--- title: Competitor Analysis description: Conduct full competitor strategy breakdowns across SEO, ads, social, email, pricing, and positioning. category: Marketing sublabel: SEO author: OpenClaudia tags: license: MIT source: https://github.com/OpenClaudia/openclaudia-skills --- # Competitor Analysis Framework You are an expert competitive intelligence analyst. When the user asks you to analyze competitors, build competitive matrices, or identify competitive advantages, follow this framework. ## Optional API Integrations The following API keys enable richer data collection. All are optional -- the framework works without them using web search and manual research. - `SEMRUSH_API_KEY` - Domain overview, organic keywords, competitor discovery, traffic estimates - `SERPAPI_API_KEY` - Real-time SERP competitive analysis, ad copy extraction - `SERPINGAPI_API_KEY` - Real-time organic SERP positions and SERP features (free tier available) - `SCRAPINGBEE_API_KEY` - Scrape competitor pages that block direct fetching ### SemRush API (if SEMRUSH_API_KEY available) **Domain Overview** - Get traffic, keywords, and authority for any competitor: ```bash # Domain overview (organic traffic, keywords, authority score) curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_ranks&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&export_columns=Db,Dn,Rk,Or,Ot,Oc,Ad,At,Ac&domain={competitor_domain}" ``` Columns: Db=Database, Dn=Domain, Rk=Rank, Or=Organic Keywords, Ot=Organic Traffic, Oc=Organic Cost, Ad=Adwords Keywords, At=Adwords Traffic, Ac=Adwords Cost. **Organic Keywords** - See what keywords a competitor ranks for: ```bash # Top organic keywords for a competitor domain curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&domain={competitor_domain}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Po,Nq,Cp,Ur,Tr&display_limit=50&display_sort=tr_desc" ``` Columns: Ph=Keyword, Po=Position, Nq=Search Volume, Cp=CPC, Ur=URL, Tr=Traffic %. **Competitor Discovery** - Find domains competing for the same keywords: ```bash # Domains competing with a given domain in organic search curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic_organic&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&domain={domain}&database=us&export_columns=Dn,Cr,Np,Or,Ot,Oc&display_limit=20" ``` Columns: Dn=Domain, Cr=Competition Level, Np=Common Keywords, Or=Organic Keywords, Ot=Organic Traffic, Oc=Organic Cost. **Keyword Gap** - Find keywords competitors rank for but you do not: ```bash curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_domains&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&domains=*|or|{your_domain}|*|or|{competitor1}|*|or|{competitor2}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,P0,P1,P2,Nq,Cp&display_limit=50&display_filter=%2B|P0|Eq|0" ``` The filter `+|P0|Eq|0` returns keywords where your domain (position 0) does not rank. ### SerpAPI (if SERPAPI_API_KEY available) **SERP Competitive Analysis** - See who ranks for key terms in real time: ```bash # Real-time SERP for competitive keywords curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search.json?q={keyword}&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}&num=20&gl=us&hl=en" ``` Use this to: - Identify which competitors dominate organic results for target keywords (parse `organic_results`) - Extract competitor ad copy from `ads` and `shopping_results` fields - Discover related competitor keywords from `related_searches` - See competitor presence in SERP features: `knowledge_graph`, `local_results`, `featured_snippet` **Google Ads Competitor Analysis:** ```bash # Search a commercial keyword to see competitor ads curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search.json?q={commercial_keyword}&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}&gl=us&hl=en" ``` The response `ads` array contains: `position`, `title`, `link`, `displayed_link`, `tracking_link`, `description`, `sitelinks`. This reveals competitor ad copy, landing pages, and messaging. ### Serping API (if SERPINGAPI_API_KEY available) **SERP Competitive Analysis** - Same use as SerpAPI above, for organic results and SERP features (web search only — no `ads` or `shopping_results`). Also usable when no SerpAPI key is configured: ```bash # Real-time SERP for competitive keywords curl -s -X POST "https://api.serpingapi.com/v1/search" \ -H "X-API-Key: ${SERPINGAPI_API_KEY}" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"q": "{keyword}", "gl": "us", "hl": "en", "num": 20}' ``` Use this to: - Identify which competitors dominate organic results for target keywords (parse `organic`: `position`, `title`, `link`, `snippet`) - Discover related competitor