Introduction: Why Competitor Content Analysis Matters
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, standing out from the crowd requires more than just creating content. It demands a strategic approach, and at the heart of that strategy lies competitor content analysis. This process involves systematically evaluating your competitors' content strategies to identify opportunities for improvement, uncover content gaps, and ultimately, gain a competitive edge. By understanding what your rivals are doing well (and not so well), you can refine your own content efforts and create a more impactful online presence.
Competitive content analysis is the process of analyzing your competitors' content strategies in a structured way. By breaking down the analysis into steps, it's easier to uncover your potential competitors' top-performing content and weak spots and identify your competitive advantages. There are many reasons to do a competitor content analysis, but the main purpose of the exercise is to help you benchmark your efforts, understand how your content marketing efforts compare to others in your industry. You'll see the type of content your target audience expects from you and how they prefer to engage with it. Identify your competitors' top-performing and low-performing content. Understand what your target audience likes (so you can do it better) and what content approaches don't get a lot of traction (so you can avoid them). Ultimately, competitive content analysis will help you stay one step ahead of your competition. It will ensure that any content you create is unique and valuable for your target audience.
1. Identifying Your Content Competitors
Before diving into the analysis, you need to know who you're up against. Start by identifying both direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors offer similar products or services to the same target audience, while indirect competitors provide different solutions but address similar customer needs [6, 27].
How to Find Your Competitors:
- Industry Research: Analyze industry publications, reports, and directories to identify key players in your market [2].
- Social Media: Scout social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to see who your target audience follows and engages with [2].
- Keyword Research: Perform keyword searches on your target themes. The competitors sites that consistently rank high in search results are likely your competitors [2].
- Semrush and Ahrefs: Tools like Semrush and Ahrefs can help you identify competitors based on keyword overlap and search engine rankings [5]. Enter your domain name into the Organic Research tool, and navigate to the 'Competitors' tab [1].
Example: If you're a running shoe company, direct competitors would include Nike and Adidas. Indirect competitors might include companies selling orthotics or fitness apps.
2. Decrypting Competitor SEO Strategies
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the magic potion that fuels content discoverability online. Key SEO metrics to focus on include top pages by traffic, keyword rankings, organic clicks, and backlinks [3].
2.1. Competitor Keyword Research
Uncover your competitors' target keywords using SEO tools like Semrush and Ahrefs. Look for high-volume and long-tail keywords to understand their approach to search engine optimization [2]. Ahrefs helps you uncover competitor keywords, allowing you to optimize your content and target valuable search terms [20].
- Identify Keyword Opportunities: What keywords are they targeting [5]? If it looks like a topic that would interest your persona, look it up in Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs, for example, to see its competition level, search volume, and other data. Are they ranking well for that keyword? If not, create better content than them and see if you can rank for it.
- Keyword Gap Analysis: Use the “Content Gap” tool in Ahrefs after identifying competitors. A company must enter its domain and add its competitors' domains. Ahrefs then shows the keywords for which competitors rank, but a company's own website does not [18].
Actionable Advice: Pay attention to the search intent behind the keywords. Are they informational, navigational, or transactional [16]? Tailor your content to match the user's intent.
2.2. On-Site Content Optimization Tactics
Analyze how they optimize their content for search engines. That includes examining their title tags, meta descriptions, and internal linking structures. Understanding their on-page SEO tactics, you can identify areas to improve your content's search ranking potential [2].
- Title Tags and Meta Descriptions Check that these are optimized.
- Internal Linking: Ensure they are using internal links to connect their content.
2.3. Backlink Profile
Evaluate the backlink profile of their high-performing content. Backlinks are citations from other websites, and a strong backlink profile can significantly boost SEO performance [2]. Analyzing which pages of your competitors are receiving the most backlinks can also give you an idea of which formats and topic ideas attract “link creators” in your niche [1]. Dig into your competitors' backlinks to see which websites are linking to them. Make note of trustworthy websites (at the referring domain level) and which pages receive the most backlinks excluding the homepage. Use this insight to support your link building strategy [6].
- Quality over Quantity: Consider the quality and relevance of their backlinks to gauge their overall SEO strategy [2].
- Backlink Opportunities High-quality, first-mover content is often cited by others trying to cover the same topic later. This means your content becomes a reference point, earning you valuable backlinks that boost domain authority [11].
Tip: Use tools like Ahrefs to analyze your competitor's backlink profile and identify potential link building opportunities [5].
3. Auditing Competitor Content: A Deep Dive
Once you've identified your competitors, it's time to dig in and identify their content strengths and weaknesses so you can highlight opportunities and prioritize your content strategy accordingly [5].
3.1. Content Types and Formats
Identify the types of content they create—blog posts, infographics, videos, or a mix. Understanding their content format preferences can help you determine the best formats for your content strategy [2]. You may discover that a lot of people are engaging with and sharing your competitor's videos. This may mean there's an opportunity for you to create more video content as well [1].
Content Formats to Analyze:
- Blog posts
- Videos
- Infographics
- Case studies
- Ebooks
- Reports
- Data visualizations
- Interactive content
- Quizzes
- Podcasts
3.2. Content Length and Depth
Analyze the typical size of their content pieces. That can give you insights into audience preferences for long-form, in-depth content versus shorter, more concise pieces [2].
Key Considerations:
- Long-Form vs. Short-Form: Longreads (7,000+ word articles) perform extremely well, driving nearly 4X more traffic than articles of average length (900-1,200 words) [1].
