Staying ahead of your competition is one of the smartest ways to grow a business. To do that, you need a clear picture of who your competitors are, what they're doing well, and where they're falling short. This helps you uncover opportunities to outpace them, attract more customers, and strengthen your position in the market.
A competitive analysis in digital marketing plays a central role in this process. It allows you to see which strategies your competitors rely on so you can sharpen your own. The best part? You don't need a huge budget or outside consultants. With the right approach and the rise of AI-powered marketing tools you can handle it in-house faster and more effectively than ever.
What is a Competitive Analysis in Digital Marketing?
A competitive analysis in digital marketing is the process of researching your competitors to discover their strengths and weaknesses. It covers everything from their marketing and pricing strategies to their products, audience engagement, and digital channels.
By doing this, you'll be able to:
- Stay informed about trends in your industry
- Identify strategies that drive awareness and conversions
- Benchmark your own performance against competitors
- Spot gaps in the market you can fill
Why You Should Do a Competitive Analysis
The purpose of competitive analysis depends on what you're trying to achieve. You may want to improve your website conversions, so you look at competitor websites to see how they use content, design, and lead generation. Or maybe you want to refine your ad campaigns, so you research which keywords they're bidding on.
Some key benefits include:
Identify Barriers and Opportunities
Discover what's working in your industry and where competitors are missing opportunities you can capitalize on.
Define Your Unique Value
Understand what makes you different and how to communicate that effectively to your audience.
Discover New Customers
Find untapped markets or customer segments your competitors aren't serving well.
Create Benchmarks
Set measurable goals based on competitor performance to track your growth.
What Does a Competitive Analysis Include?
A proper analysis requires looking across multiple areas of your competitors' activity and organizing what you learn.
1. Identify Competitor Types
Not all competitors are equal. Break them down into:
- Primary: Direct competitors offering the same products/services to the same audience
- Secondary: Companies offering variations of your product/service to a different market segment
- Tertiary: Brands in adjacent industries that don't compete directly but attract a similar audience
2. Understand Their Target Customers
Look at how they define and engage with their audience:
- Their mission and "About Us" sections
- Social media messaging and interaction
- Content such as blogs, videos, or free resources
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Webinars, podcasts, or events
3. Use the 7Ps of Marketing
Analyze their activities using the marketing mix:
| P | What to Analyze |
|---|---|
| Product | What are they selling, and why do customers value it? |
| Price | Do they use subscription, freemium, or premium models? |
| Promotion | Which channels and campaigns are they most active on? |
| Place | Where do they sell online, offline, or both? |
| People | Who represents their brand and interacts with customers? |
| Process | What systems deliver their product/service? |
| Physical Evidence | What proof do they provide to reassure customers? |
4. Spot Best Practices
Successful competitors have already tested and refined what works. Look at their winning tactics whether it's TikTok content, SEO strategies, or influencer collaborations and decide what could work for your brand.
5. Use Frameworks to Guide You
Frameworks make your analysis structured and actionable:
SWOT Analysis
(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)
Porter's Five Forces
(market forces and rivalry)
BCG Growth Share Matrix
(market share vs growth potential)
6. Organize Your Data
Document findings around pricing, lead generation, SEO rankings, social media activity, ad spend, and customer engagement. Keeping this structured makes it easy to return to and update later.
Types of Competitive Analysis
Depending on your goals, you can focus on specific areas:
Social Media Competitor Analysis
Review which platforms your competitors are on, the type of content they publish, posting frequency, audience engagement, and how they handle customer interactions.
PPC Competitor Analysis
Study the ads they run, which keywords they bid on, and their landing page strategies. Are they prioritizing brand awareness or conversions? Are they creating unique landing pages per campaign?
SEO Competitor Analysis
Identify which keywords they rank for, how fast their website loads, where they get backlinks, and which pages attract the most traffic. Look for keyword gaps you can exploit.
Competitor Analysis Tools
You don't need to do it all manually. These tools simplify and speed up research:
| Tool Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| SEO & Keyword Tools | Ahrefs, SE Ranking, Similarweb |
| PPC Tools | SEMrush, SpyFu, Google Ads Auction Insights |
| Social Media Tools | Sprout Social, Meta Ads Library, TikTok Creative Center |
| AI-Powered Insights | Brandwatch, Sprout Social AI, ChatGPT |