages report ranks a competitor’s pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. Its Content Gap tool then finds keywords competitors rank for that your site doesn’t. Ahrefs Ahrefs Ahrefs
• semrush.com — excellent alternative. It shows competitor keyword rankings, landing pages, estimated traffic, and top non-branded topics. Its Keyword Gap tool compares your keyword profile against up to five competitors. Semrush Semrush
• semrush.com — particularly useful for content planning. You can sort competitors’ pages by estimated traffic or number of ranking keywords and export the results. Semrush

What I'd use for a content plan

Ahrefs is probably the cleanest fit if your workflow is:

Competitor → top pages → keywords → content gaps → content briefs

For each competitor, I'd pull:

1. Top 20–50 pages by organic traffic.
2. The primary/highest-traffic keywords for each page.
3. Search volume and ranking position.
4. Whether the keyword is branded or non-branded.
5. Your own ranking for those keywords.
6. Multiple competitors ranking for the same topic.
7. Pages that are gaining traffic quickly, not just pages that are already huge.

Then prioritize opportunities where multiple competitors rank + you don't + the search intent fits your business. That produces a much more useful editorial calendar than simply copying competitors' highest-volume keywords. Ahrefs specifically supports comparing competitor pages and identifying keywords competitors rank for that your site doesn't. help.ahrefs.com Ahrefs

If you tell me your niche/site and 3–5 competitors, I can also lay out the exact competitor-content research workflow and a spreadsheet structure for your content plan.

If your goal is specifically “show me which competitor pages are winning, and the keywords responsible”, I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — my top pick. Its Top Pages report ranks a competitor’s pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. Ahrefs Ahrefs
• semrush.com — best alternative. It analyzes competitor pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks, and Semrush's Organic Rankings reports also expose the keywords and landing pages behind competitors' search traffic. Semrush Semrush
• support.similarweb.com — useful if you care about broader traffic intelligence. It lets you investigate keywords driving traffic to a website, URL, or subsection and benchmark competitors. Similarweb
• ahrefs.com — especially good for content planning. It lets you find top-performing content by traffic, backlinks, and other SEO metrics, then use those findings to generate content ideas. Ahrefs

What I'd use for your content plan

Ahrefs + a simple workflow:

1. Put each competitor into Site Explorer.
2. Export their Top Pages.
3. For your highest-traffic pages, open the associated Organic Keywords.
4. Filter out branded terms.
5. Group keywords by topic/search intent.
6. Compare those topics against your own site with Content Gap to find topics competitors rank for that you don't. Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center
7. Turn the resulting gaps into your editorial calendar, prioritizing high traffic potential + realistic ranking difficulty + strong relevance to your business.

If you're buying only one tool for this use case, I'd choose Ahrefs. Semrush is a very close second, particularly if you also want broader competitive research and keyword-gap workflows.

If you give me your website + 3–5 competitors + your niche, I can also show you exactly how I'd turn the competitor data into a 30/60/90-day content plan.

For a content plan, you’ll want a tool that can answer:

• Which competitor pages bring in the most organic traffic?
• Which keywords are responsible for that traffic?
• What topics are they winning that you haven’t covered?
• What content gaps are worth targeting?

My recommendations:

Best overall: Semrush

semrush.com

Best for: full content strategy + competitor SEO research

Useful features:

• Organic Research: see competitor ranking keywords, estimated traffic, and ranking URLs. Semrush
• Keyword Gap: compare your site against competitors to find missed opportunities. Semrush
• Top Pages / Pages reports: identify pages attracting the most organic visibility. Semrush

Why I’d pick it for a content team:

• Easy to turn competitor data into an editorial calendar.
• Strong filtering by search volume, keyword difficulty, intent, and traffic potential.
• Good if you also care about PPC competitor insights.

Best for SEO-heavy content teams: Ahrefs

ahrefs.com

Best for: finding competitor “content winners”

Useful features:

• Site Explorer: reveals competitor organic keywords and pages.
• Top Pages: finds URLs estimated to receive the most organic traffic.
• Content Gap: shows keywords competitors rank for that you don’t. Ahrefs

Great workflow:

1. Enter 5 competitors.
2. Export their top pages.
3. Sort by estimated traffic.
4. Group pages by topic cluster.
5. Create better/different versions targeting gaps.

Best for market + traffic intelligence: Similarweb

similarweb.com

Best for: understanding where competitors get visitors overall

It can show:

• Keywords driving traffic
• Traffic sources
• Competitor comparisons
• Website-level performance trends Similarweb

Use this when you want to know:

• “Is this competitor winning because of SEO, paid ads, referrals, or social?”
• “Which competitors deserve deeper SEO analysis?”

Budget-friendly option: SpyFu

spyfu.com

Best for: smaller teams focused on competitor keywords and PPC history. Semrush

My suggested stack for building a content plan

If you have budget:

1. Semrush → discover opportunities + build roadmap
2. Ahrefs → validate pages, backlinks, and ranking difficulty
3. Google Search Console → compare against your own performance

If you only choose one:

• Choose Semrush for a broader content marketing workflow.
• Choose Ahrefs if your main goal is SEO content production and organic growth.

A practical process:

1. Pick 5–10 direct competitors.
2. Export their top 50–100 organic pages.
3. Pull the keywords driving those pages.
4. Cluster keywords into topics.
5. Score opportunities by: - traffic potential
6. ranking difficulty
7. business relevance
8. content quality gap

That gives you a prioritized content calendar instead of a list of random keywords.

