9 Steps to Run a Competitive Analysis – A Practical Guide for Growth and Strategy

Begin with a real audit of site structure to surface basics, apply findings to price pages, mobile-friendliness; talking points, sources, places.

Phase 1: Baseline understanding of real market placement; rivals, channels, price, extensions.

Phase 2: Assemble sources of data across site, price pages, mobile-friendliness; channels, social profiles, third-party listings, tech insights, places people discover.

Phase 3: Audit price structures; demand signals, extensions, discounts, ranges.

Phase 4: Content snapshot; product listings, specs, extensions, mobile-friendliness, apart from pricing notes.

Phase 5: UX snapshot; page speed, navigation, mobile-friendliness, room for improvement.

Phase 6: Exposure map; talking points, social channels, search placements, price signals.

Phase 7: Findings synthesis; align with goals, note real demand, thresholds, channel suitability.

Phase 8: Prioritization; rank impact, feasibility, budget, risk; apply a step-by-step plan.

Phase 9: Roadmap; monitor progress, wait signals before pivots, schedule reviews monthly; this approach gives room to adjust channels.

Step 1: Spot the Competitors Grabbing Your Traffic

Begin a real-time discovery across terms, channels, and links to identify who grabs clicks from your site. Use brandwatch to surface mentions and featured pages that siphon audience share. Create a worksheet to log each contender: company, home page, top landing page, offer, channel, and the terms driving visits. This foundation reveals the wider impact of rival touchpoints and the shared audience, and it sets the stage for concrete actions.

Look wider than your own pages. Track not only direct visits but also referrals, social posts, and boutique placements that pull attention. Map overlap between their pages and yours to reveal opportunity to differentiate. If youre pulling traffic on similar keywords, adjust your terms and presentation to reduce cannibalization. This discovery highlights how different channels contribute to discovery and helps you target gaps.

Importantly, capture the data using three methods: direct checks on landing pages, quick audits of search results, and real-time monitoring of social mentions. Collect and log every link, its source, and its impact. Weed out weeds from the signal to keep only meaningful signals. For someone on the team, assign tasks in the worksheet so progress is visible. This process yields a visual map of the baseline and the opportunity to shape your own offer.

Identify Organic Traffic Captors

Start with a one-page snapshot: identify the top 10 organic traffic captors by topic, including URLs, domains; primary keyword clusters; capture their current serp positions, rough traffic estimates.

• Geo, topic focus: pinpoint city-specific queries, long-tail keywords, informational pages; dig into which pages pull higher serp visibility, noting steep ranking shifts in key markets.
• Technical, design signals: assess page speed (pagespeed), mobile-friendliness, general design quality; notes on layout; center of each page aligns with user intent; include how it covers core queries.
• Content type, structure: distinguish informational pages, hub pages, category pages, product pages; least-performing items earmarked for refresh; including internal links, logical hierarchy.
• External signals, sites: inspect sites with credible signals, including linkedin references; pinpoint links that drive higher organic traffic; avoiding copying strategies.
• Metrics, snapshot cadence: track traffic, dwell time, bounce rate, page depth; assess pagespeed, mobile-friendliness; map space for improvements; identify what to replace on underperformers.
• Actionable plan per captor: produce a short list of wins for each page; covering design tweaks; keyword expansion; content refreshes; center on high-impact, low-risk upgrades.

Identify Paid Search Rivals Bidding on Your Brand

Identify who bids on your brand by checking auction insights on branded keywords to know who they are. Collect volume data, bids, ad positions, and share of voice across search partners.

Examine the landscape for high-intent queries, informational searches, and seasonal spikes. Align this with goals to prioritize rivals who steal clicks or convert at a higher rate.

spotting rivals bidding on branded terms beyond your core area, visiting the SERP helps compare ad copy, and assessing landing page alignment reveals expansion tactics.

Use sources such as AdWords, Bing, and third-party tools to map who is performing. Add tags to URLs with campaign parameters to separate paid traffic from organic, and track the impact on conversions.

Reallocate budgets monthly, then adjust bids on branded terms, craft complementary ad text, and raise visibility with improved landing pages.

Develop a lightweight playbook to act on results, set a cadence for review, and keep the team from feeling overwhelmed by data.

Mostly focus on the area with highest volume, while keeping seasonal shifts in view. Ensure mobile-friendliness of your landing pages to protect quality and conversion rates. Some rivals deploy informational ads that elevate awareness while your own brand bids remain visible.

These actions give answers about who dominates branded terms; the values were clear in increased clicks, visits, and conversions.

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Track Social Traffic Competitors

Recommendation: Establish a daily workflow using a checker to gather rivals mentions across platforms, provide a download CSV file, and share with the team to drive focused actions.

Cible industries across major channels, filter by location, collect conversations around new products, energy campaigns, and terms. Build a complet picture of activity, tracking progress through last 90 days and at least three benchmarks.

First, configure an engine that scans social channels, design filters by industries, terms, location, rivals; gather data directly from posts, vidéos, conversations; create a complet view that shows progress through a single dashboard; filling gaps with ideas and direct actions for the équipe.

Just adjust messaging angles, test a post cadence, and explore creative formats. Verify region-specific resonance, and identify what might beat rivals by comparing performance across posts and creators, including competing brands as benchmarks.

Metrics and cadence: count reach, conversations sentiment, shares, and clicks; maintain a simple scorecard focused on least effort to impact; gather data directly from posts et vidéos; ensure the dashboard is accessible to the équipe located in multiple offices across industries. Provide a weekly download of top three aperçus to sustain progress.

Map Traffic by Geography and Audience Segments

Map traffic by geography; audience segments get a profile per region from analytics feeds; serp signals provide position context; aim at top 3 regions delivering about 70% of organic visits; which makes signals actionable.

chrome browser tools enable pulling signals from analytics feeds; daxrms maintains clean data; missing terms surface within 24 hours, issues decline, insights emerge.

Expand coverage by geography; assign profiles per region (8 regions); capture audience segments such as informational readers, buyers, researchers (≥5 per region); adjust terms to reflect intent, what users seek.

Info-driven actions: use chrome insights to map position shifts; track increased visibility by 15–25%; identify missing topics for expansion; set ideal benchmarks.

whats making shifts? review marketing signals; top 3 signals: search intent; on-page terms; user feedback; selling messages; informational content; adjust profile details accordingly.

Maintain a clear dashboard showing mostly regionally split activity (4 key blocks); console alerts expose issues quickly; sending updates to yours stakeholders keeps alignment.

Follow cadence metrics; follow up on anomalies via the console to maintain reliable data flow; weekly cadence; SLA 24h.

Compile a Quick List of Direct and Indirect Competitors

Identify whos in the market; identifying direct player plus indirect options; uncover prices; measure which resonates with demand; turns basics into a crisp, actionable list, helps businesses.

Build a compact roster: 6-10 direct players; 4-6 indirects. Each entry gets a simple notes field on prices, value proposition, channels; a trial plan. This yields a fantastic baseline for market comparison and quick decisions.

Notes from studies show buyer choices hinge on price positioning; channel reach; capture those signals in the file. This insight can make prioritization faster; it gets you a clear measure of where to invest effort in the market.

Use the compiled list to mention which player stands out; which channels deliver traction; which indirect options threaten your position. Automate data pulls from public sources to keep the roster fresh; a living thing that grows as markets turn.

Notes collected feed internal talk; the result makes moves simple; evidence from prices, demand, resonance guides action. That yields excellent momentum with prospective customers; trial data helps you iterate quickly, thats a clear signal to proceed.