What it is
Competitor Tracking in Google SERP helps you analyze how your website performs relative to other domains in Google search results.
Within Keyword.com, you can:
Compare ranking positions over time
Analyze traffic equity with Share of Voice
Review historical SERP snapshots
Retroactively evaluate competitor movement
This article explains all the ways you can monitor and analyze competitors inside Google SERP Tracking.
Why it matters
SEO is relative.
Ranking #3 means something very different if:
A dominant competitor controls most click share
The SERP landscape has shifted
New competitors entered the market
A Google update reshuffled positions
Competitor tracking allows you to:
Detect market shifts early
Identify true SEO rivals (not assumed ones)
Benchmark long-term performance
Prioritize strategic keyword opportunities
1. Competitor comparison in Historical Charts
Historical Charts allow you to compare your keyword rankings against competitor domains over time.
From the chart view:
Click the Chart icon next to a keyword
Use the competitor dropdown
Select one or more domains to compare
This shows:
Position changes over time
When competitors overtook you
When you gained back rankings
Whether volatility affected multiple domains
For detailed timeline functionality, see: Historical Charts Explained
2. SERP history (Top 20 / Top 100 Snapshots)
The SERP History feature allows you to review the search results collected for a keyword on a specific date.
The depth shown depends on your tracking model and the day the data was collected:
On Top 20 days → SERP History will display Top 20 results
On Top 100 days → SERP History will display Top 100 results
If you are on the Hybrid Tracking model, this means:
Most days will show Top 20 results
Weekly (or monthly, depending on plan) will show Top 100 results
This behaviour reflects the actual data collected on that day, it does not artificially expand the result set.
SERP History helps you:
Identify which domains were ranking on that specific day
Investigate ranking drops
Detect new competitor entries
Analyze changes in SERP composition over time
For details on how tracking depth works, see SERP Keyword Hybrid Tracking Explained.
3. Share of Voice (click equity analysis)
Share of Voice (SoV) measures competitor visibility based on estimated click distribution, not just ranking position.
How it works:
Uses ranking position
Applies estimated CTR models
Multiplies by search volume
Calculates estimated traffic equity
Higher positions + higher search volume = higher Share of Voice.
This gives you:
Top 10 competitor leaderboard
Daily Share of Voice percentage
Visibility change over time
For deeper metric explanation, see: Share of Voice & Visibility Metrics.
4. Position vs Visibility - what’s the difference?
There are two ways to evaluate competitors:
Position-Based Analysis
Use Historical Charts to compare ranking positions directly.
Best for:
Tactical keyword battles
Page-level comparisons
Short-term monitoring
Visibility-Based Analysis
Use Share of Voice to compare click equity.
Best for:
Market dominance analysis
Strategic positioning
Traffic opportunity evaluation
Both methods complement each other.
Best practices
Compare competitors during ranking drops
Use 180-day charts to detect long-term trends
Check SERP History before reacting to volatility
Use Share of Voice to identify dominant domains
Focus on search volume + position, not just rank