For that specific content-planning use case, I’d shortlist these:

• semrush.com — best all-around choice. Its Top Pages report shows competitor pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks, while Organic Rankings shows the keywords and landing pages generating organic traffic. Its Keyword Gap can then turn competitor findings into content opportunities. Semrush Semrush
• ahrefs.com — best if SEO/content research is the core job. Site Explorer lets you uncover competitors’ top pages and keywords, identify high-traffic site sections, and reverse-engineer pages that are attracting organic traffic. Ahrefs
• similarweb.com — best for broader traffic intelligence. It combines top traffic-driving keywords with traffic sources and lets you compare competitors, including specific URLs/subsections. Similarweb Similarweb

My recommendation

If you're building a content plan, I'd start with Semrush or Ahrefs rather than Similarweb.

A useful workflow is:

1. Enter 3–5 direct competitors.
2. Pull their top-performing pages.
3. Sort/filter by estimated organic traffic.
4. For each page, identify the keywords, search intent, and ranking position behind that traffic.
5. Compare those keywords against your own site to find content gaps.
6. Group the gaps into topics/clusters and prioritize by traffic potential + ranking difficulty.
7. Use the competitor pages as inputs—not templates—to create something more comprehensive or differentiated.

If you want one tool that most closely matches “show me my competitors’ best pages and the keywords driving them”, I'd pick Ahrefs Site Explorer or Semrush Top Pages + Organic Rankings. Semrush Ahrefs

If you give me your site URL and 2–5 competitor URLs, I can also help you turn the competitor research into an actual content plan with topics, target keywords, search intent, priority, and suggested titles.

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ best-performing pages + the keywords bringing them traffic, so I can turn that into a content plan,” I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — best overall fit. Its Site Explorer/Top Pages reports identify competitors’ pages with the most estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. This makes it particularly good for turning competitor research directly into content topics and briefs. Ahrefs Ahrefs
• semrush.com — excellent alternative. Its Top Pages tool analyzes competitor pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks, while Organic Rankings shows the keywords and landing pages generating organic traffic. Semrush Semrush
• similarweb.com — best if you care about broader traffic intelligence. Its Landing Pages report connects high-performing competitor pages to the keywords driving traffic, while its Keywords reports provide traffic estimates and competitive keyword comparisons. Similarweb Similarweb

My recommendation

Start with Ahrefs if content/SEO is the primary objective. A useful workflow is:

1. Enter 3–5 competitors.
2. Open Top Pages.
3. Sort/filter for pages with substantial organic traffic.
4. Open the keywords for each winning page.
5. Remove branded terms and obviously irrelevant queries.
6. Cluster the remaining keywords by search intent/topic.
7. Score each topic by traffic potential, business relevance, ranking difficulty, and how strong your existing content is.
8. Turn the highest-priority clusters into your editorial calendar.

The key advantage is that you aren't just asking “what keywords do my competitors rank for?” You're asking “which actual pieces of content are successfully converting those keywords into traffic?” That's much more useful for content planning. Ahrefs

If you want one tool only: Ahrefs. If you want competitor traffic intelligence beyond SEO: add Similarweb.

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ best pages + the keywords driving those pages”, I’d shortlist these:

• ahrefs.com — best overall fit. Its Top Pages report ranks competitor pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. Its Organic Keywords report also shows which terms are sending competitors the most traffic. Ahrefs Ahrefs
• semrush.com — best alternative. It exposes competitors’ best keywords, ranking pages, estimated organic traffic, traffic-driving topics, and keyword/URL changes. Semrush Semrush
• semrush.com — good free starting point. Enter your domain to identify sites competing for the same keywords; Semrush also recommends using competitor pages to find content opportunities. Semrush
• ahrefs.com — worth testing if budget matters. Ahrefs says its free offering includes Site Explorer functionality for seeing which pages and keywords bring organic traffic, although the deeper competitor research is more useful in the paid product. Ahrefs

What I'd use for a content plan

Start with Ahrefs. For each major competitor:

1. Enter their domain in Site Explorer.
2. Open Top Pages and export the pages with the highest organic traffic.
3. Open the keywords for those pages.
4. Filter out branded keywords.
5. Prioritize topics where the competitor gets substantial traffic but your site has weak/no rankings.
6. Turn those into content briefs, rather than simply copying the competitor's pages.

That workflow is almost exactly what Ahrefs' own documentation recommends for finding competitor content opportunities. Ahrefs Ahrefs

If you want one tool: Ahrefs.
If you already use Semrush: its Organic Rankings + Keyword Gap workflow is equally compelling.

If you give me your site/domain and 2–5 competitors, I can also show you how I'd turn the competitor data into an actual content-priority matrix (topic, target keyword, estimated opportunity, competitor page, and recommended content angle).

For exactly what you described, Ahrefs Site Explorer would be my first recommendation.

• ahrefs.com — Best fit for reverse-engineering competitors. Its Top Pages report ranks a competitor’s pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords driving each page. Ahrefs Ahrefs
• semrush.com — Excellent alternative if you want competitor keyword rankings, landing pages, traffic estimates, SERP features, and content-gap opportunities in one ecosystem. Semrush Semrush
• semrush.com — Particularly useful for a content plan because it lets you identify competitor pages winning visibility and analyze them by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. Semrush
• similarweb.com — Worth considering if you want a broader view of traffic sources, engagement, geography, devices, and keywords rather than primarily an SEO/content workflow. Similarweb

My pick for your workflow

I'd use Ahrefs if your process is:

Competitor → top pages → keywords → search intent → content opportunities → editorial calendar.

