Competitor analysis is a critical component of any effective digital marketing strategy. By researching what your competitors are up to, you can identify gaps and opportunities in your market, benchmark your performance, and gain actionable insights to fuel your own marketing campaigns.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll be exploring the best competitor analysis tools available today and how you can use them to supercharge your marketing efforts.
What is Competitor Analysis and Why Does it Matter?
Competitor analysis refers to the systematic process of evaluating your competitors, including assessing:
- Their products/services
- Pricing and positioning strategies
- Marketing messaging and campaigns
- Traffic sources
- Conversions
- And more
In essence, competitor analysis involves gathering intelligence on other players in your space to inform your own business and marketing decisions.
There are several key reasons why running competitor analysis should be a priority:
Identify Gaps and Opportunities
By studying your competitors, you can uncover gaps in the market that present opportunities for your own brand. For example, competitor analysis tools can reveal valuable long-tail keywords that competitors haven’t targeted yet in their SEO.
Benchmark Your Performance
Monitoring competitors allows you to directly compare their traffic, rankings, and engagement against your own. This benchmarking enables you to gauge your overall competitiveness.
Gain Strategic Insights
Looking at what content and campaigns resonate for competitors provides useful intel to shape your own marketing. You can get ideas for new products, untapped partnerships, underutilized platforms and more.
Track Competitive Threats
Ongoing competitor analysis lets you identify new market entrants before they disrupt your business. For example, if a competitor launches a big ad campaign you need to know quickly.
Simply put: not monitoring your competitors puts you at a significant strategic disadvantage. Competitor tools make this process far easier.
Types of Competitor Analysis
There are a variety of competitor analysis types based on what specific elements you want to compare:
SEO Competitor Analysis
SEO competitor analysis examines how your website stacks up against others vying for the same searches. Key factors examined include:
- Organic keyword rankings
- Traffic volume
- Link profiles
- On-page optimization
- Ranking volatility
This data reveals high-value SEO opportunities to pursue.
PPC Competitor Analysis
Pay-per-click (PPC) analysis dives into the paid search activity for competitor domains. You gain visibility into the:
- Paid keywords they target
- Ad copy
- Landing pages
- Bids and budgets
- Campaign performance
With PPC intelligence, you can refine your own accounts to further differentiate.
Social Media Competitor Analysis
Social competitor analysis explores metrics like follower growth, engagement rates, post frequency/performance and sentiment tracking across social platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
These insights help shape your own social media strategy.
Content Marketing Competitor Analysis
Analyzing competitors’ content strategies is crucial for any content marketing approach. This reveals details around:
- Highest-performing content
- Popular topics/formats
- Content promotion tactics
- Influencer partnerships
- Content gaps
Armed with these content insights, you’re able to craft resonating content tuned to your audience.
Now let’s explore some of the best tools available to streamline competitor analysis in each of these areas.
Top Competitor Analysis Tools
Best for SEO Competitor Analysis: Semrush
Key Features:
- Organic and paid keyword tracking
- Position tracking
- Traffic analytics
- Link building analytics
- Ranking forecasts
- Site audits
- Manual keyword analysis
- Additional SEO tools
Great For: Semrush offers best-in-class SEO competitor tracking. Dive deep into keyword rankings, search visibility, link profiles and more for a detailed competitive view.
Price: $99.95+/month. Free trial available.
Best for PPC Competitor Analysis: SpyFu
Key Features:
- PPC keyword tracking
- Historical ad data
- Landing page analysis
- Ad variation testing
- Budget estimation
- Special deal for JeffBullas.com readers
Great For: SpyFu offers unparalleled insights into competitors‘ paid search campaigns. Review current and historical ads, landing pages and keywords to inform PPC strategy.
Price: $39+/month
Best for Social Media Competitor Analysis: Social Status
Key Features:
- Instagram analytics
- Facebook analytics
- Twitter analytics
- YouTube analytics
- Hashtag tracking
Great For: Social Status centralizes key social performance data for easy competitor benchmarking. Track growth, engagement and sentiment across all major platforms.