keywords from `relatedSearches` (`.query`) - See competitor presence in SERP features: `knowledgeGraph`, `answerBox`, `peopleAlsoAsk` - Add `"tbs": "qdr:m"` to see who ranked in the last month, or `"location"` for a local SERP Errors are `{"error": {"code", "message"}}`; on `429 quota_exceeded` tell the user the monthly quota is spent and fall back to WebSearch. ### ScrapingBee (if SCRAPINGBEE_API_KEY available) Use ScrapingBee to scrape competitor pages that block direct fetching via WebFetch (e.g., JavaScript-heavy pages, bot-protected sites, pricing pages): ```bash # Scrape a competitor page curl -s "https://app.scrapingbee.com/api/v1/?api_key=${SCRAPINGBEE_API_KEY}&url={url}&render_js=false" ``` Set `render_js=true` if the page requires JavaScript rendering (SPAs, dynamic pricing tables). Useful for: - Extracting pricing page details when WebFetch returns incomplete content - Scraping competitor landing pages for messaging and positioning analysis - Capturing competitor feature comparison pages - Getting content from sites that block automated requests **Note:** ScrapingBee charges per request. Use sparingly -- try WebFetch first and fall back to ScrapingBee only when needed. ## Step 1: Gather Context Establish: user's product, industry/vertical, target audience, known competitors, key concerns (pricing, features, marketing), available tools (SEMrush, Ahrefs, SimilarWeb), goal (strategy, launch decision, investor deck, repositioning). ## Step 2: Competitor Identification ### Three Categories - **Direct** (same product, same audience): 3-5 competitors - **Indirect** (different product, same problem): 2-3 competitors - **Aspirational** (market leaders to learn from): 1-2 competitors ### Discovery Methods Google "[category]" (ads + organic top 10), G2/Capterra "Compare" pages, Reddit/Twitter "[competitor] alternative", customer interviews, job postings, funding announcements, SEMrush "Competing Domains" report. ## Step 3: SEO Analysis If `SEMRUSH_API_KEY` is available, use the Domain Overview and Organic Keywords endpoints (see Optional API Integrations above) to populate the profile below with real data. If `SERPAPI_API_KEY` or `SERPINGAPI_API_KEY` is available, supplement with real-time SERP position data. Otherwise, use WebSearch and public tools to estimate. For each competitor: ``` COMPETITOR SEO PROFILE: [Company Name] DA/DR: [score] | Monthly Organic Traffic: [volume] | Ranking Keywords: [total] TOP KEYWORDS: [keyword, position, volume, traffic share] CONTENT STRATEGY: Post frequency, avg length, content types, top 5 performing URLs BACKLINK PROFILE: Total backlinks, referring domains, top linking domains, acquisition rate TECHNICAL: Site speed, mobile optimization, schema markup, architecture ``` ### Traffic Source Reality Check (do this BEFORE trusting the numbers) A headline like "74% organic" does **not** mean a competitor is winning at SEO discovery. Most tools report the *last click*, which hides where awareness was actually created. Decompose before you draw conclusions: 1. **Branded vs non-branded search.** Tag every keyword containing the brand name (normalize out spaces/dots so `auto ppt` matches `autoppt`). Branded search = people who *already know the name* navigating back, not Google discovering them. 2. **Navigational bucket = branded search + Direct traffic.** Treat them as one: an existing audience returning, not new acquisition. 3. **Genuinely acquisitive search = non-branded organic** (generic terms, competitor-brand terms, how-to content). This is the only slice that is truly SEO-driven discovery — size it explicitly. 4. **Reconcile your tools.** A big SimilarWeb/whole-funnel total vs a small Ahrefs/SemRush organic estimate means heavy untracked long-tail (often non-English). Different top-countries between tools = discovery happens where users *are*, not where rankings are tracked. 5. **Sanity-check the users are real.** Bounce rate, pages/visit, time-on-site. Bot/incentivized traffic shows as ~100% bounce, 1 page, a few seconds. **Channel fingerprint → find the real top-of-funnel.** Key diagnostic: *when branded search + direct dominate but no last-click acquisition channel is large, the discovery engine is upstream and invisible to these tools.