Competitive analysis is the process of comparing your own business’s strengths against those of competitors based on products, services, customer experience, marketing, sales, and search visibility. A useful analysis isn’t just a list of competitors, but rather a matrix that shows evidence, opportunities, and actions worth testing. This article focuses on a sample template and how to fill it out.
For an explanation of the general definition, seven goals, and strategic reasons for studying competitors, see competitor analysis. On this page, the original five steps, the entire A/B/C Competitor example table, and the three WordPress images remain. The material has been updated with SBA recommended research practices, the Australian government’s SWOT guide, and the Semrush 2026 SEO study. The business tables are for illustrative purposes only, not actual audit results.
What Is Competitive Analysis?
Competitive analysis is research to understand the alternatives customers consider and how different businesses serve their needs. The goal is to find the differences that matter to buyers, not simply copy a compelling promotion. You need to combine competitor information with market needs. The SBA reminds us that market research explains customer conditions, while competitive analysis helps identify business advantages.
Competitive analysis versus market research
Market research examines the size of demand, location, segments, behaviors, and needs of consumers. Competitive analysis examines rival offerings that serve a subset of that demand. A business can understand its competitors well but still choose the wrong product if it never talks to customers. Use a data-driven marketing approach to connect the two through verifiable data.
Analysis results that should be available
The minimum results should include a list of competitors, a comparison matrix, source URLs, observation dates, areas of strength, weaknesses, or uncertainties, and a follow-up plan. This document should not contain confidential information from others. For small teams, a spreadsheet with a person in charge and a review date is sufficient.
What is the Purpose of Competitive Analysis?
The initial structure of this article identifies seven objectives: identifying strengths and weaknesses, improving marketing, identifying market opportunities, improving business performance, maintaining relevance, driving innovation, and anticipating threats. These seven objectives are mutually reinforcing. However, the focus should not be solely on opinions about competitors; businesses need to decide which customer problems are most worth solving.
Example decisions that can be made
If your competitors have clear product pages and your business doesn’t, actions could include adding FAQs and pricing details. If customers need a service that isn’t yet available, consider product development with prototype testing. Don’t assume that adding a feature your competitors use will automatically increase sales.
5 Steps to Conducting a Competitive Analysis
1. Identify truly relevant competitors
Determine the customer need your product solves. Direct competitors sell similar solutions to a similar audience, while indirect competitors offer other ways to solve that problem. For example, SEO consultants might compete with other agencies or in-house training for SMEs. Use the competitor type guide to segment your group, then identify appropriate territories and segments. Not every well-known brand is relevant for comparison.
Data and verification methods
Note competitor categories, needs they meet, typical pricing, distribution channels, and potential new entrants. A site appearing in Search for educational topics could compete on content without being a competitor offering the same service.
2. Determine comparable products, benefits, and pricing
Examine product features, package variations, open pricing, additional fees, warranties, support access, and the purchasing process. Don’t declare a competitor cheaper simply by comparing packages with different coverage. In market segmentation, B2B customers and retail buyers may have different priorities. Market segmentation examples help design groups that are worth comparing.
Data and how to check
Save the source URL and the date checked for each price. If a price is not publicly available, label it “not available” instead of making up a value. Note whether the information comes from an official website, a reseller’s catalog, or a third-party review.
3. Examine the sales strategy and experience of potential buyers
Go through the purchase process available to a typical user: from the product page to the consultation form to the payment instructions. Note whether the information is easy to find, the process is too complicated, or the contract terms are unclear. Don’t impersonate to obtain internal data or access unauthorized pages. Market research and customer interviews complement the site review.
Data and verification methods
Use simple rubrics, such as completeness of pricing, number of form steps, clarity of CTA, and service hours. The scores you assign are based on your own methods, not absolute facts about the quality of competitors’ products.
4. Analyze marketing strategy and positioning
Pay attention to messaging on websites, educational content, social media, public advertisements, and landing pages. Brand positioning helps assess the unique value communicated by competitors. Compare campaign objectives and digital marketing channels separately. The number of observed posts or ads doesn’t prove a campaign is profitable, and third-party advertising cost figures are usually estimates.
Data and how to check
Check the relevance of promotional claims to landing pages and available customer reviews. Compare the language used to address buyers’ concerns. Don’t copy copyrighted material; use the findings to test more useful alternatives.
5. Conduct SEO competitor analysis and gap analysis
Find topics that are important to your audience, then identify sites that appear in search results. Search intent helps separate informational, comparison, and transactional queries. Use keyword research tools and Ahrefs, if available, to see indications of keywords, backlinks, and featured pages. However, third-party traffic estimates are not competitor internal analytics figures.
