6 Ways To Search Any Website For Keywords (+ How To Find Keywords Driving AI Traffic)

In this article, you'll learn six methods to search any website for keywords—from quick browser shortcuts to professional SEO tools—plus a newer method most marketers overlook: finding the keywords and prompts that drive traffic from AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude.

TL;DR:

• Searching websites for keywords helps you find gaps in your content, discover new topic ideas, and understand what's working for competitors.

• The Ctrl+F method is popular but limited. Dedicated keyword tools give you more complete data in less time.

• SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Keyword Planner can extract keywords from any URL.

• Google's site: operator lets you search within a specific domain without any tools.

• AI search is now a growing traffic source. Tools like Analyze AI can show you which keywords and prompts drive visits from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI engines—data you can't get from traditional SEO tools.

What Is a Website Keyword Search?

A website keyword search is exactly what it sounds like: finding specific keywords or phrases within a website's pages. You might do this to:

• See which keywords a competitor is targeting

• Check if your own site covers a topic

• Find content gaps you haven't addressed

• Research how top-ranking pages structure their content

Most people start with Ctrl+F on a page. That works for finding a specific word, but it won't tell you which keywords a page actually ranks for, how often those keywords appear across the site, or which ones drive traffic.

For that, you need better methods.

Why Search Websites for Keywords?

There are three practical reasons to search websites for keywords:

1. Find Keyword Gaps in Your Content

When you compare your content to a competitor's, you often find topics and subtopics you missed. These gaps hurt your rankings. Google and other search engines reward pages that cover a topic comprehensively.

For example, if you're writing about email marketing software and a competitor mentions "email deliverability rates" while you don't, that's a gap worth filling.

2. Discover New Content Ideas

Searching competitor websites surfaces keywords and topics you haven't considered. A competitor might rank for long-tail queries you never thought to target—queries that could bring in qualified traffic with less competition.

3. Understand What's Working

If a competitor ranks well, their keyword usage is part of the reason. By extracting their keywords, you can see patterns: which terms they repeat, which ones appear in headings, and how they structure content around specific phrases.

How To Find Keywords on a Website: 6 Methods

Here are six ways to search websites for keywords, ordered from most efficient to least efficient.

1. Use a Site Explorer Tool (Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz)

This is the fastest way to find every keyword a website ranks for—not just the keywords on the page, but the actual search queries driving traffic.

How to do it with Ahrefs:

1. Go to Ahrefs Site Explorer

2. Enter the competitor's URL (either the full domain or a specific page)

3. Click "Organic keywords" in the left sidebar

4. You'll see every keyword that URL ranks for, along with search volume, position, and traffic estimates

How to do it with Semrush:

1. Go to Semrush

2. Enter the URL in the search bar

3. Navigate to "Organic Research" → "Positions"

4. Review the keyword list with rankings, volume, and traffic data

What makes this method powerful:

Site explorer tools show you keywords the page actually ranks for, not just keywords that appear in the content. A page might mention "best CRM software" once but actually rank for "CRM for small business"—and you'd never know that from a Ctrl+F search.

You can also filter by keyword difficulty, search volume, and position. This lets you focus on keywords where the competitor ranks well but you don't.

Limitations:

• These tools require paid subscriptions (Ahrefs starts at $129/month, Semrush at $139/month)

• Data is updated periodically, not in real-time

• They only show Google rankings—they don't show keywords driving traffic from AI search engines

2. Use Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is free and often overlooked. While it's designed for Google Ads, you can use it to extract keywords from any website.

How to do it:

1. Go to Google Ads and create a free account (no credit card required)

2. Click "Tools & Settings" in the top navigation

3. Select "Keyword Planner" under Planning

4. Click "Discover new keywords"

5. Select "Start with a website"

6. Enter the competitor's URL

7. Choose whether to analyze just that page or the entire site

8. Click "Get results"

Google will generate a list of keyword ideas based on the page's content. For example, entering OptinMonster's homepage might return keywords like "popup builder," "email capture tool," and "exit intent popup."

Limitations:

• Search volume is shown as a range (e.g., 1K–10K), not exact numbers

• The tool focuses on keywords relevant for ads, which may differ from organic SEO keywords

• You won't see which keywords the site actually ranks for—just related keyword ideas

Pro tip: Use the free Keyword Surfer Chrome extension alongside Keyword Planner to get exact search volumes.

