Introduction
This article may contain affiliate links. This guide is based on documentation-based research of Surfer’s official help center articles, not a live API test or a live Surfer trial. It is intended for SEOs and content editors who need to create a Surfer SERP Analyzer query and select a deliberate competitor set before running the analysis. The specific reader task is: create a query and choose competitors, knowing that query parameters cannot be changed afterward. For related background on a different tool, see /surfer-seo-review/.
Surfer’s documentation states that you cannot change parameters once a query has been created, so keyword, location, and mobile-or-desktop must be confirmed before clicking Create (source). All competitors are selected by default, so the editor must exclude all pages and re-select competitors one by one (source). This guide orders those steps into a single pass and treats the locked-parameter warning as the first check, not a footnote.
Documented Workflow
The documentation describes three phases: creating a query, selecting competitors, and adding a custom URL for comparison (source). The workflow below is our suggested process, built on those documented mechanics. Vendor facts are cited; editorial decisions and examples are ours.
- Decide the keyword, location, and mobile-or-desktop view before creating the query. The documentation states these parameters affect results the most and cannot be changed after creation (source).
- Decide whether to enable optional settings such as NLP Sentiment on Chart or Screenshots. The documentation notes that Screenshots can cause the query to load slightly longer, and NLP Sentiment adds an additional ranking factor to the left-side panel (source).
- Double-check the keyword, location, and device, then click Create. The documentation warns that parameters are locked after creation (source).
- In the new query, use the “Exclude all pages” option under the graph to clear the default selection. The documentation states all competitors are selected by default and must be excluded before selecting individual competitors (source).
- Re-select competitors one by one using the eye icon next to each competitor. The documentation describes this selection method (source).
- Define your content type and exclude pages that serve a different purpose. The documentation recommends this as a way to avoid comparing against the wrong intent (source).
- Exclude large authority pages that rank because of authority and backlink profile, such as marketplaces or encyclopedia entries. The documentation gives this as a rule of thumb (source).
- Prefer pages ranking above your own page. The documentation suggests comparing only to pages ranking above you because they likely have better on-page optimization to analyze (source).
- Add your URL in the “Compare your website to competitors” field and click Compare. The documentation states this loads your page metrics, including content score and domain score (source).
- Optionally, show your URL on the chart. The documentation notes you can include your page in the chart to compare ranking factors (source).
Practical Walkthrough
This walkthrough is hypothetical. It illustrates how to apply the documented steps to one reader task. It does not describe a live test or a real query.
Hypothetically, an editor is targeting a review keyword. They open Surfer SERP Analyzer and decide on desktop view, a specific location, and the exact keyword. They consider enabling NLP Sentiment on Chart but decide against it because they want faster loading and do not need sentiment data for this pass. They double-check the keyword, location, and device, then click Create.
In the new query, all competitors are selected by default. The editor clicks “Exclude all pages” under the graph. They then review the top results and define their content type as a review page. They exclude a marketplace listing because it serves a transactional purpose, not a review purpose. They exclude an encyclopedia entry because it ranks on authority rather than on-page optimization. They keep three review pages that rank above their own draft. They select those three one by one using the eye icon. Finally, they paste their draft URL into the “Compare your website to competitors” field and click Compare. The page loads, and they see their content score and domain score. They then add their URL to the chart to compare ranking factors.
This example is hypothetical and intended only to show how the documented steps can be ordered. It does not guarantee any ranking outcome or optimization score. The vendor signals shown in Surfer, such as content score, domain score, and correlation indicators, are not Google ranking factors and do not guarantee indexing or ranking (source).
For a reusable output, create a query setup note that records the keyword, location, device, the competitors kept and excluded, and the custom URL added. This note becomes your record of the locked parameters and the deliberate competitor set, which is useful if you need to rebuild the query later.
Completion Checks
After following the workflow, verify these observable conditions:
- The query shows the intended keyword, location, and device.
- The competitor list contains only deliberately selected pages, not the default full set.
- Your URL appears in the comparison area with its content score and domain score.
- If you added your URL to the chart, it appears there.
- The query setup note records the keyword, location, device, competitors kept and excluded, and the custom URL.
These checks are based on the documented behavior that parameters are locked, competitors are selected by default, and custom URLs can be added for comparison (source).
Limits
The documentation does not state how many competitors can be selected, how often SERP data refreshes, or whether a query can be duplicated instead of rebuilt (source). The documentation also does not describe auto-publishing, data retention policies, access controls, or immutable brand versions. Do not assume these exist. The absence of a detection signal in Surfer does not prove human authorship or any other property of a page.
Surfer’s optimization scores and AI visibility reports are vendor signals, not Google ranking factors or indexing guarantees. The documentation mentions correlation indicators and ranking factors, but these are analytical aids, not ranking guarantees (source).
This guide is documentation-based research, not a live API test. It does not include prices, quotas, or measured SEO improvements. It does not invent request schemas or executable code. Any examples are hypothetical.
Final Verdict
Creating a Surfer SERP Analyzer query with a deliberate competitor set is a structured process: lock in keyword, location, and device first; exclude all default competitors; re-select only pages that match your content type and rank above you; then add your URL for comparison. The documentation supports each of these steps, but it leaves open questions about limits, refresh frequency, and duplication. Treat the query setup note as your reusable record. Remember that Surfer’s signals are vendor signals, not Google ranking factors. For related background, see /surfer-seo-review/.