For example, you can enter a competitor, sort their pages by organic traffic, open the keywords associated with their strongest pages, exclude branded terms, and then prioritize topics based on traffic potential and ranking difficulty. Ahrefs explicitly supports this page-to-keyword workflow. Ahrefs Ahrefs

One nice bonus: Ahrefs currently offers a free tier with access to Site Explorer reports including Organic Keywords, Top Pages, and Organic Competitors, although limits apply. Ahrefs help.ahrefs.com

If you tell me your niche/site URL and 2–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd turn the competitor data into a content plan.

For exactly that use case, I’d shortlist these:

1. Ahrefs Site Explorer — best overall fit
   • Shows competitors’ top pages by estimated organic traffic.
   • Lets you drill into the keywords each page ranks for and the traffic those keywords generate.
   • You can filter by country, position, volume, difficulty, branded/non-branded terms, etc. ahrefs.comahrefs.com
   • Particularly useful for turning competitor research directly into a content backlog.

2. Semrush Organic Rankings — best for broader competitive/content-gap research
   • Shows competitors’ keyword rankings, landing pages, estimated organic traffic, and top non-branded topics.
   • Its Top Pages report lets you identify pages winning on Google and, increasingly, AI search. www.semrush.com
   • Strong choice if you also want competitor discovery and keyword-gap analysis.

3. Ahrefs Free — good starting point if budget matters
   • Ahrefs currently offers a free tier with Site Explorer functionality, though the deeper competitive research is more limited than paid access. ahrefs.com

My recommendation

If your workflow is:

Competitor → highest-traffic pages → keywords driving each page → prioritize topics for your editorial calendar

I'd choose Ahrefs. Its Top Pages and Organic Keywords reports map almost exactly to that workflow. ahrefs.comahrefs.com

For each competitor, I'd capture:

One important caveat: competitor traffic numbers are estimates, not their actual Analytics data. Treat them as directional signals and validate promising topics against your own Search Console/keyword data.

If you tell me your industry + 2–3 competitors, I can also suggest a practical competitor-content research workflow and the exact filters I'd use.

For exactly that use case, I’d shortlist Ahrefs and Semrush:

1. Ahrefs Site Explorer — my first pick
   • Shows competitors’ top-performing pages, ranked by estimated organic traffic.
   • Lets you drill into the keywords driving each page’s traffic.
   • You can inspect search volume, rankings, estimated traffic, and the ranking URL. ahrefs.com
   • Particularly useful for turning competitor research directly into a content plan: find a high-traffic competitor page → see its keyword set → identify the topic/intent → build your own brief.
   • Ahrefs also has a free tier, although competitor analysis is more limited than the paid product. help.ahrefs.com

2. Semrush Organic Rankings — best for broader competitive research
   • Shows competitors’ ranking keywords, landing pages, estimated traffic, position changes, and SERP features. help.ahrefs.comwww.semrush.comwww.semrush.com
   • Its Keyword Gap feature is especially useful for finding keywords competitors rank for that you don't. It can compare multiple competitors side by side. www.semrush.com
   • Good choice if your content plan also needs competitor discovery, keyword gaps, traffic trends, and broader marketing intelligence.

3. Similarweb Website Keywords — worth considering for traffic intelligence
   • Focuses more heavily on understanding the keywords responsible for traffic to a site, URL, or subsection and benchmarking competitors. support.similarweb.com
   • I'd choose it over the others if you care about overall competitor traffic/channel intelligence, rather than primarily SEO/content research.

What I'd use for your content plan

Ahrefs → Top Pages → keywords → filter by traffic/position → turn winners into content opportunities.

For each competitor, I'd capture:

If you're buying one tool solely for this workflow, I'd go with Ahrefs. Its Top Pages report is explicitly designed to surface competitors' highest-traffic pages, and you can click through to see the keywords those pages rank for. ahrefs.com

If you tell me your industry/site + 3–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd turn the competitor data into a prioritized content roadmap.

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ best pages + the keywords bringing them traffic, so I can turn that into a content plan,” I’d shortlist these:

1. ahrefs.com — best overall fit. Its Top Pages report ranks competitor pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. Ahrefs Ahrefs

• Great workflow: competitor → Top Pages → identify pages with high traffic → inspect their keywords → cluster topics → build briefs.
• It also has Organic Competitors and Content Explorer for finding additional content opportunities. Ahrefs Ahrefs
• semrush.com — best if you want broader competitive research. It shows competitors' top keywords, landing pages, estimated traffic, ranking changes, and SERP features. Semrush Semrush

• Its Top Pages tool is particularly close to your exact requirement: page-level analysis of traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, and search visibility. Semrush
• Keyword Gap is useful afterward for identifying topics competitors rank for that you don't.
• Ahrefs Content Explorer — best for expanding the content plan. Rather than starting from one competitor, you can find top-performing content around a topic and filter by page traffic, referring domains, and other SEO metrics. Ahrefs

My pick

Start with Ahrefs if the core job is reverse-engineering competitors' content. Its Top Pages → Keywords workflow maps almost exactly to what you're describing. Ahrefs

A useful content-planning spreadsheet would capture:

If you're choosing a tool for a team rather than just yourself, I'd compare Ahrefs vs. Semrush specifically on price, keyword database, content-gap features, exports/API, and ease of turning competitor data into briefs.

Yes — Ahrefs is probably the closest match to exactly what you're describing.

My top recommendations

1. ahrefs.com — best overall for content planning - Top Pages shows which competitor URLs generate the most estimated organic traffic.
2. You can drill into a page to see the keywords it ranks for, including the terms estimated to send the most traffic.
3. Content Gap finds keywords competitors rank for that you don't, which is particularly useful for turning competitor research into a content backlog. Ahrefs Ahrefs Ahrefs Help Center
4. Best workflow: Competitor → Top Pages → identify high-traffic topics → inspect keywords → compare against your site → add worthwhile gaps to your content plan.

