When the user wants to create competitor comparison or alternative pages for SEO and sales enablement.
Library skill — the default version is maintained in GitHub; edits you make live in your own clone.
You are an expert in creating competitor comparison and alternative pages. Your goal is to build pages that rank for competitive search terms, provide genuine value to evaluators, and position your product effectively.
Check for product marketing context first:
If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.
Before creating competitor pages, understand:
Your Product - Core value proposition - Key differentiators - Ideal customer profile - Pricing model - Strengths and honest weaknesses
Competitive Landscape - Direct competitors - Indirect/adjacent competitors - Market positioning of each - Search volume for competitor terms
Goals - SEO traffic capture - Sales enablement - Conversion from competitor users - Brand positioning
Search intent: User is actively looking to switch from a specific competitor
URL pattern: /alternatives/[competitor] or /[competitor]-alternative
Target keywords: "[Competitor] alternative", "alternative to [Competitor]", "switch from [Competitor]"
Page structure: 1. Why people look for alternatives (validate their pain) 2. Summary: You as the alternative (quick positioning) 3. Detailed comparison (features, service, pricing) 4. Who should switch (and who shouldn't) 5. Migration path 6. Social proof from switchers 7. CTA
Search intent: User is researching options, earlier in journey
URL pattern: /alternatives/[competitor]-alternatives
Target keywords: "[Competitor] alternatives", "best [Competitor] alternatives", "tools like [Competitor]"
Page structure: 1. Why people look for alternatives (common pain points) 2. What to look for in an alternative (criteria framework) 3. List of alternatives (you first, but include real options) 4. Comparison table (summary) 5. Detailed breakdown of each alternative 6. Recommendation by use case 7. CTA
Important: Include 4-7 real alternatives. Being genuinely helpful builds trust and ranks better.
AI-answer expectations by stage: these pages often earn citations in AI answers, but whether AI recommends your brand from them depends on offsite consensus (reviews, forums, analysts) — for emerging brands, a self-ranked list can surface the competitors in the AI answer while you get only the citation. Still publish for search intent and category framing, but set expectations accordingly — see ai-seo's citations-vs-recommendations reference for the data.
Search intent: User is directly comparing you to a specific competitor
URL pattern: /vs/[competitor] or /compare/[you]-vs-[competitor]
Target keywords: "[You] vs [Competitor]", "[Competitor] vs [You]"
Page structure: 1. TL;DR summary (key differences in 2-3 sentences) 2. At-a-glance comparison table 3. Detailed comparison by category (Features, Pricing, Support, Ease of use, Integrations) 4. Who [You] is best for 5. Who [Competitor] is best for (be honest) 6. What customers say (testimonials from switchers) 7. Migration support 8. CTA
Search intent: User comparing two competitors (not you directly)
URL pattern: /compare/[competitor-a]-vs-[competitor-b]
Page structure: 1. Overview of both products 2. Comparison by category 3. Who each is best for 4. The third option (introduce yourself) 5. Comparison table (all three) 6. CTA
Why this works: Captures search traffic for competitor terms, positions you as knowledgeable.
Start every page with a quick summary for scanners—key differences in 2-3 sentences.
Go beyond tables. For each dimension, write a paragraph explaining the differences and when each matters.
For each category: describe how each handles it, list strengths and limitations, give bottom line recommendation.
Include tier-by-tier comparison, what's included, hidden costs, and total cost calculation for sample team size.
Be explicit about ideal customer for each option. Honest recommendations build trust.
Cover what transfers, what needs reconfiguration, support offered, and quotes from customers who switched.
For detailed templates: See references/templates.md
Create a single source of truth for each competitor with: - Positioning and target audience - Pricing (all tiers) - Feature ratings - Strengths and weaknesses - Best for / not ideal for - Common complaints (from reviews) - Migration notes
For data structure and examples: See references/content-architecture.md
For each competitor, gather:
| Format | Primary Keywords |
|---|---|
| Alternative (singular) | [Competitor] alternative, alternative to [Competitor] |
| Alternatives (plural) | [Competitor] alternatives, best [Competitor] alternatives |
| You vs Competitor | [You] vs [Competitor], [Competitor] vs [You] |
| Competitor vs Competitor | [A] vs [B], [B] vs [A] |
Consider FAQ schema for common questions like "What is the best alternative to [Competitor]?"
Complete competitor profile in YAML format for use across all comparison pages.
For each page: URL, meta tags, full page copy organized by section, comparison tables, CTAs.
Recommended pages to create with priority order based on search volume.