ChatGPT answers, unedited

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 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.

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.