1. semrush.com — best alternative / broader SEO suite - Organic Rankings shows competitors' keyword rankings, estimated organic traffic, and the URLs appearing in search.
2. Its topic and keyword analysis can help identify the subjects responsible for competitors' non-branded organic traffic. Semrush Semrush
3. Its Keyword Gap functionality is particularly useful for finding keywords competitors have that your site doesn't. SEMrush

1. similarweb.com — best if you want broader traffic intelligence - Its Landing Pages analysis can show high-performing competitor pages and the keywords driving clicks to individual URLs.
2. Its Website Keywords reports also expose the terms driving traffic to a competitor and allow filtering by SEO/PPC metrics. support.similarweb.com support.similarweb.com
3. I'd favor this when you care about overall traffic sources, not just SEO.

What I'd pick for your content plan

Ahrefs → Top Pages + Organic Keywords + Content Gap is the cleanest combination. It maps almost directly to:

Which competitor pages win? → Why do they win? → Which keywords drive them? → What should we create?

One caveat: these platforms are estimating competitors' organic traffic from ranking/search-volume data; they aren't seeing the competitor's private Google Analytics/Search Console data.

If you give me your site/domain + 3–5 competitors + target country, I can also show you exactly how I'd turn the competitor data into a prioritized content roadmap.

For exactly that use case, I’d shortlist Ahrefs and Semrush.

🥇 My pick: Ahrefs

Ahrefs Site Explorer is particularly well suited to content planning.

• Top Pages shows which competitor URLs generate the most estimated organic traffic. ahrefs.comahrefs.com
• You can drill into a page and see the keywords it ranks for, including which terms contribute the most traffic. ahrefs.comahrefs.com
• You can filter out branded keywords, making it easier to find non-brand content opportunities. ahrefs.comahrefs.com
• Its Content Explorer is useful for going beyond one competitor and finding top-performing content across an entire topic/niche. ahrefs.com

A good workflow is: competitor domain → Top Pages → sort by organic traffic → open the keywords for each winning page → identify recurring topics/keyword clusters → build your content calendar.

🥈 Semrush

Semrush Organic Rankings is an excellent alternative, especially if you want more emphasis on competitor keyword research and content gaps.

Its Top Pages tool analyzes competitor pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks, while Organic Rankings lets you investigate the keywords and landing pages generating their search traffic. www.semrush.com

Semrush also has a Keyword Gap workflow for finding keywords competitors rank for that you don't, which is particularly useful for turning competitive research into a prioritized editorial backlog. static.semrush.com

Quick recommendation

If you're starting from scratch, I'd use Ahrefs. It maps particularly cleanly to the question: “Which competitor pages are actually bringing them search traffic, and what searches are responsible?” ahrefs.com

If you tell me your industry + 2–3 competitors, I can also suggest a concrete competitor-research workflow and the exact reports/filters I'd use.

If your main need is “show me which competitor pages are winning, and the keywords behind that traffic,” my first pick is Ahrefs Site Explorer.

Best options

1. Ahrefs — best overall for SEO content planning
   • Top Pages ranks a competitor’s URLs by estimated organic traffic.
   • You can drill into a page to see the keywords it ranks for and which keywords send the most traffic. ahrefs.com
   • Content Gap identifies keywords competitors rank for that you don't, making it particularly useful for turning competitor research into a content backlog. help.ahrefs.com
   • Good workflow: Competitor → Top Pages → pick winning pages → inspect keywords → Content Gap → prioritize topics.

2. Semrush — best if you want broader competitor intelligence
   • Semrush Organic Rankings shows competitor keywords and pages, ranking changes, SERP features, and competitors. www.semrush.com
   • Its Top Pages dashboard adds traffic-channel and historical-performance data, which is useful if you're planning content beyond SEO. www.semrush.com
   • Semrush also has a Topics Report that groups the non-branded topics driving competitor organic traffic. www.semrush.com

What I'd choose

One caveat: these platforms provide estimated competitor traffic rather than the competitor's actual Analytics data, so treat traffic figures as directional. Ahrefs explicitly describes its competitor traffic as estimated. help.ahrefs.com

For a content plan, I'd start with Ahrefs and build a spreadsheet with: competitor → URL → estimated traffic → primary keyword → ranking position → search volume → keyword difficulty → search intent → content type → your opportunity. That turns the tool's data directly into an editorial backlog.

If your main need is “show me competitors’ best pages + the keywords that drive them + turn that into content opportunities,” I’d shortlist these:

1. Ahrefs Site Explorer — my top pick
   • Top Pages ranks a competitor’s pages by estimated organic traffic.
   • Drill into each page to see the keywords it ranks for and which keywords drive the most traffic.
   • Organic Competitors and keyword-overlap reports help identify topics your competitors rank for that you don't.
   • You can also filter for lower-difficulty opportunities. ahrefs.com

2. Semrush Organic Rankings / Top Pages — best alternative
   • Shows competitors' top pages, keyword rankings, estimated traffic, SERP features, and traffic changes.
   • Its Top Pages report specifically lets you analyze pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks, while Organic Rankings provides keyword and competitor analysis. www.semrush.com

For a content-planning workflow

I'd use Ahrefs like this:

Competitor → Top Pages → identify high-traffic pages → inspect their keywords → filter for relevant/non-branded terms → compare against your site → prioritize topics by traffic potential + difficulty + business relevance.

That gets you much closer to an actual content backlog than simply looking at a competitor's total keyword count.

