You do not need access to a competitor’s Google Analytics account to learn a great deal about their website.

With a few free tools, you can estimate how much traffic a competing estate agency receives, identify the pages that appear to attract visitors and discover the search terms that may be sending people to their website.

The figures will not be exact. Competitor research tools work with estimates, third-party data and search results. However, when you compare several sources and look for patterns, you can get useful information to guide your own marketing.

Start with the right competitors

Your biggest business competitor is not always your biggest search competitor. A national property portal, a local newspaper or an independent property information site may appear in Google for the same searches as your agency.

Start by making a list of three to five estate agency websites that compete with you locally. Then add one or two websites that regularly appear in Google for important searches such as:

• Estate agents in your town or county
• Houses for sale in your area
• Property valuations in your area
• Letting agents in your area
• Commercial property in your area
• Specific property types, such as apartments, farms or new homes

Search these phrases in an incognito or private browser window if possible. Your normal search results may be influenced by your previous searches, location and browsing history.

The free tools you can use

You can complete a useful first review without paying for specialist software. The free versions may limit the number of searches or the amount of data shown, so use them to identify patterns rather than expecting a complete report.

Step 1: Check the competitor’s estimated traffic

Enter the competitor’s domain into Similarweb, Semrush or Ahrefs. Record the information that is available, including:

• Estimated monthly visits
• Estimated organic search traffic
• Traffic sources or channels
• Top-performing pages
• Estimated engagement information
• Traffic trends over recent months, where available

Do not treat one number as a fact. Instead, record a range or a general description such as “low”, “medium” or “high”. If two tools suggest similar levels of traffic, your confidence in the comparison is higher. If they show very different results, note that the estimate is uncertain.

Competitor traffic tools are best used for direction, not precision.

A small local agency may not have enough publicly available data for a reliable estimate. A lack of data does not necessarily mean that the website receives no visitors. It may simply mean that the tool has insufficient information to make a useful prediction.

Step 2: Find out where the traffic may be coming from

Look at the competitor’s traffic channels. The main categories usually include:

• Organic search: visitors arriving from unpaid search results.
• Paid search: visitors arriving through search advertising.
• Direct traffic: people who type the address into a browser, use a bookmark or arrive through a source the tool cannot identify.
• Referral traffic: visitors coming from another website, such as a newspaper, property portal, local directory or professional organisation.
• Social traffic: visitors arriving through social networks.
• Email or other sources: traffic from newsletters, campaigns or channels grouped differently by each tool.

This information can give you an idea of the competitor’s priorities. For example, a high proportion of organic search traffic may suggest that they have invested in location pages, property guides, valuation content or technical SEO. Referral traffic may point to useful local partnerships or directory listings.

Remember that the categories are estimates and that different tools may classify traffic differently.

Step 3: Identify the pages attracting visitors

Most competitor websites have a mixture of pages that attract search traffic and pages that mainly support enquiries. Look for pages such as:

• Town and area guides
• Property valuation pages
• Buying and selling guides
• Landlord and rental advice
• New development pages
• Commercial property pages
• Individual property listings
• Blog articles and market updates
• Service pages aimed at sellers, landlords, buyers or tenants

Open the pages yourself and ask what job each one performs. Does it answer a question? Target a location? Promote a service? Capture an enquiry? Support a property listing? This is often more valuable than simply knowing how many estimated visits a page receives.

Make a note of pages that are useful, unusually detailed or clearly focused on a valuable local search. These may give you ideas for content on your own website. Do not copy the wording. Use the topic as a starting point and create something more accurate, helpful and relevant to your agency.

Step 4: Discover the keywords they may rank for

Use the keyword sections in Similarweb, Semrush or Ahrefs to look for the search phrases associated with the competitor’s domain. Depending on the tool and the size of the website, you may see:

• The keyword or search phrase
• The competitor’s estimated position in search results
• Estimated monthly search volume
• The page that ranks for the phrase
• Estimated traffic from that keyword
• Whether the phrase appears to be commercial, informational or local

Pay particular attention to keywords that are closely connected to enquiries. Examples might include a local valuation search, a seller-focused service, a landlord service or a search for a specific property type in a specific area.

Separate the keywords into three groups:

1. Keywords you already target: compare the ranking page and the quality of your content.
2. Keywords your competitor targets but you do not: decide whether the topic is relevant to your service area and business goals.
3. Keywords where both sites appear: compare which page is more useful, clearer and more convincing.

Do not chase every keyword with a large search volume. A specific local phrase with clear buying, selling or letting intent may be more valuable to an estate agent than a broad phrase that attracts visitors from outside your market.

Step 5: Use Google to verify the opportunity

Third-party tools can suggest keywords, but Google lets you see what a searcher actually sees. Search the phrases you have collected and review:

• Which websites appear on the first page
• Whether local businesses or property portals dominate the results
• What page type Google is favouring
• Whether map results appear
• Whether Google shows questions, guides, videos or other search features
• What wording competitors use in their page titles and descriptions

You can also use Google’s site: search operator to review pages indexed from a competitor’s domain. For example:

Google’s search operators can help you discover the subjects and locations a website has covered. They do not reveal the competitor’s traffic, but they are a quick way to understand the breadth of its content.

