How to Audit Another Company's Social Media SEO

Ever wondered why a competitor's content seems to be everywhere, dominating not just your social feeds but also popping up in search results? It’s not an accident. They have a dialed-in Social Media SEO strategy, and this guide will walk you through, step by step, how to audit their approach and uncover the secrets you can use to build an even better one.

What Exactly is Social Media SEO?

Let's clear this up first. Social Media SEO isn't just about sharing links to your blog posts and hoping Google notices. It’s about optimizing your social media presence so that your profiles and the content you share become discoverable through search engines - both traditional ones like Google and, just as importantly, the search functions within the social platforms themselves.

Today, people use TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest as search engines to find recipes, tutorials, reviews, and inspiration. Your Social SEO strategy has two main jobs:

• Get Found on Google: Well-optimized social profiles can rank on the first page of Google for your brand name, giving you more control over your company's search results and building credibility.
• Win the Platform Search Game: When a user types "best coffee shops in Boston" into TikTok or "home office decor ideas" into Pinterest, you want your content to show up. This is direct, high-intent traffic from people actively looking for solutions you provide.

Auditing a competitor gives you a live case study of what is - and isn't - working in your specific niche.

Phase 1: Profile-Level Audit - Nailing the Foundation

Before you even look at a single piece of content, start with their profile. This is the bedrock of their entire social strategy, and small optimizations here have a huge impact on discovery.

1. Check Username and Handle Consistency

Start with the basics. Look up your competitor on Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Is their username (their @handle) the same across the board? A consistent handle like @YourBrandName everywhere makes them instantly recognizable and easy for customers to find. If they have fragmented usernames like @YourBrand on one platform and @YourBrand_US on another, it creates friction and confusion. Note any inconsistencies, this can be a simple opportunity for you to own your brand real estate more effectively.

2. Analyze the Profile Name and Bio for Keywords

The profile name and the bio are prime SEO spots. The name is often different from the @handle and is a powerful place to include a primary service keyword.

• Profile Name: A freelance writer isn't just "Jane Doe." She’s "Jane Doe | SaaS Content Writer." A local bakery isn't just "The Corner Bakery." It's "The Corner Bakery | San Diego Sourdough." Look for these strategic keyword additions. What term is your competitor trying to own right in their name?
• Bio: The bio is their elevator pitch to the platform’s search algorithm. Are they just listing a fun quote, or are they tactically using keywords that potential customers would search for? A good bio quickly tells you who they are, who they serve, and what they do.

For example, a marketing agency’s weak bio might say: "We create awesome marketing campaigns." A strong, keyword-rich bio would say: "Social Media Agency helping e-commerce brands scale with paid ads & content marketing." The second bio is searchable and clear.

3. Deconstruct Their "Link in Bio" Strategy

The single link you get in your bio is incredibly valuable. Where is your competitor sending their traffic? This tells you their number one priority.

• Is it their homepage? This is a general approach, often a sign they haven't tailored their strategy finely.
• Is it a specific landing page? This points to a current campaign - a new product launch, a webinar sign-up, or a free resource download. It's a much more focused and effective tactic.
• Is it a link aggregator (like Linktree or a hosted page)? If so, what are they featuring? This menu of links acts as a mini-sitemap for their most important content. Note the top 2-3 links, as they reveal their core call-to-actions or priorities.

4. Review Profile Completeness

Social media platforms reward users who utilize their features fully. Check if your competitor has filled out everything. On Instagram, are they using Highlights to categorize important info like "FAQs," "Services," and "Testimonials"? On TikTok, X, or Facebook, do they have a pinned post that introduces the brand or promotes a lead magnet? These "pinned" features act as a permanent welcome mat and navigational guide for new visitors, and often include core keywords.

Phase 2: Content Dissected - Uncovering their Keyword and Topic Strategy

With the profile audit done, it’s time to analyze what they’re actually posting. This phase goes beyond simply looking at pretty pictures, it’s about deciphering the language they're using to attract customers and algorithms.

1. Identify Their Core Content Pillars

Scroll through their feed for the last 30-60 days. Don’t get lost in the details of each post. Instead, look for patterns. What are the recurring themes or formats? Content pillars are the 3-5 main topics they talk about all the time. For a nutritionist, pillars might be:

1. Healthy Recipe Tutorials (Video)
2. Myth-Busting Nutrition Facts (Carousel)
3. Client Success Stories (Testimonials)
4. A Day in the Life (Behind-the-scenes)

Identifying these pillars reveals the core search terms and audience interests they're targeting. Are they focused on education, entertainment, inspiration, or sales?

2. Audit Their Hashtag Strategy

Hashtags are direct signals to the algorithm about what your content is about. Analyze your competitor’s hashtag usage by breaking them into three categories:

• Broad/High-Volume Hashtags: These are terms like #marketing or #fitness. While they reach a huge audience, content can get lost in the noise instantly. Note if your competitors are relying too heavily on these.
• Niche/Keyword Hashtags: These are more specific, like #contentmarketingtips or #kettlebellworkouts. They have less volume but attract a much more relevant audience. This is where the magic usually happens.
• Branded/Community Hashtags: This includes their own hashtag like #YourBrandCampaign or community-specific tags like #nycfoodie. These build brand identity and engage a targeted local or interest-based group.