Price: $29+/month. Free version available.
Best for Content Marketing Competitor Analysis: BuzzSumo
Key Features:
- Viral content discovery
- Competitor content tracking
- Influencer identification
- Content alerts
- Link building opportunities
Great For: BuzzSumo makes it easy to unpack competitors‘ top content across any niche. Find high-potential topics and influencers to aid your content promotion.
Price: $99+/month. Free trial available.
These represent just a sample of the many excellent competitor tools now available across marketing categories. The key is identifying capabilities that best align to your specific intelligence needs and budget.
Curious how additional competitive analysis tools compare? Check out our detailed feature run-downs:
How to Choose the Right Competitor Tool
With so many options on the market, selecting the ideal competitor analysis tool for your organization takes some consideration around:
Your Primary Marketing Focus
As discussed above, there are tailored solutions based on your core strategy – SEO, content marketing, social media etc. Outline your current initiatives to narrow viable tools.
Competitors You Want to Track
Make a list of the specific businesses you need to monitor most closely. The right tool will provide visibility into all priority domains.
Data Points and Features Needed
Consider exactly what intelligence matters most for your goals. Do you want backlink analysis? Historical performance? Social listening? Define must-have capabilities.
Budget
Competitor tools range widely in terms of cost. Outline what budget works for your team as that will dictate options.
Doing some upfront planning around these factors will help identify your “perfect match” tool.
And leveraging a combination of competitor software provides the most robust intelligence. While there’s some overlap in features, no single platform delivers full visibility.
Getting Started With Competitor Analysis
Once you’ve selected tool(s), here’s a simple process for getting started:
1. Identify Primary Competitors
Brainstorm the main businesses you aim to track. Besides direct competitors, also consider leaders in adjacent spaces from which you can learn.
2. Outline Key Metrics to Monitor
What specific data points offer the most valuable insights for your goals? Common metrics include traffic, rankings, engagement, sentiment, partnerships etc.
3. Set Up Alerts and Reporting
Your tool should enable automated alerts for key changes plus scheduled reports. This allows for easy monitoring over time.
4. Dive Into the Data
Explore current competitor performance across all tools. Uncover patterns, gaps and opportunities for your strategy.
5. Define Strategic Next Steps
Catalog tangible strategic next steps based on competitor findings for your team to implement. Revisit regularly.
Competitor tracking is an ongoing initiative requiring continuous check-ins as markets evolve. But staying on top of competitors from the start gives your brand an instant edge.
FAQs Around Competitor Analysis Tools
Should businesses monitor competitors?
Absolutely – tracking competitors should be a constant for any brand. Competitor intelligence protects against disruptive threats while revealing ways to improve positioning.
How much time should be spent analyzing competitors?
Designate regular times weekly or monthly for formal analysis. But also consider quick checks before launching any new campaign or content to see what competitors are missing.
Are there free competitor analysis tools?
Yes free options exist but come with very limited capabilities. Paid tools provide far more robust tracking and insights necessary for enterprise brands. Many offer free trials.
What is the best competitor analysis tool?
The “best” tool depends on your specific intelligence needs and budget. Leading solutions include Semrush, Ahrefs, and SpyFu catered to different areas like SEO, social media and paid search. Often using multiple platforms is recommended for comprehensive visibility.
Can I automate competitor analysis?
Absolutely – top tools provide alerts, scheduled reports and API integrations allowing for automated monitoring without manual checking each day. This saves significant time while still surfacing urgent notifications.
The Bottom Line
Implementing competitor analysis may provide the most low-hanging fruit available today to instantly elevate your marketing strategy.
Monitoring tools lead to organic growth opportunities, previously underutilized platforms and differentiated messaging – advantages difficult for rivals to replicate without similar intelligence efforts.
Now dive into the analysis process using the steps and tools above! We’d love to hear what valuable insights and actions competitor tracking yields.