Step 6: Look for paid search and advertising clues

Some tools may show indications of paid search activity, advertising keywords or pages that appear to be connected to campaigns. You can also search important local phrases and look for sponsored results.

When you find an advert, review the destination page rather than focusing only on the advert copy. Check:

• Does the page match the search phrase?
• Is there a clear enquiry option?
• Does the page focus on one service or contain too many distractions?
• Is the phone number easy to find?
• Does the page explain why the agency is relevant to that location?

Do not assume that a competitor is running an advert simply because you see one once. Search results and advertising campaigns change. Treat this as evidence of a possible test or campaign, not proof of a permanent strategy.

Step 7: Check local SEO signals

Estate agency searches are often strongly local, so review the competitor’s local visibility separately from general website traffic.

Check whether the agency has:

• A complete and active Google Business Profile
• Consistent business name, address and phone details
• Useful town, village or neighbourhood pages
• Local reviews and recent responses
• Links from local organisations, news websites or directories
• Property listings that include clear location information
• Content that demonstrates knowledge of the local market

Search the competitor’s name, service and location together. Also search without the agency name to see whether the business appears for non-branded searches. This helps separate brand recognition from genuine search visibility.

Step 8: Review the website as a potential client

Traffic is only useful when the website turns visitors into enquiries. Spend ten minutes using the competitor’s site as a seller, landlord, buyer or tenant would.

Check the following:

• Can you understand the agency’s main services within a few seconds?
• Is it obvious how to request a valuation or arrange a viewing?
• Can you find a phone number quickly on a mobile phone?
• Are the property search and filters easy to use?
• Do property pages contain useful photographs, descriptions and contact options?
• Does the website appear current?
• Are there broken links, outdated pages or confusing navigation?
• Does the content answer the questions a local seller or landlord is likely to ask?

Record both strengths and weaknesses. The aim is not to criticise another agency’s website. It is to understand what your own website should do better for the people you want to attract.

How to estimate competitor traffic responsibly

You cannot see a competitor’s exact visitor numbers unless the competitor gives you access to its analytics. Third-party platforms provide estimates based on their own data sources and modelling.

Use this simple approach:

1. Check the domain in one traffic estimation tool.
2. Check it in a second tool if possible.
3. Compare the estimated organic traffic with the visible keyword rankings.
4. Look at the number and quality of pages that appear to attract search visits.
5. Record a range rather than a precise number.
6. Repeat the check later to look for direction and change.

For example, if a website has very little visible keyword coverage, few indexed pages and no clear traffic data, be cautious about accepting a large traffic estimate. If several tools show strong organic visibility and the site has many pages ranking for relevant searches, the estimate is more credible as a broad indication.

Put your findings into a simple spreadsheet

Create one row for each competitor and use columns such as:

• Website address
• Main locations served
• Estimated traffic range
• Strongest traffic channel
• Top visible pages
• Important keywords
• Local SEO strengths
• Website conversion strengths
• Weaknesses or gaps
• Ideas worth testing on your own website

Keep the spreadsheet practical. The purpose is to make better marketing decisions, not to produce a complicated report that nobody uses.

Turn competitor research into action

At the end of your review, choose three actions that are relevant to your agency. They might include:

• Creating a dedicated valuation page for a key local area
• Improving the title and content of an existing service page
• Publishing a useful guide for sellers, landlords or buyers
• Improving internal links between area pages and services
• Updating outdated property or market content
• Making phone and enquiry options clearer on mobile
• Reviewing local directory and referral opportunities
• Testing a focused paid search landing page

Prioritise changes that are useful to your audience and realistic for your team to maintain. Competitor research should help you become more relevant, not simply encourage you to copy whatever another agency is doing.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Believing every traffic estimate: estimates are not the same as first-party analytics.
• Comparing unlike websites: a national property portal and a local agency website will have very different purposes.
• Chasing high-volume keywords: relevance and enquiry potential matter more than volume alone.
• Copying competitor content: use gaps and ideas as inspiration, then create original material.
• Ignoring conversion: traffic does not matter if visitors cannot take the next step.
• Checking only once: competitor rankings, campaigns and pages change over time.
• Forgetting your own data: use Google Analytics and Google Search Console for your website because they provide more reliable first-party information.

A 30-minute competitor website check

If you are short on time, follow this quick process:

1. Minutes 1–5: choose three local competitors and record their website addresses.
2. Minutes 6–10: check each domain in Similarweb, Semrush or Ahrefs and note broad traffic and channel patterns.
3. Minutes 11–15: record the top visible pages and keywords.
4. Minutes 16–20: search five important local phrases in Google and note who appears.
5. Minutes 21–25: review each website on mobile and look for enquiry strengths and weaknesses.
6. Minutes 26–30: choose three practical improvements for your own website.

Repeat this review every few months. Over time, you will build a clearer picture of which agencies are gaining visibility, which topics are becoming important and where your own website has the best opportunities.