How To Use Similarweb: A Practical Workflow For Competitive Research

How To Use Similarweb starts to make sense the moment you stop asking, “What is my exact traffic?” and start asking, “What is changing, and why?” We have watched teams panic over one chart, then relax when they saw the same trend across three competitors. The tool is not a courtroom witness. It is a radar screen. And if you read it like radar, it can save you months of guessing.

What Similarweb Does (And What It Cannot Know)

Quick answer: Similarweb gives you directional competitive signals on traffic, channels, and content performance. It does not replace your own analytics.

Similarweb helps you estimate how people reach a site, what they do when they arrive, and which pages pull demand. You can use it for competitor benchmarking, market sizing, and early-warning trend checks.

Similarweb cannot see inside a site the way Google Analytics can. It cannot tell you your exact revenue per session, your true conversion rate, or the real source of every visit. It also gets shakier on very small or niche sites.

Here is the practical mental model we use:

• Similarweb shows patterns across time.
• Google Analytics shows ground truth for your own site.
• Your job is to connect the two, then test changes on your WordPress or WooCommerce site.

Similarweb Data Sources And Accuracy Basics

Similarweb builds estimates from multiple inputs. It blends first-party measurement (including optional connections like Google Analytics), aggregated panels, public data, partner data, and modeling.

That multi-source approach makes it useful for big-picture decisions, like “Is this category growing?” or “Did this competitor spike from search or social?” SparkToro’s Eric Peterson has also pointed out that Similarweb lines up more closely on larger sites, while smaller sites can get overestimated.

If you want a second lens on SEO benchmarks, pair Similarweb with a link and keyword tool. Our workflow often mirrors what we described in our guide on using Moz for SEO checks, then we use Similarweb to sanity-check traffic and channel mix.

When To Treat Metrics As Directional, Not Exact

Treat Similarweb metrics as directional at all times, but raise your caution level when:

• A site sits under roughly 5,000 visits per month.
• The niche has unusual traffic sources (apps, partners, offline-to-online campaigns).
• One channel shows a sudden jump without support from other signals.

If you manage the site, connect Google Analytics for verification when possible. Similarweb notes that verified data improves accuracy on sites with enough volume.

Sources:

• Similarweb, “Methodology” (Similarweb), n.d., Similarweb methodology overview
• Similarweb, “Website Traffic Checker” (Similarweb), n.d., Similarweb traffic estimates product page
• SparkToro, “How Accurate Is Similarweb?” (SparkToro), 2021-06-24, SparkToro Similarweb accuracy discussion
• Similarweb, “API Documentation” (Similarweb), n.d., Similarweb API docs

Set Up Your First Project: Sites, Markets, And Date Ranges

Quick answer: Start with one target site, a tight competitor list, and a clean time range (3 to 12 months). Then lock geography and device so you do not compare apples to skateboards.

Most bad Similarweb reads come from sloppy setup. Someone compares global traffic for one site to US-only traffic for another, then calls it “a big win.” It is not a win. It is a filter mistake.

Pick The Right Geography, Device Split, And Time Window

Set three knobs first:

1. Geography: Pick your real market (often United States for many small businesses). If you sell local services, do not use global.
2. Device split: Check desktop and mobile separately. Many ecommerce and content brands live on mobile.
3. Time window: Use 3 months for recent moves, 12 months for seasonality.

If you publish content on WordPress, you can line up the time window with your publishing calendar. We often pull the last 90 days, then compare it with what changed in your content stack (new categories, new templates, new product pages).

Create A Simple Competitor Set (3–7 Sites)

Pick 3 to 7 sites you can explain in one sentence each. That is the test.

Good competitor set:

• One direct competitor (same offer, same audience)
• One bigger “aspirational” brand
• One adjacent player (same audience, different offer)

If you need keyword ideation before you finalize competitors, we sometimes start with suggestion tools, then confirm the market in Similarweb. Our walkthrough on using Soogle for quick keyword seeding fits well right before this step.

Sources:

• Similarweb, “How We Collect Data” (Similarweb), n.d., Similarweb data collection overview
• Similarweb, “Traffic & Engagement” (Similarweb), n.d., Traffic and engagement features

Read Traffic And Engagement Without Misleading Yourself

Quick answer: Use traffic and engagement to spot relative strength, not to crown a winner from one screenshot.

