Up Your Content Game with Competitor Content Analysis

When it comes to content marketing, your audience should always be your No. 1 focus. But you know who’s a close second? Your competitors. 

For your content to be successful, you need to keep a pulse on what your competitors are doing. What are they talking about? How are they attracting buyers? What are they doing differently? 

By understanding what your competitors are doing well and where they’re falling short in content marketing, you can craft a content strategy that sets you apart. 

Understanding your competitors starts with completing a competitor content audit. Let’s dive into the step-by-step process and how to use the data to inform your ongoing content efforts.

Hannah Lohrenz and Morgan Goeden in the office laughing.

What is a Competitor Content Analysis?

A competitor content analysis is a data-based overview of what your competitors are up to with their content and how your business compares. 

You’re basically gathering intel on what they’re saying (content topics), how they’re saying it (content formats and key message points), and where they’re saying it (content platforms). Then, marketing tools and analysis can provide insights into whether or not it’s actually working. 

Armed with this information, you can develop content that stands out from the crowd. 

At E-Power, our content audits focus on your competitors’ websites. We look at:

  • How they’re using written content formats (blogs, case studies, product/service pages, etc.)
  • How they’re using visual & auditory content formats (videos, images, graphics, podcasts, etc.). 
  • How they’re using their website to support additional content platforms (social, email, partner brands, etc.) 
  • How they organize content across their site

Key Benefits of Competitor Content Analysis

These competitor reviews (also called a content competitor analysis or competitor content audit) provide your business with a wealth of information that can be used to gain a competitive edge. By staying informed about your competitors’ content activities and continuously refining your own content strategy, you can position your brand more effectively in the market and attract a larger, more engaged audience.

“Conducting a thorough competitor content analysis is essential for staying ahead in today’s competitive digital landscape,” said Emily Miels, Inbound Marketing Strategist at E-Power. “A good audit will help you identify opportunities to differentiate your brand, craft more compelling content, and better meet the needs of your audience.” 

By reviewing your competitors’ content, you’ll identify gaps in topics, keywords, and themes. This allows you to strategically fill these holes and address the unmet needs of your audience. As a result, you can position your brand as a go-to resource and attract a larger audience. As you create high-quality content around these new topics and keywords, you’ll start to see higher search engine rankings, increased authority, and more qualified traffic coming to your website. 

Analyzing website traffic, backlinks, and engagement metrics provides insight into what website content resonates with people in your target audience. Understanding these preferences allows you to tailor your content accordingly, ultimately driving higher engagement and satisfaction. By better aligning your messaging and content with your audience, you’ll see people spending more time on your site, more pages per session, more engagement across other platforms like social and email, and, eventually, more leads and sales. 

An improved UX reduces bounce rates and increases the time visitors spend on your site. By delivering relevant content at different stages of the buyer’s journey, you can keep your audience engaged and nurture leads more effectively.

The insights gained from a competitor content audit can inform and improve your overall content strategy. By understanding what works for your competitors and what doesn’t, you can make more informed decisions about your content planning, production, and distribution.  

Content quality can have a huge impact on user experience and how your brand is perceived by customers. Whether it’s through better research, more engaging formats, or higher production values, learning from the best practices and mistakes of your competitors can elevate your brand and boost results. 

As quality improves, you can expect to see more positive reviews and increased engagement from customers. You’ll also see improvements in search rankings and click-through rates, as Google also lists quality and authority among the key factors used to determine rankings.

Organized content helps search engines understand your website better, improving your search engine rankings and visibility over time. Mapping out which keyword you want to target with each page also helps you better track and monitor SEO performance. 

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How To Do a Competitor Content Analysis​

A content competitor analysis requires a little bit of data and research paired with critical thinking. It boils down to four main steps:

  1. Identify your key competitors
  2. Gather data using content tools and manually reviewing competitors’ online presence
  3. Analyze the data and look for patterns and gaps
  4. Use your analysis to inform and refine your content strategy 

Let’s walk through each step in more detail. 

Step 1: Identify Competitors

At E-Power, we hone in on our clients’ 3-4 main competitors. These are the businesses or brands competing with you for the online attention of your target audience. 

By taking a comprehensive approach to identifying your competitors, you’ll better understand who you’re up against in the content world and online marketing space. This knowledge forms the foundation for effective competitor content audits.

Consider both direct and indirect competitors. 

  • Direct competitors offer similar products or services to yours and compete for the same customers.
  • Indirect competitors offer different products or services but address similar needs or pain points. While they may not be a direct substitute for your offerings, they still compete for attention and resources from your target audience online. 

If you’re not sure who your competitors are or want to identify new ones you may not be aware of, consider the following:

  • Industry Landscape: Who are the major players in your industry? What products or services overlap with yours? Look for companies that show up in search results for relevant keywords, participate in relevant industry events, or advertise in similar channels.
  • Customer Feedback: Are there specific companies or brands that customers use or mention as alternatives to yours? Pay attention to what your customers say in reviews, online forums, surveys/polls, and 1:1 conversations with your team. 
  • Social Media Listening: Who are people talking about in relation to your industry or niche? Social media listening tools can help you identify industry key players and track their activity.