One caveat: these are estimated organic-traffic figures, not competitors' actual Google Analytics data. Ahrefs explicitly describes the numbers as estimated search traffic. ahrefs.com

If you tell me your site/industry and 2–5 competitors, I can also help you turn this into a concrete competitor-content research framework.

For exactly that use case, I’d shortlist Ahrefs and Semrush:

1. Ahrefs — my top pick for content planning
   • Its Top Pages report ranks a competitor’s pages by estimated organic traffic.
   • You can click into a page to see the keywords driving that traffic.
   • Its Organic Keywords report lets you sort competitor keywords by estimated traffic and filter by volume, difficulty, position, etc. ahrefs.com
   • This makes it particularly good for turning competitor research into a content backlog.

2. Semrush — best if you want a broader competitive suite
   • Top Pages identifies competitor pages winning in Google and AI search, including traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com
   • Keyword Gap compares your keyword profile against up to five competitors and surfaces keywords they rank for that you don't. www.semrush.com
   • Its Organic Rankings research also shows the pages ranking for competitors' keywords and estimated organic traffic. www.semrush.com

What I'd choose

Recommended workflow: put 3–5 competitors into Ahrefs → export their top pages → inspect the keywords for each page → remove branded terms → cluster the remaining keywords by topic/search intent → prioritize topics by traffic potential, keyword difficulty, and how well they fit your product/audience.

One caveat: the traffic numbers are estimates, not competitors' actual Google Analytics data. Ahrefs explicitly describes these as estimated organic traffic. help.ahrefs.com

If you want one tool specifically for turning competitor research into a content plan, I'd start with Ahrefs. ahrefs.com

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ best pages + the keywords bringing them traffic, so I can turn that into a content plan,” I’d shortlist these:

1. Ahrefs Site Explorer — best overall for this use case.

Its Top Pages report ranks a competitor’s pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. ahrefs.com
It also has Content Gap, which identifies keywords competitors rank for that you don't. help.ahrefs.com
Best for: turning competitor research directly into article/topic ideas.

2. Semrush — best if you want a broader competitive suite.

Its Top Pages report analyzes competitors' pages by traffic, keyword rankings and backlinks, while Organic Rankings shows keywords and landing pages driving organic visibility. www.semrush.com
Its Keyword Gap feature is particularly useful for identifying topics competitors rank for that you don't. www.semrush.com
Best for: a more complete SEO/content workflow.

3. Similarweb — best for broader traffic intelligence.

It provides competitor traffic sources and top keywords, including SEO/PPC data, so it's useful when you care about overall traffic, not just organic search. www.similarweb.com
Best for: understanding the bigger acquisition picture around a competitor.

My pick

For a content plan, I'd start with Ahrefs. The workflow is almost exactly what you're describing:

Competitor domain → Top Pages → identify high-traffic pages → inspect their keywords → filter out branded terms → find content gaps → prioritize topics by traffic potential + ranking difficulty.

Ahrefs specifically supports filtering competitor keywords and sorting by traffic, including identifying lower-difficulty opportunities. ahrefs.com

If you give me your site/industry and 2–5 competitors, I can also show you exactly how I'd structure the competitor research and turn it into a prioritized content calendar.

If your core requirement is “show me competitors’ best-performing pages and the keywords that drive those pages,” I’d shortlist these:

1. Ahrefs Site Explorer — best overall fit. Its Top Pages report ranks competitor pages by estimated organic traffic, and you can drill into the keywords each page ranks for. ahrefs.comahrefs.com
   • Great for: turning competitor research directly into content topics.
   • Particularly useful: filtering keywords by traffic, volume, difficulty, position, etc., and excluding branded terms. ahrefs.comahrefs.com
   • Caveat: competitor analysis is much more useful on paid tiers; Ahrefs' current free Site Explorer access is primarily for sites you own. help.ahrefs.com

2. Semrush Organic Rankings — best if you want a broader content/competitive workflow. It shows competitor keywords, landing pages, estimated traffic, ranking changes, SERP features, and competing domains. www.semrush.com

Its Top Pages tool specifically lets you identify pages winning visibility based on traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. www.semrush.com

3. Semrush Top Pages — best for page-level content analysis. If you already use Semrush, this is probably the most direct report for building a content plan from competitors. www.semrush.com

What I'd choose

Pick Ahrefs if your workflow is:

Competitor → top pages → keywords → search intent/topics → content brief

Pick Semrush if you also want competitor discovery, keyword-gap analysis, ranking trends, SERP features, and broader campaign management.

For a content plan, I wouldn't just copy the highest-traffic pages. I'd prioritize pages where a competitor has meaningful traffic + multiple relevant keywords + achievable rankings, then group those keywords into a single content topic to avoid creating several overlapping articles. Ahrefs' reports are particularly well suited to this workflow. ahrefs.comahrefs.com

If you give me your site/industry and 2–5 competitors, I can also suggest a concrete competitor-content research workflow and the columns I'd put in your content-planning sheet.

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ best pages + the keywords bringing them traffic,” I’d shortlist these:

1. Ahrefs Site Explorer — best overall fit
   • Its Top Pages report ranks competitor pages by estimated organic traffic. ahrefs.com
   • You can drill into the keywords each page ranks for and see which terms are estimated to drive the most traffic. ahrefs.com
   • Particularly useful for turning competitor research into content ideas: find a high-traffic page → inspect its keywords → identify the topic/subtopics → assess whether you can create something better.
   • It also has competitor discovery and keyword-overlap reports for finding gaps you don't currently cover. ahrefs.com

2. Semrush Organic Research — best for broader competitive intelligence
   • Shows competitors' top organic keywords, estimated traffic, ranking pages, position changes, and SERP features. www.semrush.com
   • Its Top Pages tool specifically analyzes pages by traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks, including visibility in Google and AI search. www.semrush.com
   • Good choice if your content plan also needs keyword difficulty, intent, CPC, competitive positioning, and historical changes.