We have seen teams treat Similarweb like a scoreboard. That is when people start making weird calls, like copying a competitor’s homepage because “they get more visits.” Visits do not pay your bills. Conversion paths do.

Total Visits, Unique Visitors, And Visit Duration

Here is how we read the big three:

• Total Visits: This shows estimated volume. We use it to track trend lines and channel shifts.
• Unique Visitors: This hints at reach. It can also hint at frequency. A small unique count with high visits can mean repeat behavior.
• Visit Duration: This signals engagement. It also signals “wrong traffic” when it collapses.

Entity logic matters here: A homepage redesign -> changes -> visit duration. A viral TikTok -> spikes -> total visits. A new pricing page -> affects -> bounce rate.

When you run a WordPress site, you can pair these checks with your own analytics events. If Similarweb shows a duration drop and your GA shows “add to cart” drop, you have a real problem. If only Similarweb shows it, you treat it as a prompt to investigate.

Pages Per Visit, Bounce Rate, And Seasonality Checks

Pages per visit and bounce rate can mislead if you ignore intent.

• A single-page landing page can convert well and still look “bad” in bounce.
• A blog can look “good” in pages per visit and still fail to drive email signups.

Do a seasonality check before you react:

• Compare the same months year over year when you can.
• Watch holidays, back-to-school, tax season, or travel peaks.

If you scrape competitive SERPs or monitor multiple regions, treat proxy use with care. It is easy to break terms or expose data. Our guide on setting up Smartproxy with safe rotation covers the guardrails we use when clients need repeatable checks.

Sources:

• Similarweb, “Traffic and Engagement Overview” (Similarweb), n.d., Similarweb traffic engagement metrics
• Google, “About Bounce Rate” (Google Analytics Help), n.d., GA bounce rate explanation

Find Growth Levers In Acquisition Channels

Quick answer: Channels tell you where growth pressure sits. Your job is to find the channel you can win without burning your budget.

Similarweb breaks acquisition into buckets like Search, Direct, Referrals, Social, Display, and Email. Do not stare at percentages alone. Look for change over time.

Search: Branded Vs Non-Branded Keywords

Start with search because it tends to stay “sticky” when you build it right.

• Branded keywords show demand for a name. Brand campaigns -> increase -> branded search.
• Non-branded keywords show category demand. Content and SEO work -> increases -> non-branded search.

We use this to answer blunt questions:

• Do competitors grow because people already know them?
• Or do they grow because they rank for terms you also want?

If you see a competitor with strong non-branded growth, open their top pages next. You will often find a pattern: a few topic clusters and a few money pages.

Referral, Social, Display, And Email Signals

These channels act like fingerprints.

• Referrals: Partnerships, affiliates, PR mentions.
• Social: Creator content, short-term spikes, community.
• Display: Paid reach. It can hint at a promo push.
• Email: Retention motion. Similarweb often shows it as a smaller slice, but it matters for ecommerce.

When you want to turn channel signals into a repeatable plan, content systems help. Our post on using Outrank.so to speed up content workflows pairs well with Similarweb because you can spot a topic gap, then draft pages faster, with human review.

Sources:

• Similarweb, “Marketing Channels” (Similarweb), n.d., Similarweb channels overview
• Google, “Search Central: SEO Starter Guide” (Google), 2024-02-??, Google SEO Starter Guide

Reverse-Engineer Content And SEO Opportunities

Quick answer: Find what already pulls demand, then build the next logical page in the chain.

This part feels like cheating, in a good way. You are not guessing what to write. You are reading what the market already rewards, then making a better version that fits your brand.

Top Pages And Subfolders That Drive Demand

In Similarweb, look at top pages and subfolders. You want patterns, not one hit.

Common patterns we see:

• A /blog/ or /guides/ folder that drives discovery
• A /collections/ or /category/ folder that captures shoppers
• A /tools/ or /templates/ folder that earns links

Then ask: what does that folder do for the business?

Entity logic again: A strong guides section -> increases -> non-branded search traffic. A better category structure -> improves -> internal clicks.

If you run WordPress, treat site structure as a business asset. A clean permalink pattern and solid internal linking often do more than one more plugin.

Keyword Gaps And Intent Mapping For New Content

Keyword gaps matter when you map them to intent.