3. Use Google's site: Search Operator

If you don't have access to paid tools, Google's site: operator is a reliable free alternative. It lets you search within a specific website directly from Google.

Basic syntax:

site:domain.com keyword

Examples:

• site:hubspot.com email marketing — finds all HubSpot pages mentioning "email marketing"

• site:neilpatel.com "link building" — finds pages with the exact phrase "link building"

• site:ahrefs.com/blog keyword research — searches only the Ahrefs blog

Advanced operators you can combine:

Best practices:

1. Start broad, then narrow down. Search site:competitor.com content marketing first, then try more specific terms like site:competitor.com content marketing roi
   
   

2. Use quotation marks for exact phrases. site:competitor.com email marketing might return pages about email or marketing. site:competitor.com "email marketing" returns only pages with that exact phrase.
   
   

3. Check subdomains separately. If a competitor has a blog on blog.competitor.com, search that subdomain directly for better results.
   
   

Limitations:

• You only see pages that are indexed—not all content on the site

• Results are ranked by Google's algorithm, not by keyword relevance

• You can't export the data or see search volumes

4. Use the Website's Internal Search

Many websites have a search bar in their navigation. You can use it to find content related to specific keywords.

How to do it:

1. Visit the competitor's website

2. Find the search bar (usually in the header or sidebar)

3. Enter your target keyword

4. Review the results

This method is useful for:

• Finding all articles a site has published on a topic

• Seeing how a competitor organizes content around a keyword

• Discovering resources (guides, tools, templates) you might have missed

Limitations:

• Not all websites have a search function

• Internal search quality varies—some sites return irrelevant results

• You can only search keywords that appear in content, not keywords the site ranks for

5. Check Page Source for Meta Keywords and Tags

You can view a page's HTML source to find keywords in meta tags, headings, and structured data.

How to do it:

1. Go to the page you want to analyze

2. Right-click and select "View Page Source" (or press Ctrl+U on Windows, Cmd+Option+U on Mac)

3. Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) to open the find function

4. Search for terms like:

• <title> — the page's title tag

• <meta name="description" — the meta description

• <meta name="keywords" — the meta keywords tag (if present)

• <h1>, <h2>, <h3> — heading tags

What to look for:

• Title tag: Contains the primary keyword the page targets

• Meta description: Often includes secondary keywords and variations

• H1 and H2 tags: Show topic structure and subtopics

• Schema markup: Look for "keywords" or "about" properties in JSON-LD

Limitations:

• Meta keywords tags are largely obsolete—most sites don't use them

• This method is manual and time-consuming

• You won't find keywords the page ranks for, only keywords the author chose to include

6. Use Ctrl+F on the Page

The simplest method: just search for a keyword on the page.

How to do it:

1. Go to the page you want to check

2. Press Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac)

3. Type your keyword

4. See how many times it appears and where

This is useful for quick checks—like confirming whether a competitor mentions a specific term—but it's the least efficient method for comprehensive keyword research.

Limitations:

• Only finds exact matches on the visible page

• Doesn't show keyword variations or related terms

• Doesn't reveal which keywords drive traffic

• Highly manual and time-consuming for multiple pages

How To Find Keywords Driving AI Search Traffic

Here's what most SEO guides miss: AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Copilot are now sending real traffic to websites. And the keywords (or "prompts") driving that traffic are different from traditional Google searches.

Traditional SEO tools can't show you this data. Google Search Console doesn't track AI referrals. 

But you can track this with the right tools.

Why AI Search Keywords Matter

AI search engines work differently than Google. When someone asks ChatGPT "What's the best CRM for small businesses?", ChatGPT generates an answer by synthesizing information from multiple sources—and often cites those sources directly.

If your page gets cited, you get traffic. But unlike Google, you don't get rankings data by default. You need to actively track which prompts (AI search queries) are driving visits.

According to recent data, AI search now accounts for 1-5% of total traffic for many B2B websites—and that number is growing. The top AI referrers include ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, and Claude.

How To Find Which Prompts Drive AI Traffic Using Analyze AI

Analyze AI tracks your brand's visibility across AI search engines and connects that visibility to actual traffic in your analytics.

Step 1: Connect your Google Analytics

Link your GA4 account to see which pages receive AI-driven traffic. Analyze AI identifies sessions from AI referrers (chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, claude.ai, etc.) and attributes them to specific landing pages.