3. Semrush Competitor Finder — good free starting point
   • You enter your site and it identifies sites competing for the same Google keywords, ranked by shared keywords. www.semrush.com
   • I'd use this to discover competitors, then move into a deeper tool for page/keyword analysis.

My pick for your content plan

Ahrefs if the workflow is primarily:

Competitor → top pages → traffic-driving keywords → content opportunities

Semrush if you want:

Competitors → keywords → pages → intent/CPC/position trends → content gaps → broader SEO strategy

One important caveat: these tools generally provide estimated organic traffic, not competitors' actual Google Analytics/Search Console traffic. Ahrefs explicitly describes its figures as estimated search traffic. help.ahrefs.com

If you give me your site/domain and 3–5 competitors, I can also lay out a practical competitor-content research workflow and the exact filters I'd use to turn the data into a prioritized content calendar.

If your goal is specifically “show me which competitor pages are winning, what keywords drive them, and turn that into content ideas,” I’d shortlist these:

My pick for your use case: Ahrefs

The workflow is almost exactly what you're describing:

Competitor → Top Pages → page's keywords → traffic-driving topics → content gap

Ahrefs' Content Gap tool can then identify keywords competitors rank for that you don't, including opportunities shared across multiple competitors. help.ahrefs.com

For example, I'd build your content plan by pulling:

1. Top 20–50 competitor pages by estimated organic traffic.
2. The keywords sending traffic to each page.
3. Search volume + ranking position + keyword difficulty.
4. Keywords multiple competitors rank for but you don't.
5. The underlying search intent/topic cluster, rather than blindly copying individual keywords.
6. A priority score based on traffic potential × business relevance × ranking feasibility.

One important caveat: these platforms provide estimated competitor traffic, not the competitor's actual Analytics data. So use the numbers primarily for relative prioritization rather than treating the traffic estimates as exact.

If you're building this into a repeatable content-planning workflow, I'd choose Ahrefs for SEO-first planning and Semrush if you also want broader competitive/marketing intelligence.

Yes — the capability you’re describing is essentially competitor SEO/content intelligence. My top recommendations:

1. Ahrefs — best fit for your exact use case
   • Top Pages shows which competitor pages generate the most estimated organic traffic.
   • You can drill into each page to see the keywords it ranks for and which terms drive the most traffic.
   • Organic Keywords lets you filter by traffic, volume, difficulty, country, etc.
   • This makes it particularly good for turning competitor research directly into a content backlog. ahrefs.com

2. Semrush — best for a broader content/SEO workflow
   • Its Organic Research reports expose competitors' top keywords, estimated traffic, top pages, SERP features, and ranking changes.
   • You can also use Keyword Gap to find keywords competitors rank for that you don't.
   • Good choice if you want competitor research plus keyword research, rank tracking, PPC intelligence, and other marketing tools in one platform. www.semrush.com

3. Similarweb — useful if you care about traffic beyond Google
   • I'd consider it alongside Ahrefs/Semrush if your content plan needs to understand overall competitor traffic sources, not just organic search.
   • It's less directly aligned with the "which pages + which keywords?" workflow than Ahrefs.

What I'd pick

For a content strategist: Ahrefs. The workflow is almost exactly what you described:

Competitor domain → Top Pages → identify high-traffic topics → click into page → keywords driving traffic → evaluate volume/difficulty/intent → add content opportunities to your plan.

Ahrefs explicitly supports finding competitors' top-performing pages and then seeing the keywords those individual pages rank for. ahrefs.com

If you want, give me your industry/site URL and 2–5 competitors, and I can also suggest a specific competitor-content research workflow and the columns I'd put in your content plan.

For a content plan focused on finding competitors’ top-performing pages + the keywords bringing them traffic, I’d shortlist these tools:

My picks by scenario

If SEO content is your main goal:
→ Ahrefs or Semrush
Workflow:

1. Enter 5–10 competitors.
2. Export their top organic pages.
3. Sort by estimated traffic.
4. Open pages with strong traffic but weak brand dependence.
5. Extract:
   • primary keyword
   • supporting keywords
   • search intent
   • content format
   • backlinks
   • update date
6. Turn those into briefs.

If you’re building a large editorial calendar:
→ Semrush + Google Sheets/Airtable
Semrush’s keyword gap and organic competitor reports are especially useful for finding topics competitors rank for that you don’t. www.semrush.com

If you mainly want “what pages are winning?”
→ Ahrefs Site Explorer is probably the cleanest match. Its Top Pages workflow is specifically built around identifying competitors’ strongest organic pages and the keywords behind them. ahrefs.comwww.semrush.com

A practical content-plan spreadsheet would have columns like:

• Competitor URL
• Page title
• Page type (guide, comparison, template, tool, landing page)
• Estimated organic traffic
• Main keyword
• Keyword cluster
• Search intent
• Ranking difficulty
• Backlinks
• Your opportunity angle
• Priority score

For most content teams, I’d start with Ahrefs if SEO is the core channel, or Semrush if you also need keyword gaps, PPC intelligence, and broader marketing research. ahrefs.comwww.semrush.com

For that specific use case, I’d look at Ahrefs first. It’s built around competitor SEO research and can show:

• Competitors’ top organic pages
• The keywords each page ranks for
• Estimated organic traffic and traffic value
• Keyword gaps between you and competitors
• SERP competitors and ranking opportunities
• Content ideas based on pages already attracting search traffic

Ahrefs is particularly useful if your goal is to turn competitor research directly into a content calendar.

