Growth Auditor Playbook
Decode competitor traffic trends and discover what's driving their SEO growth
Understanding why competitors are growing—or declining—in organic traffic is one of the most valuable competitive intelligence activities. But traditional analysis requires hours of manual data gathering from multiple tools, spreadsheet gymnastics to calculate trends, and detective work to correlate traffic changes with real-world events.
Seenos Growth Auditor automates this entire workflow. Compare up to 5 domains simultaneously, track 12-24 months of historical trends with automatic MoM calculations, investigate traffic fluctuations with 40+ targeted searches, and receive a beautiful interactive HTML report ready for stakeholders.
What You Get
- Multi-domain comparison - Side-by-side metrics for up to 5 domains
- 12-24 month traffic history - Complete historical trends with MoM% changes
- Traffic source breakdown - Organic, paid, social, referral analysis
- Backlink velocity tracking - Monthly link acquisition patterns
- Content strategy analysis - Page types, PSEO patterns, keyword distribution
- Fluctuation investigation - 40-50 searches per event to identify root causes
- Volatility scoring - Quantified stability metrics for each domain
- Interactive HTML report - Beautiful, shareable report with charts
- 90-day action plan - Specific weekly/monthly tasks with KPIs
The Problem: Fragmented Traffic Intelligence #
Understanding competitor traffic patterns typically requires:
- Multiple tool subscriptions - Semrush, Ahrefs, SimilarWeb each show different data
- Manual data compilation - Exporting CSVs and building comparison spreadsheets
- MoM calculation tedium - Computing percentage changes for every month across domains
- Correlation guesswork - Trying to match traffic drops to algorithm updates or competitor actions
- Report creation overhead - Transforming raw data into stakeholder-ready presentations
Growth Auditor consolidates all of this into a single, automated workflow that delivers actionable intelligence in 15 minutes.
How Growth Auditor Works #
The analysis follows a comprehensive 7-phase workflow:
Phase 1: Batch Overview
Quick comparison of all domains to establish baseline metrics:
- Organic traffic (US market)
- Total keywords ranking
- Authority Score
- Backlinks and referring domains
- Traffic channel breakdown (Organic/Paid/Social/Referral)
Phase 2: Historical Trends + MoM Analysis
12-24 months of traffic history is pulled for each domain. The analysis includes:
Month-over-Month Changes
Automatic calculation of traffic and keyword MoM% with trend indicators (Down/Up/Stable)
Volatility Scoring
StdDev-based volatility score: Low (<4), Medium (4-7), High (>7)
Pattern Detection
Identification of growth/decline trends, seasonality, and anomalies
Fluctuation Flagging
Major drops (≤-30%), spikes (≥+30%), and significant changes flagged for investigation
Phase 3: Deep Content & Technical Analysis
For each domain, Seenos analyzes:
- Page Type Distribution - Blog, landing, tool, product, docs pages
- PSEO Pattern Detection - Automated content templates (e.g., /alternatives/[competitor])
- Keyword Strategy - Branded vs non-branded %, intent distribution
- Technical SEO Signals - Core Web Vitals, mobile optimization, structured data
- Backlink Velocity - Monthly link acquisition trends, quality ratios
- User Experience Signals - Social proof, community engagement, content freshness
Phase 4: Competitive Gap Analysis
If your domain is provided, Seenos runs automatic gap analysis with up to 4 retry attempts using progressively relaxed parameters to find keyword opportunities.
Phase 5: Track Benchmarking
Your industry is compared against a trending high-traffic benchmark track to provide context. This isn't competitive comparison—it's market sizing to set realistic expectations.
Phase 6: Root Cause Investigation
When significant fluctuations are detected (≥30% MoM change), Seenos launches a comprehensive 5-layer investigation with 40-50 targeted searches:
- Layer 1: Brand Intelligence - News, ProductHunt, funding, outages, controversy
- Layer 2: Content & SEO Strategy - New content, backlinks, partnerships
- Layer 3: Algorithm Intelligence - Google updates, HCU, AI Overview impacts
- Layer 4: Competitive Intelligence - Competitor movements, market shifts
- Layer 5: Technical Validation - Site issues, migrations, external data cross-reference
Each investigation produces evidence with confidence scores (1-10) and 20+ cited sources.