Step 2: See which pages get AI traffic

The "Landing Pages from AI Search" report shows exactly which URLs receive traffic from AI engines. This tells you which content formats and topics AI models prefer to cite.

For example, you might discover that your "Best apps to learn Hebrew" blog post gets consistent traffic from Perplexity, while your "Websites to learn English" page gets traffic from ChatGPT. This signals that those pages are being cited in AI responses—and you can double down on what's working.

Step 3: Track prompts that mention your brand

In Analyze AI, you can track specific prompts (the queries people type into AI search engines) to see where your brand appears—and where it doesn't.

Go to the Prompts dashboard to see:

• Which prompts your brand appears in

• Your position in the AI-generated response

• Sentiment (positive, neutral, or negative)

• Which competitors also appear

Step 4: Find prompts where competitors win and you don't

The Opportunities report shows prompts where competitors are mentioned but your brand isn't. These are keyword gaps specific to AI search.

For instance, if Salesforce and HubSpot appear in responses to "Best automation tools for email marketing in 2026" but your brand doesn't, that's an opportunity. You can create or optimize content specifically for that prompt.

Step 5: Analyze which sources AI models cite

AI models don't just cite any page—they tend to cite authoritative, well-structured content from trusted domains. The Top Sources report shows which domains get cited most often.

If you see competitors or third-party sites getting cited more than you, analyze what they're doing differently. Are they using clearer formatting? More comprehensive coverage? Better structured data?

Step 6: Use Analyze AI’s Prompt Suggestions feature 

Analyze AI can suggest new prompts to track based on your industry and existing coverage. This is similar to discovering new keyword ideas in traditional SEO—but for AI search.

Review the suggested prompts and click "Track" to add them to your monitoring. Over time, you'll build a comprehensive view of which AI search queries matter for your brand.

What Else To Find When Searching Websites

Keywords are the starting point, but there's more you can extract from competitor websites:

Data and Statistics

Original research, surveys, and data studies build credibility. Search competitor sites for:

• Industry benchmarks

• Survey results

• Case study metrics

• Year-over-year trends

When you find relevant data, you can cite it in your own content (with attribution) to support your claims. Or, identify gaps where you could conduct your own research.

How to find data: Use site:competitor.com statistics or site:competitor.com "survey" OR "research" OR "data"

Expert Quotes

Quotes from industry experts add authority to content. Search for interviews, podcast transcripts, and expert roundups on competitor sites.

How to find quotes: Use site:competitor.com interview or site:competitor.com "says" OR "according to"

Case Studies

Case studies provide social proof and concrete examples. If a competitor publishes customer success stories, you can learn what outcomes resonate with your shared audience.

How to find case studies: Use site:competitor.com case study or site:competitor.com customer story

Content Formats That Work

Pay attention to content types that competitors use repeatedly. If a competitor publishes a lot of comparison posts ("X vs. Y"), templates, or tool roundups, those formats likely perform well for them.

Common Mistakes When Searching Websites for Keywords

1. Only Using Ctrl+F

Ctrl+F tells you if a word appears on a page. It doesn't tell you if that word drives traffic, what variations rank, or how the page compares to competitors. Use it as a quick check, not your primary research method.

2. Ignoring Search Intent

Finding a keyword on a competitor's page doesn't mean you should use it the same way. Check the search intent behind that keyword. Is it informational, commercial, or transactional? Does your content match that intent?

3. Not Checking Actual Rankings

A competitor might mention "best project management software" in a blog post, but that doesn't mean they rank for it. Use a site explorer tool to see which keywords actually drive their traffic.

4. Missing AI Search Entirely

Most marketers focus exclusively on Google rankings and ignore AI search. But AI search engines are a growing traffic source—and the content that ranks in Google doesn't always get cited by AI models. Track both channels.

Recommended Tools Summary

Conclusion

Searching websites for keywords is a core part of SEO research. The methods range from free (Google's site: operator, Ctrl+F) to paid tools (Ahrefs, Semrush) that show actual ranking data.

But traditional keyword research misses a growing traffic source: AI search. Tools like Analyze AI can show you which prompts drive traffic from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI engines—insights you can't get from any traditional SEO tool.

The most effective approach combines both: use SEO tools to find keywords competitors rank for in Google, and use AI search analytics to find the prompts and citations driving AI traffic. That way, you're optimizing for where search is today and where it's going.