A smart strategy uses a mix of all three. See what ratio your competitor is using. Platforms like Instagram also classify content based on hashtags, making them essential for appearing in the "Explore" pages.

3. Look Beyond Hashtags: Keywords in Captions and Overlays

This is where most people stop their audit, but advanced social SEO goes deeper. Social platforms now "read" the words in your captions, the text on your screen in videos, and can even transcribe the audio.

• Read their captions: Are they writing long, descriptive captions that naturally include keywords people might search for? Or are they just dropping a few emojis? For example, instead of "Our new smoothie!", a better caption would be "Here’s our simple 3-ingredient green smoothie recipe to boost your energy."
• Watch their videos: For Reels and TikToks, pay close attention to the on-screen text overlays. Creators use this to make content more accessible and scannable, but it’s also a powerful SEO tool. If the text says, "How to Style a Bookshelf," the algorithm classifies it as a home decor tutorial. Likewise, what they *say* matters. When a voiceover describes the "best planner for managing ADHD," the spoken keywords are indexed for search.

Phase 3: Deep Dive into Platform-Specific Tactics

Every platform is its own search environment. A winning strategy on Pinterest won’t work on LinkedIn. Here’s what to look for on the major platforms.

For Instagram & TikTok: The Vertical Video Search Era

These platforms are dominated by short-form video, and users search for "how-to" content constantly. Look at your competitor's videos. Are they answering specific questions like "how to pack for a weekend trip" or "what to wear to a summer wedding"? They are targeting question-based keywords. Also, note their use of trending audio. Often, trending sounds are tied to specific niches, and using them helps content get distributed to an audience interested in that topic.

For Pinterest: The Ultimate Visual Search Engine

Pinterest is fundamentally a search engine, not just a social network. Audit your competition here with a search marketer's mindset.

• Board Names & Descriptions: They shouldn’t be cutesy names like "My Faves." They need to be keyword-rich, like "Minimalist Home Office Ideas" or "Healthy Weeknight Dinner Recipes."
• Pin Descriptions: This is the most underrated SEO real estate. Are they writing detailed, paragraph-long descriptions for their Pins that naturally weave in multiple keywords? This is a huge indicator of a sophisticated Pinterest strategy.
• Destination URLs: Where do the Pins lead? A pro will link each Pin to the most relevant blog post or product page, driving targeted traffic.

For YouTube: The Web's Second-Largest Search Engine

No social SEO audit is complete without looking at YouTube. Check for classic SEO fundamentals:

• Video Titles: Are they using a clear, keyword-first formula? For example, "iPhone 15 Pro Review: Is the Camera Worth It?" targets the keyword "iPhone 15 Pro Review" first.
• Video Descriptions: Are they maximizing this space? Look for detailed summaries of the video content, links to resources, and hashtags. A smart creator will also include timestamps to help viewers navigate and increase watch time.
• Tags: You can't see these publicly without a browser extension like TubeBuddy or VidIQ. Install one of these (they have free versions) to see the exact tags your competitor is using to target their video content.

Phase 4: Create Your Own Audit Report

Now, bring all your findings into a simple document or spreadsheet. Don't overcomplicate it. Create columns for 2-3 of your top competitors, and rows mapping to the key areas you just analyzed. Your report might look something like this:

• Competitor Handle: @CompetitorA
• Profile Bio Keywords: "Social Media Agency," "Paid Ads," "E-commerce Brands"
• Link in Bio Strategy: Link to webinar registration page.
• Content Pillars: Case Studies, Behind-the-Scenes Vlogs, Social Media Tips.
• Hashtag Strategy: Mix of niche (e.g., #paidads) and broader (#digitalmarketing) terms.
• Keywords in Captions: Yes, often in long-form storytelling-style captions.
• Notes on Platform Tactics: Strong use of Instagram Reels, using text overlays and answering common questions.

By filling this out for a few competitors, you'll immediately see where the opportunities lie. Maybe none of them have optimized their YouTube descriptions. Perhaps their bios lack clear keywords. Or maybe their content is exclusively sales-focused, leaving a gap for your educational content.

Final Thoughts

Auditing a competitor's social media SEO is not about copying them pound-for-pound. It's an intel-gathering mission to reverse-engineer what resonates with your shared audience, understand the language they use, and find the gaps in their strategy where you can really shine.

Once you’ve gathered all these fantastic insights, the real work begins: executing a consistent and effective content plan. Organizing all of that, especially with the short-form video that's now essential for discovery, can be a huge headache. We built Postbase to solve precisely that problem. Our visual content calendar helps you expertly plan your new SEO-infused strategy, the scheduling is rock-solid and video-first, and our unified inbox allows you to efficiently manage all the new engagement that will come pouring in. After figuring out the "what," Postbase helps you nail the "how".