A strong alternative is Semrush, especially if you also want broader keyword research, content optimization, and competitive intelligence.

If you give me your website/domain + 2–5 competitors, I can also help you structure a competitor content analysis and turn the findings into a prioritized content plan.

For a content plan focused on competitor top-performing pages + the keywords driving their traffic, you’ll want a competitor SEO intelligence tool rather than a basic keyword planner. These are the strongest options:

My shortlist for a content strategist

1. Best overall: Ahrefs

• Go to Site Explorer → enter competitor domain → Top Pages
• Sort by:
  • Organic traffic
  • Traffic value
  • Referring domains
• Click a page to see:
  • Keywords it ranks for
  • Search volume
  • Position changes
  • SERP competitors

Great for answering:

“Which articles are bringing competitors the most traffic, and what should we create?”

2. Best for building a content calendar: Semrush
Useful workflows:

• Organic Research → Pages → find competitor winners
• Keyword Gap → discover topics competitors rank for that you don’t
• Topic Research → expand winning themes into clusters

3. Best free/low-cost starting point

• Google Search Console (for your own site, not competitors)
• Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (limited free SEO insights)
• Semrush free account (limited queries)

A practical competitor content research workflow

1. Pick 5–10 competitors.
2. Export each competitor’s:
   • Top 50–100 organic pages
   • Main ranking keywords
   • Estimated traffic
   • Backlinks
3. Group pages into:
   • How-to guides
   • Comparisons
   • Templates/tools
   • Glossaries
   • Product-led content
4. Find gaps:
   • High traffic + outdated competitor pages → refresh opportunity
   • Keywords multiple competitors rank for → priority topics
   • Keywords with weak SERPs → easier wins

For most content teams, I’d choose Ahrefs + Semrush together if budget allows:

• Ahrefs = “what content wins”
• Semrush = “what keywords and gaps should we target”

If you share your niche (e.g., SaaS, ecommerce, finance, local business) and budget, I can narrow this to the best stack.

For a content plan focused on finding competitors’ top-performing pages and the keywords driving their organic traffic, these are the strongest tools to consider:

My shortlist by use case

Best overall for a content strategist

• Semrush

Workflow:

1. Enter competitor domain
2. Open Organic Research → Pages
3. Sort by estimated traffic
4. Export ranking keywords
5. Build a content gap plan

Best for finding “what content actually wins”

• Ahrefs

Look at:

• Top Pages
• Best by Links
• Competing Pages
• Content Gap

Best low-cost starting point

• Ubersuggest

It’s less comprehensive but can help identify competitor keywords and content ideas.

A practical content research workflow

1. Pick 5–10 competitors.
2. Pull each competitor’s:
   • Top 20–100 organic pages
   • Keywords per page
   • Search volume
   • Ranking position
   • Backlinks
3. Group pages by intent:
   • Informational (“how to…”)
   • Commercial (“best X,” “X software”)
   • Comparison (“X vs Y”)
   • Templates/tools/resources
4. Find gaps:
   • Keywords competitors rank for but you don’t
   • Pages with high traffic but outdated content
   • Topics where competitors have weak coverage
5. Turn findings into a prioritized editorial calendar.

For most teams, I’d start with Ahrefs + Semrush if budget allows; otherwise Semrush alone is usually enough for a solid competitor-driven content plan.

For a content plan, you’re looking for competitive SEO intelligence tools — specifically ones that show:

• competitors’ top organic pages
• pages driving the most traffic
• ranking keywords per page
• keyword gaps (what they rank for that you don’t)
• content opportunities and SERP analysis

Here are the strongest options:

My recommended workflow for a content plan

1. Find competitors
   • Use Semrush/Ahrefs → identify 5–10 domains competing for your target topics.

2. Extract winning pages
   • Open each competitor’s “Top Pages” report.
   • Export:
     • URL
     • estimated organic traffic
     • ranking keywords
     • keyword positions
     • backlinks

3. Find gaps
   • Run a keyword gap report:
     • “They rank, we don’t”
     • “They rank higher than us”
     • “High traffic, low competition opportunities”

4. Prioritize content ideas

Score each topic by:

• search demand
• traffic potential
• business relevance
• ranking difficulty
• competitor content quality

If you want one tool:

• Best overall: Semrush
• Best SEO/content research depth: Ahrefs
• Best budget option: SpyFu
• Best for creating briefs after research: Surfer SEO

For a content team, a common stack is Ahrefs or Semrush + Google Search Console + a content optimization tool.

If your goal is to identify competitors' highest-traffic pages and the keywords driving those pages, these are the strongest options:

Top recommendation: Ahrefs

If content planning is your primary objective, Ahrefs is often the most efficient choice because it lets you:

• Enter a competitor's domain.
• View their Top Pages sorted by estimated organic traffic.
• See the keywords each page ranks for.
• Estimate traffic from each keyword.
• Filter by country.
• Identify pages that are gaining or losing traffic.
• Export the data for content-gap analysis.

This makes it straightforward to answer questions like:

• Which blog posts drive the most traffic?
• Which product or landing pages attract organic visitors?
• What keywords should I target with similar or better content?

Best workflow for a content plan

1. List 5–10 competitors.
2. Export each site's top pages.
3. Group pages by topic cluster.
4. Identify keywords with high traffic potential.
5. Find content gaps where competitors rank but you don't.
6. Prioritize topics by search volume, business relevance, and ranking difficulty.