- Topic Depth: Content that isn't thorough misses essential subtopics or doesn't provide enough information about them [30]. For each major topic in your niche: Compare competitor coverage depth.
3.3. Content Quality and Structure
Analyzing the quality of your competitors' content can be subjective. However, there are things you can look for to help you decide how well they are doing [1].
Elements of High-Quality Content:
- Detailed and Comprehensive: How detailed are the posts [1]?
- Structured and Organized: At least 44% of posts with a simple structure (i.e., that use H2 & H3) perform well in terms of traffic and engagement [1].
- Visually Appealing: Are they using quality images or design [1]? Posts with at least one image receive twice as much traffic as text-only posts.
- Up-to-date: When was the content published or last updated [9]?
- Usability: Can you easily read and understand what's on the page [9]?
4. Content Gap Analysis: Uncovering Missed Opportunities
Content Gap Analysis is the process of identifying and evaluating missing content pieces that could and should align with the various stages of your target audience's buyer's journey [9]. A content gap analysis involves comparing your current content against your competitors' content, your audience's search intent, different stages of your customer journey, and market trends and opportunities [11]. By addressing these gaps, you can create content that better meets the needs of your audience and attracts more organic search traffic [21].
How to Perform a Content Gap Analysis:
- Keyword Gaps: Export competitor keywords you don't rank for [30].
- Topic Depth Gaps: Compare competitor coverage depth [30].
- Content Format Gaps: If competitors focus heavily on text content but your audience prefers video, that's a format gap worth exploiting [30].
- User Experience Gaps: Analyse competitor content [30].
Example: A competitor consistently misses topics or covers them superficially [30]. You ensure the topic and search intent align with your business and your goals. You can cover more topics, focusing on areas that your competition doesn't. This is a strategy used by 72% of B2B content marketers [6]. Another 38% of marketers differentiate by publishing in formats that their competitors don't use. For instance, let's say your competitors don't publish infographics [6].
5. Researching Content Distribution Channels
Content distribution is a vital component of a successful content strategy. It involves identifying how your competitors spread their content across the web, [3].
5.1. Social Media Presence
Identify the social media platforms they leverage most actively. That can reveal valuable insights into where your target audience spends their time online [2].
Questions to Ask:
- Which platforms are they most active on?
- What types of content do they share on each platform?
- How often do they post?
- What is their engagement rate (likes, shares, comments)?
5.2. Email Marketing Efforts
Analyze if they utilize email marketing to distribute content. If so, explore the types of content they promote through email and the frequency of their campaigns [2].
Actionable Steps:
- Subscribe to their email list to see what types of content they send out and how often [28].
- Analyze their email subject lines, content format, and calls-to-action.
5.3. Influencer Marketing Strategies
Investigate if they collaborate with influencers to amplify their content reach [2].
Key Areas to Explore:
- Do they partner with influencers?
- What types of influencers do they work with (industry experts, bloggers, social media personalities)?
- What is the reach and engagement of their influencer campaigns?
6. Tools for Competitor Content Analysis
Several tools can streamline and enhance your competitor content analysis efforts. Here are some of the most popular options:
- Semrush: Includes SEO, PPC, social media, content marketing, and marketing research tools [5]. Semrush's "Content Analysis" tool, you can delve deep into the content strategies employed by your competitors [16]. The "Traffic Analytics" tool provides a comprehensive view of your competitors' website traffic, revealing patterns in audience behaviour and helping you benchmark against industry standards [16].
- Ahrefs: With the help of Ahrefs' powerful competitive analysis tools, you can unlock the secrets behind your rivals' success and position yourself as the reigning champ in your field [20]. Ahrefs enables you to monitor competitor activities, such as their SERP rankings and social media mentions [20].
- Google Analytics: Analyze your competitor's, you can use Google Analytics (Domain Overview > Overview > Distribution by Country - Organic) [1].
- Clearscope:If you use SEO content editors like Clearscope, you can identify the top competitors for your target keyword. These are the currently top-ranked pieces in the search engine results pages (SERPs) [6].
Tip: Many of these tools offer free trials or limited free versions, allowing you to test their capabilities before committing to a paid subscription.
7. Turning Analysis into Action: Building a Winning Content Strategy
The final step is to translate your findings into a concrete content strategy. Now that you've gathered all of this information on your competitors' content strategies, the final step is to summarize how you can make your content better [1]. Base this on their (and your own) strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, you will now have everything you need to [1]:
- Identify the competitors you should watch closely when it comes to content marketing [1].
- Generate new content ideas (topics, themes, and formats) [1].
- Determine your own weak points [1].
Key Strategies:
- Fill Content Gaps: Create content that addresses topics your competitors haven't covered or haven't covered thoroughly [5].
- Improve Existing Content: Identify areas where your content falls short and make improvements based on your competitor analysis [21].
- Diversify Content Formats: Experiment with different content formats to see what resonates best with your audience [6].
- Optimize for SEO: Implement the SEO tactics you've learned from your competitors to improve your search engine rankings [2].
Conclusion: The Path Forward
Competitor content analysis is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. The digital landscape is constantly changing, and your competitors are continually evolving their strategies. Regularly revisit your analysis to stay ahead of the curve and ensure your content remains relevant, engaging, and effective. Embrace the insights you've gained, take calculated risks, and continuously refine your content strategy to achieve your business goals. To continue building a winning content strategy, here are the immediate next steps to consider:
- Schedule regular content audits to assess the performance of existing content.
- Set up competitor alerts to track their latest content initiatives.
- Revisit and refine your content strategy based on new data and insights.