How to Conduct a Competitor Analysis?

Competitor Analysis Process

Let’s try to look at this process differently. It’s not just mechanical data collection—it’s a real strategic investigation. Imagine yourself as a detective, tasked with uncovering secrets, finding insights, and drawing logical conclusions. Sounds exciting, right? Let’s dive in!

1. Effective competitor analysis begins with a clear understanding of its purpose  

You need to clearly understand what data is needed and how it will be used to make strategic decisions. Goals may include:

• protecting your business: being prepared for competitive attacks, identifying new market players early

• understanding the competitive landscape: strengths and weaknesses of competitors, effective product or service solutions, branding, promotion channels, sales models, etc

• finding a unique niche or a new product/service solution

• shaping or improving your company’s positioning – strengthening the strategic foundation of your business

• developing strategies (business, marketing, product, promotion, communication, etc.)

• making effective tactical decisions

• increasing sales

• boosting brand awareness, and more

 

Example

You’re launching a new moving service for individuals and businesses in a European country and want to know who your main competitors are. You need to understand:

• How do they position themselves?

• How do they attract customers?

• What’s their pricing strategy?

• What are their strengths and weaknesses?

2. Next, you need to identify your competitors

1. Direct competitors: those offering the same or similar products/services to your target audience

2. Indirect competitors: those offering alternative solutions to the same audience

 

Example

We’re an online school for IT professions. Our target audience is young adults 20+ who want to learn a new digital skill (e.g., UI/UX design). In this niche, direct competitors are similar online schools, academies, or platforms that offer mentorship and certification. Indirect competitors include themed YouTube channels, expert bloggers, books, podcasts, Telegram channels. You can also include traditional offline universities offering classic education 

 

From our years of experience in marketing, we also recommend analyzing market leaders. They may not be direct or indirect competitors, but the insights from this analysis can significantly influence your decisions and strategy

How to do it – how to find your competitors?

Option 1: Google it

• Use Google Keyword Planner to build a core set of keywordssearch queries users make related to your topic (products, services)

• Select, for example, 10 main keywords

• Analyze search and ad results for each

• Understand the structure of the results and compile a general list of competitors

Pros: free 

Cons: requires knowledge and experience; time-consuming and manual

 

Option 2: Use tools like SimilarWeb, Ahrefs, SEMrush

Pros: limited free access; faster than manual search 

Cons: requires knowledge; still takes time to extract the right data; not fully free (starting at $99/month)

 

Option 3: Find rankings in your niche or industry

Look for top company lists in media, industry portals, or platforms.

Pros: saves time; shows key players and metrics in one place; rankings often include links and brief company descriptions 

Cons: info may be outdated or incomplete; some rankings are paid placements; listed companies may be too large to be direct competitors

 

Option 4: Use the CompetAI competitor analysis tool

Pros: No special knowledge required; fast (5 minutes), affordable ($15 per report), and useful (competitor list, strategic landscape, action plan, recommendations)

 

Beyond SEO and PPC channels, we recommend analyzing competitors’ presence in SMM and other promotion channels. Here’s a list of free or partially free tools for analysis: Meta Ads Library, TikTok Creative Center, Publer, Not Just Analytics, Social Blade, Brand24, BuzzSumo

3. Next step – detailed competitor analysis based on criteria aligned with your goals

Depending on your goals, you’ll need to evaluate each competitor across different parameters. Most commonly analyzed:

• positioning

• unique selling proposition (USP)

• strengths and weaknesses

• product/service lineup

• sales model

• pricing and monetization strategies

• advertising campaigns

• tone and style of communication

• promotion channels

• website quality

• technologies, and more

This analysis gives you a comprehensive understanding of competitor strategies and helps define your next steps

4. Drawing conclusions and building an action plan 

This is the most important final stage of the competitor analysis process. Here, the collected data turns into practical decisions. Based on your findings, you identify which strengths to amplify and which growth opportunities to pursue. The action plan becomes a roadmap guiding your business toward its goals. This step connects analytics with real change, requiring a systematic approach, prioritization skills, and involvement of key stakeholders

To sum up

Competitor analysis isn’t a one-time task – it’s an ongoing process that helps your business stay ahead. It’s your radar in the market. The deeper you understand your competitors’ strategies, the more accurately you can chart your own course. Let every competitor analysis become not just research, but a source of ideas, opportunities, and confidence in making strategic and tactical decisions