For most firms, SEO success is rooted in how well you are performing against the competition.

So it's essential to have a strong sense of what others are up to when you're creating and refining your own search strategy.

An infographic (below) from Cognitive SEO explores how to conduct a search engine optimization competitor analysis so you can gain a true understanding of your competitive landscape.

It looks at how the process can be tackled in five steps: performing keyword research, identifying and validating your top competitors, analyzing and positioning yourself among the competition, and developing an updated SEO and keyword strategy based on your findings.