What is Competitor Analysis?
Competitor analysis is the systematic process of researching your competitors, understanding their strategies, and gaining insights for your own marketing strategy. In B2B, you always have 5-30 direct competitors. If you don't know their strategies, the market will beat you.
A good competitor analysis answers questions like:
- Which keywords do my competitors rank for?
- How do they position themselves?
- What does their content strategy look like?
- What backlinks do they have?
- How much traffic do they get?
- What are their strengths and weaknesses?
Types of Competitors in B2B
| Competitor Type | Definition | Example | Analysis Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct competitor | Offers the same solution | Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive for CRM | Keywords, pricing, features, positioning |
| Indirect competitor | Offers similar solution, but different format | Excel spreadsheet, Airtable as CRM alternative | Feature comparison, customer testimonials |
| Emerging competitor | Startup with innovative approach | Clay, Retool, Pipedream - new tools in the category | Innovation, growth strategy, market fit |
| Feature competitor | Offers your feature as part of a larger suite | Slack also offers project management features | Feature comparison, package bundling |
Competitor Analysis in B2B Context
In B2B, competitor analysis is critical because:
- High switching costs: A customer doesn't just switch from Salesforce to you. You must understand why they would switch
- Informed buyers: Your buyer evaluates 3-5 competitors. If you don't know their strategies, you'll lose in that evaluation
- Keyword competition: If you want to rank for "CRM software", you must know that Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive all rank for this keyword. Your strategy must be accordingly
- Pricing benchmarking: If your competitor costs EUR 99/month and you charge EUR 299/month, you need very good messaging why
Competitor Analysis Tools and Techniques
SEO/Organic tools:
- Ahrefs: See which keywords your competitors rank for, their backlinks, top content
- Semrush: Competitor keyword gap, backlink analysis, position tracking
- Semrush domain analytics: Organic traffic estimate, top landing pages, keyword rankings
- Moz: Domain authority, page authority, keyword rankings
- Google Search Console: See your keywords vs. competitors (indirectly)
Ads/Paid tools:
- Semrush ads history: See which ads your competitors run, landing pages, ad copy
- Adbeat: Spy on Facebook, Google, LinkedIn ads your competitors
- Google ads library: See your competitors' ads (partially transparent)
Brand/Content tools:
- Feedly: Track your competitors' blogs and content
- Google Alerts: Notifications when your competitors are mentioned
- Crunchbase: See funding, team, growth of your competitors
- LinkedIn: See hiring, announcements, company updates
The 5 Levels of Competitor Analysis
Level 1: Overview and Positioning
What is their positioning? Look at their website hero section. For example: "The #1 CRM for small businesses" (Pipedrive) vs. "CRM for everyone" (HubSpot) vs. "The CRM for enterprise" (Salesforce).
- Visit competitor.com and read their homepage, about page, pricing
- Use Wayback machine to see how their positioning changed over time
- Screenshot their value propositions
Level 2: Keyword and SERP Ranking
Which keywords do they rank for?
- Use Ahrefs or Semrush and enter competitor.com
- See top 100 keywords they rank for
- Export keywords you also want to rank for
- Analyze which keywords lead to conversions (they usually rank best for these)
Level 3: Content and Content Audit
What content do they have?
- Use Semrush content analyzer or Ahrefs top pages
- See their top content pieces (most traffic, most backlinks)
- Note content gaps (e.g., "they have no comparison guides" or "they don't mention pricing")
- Analyze their blog strategy (how often do they post? What topics?)
Level 4: Backlinks and Authority
Who links to them? That shows their influence.
- Use Ahrefs backlinks to see which websites link to them
- See high-authority backlinks (e.g., Forbes, TechCrunch)
- Find linking opportunities (websites that link to them, but not to you)
- Analyze their link building strategy
Level 5: Ads and Paid Strategy
How much do they spend on ads? What is their messaging?
- Use Semrush ads history or Adbeat
- See which keywords they bid on
- See their landing pages (where do their ads lead?)
- Analyze their ad copy message
- Note which messaging works (if your competitor runs the same ad for a long time, that messaging works)
Competitor Analysis Framework for B2B
Create a competitor comparison matrix:
| Aspect | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C | You / Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning | "Enterprise CRM" | "SMB CRM" | "Affordable CRM" | "Developer-first CRM"? |
| Top keywords | "Enterprise CRM", "complex workflows" | "CRM for startups", "easy CRM" | "Cheap CRM", "free CRM" | "API-first CRM", "CRM for developers" |
| Pricing | EUR 500/month+ | EUR 50-200/month | EUR 10-50/month | EUR 100-300/month (high value) |
| Main content | Case studies, whitepapers | How-to guides, tutorials | Comparison guides, FAQs | Technical deep dives, integration guides |
| Organic traffic (est.) | 100k/month | 50k/month | 20k/month | 5k/month (room to grow) |
| Main strength | Brand, enterprise features | Ease of use, affordability | Pricing, simplicity | Developer experience, customization |
| Main weakness | Complexity, expensive | Limited customization | Limited features, support | Less established, lower traffic |
This matrix shows you immediately: "Competitors A, B, C have large positions. My opportunity is developer-first CRM, a segment that's not very saturated yet."
Competitor Analysis for Keyword Research
A common mistake: you do competitor analysis, but don't use the results. Concrete usage:
- Find low-competition keywords: If your competitor ranks for "CRM software" at position 3, but not for "CRM for agencies", you have an opportunity
- Find content gaps: If competitor has content for all keywords, EXCEPT "CRM implementation best practices", you create content for that keyword
- Find long-tail opportunities: "CRM software" is too competitive. But "CRM software for marketing agencies in Germany" has less competition
- Benchmark difficulty: See your competitors' domain authority and backlinks. If they all have DA 70+, but a few have DA 30-40, those are realistic targets
Common Mistakes in Competitor Analysis
- Mistake: Only analyze one competitor. Fix: Analyze the top 5 competitors and see patterns
- Mistake: Be too influenced by them. Fix: Competitor analysis is input, not law. Your strategy should be different
- Mistake: Use old data. Fix: Competitor strategies change quickly. Quarterly updates
- Mistake: Only analyze online presence. Fix: Also analyze sales conversations, pricing pages, customer reviews
- Mistake: Don't search for "emergent opportunities". Fix: See where competitors are NOT - that's your chance
Competitor Analysis in Context of Overall Strategy
Competitor analysis feeds into multiple strategic decisions:
- Brand positioning: If all competitors emphasize "simplicity", you emphasize "power" or "flexibility"
- Keyword research: Find keywords competitors forgot about
- Content strategy: Create content competitors don't have
- Pricing strategy: Position your pricing against competitors
- Product roadmap: See what features customers miss at competitors
Continuous competitor analysis is not paranoid - it's necessary. The market moves fast. What today is your competitor's weakness can next month be their strength if they've built on the feature.