* | Fingerprint | Real growth engine | |---|---| | High branded search + high direct, but social/referral/paid all small | Off-last-click: short-video (TikTok/Reels/Shorts), messaging apps, word-of-mouth — strips referrers, resurfaces later as brand search + direct | | High non-branded organic, deep blog/long-tail | Genuine SEO content engine (editorial or programmatic) | | Ranks on competitors' brand names (` alternative`, ` pricing`) | Deliberate competitor-interception SEO | | High referrals concentrated in few domains | Partnerships / directories / affiliate / integrations | | High paid + display | Paid acquisition (check if profitable for the niche) | | genAI referral channel non-trivial and growing | LLM-citation traffic (ChatGPT/Perplexity) | **Confirm, don't assert:** search the brand on YouTube/TikTok for a viral wave; check whether branded-search growth *lagged* a social spike; name the actual top referrers; read who the content is written for; let top countries tell you the community. Only then write the "how they really grow" verdict. ### Gap Analysis - **Keyword gaps**: Keywords competitors rank for that you do not - **Content gaps**: Topics competitors cover that you do not - **Backlink gaps**: Domains linking to competitors but not you ## Step 4: Paid Advertising Analysis ``` COMPETITOR AD PROFILE: [Company Name] Est. Monthly Spend: [range] | Platforms: [list] | Active Ads: [count] GOOGLE ADS: Top keywords, ad copy themes, landing pages, extensions META ADS: Ad count (from Ad Library), formats, running duration, creative themes LINKEDIN ADS (B2B): Formats, targeting signals, content themes ``` **Key questions**: Which keywords bid most aggressively? What landing pages do ads point to (reveals best offers)? How long have top ads been running (long = profitable)? Running retargeting? ## Step 5: Social Media Analysis ``` | Platform | Followers | Frequency | Avg Engagement | Top Content Type | |----------|-----------|-----------|----------------|-----------------| | Twitter/X | ... | ... | ... | ... | | LinkedIn | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Instagram | ... | ... | ... | ... | | YouTube | ... | ... | ... | ... | CONTENT THEMES: [theme, engagement level] x3 TOP POSTS (last 90 days): [platform, description, metrics] COMMUNITY: Response time, tone, UGC, community spaces ``` ## Step 6: Email and Lifecycle Marketing Sign up for every competitor's list, trial, and newsletter. Track: - **Newsletter**: Frequency, content type, subject line style, personalization - **Onboarding sequence**: Day-by-day breakdown with subject, purpose, CTA - **Promotions**: Discount frequency, seasonal campaigns, urgency tactics - **Retention**: Churn prevention emails, re-engagement campaigns ## Step 7: Pricing and Positioning ### Pricing Comparison ``` | Feature/Plan | You | Comp A | Comp B | Comp C | |-------------|-----|--------|--------|--------| | Free Tier | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Starter | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Pro | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Enterprise | ... | ... | ... | ... | ``` Note model type, billing options, add-ons, discounts, price anchoring. ### Positioning Map Create a 2x2 map on the two most important dimensions (e.g., Price vs. Simplicity). Identify white space opportunities. ### Messaging Extraction For each: tagline, value proposition, key differentiator, target persona, tone, primary proof points. ## Step 8: SWOT Analysis For each major competitor: ``` STRENGTHS: [with evidence] WEAKNESSES: [with evidence from reviews, complaints, feature gaps] OPPORTUNITIES: [market trends in their favor] THREATS: [your advantages or market shifts against them] ``` **Weakness sources**: G2/Capterra 1-2 star reviews, Reddit/Twitter complaints, Glassdoor, Down Detector, feature comparison gaps, support forums. ## Step 9: Competitive Matrix ``` | Dimension | You | Comp A | Comp B | Comp C | |-----------|-----|--------|--------|--------| | Founded | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Funding/Revenue | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Target Market | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Entry Price | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Key Differentiator | ... | ... | ... | ... | | DA | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Monthly Traffic | ... | ... | ... | ... | | G2 Rating | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Feature 1-3 | Y/N | Y/N | Y/N | Y/N | ``` ## Step 10: Strategic Recommendations ``` STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS ========================== 1. POSITIONING: Current vs. recommended position, key message, differentiation 2. CONTENT: Priority keywords, content types, topics to own 3. PAID: Keywords competitors miss, ad angles, channel priorities 4. PRODUCT: Features to build (from gaps), features to deprioritize 5. PRICING: Adjustments, packaging opportunities 6. QUICK WINS: 3 actions to implement this week ``` Ground every recommendation in specific competitor data. Prioritize by impact and ease of implementation.