We use a simple three-bucket map:

• Know: “what is X” and “how to” terms
• Do: comparisons, pricing, “best” lists, alternatives
• Buy: product, service, location intent

Pick one gap, then decide what you will publish:

• A blog post (Know)
• A comparison page (Do)
• A service or product page (Buy)

Keep humans in the loop when you draft. Do not paste client PII into any AI tool. Legal, medical, and financial advice stays human-led.

Sources:

• Similarweb, “Top Pages” (Similarweb), n.d., Similarweb top pages feature
• Google, “Search Quality Rater Guidelines” (Google), 2024-??-??, Search rater guidelines PDF page

Turn Insights Into An Action Plan (WordPress-Friendly)

Quick answer: Pick two tests per month, ship them, and measure in your own analytics. That is how Similarweb turns into revenue work.

A dashboard does not grow a business. Shipping does.

Prioritize: Quick Wins Vs Longer Bets

We sort actions into two piles.

Quick wins (1 to 2 weeks):

• Update titles and intros on pages that already rank
• Add internal links from high-traffic posts to money pages
• Improve category copy and on-page structure

Longer bets (1 to 3 months):

• Build a topic cluster with 6 to 12 posts
• Create comparison pages for “X vs Y” queries
• Rework WooCommerce collections and filters

If you do not know which to pick, start with one quick win and one longer bet. That mix keeps morale up and builds future traffic.

Track Changes With A Monthly Review Dashboard

We like a simple monthly review:

• Pull Similarweb trends for your site and 3 to 7 competitors
• Export or note channel mix shifts
• Compare with Google Analytics and Google Search Console
• Log what you changed on the WordPress site (theme edits, new templates, new content)

Use one spreadsheet or one Notion table. Keep it boring. Boring logs -> prevent -> repeated mistakes.

If you want, you can also add a “shadow mode” step. Run Similarweb insights for one month without changing anything. That gives you a baseline that you can trust.

Sources:

• Google, “Search Console Help” (Google), n.d., Search Console documentation
• Similarweb, “Digital Research Intelligence” (Similarweb), n.d., Similarweb platform overview

Conclusion

If you want the cleanest way to use Similarweb, treat it like a compass, not a speedometer. Set your market and device filters, pick a small competitor set, then read trends across channels and pages. After that, your WordPress site becomes the lab: you ship two focused changes, you measure in your own analytics, and you keep humans in the loop.

If you want a second pair of eyes, we do this kind of competitive research and WordPress execution work at Zuleika LLC. We can help you turn “interesting charts” into a calm monthly plan you can actually follow.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Use Similarweb

How to use Similarweb for competitor traffic research without chasing “exact” numbers?

How To Use Similarweb effectively means treating it like a radar for trends, not a courtroom witness for exact traffic. Compare changes over time across several competitors, then validate anything important in your own analytics. The goal is to spot what’s shifting and why, not to “win” one snapshot.

What does Similarweb do—and what can’t it tell me compared to Google Analytics?

Similarweb estimates traffic, channel mix, and content performance to support benchmarking and trend checks. It can’t see your true conversion rate, revenue per session, or every precise source the way Google Analytics can. Use Similarweb for directional signals, then use GA as ground truth for your site.

How do I set up a Similarweb project (market, device, and time range) the right way?

Start with one target site, 3–7 competitors, and a clean time window (typically 3–12 months). Lock geography to your real market and split desktop vs mobile so you’re not comparing mismatched filters. Most misleading reads come from comparing different regions, devices, or date ranges.

When should I treat Similarweb metrics as directional or potentially unreliable?

Always treat Similarweb as directional, and be extra cautious under roughly 5,000 visits per month, in unusual niches (apps, partner-heavy, offline-to-online), or when one channel spikes without other supporting signals. If you manage the site, connecting verified analytics data can improve accuracy at higher volumes.

How to use Similarweb acquisition channels to find growth opportunities (search vs social vs referrals)?

Use channels to find where growth pressure sits, then track change over time—not just percentages. In Search, compare branded vs non-branded to see whether demand is brand-led or SEO-led. Referrals can indicate partnerships/PR, social often creates spikes, and display can hint at paid promo pushes.

Can I use Similarweb to build an SEO content plan and keyword strategy?

Yes—use Similarweb top pages and subfolders to see what already pulls demand, then map opportunities to intent: Know (guides), Do (comparisons), and Buy (product/service pages). Pair it with a dedicated keyword/link tool for deeper SEO benchmarks, then measure results in Search Console and analytics.