Step 2: Gather Data

Once you’ve decided which competitors to analyze, it’s time to dive into the data. At E-Power, we examine various key insights, including posting frequency, important topics and keywords to cover, and different content formats.  

We use search engine optimization tools like Semrush to analyze competitors’ website performance, keyword rankings, and backlink profiles. 

These tools help us identify keywords and topics your competitors are targeting, analyze their website traffic and domain authority, and uncover opportunities to improve your content and SEO strategy.

We also use AI and manual reviews of your competitors’ websites to get a more detailed look at website structure and design to understand how they present their content and engage their audience.

  • Authority score
  • Organic search traffic
  • Backlinks
  • Ranking keywords
  • Branded vs. non-branded keywords
  • Types of content (long-form articles, podcasts, case studies, videos, etc.) 
  • Content posting frequency 
  • Linking opportunities
  • Key navigation pages and blog/resource categories
  • Content topics and themes
  • Content engagement (pages per visit, time on page, bounce rate, etc.) 

Step 3: Analyze the Data

Once you’ve collected the data, it’s time to analyze it. Look for patterns, content gaps, and message points where your brand can stand out. You can use these insights to inform your own content strategy and help you stay competitive in your industry.

Some key areas to review and hone in on include:

Start by examining the topics and themes your competitors cover in their content. What are the recurring themes or subjects they address? Are there specific pain points, challenges, or interests that they consistently focus on?

Explore the different formats your competitors use in their content. Are they primarily publishing blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, or a combination of formats? What website pages are the highest-ranking? Is there a compelling or unique type of content on their site, like an interactive quiz or comparison chart? 

Analyze the posting frequency for new content. How often are competitors publishing new content on their website? Do they follow a consistent posting schedule or post sporadically?

Pay attention to the tone and style of your competitors’ messaging. Is their tone formal or informal? Do they use humor, wit, or a more serious tone in their content? What are unique selling propositions or key messages emphasized in their content?

Based on what you’re seeing, pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in your competitors’ content. What are they doing well? Where are they falling short? Look for gaps or areas where you can offer something unique to your audience.

Step 4: Draw Insights and Take Action

Armed with research and data, you can build or refine your own content strategy. You can clearly see what’s working or not working for your competitors, and align your initiatives accordingly in a way that fits your brand and budget. It’s like having a cheat sheet for winning over your audience. 

“Focusing on key areas can help you develop a strong content strategy and gain some quick marketing wins with unique messaging and engaging content ideas,” Emily said.

If you haven’t invested in ongoing content yet, a competitor analysis can help you establish a baseline. Use the data to set goals and benchmarks around posting frequency, target keywords, and content platforms and determine what the minimum investment might look like for your brand.

Focus on areas where your competitors fall short when it comes to content quality, such as content depth, accuracy, engagement, timeliness, and visual appeal.

If certain subjects are generating high engagement for your competitors, consider how you can create content on these topics from a unique angle. Or maybe focus on establishing yourself as an expert in an area your competitors haven’t thought to address.

If your competitors focus heavily on one format or content platform, consider how you can stand out or reach an untapped audience by focusing your efforts elsewhere. For example, maybe they post a lot of educational blogs but don’t have case studies, product FAQs, or videos on their site.

By understanding what your competitors are highlighting about their products and services, you can adjust your messaging across owned platforms (website, email, social, ads, etc.) to better articulate what sets you apart and why your audience should choose you.

Step 5: Make Competitor Analysis a Recurring Initiative 

A competitor content analysis isn’t a one-and-done thing. 

Consider a competitor audit every 6 months to a year, just to get a big picture view of how you’re tracking and look for new ideas and trends to help you stay ahead of the curve. 

New brands and businesses are launching all the time in your industry. And just like you’re looking into your competitors, chances are high that your competitors are looking into you. That means you constantly have to up your game if you want to stay competitive. 

Outshine Competitors with Marketing Support from E-Power

While you can do a competitor content analysis in-house, working with a marketing agency like E-Power Marketing can help you make the most of your content competitor analysis and other marketing initiatives. 

Save Time

You and your marketing team already have a lot on your plate without adding an audit to the to-do list. Let us handle the audit for you, freeing you up to focus on important day-to-day business responsibilities.

Fresh Perspective

When you know the industry and products inside and out, it’s easy to miss key details or make biased assumptions. We provide an unbiased perspective, helping to identify issues and opportunities you might otherwise overlook.

 

Experience

After more than 25 years in business, we have a content competitor analysis or two under our belts. We’ve honed our process and invested in the right marketing tools to make our competitor audits accurate, actionable, and easy to understand. 

“Competitor content analysis is all about innovation. By understanding what works (and what doesn’t) in your industry, you can uncover gaps, refine your strategy, and create content that dominates.”

– Emily Miels, Inbound Marketing Strategist
E-Power Marketing

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