Budget recommendations

• Best overall: Ahrefs
• Best all-in-one marketing suite: Semrush
• Best value: SE Ranking
• Best for traffic benchmarking: Similarweb
• Best budget keyword competitor tool: SpyFu

For building a content calendar specifically from competitor insights, Ahrefs and Semrush are generally the two strongest choices because they combine top-page discovery, keyword analysis, and content gap reporting in one workflow.

For a content plan focused on competitor top-performing pages + the keywords driving their organic traffic, you’ll want an SEO competitive intelligence tool rather than a general keyword planner. These are the strongest options:

My shortlist by use case

If you’re building a content calendar from scratch

1. Ahrefs
   • Use: Site Explorer → competitor domain → Top Pages
   • Export:
     • Page URL
     • Organic traffic estimate
     • Ranking keywords
     • Keyword volume
     • Traffic share

2. Semrush
   • Use:
     • Organic Research → Pages
     • Organic Research → Positions
     • Keyword Gap
   • Great for finding “they rank, we don’t” opportunities.

If you need content briefs for writers

• Pair Ahrefs or Semrush with Surfer SEO or Clearscope.

A practical workflow

1. Pick 5–10 competitors.
2. Pull their top 50–100 organic pages.
3. Group pages by topic cluster.
4. Identify:
   • High traffic + low competition topics
   • Pages ranking positions 4–20 (easy improvement targets)
   • Keywords competitors own that you don’t
5. Build your content roadmap:
   • Pillar pages → broad topics
   • Supporting articles → long-tail keywords
   • Refresh projects → existing pages that can overtake competitors

If I had to choose one

• Best overall: Ahrefs
• Best all-in-one marketing suite: Semrush
• Best budget-friendly competitor keyword research: SpyFu
• Best for turning research into publishable briefs: Surfer SEO + Ahrefs/Semrush

For most content teams, the winning stack is Ahrefs (discovery) + Semrush (gap analysis) + a content optimization tool (execution).

If your goal is to identify competitors' highest-traffic pages, the keywords driving those pages, and content opportunities, these are the strongest tools:

My top recommendations

1. Ahrefs (Best overall)

Ideal if your workflow is:

• Find competitors
• View their Top Pages
• See estimated monthly traffic
• Discover every keyword ranking for each page
• Export everything into a spreadsheet
• Find keyword gaps against your own site

Useful reports include:

• Top Pages
• Organic Keywords
• Content Gap
• Best by Links

Best for content marketers, agencies, and SEO professionals.

2. Semrush (Best all-in-one)

Great if you also need:

• Topic ideas
• Search intent
• Keyword clustering
• Position tracking
• Content optimization

Useful reports:

• Organic Research
• Pages
• Keyword Gap
• Topic Research
• SEO Content Template

3. SE Ranking (Best value)

If Ahrefs or Semrush are outside your budget, SE Ranking offers much of the same functionality at a lower cost, including:

• Competitor keyword research
• Top pages
• Traffic estimates
• SERP history

If you're mainly building a content plan

A practical workflow is:

1. Identify 5–10 competitors.
2. Export each competitor's top-performing pages.
3. Export the ranking keywords for those pages.
4. Group keywords into topic clusters.
5. Prioritize clusters based on search volume, ranking difficulty, and business relevance.
6. Create one comprehensive content brief for each cluster instead of targeting individual keywords.

Best value by budget

• Enterprise / agency: Ahrefs
• Marketing team: Semrush
• Small business / startup: SE Ranking
• Keyword spying: SpyFu
• Traffic intelligence: Similarweb

For a content strategy focused on organic SEO, Ahrefs is generally the strongest choice because its Top Pages and Content Gap features make it especially efficient to uncover which pages drive the most traffic to competitors and which keywords you have the best opportunity to target.

If your main goal is to discover competitors' highest-traffic pages, the keywords ranking those pages, and content gaps, these are the strongest tools:

My top recommendations

1. Ahrefs (Best overall for content planning)

You'll be able to see:

• Competitors' top-performing pages
• Organic traffic estimates
• Keywords driving each page
• Keyword difficulty
• Content Gap opportunities
• Backlinks to successful content

Great if your strategy is:

• "What content should I create next?"
• "Why is my competitor getting traffic?"

2. Semrush (Best all-around marketing suite)

Useful reports include:

• Organic Research
• Pages report
• Keyword Gap
• Domain vs Domain comparison
• Topic Research
• SEO Content Template

It's especially helpful if you're also doing:

• PPC
• Social
• Local SEO

3. Similarweb (Best for traffic insights)

Shows:

• Top pages
• Referral sources
• Traffic channels
• Audience interests
• Competitor comparisons

Less SEO-focused, more marketing-focused.

If you're on a budget

• SE Ranking — excellent value with strong competitor analysis.
• Mangools — ideal for freelancers or small businesses.
• Ubersuggest — affordable and includes top pages plus competitor keywords, though the data is less extensive than Ahrefs or Semrush.

Best workflow for a content plan

1. Identify 5–10 competitors.
2. Export each competitor's Top Pages.
3. Sort by estimated organic traffic.
4. Extract the primary keywords for each page.
5. Group keywords into content clusters (e.g., informational, comparison, how-to).
6. Find keyword gaps where competitors rank but your site doesn't.
7. Prioritize topics by search volume, ranking difficulty, and business relevance.
8. Build a content calendar around those high-opportunity clusters.

For pure SEO content research, Ahrefs is generally regarded as the strongest option. If you also need PPC, social, and broader digital marketing insights in one platform, Semrush is often the better fit.