Phase 7: Report Generation
Two output files are generated:
- Markdown (.md) - Complete analysis with all data tables
- Interactive HTML - Beautiful report with modern design, fixed sidebar navigation, and responsive layout
Try It Now #
Start with this prompt
Analyze SEO traffic trends for these domains: - [YOUR-DOMAIN.com] - [COMPETITOR1.com] - [COMPETITOR2.com] - [COMPETITOR3.com] Compare their 12-month traffic history, identify growth patterns, and investigate any major fluctuations. Include content strategy and backlink analysis.
For example:
Real Example
Analyze SEO traffic trends for these domains: - seenos.ai - writesonic.com - jasper.ai - copy.ai I want to understand: - Who's growing vs declining - What content strategies are working - Why any major traffic changes happened - What I can learn from their growth engines
Figure 1: Growth Auditor comparing traffic trends across multiple domains
Example Report Output #
Figure 2: Interactive HTML report with traffic trends and root cause analysis
Report Sections
The report includes 8 comprehensive sections:
- Executive Summary - Key findings, traffic snapshot, critical issues, priority recommendations
- Market Overview - SEO traffic comparison table, channel breakdown, competitive positioning
- Traffic Trend Analysis - 24-month tables with MoM%, volatility scores, fluctuation details
- Content & Keyword Strategy - Page distribution, PSEO patterns, keyword strategy comparison
- Growth Strategy Analysis - Root cause investigation results, growth playbook insights
- Gap Analysis - Keyword opportunities (if your domain provided)
- Conclusions & Action Plan - 90-day calendar with specific tasks and KPIs
- Data Limitations - Methodology notes and API limitations disclosed
MoM Trend Indicators
| Classification | Threshold | Indicator |
|---|---|---|
| Major Drop | ≤ -30% | Down |
| Major Spike | ≥ +30% | Up |
| Significant | 15-30% | Stable |
| Normal | < 15% | ⚪ |
Best Practices #
1. Choose Comparable Domains
For meaningful comparison, include domains in similar stages and markets. Comparing a 1-year-old startup to a 10-year incumbent skews insights. Mix similar-stage competitors with one aspirational benchmark.
2. Include Your Own Domain
When you include your domain, you get additional gap analysis and "you vs them" context that makes recommendations more actionable.
3. Focus on the "Why"
Traffic numbers alone aren't actionable. The root cause investigation reveals why competitors grew or declined—that's where strategic insights live.
4. Use the 90-Day Action Plan
Don't just read the report. The generated action plan has specific weekly tasks. Treat it as your SEO project plan for the next quarter.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid #
⚠️ What to Watch Out For
- Too many domains - Stick to 3-5 for manageable analysis depth
- Ignoring context - A traffic spike might be seasonal, not strategic
- Copying tactics blindly - What works for a high-authority domain may not work for you
- Analysis paralysis - Use insights to make decisions, not to delay action
Frequently Asked Questions #
How accurate is the traffic data?
Traffic data comes from Semrush estimates, which are directionally accurate for comparison but may differ from actual Analytics numbers. The value is in relative comparison and trend analysis, not absolute numbers.
What if a domain has no historical data?
New domains may have limited history. Seenos uses a 3-layer fallback strategy including Perplexity and web search to find publicly available traffic estimates. Missing data is clearly marked in the report.
How long does the analysis take?
Typical analysis completes in 10-15 minutes depending on the number of domains and whether root cause investigation is triggered.
Can I track the same domains over time?
Yes. Run Growth Auditor quarterly to track how competitors evolve. The reports are timestamped for comparison.
Related Playbooks #
- Competitor Analyst Playbook - Deep dive into pricing and features (vs traffic focus)
- Gap Analyst Playbook - Detailed keyword gap analysis
- SERP Analyst Playbook - Content-level competitive analysis
- SEO Auditor Playbook - Audit your own site based on insights
Product Manager at Seenos.ai. Pioneer in AEO research since 2024, exploring the convergence of SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). Led multiple AI-powered content optimization projects that achieved 300%+ citation increases in ChatGPT and Perplexity.