Data and How to Check
Ensure the queries, locations, languages, and devices being compared are similar. To interpret Semrush and local SEO competition metrics, distinguish websites competing in Search from businesses that actually offer similar products.
Example Competitive Analysis Template for Business
Below is a real table with three fictional competitors. All values in the table are for formatting purposes only and are not actual data about specific companies. Keep this structure when starting out, but if you want to use it for real-world decisions, replace subjective assessments like “low quality” with measurable indicators and sources.
| Analysis Aspects | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Products and Services | High-quality products, premium prices | Mid-quality products, competitive prices | Cheap products, low quality |
| Sales Strategy | Physical and online stores, discounts Seasonal | Online only, frequent promotions | Physical store, rare discounts |
| Marketing Strategy | Paid advertising, active social media | Blog and social media, quality content | Fliers and local ads |
| SEO | Using long-tail keywords, ranking high on Google | Focus on local SEO, moderate ranking | Not focused on SEO |
| Strengths | Strong brand reputation, quality Product | Content quality, local SEO strategy | Low prices, many branches |
| Weaknesses | High prices, limited target market | Middle prices, lack of promotion | Low product quality |
Once the table is populated, add columns for the evidence URL, date reviewed, confidence level, action owner, and priority. An old matrix can quickly become irrelevant if prices, packages, or market conditions change. Compare information across the same timeframe and mark any missing data as unverified, rather than assigning seemingly precise values.
Additional spreadsheet templates
| Criteria | Own business | Rival A | Rival B | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offers | Standard packages | Standard and premium packages | Packages custom | Service URL |
| Public pricing | Existing | Not available | Existing | Pricing page |
| FAQ | 8 Topics | 12 topics | 5 topics | Public inventory |
| CTA | Consultation form | Phone | Chat | Landline |
| Educational content | 2 guides | 7 guides | 4 guides | Article URL |
The numbers and examples in the supplemental tables are also hypothetical. Do not transfer them to the client report as audit findings that have already occurred. Assessments need to be conducted on truly relevant sites, not using fabricated data.
Using a SWOT to Determine Priorities
Internal Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths summarize the company’s controllable capabilities, such as expertise, services, assets, and processes. Weaknesses summarize limitations, such as lack of pricing information, slow service times, or poor documentation. When compiling your own SWOT, don’t just list competitors’ strengths without addressing the impact on customers. Customer retention management can be a reasonable area for improvement if many customers churn due to bad experiences.
External Opportunities and Threats
Opportunities include new demand, underserved market segments, and favorable technological changes. Threats can include new competitors, regulatory changes, or more challenging supply chains. The business.gov.au guide distinguishes these two categories from internal factors. Link priorities to financial capabilities, revenue, and margins to prevent teams from wasting resources on features that aren’t valuable to customers.
Turn findings into a plan
For each priority, write down the actions, responsible person, deadline, required cost, baseline, and success indicators. For example, clarify service packages on a product page and then assess the quality of quote requests over a period. There’s no guarantee of positive results until the process is tested.
Competitive Analysis in SEO and AI Search
Differences between SEO and business competitors
Directories, forums, or media sites can compete for rankings for educational articles even if they don’t sell similar products. Don’t include every domain that appears in Search as a sales competitor. Analyze based on query, audience, location, and user intent. Also examine backlinks and their relevance as part of the content discovery landscape, not as definitive proof of a rival’s financial strength.
Evolving visibility evaluation in AI engines
Semrush in 2026 discussed how brands are also compared through AI answers and third-party mentions. However, results can vary by prompt, device, language, and platform. Document your method if you intend to create an AI visibility score. Don’t declare a brand has the highest market share because one AI answer mentions it.
How to maintain content intent differentiation?
The concept page should address the what, why, and purpose of competitor analysis, while this article provides a replicable table format and how to conduct an audit. This distinction helps readers choose the material that best suits their needs without receiving two articles with nearly identical content.
Checklist for Making a Decision
- Does the competitor list truly serve a comparable customer target?
- Is the pricing and offering data current and sourced?
- Do comparable products have similar features and service coverage?
- Are traffic figures labeled estimates if they come from third-party tools?
- Are any sources intentionally or unintentionally unvetted?
- Does the recommended action have an owner and KPIs?
Avoid unauthorized use of information and claims that automatic restraint of competition is unlawful. Unfair business competition requires a specific assessment of the facts and applicable regulations.
Competitive Analysis FAQ
Is this template required to be filled out completely?
No. Adjust the criteria to suit your business decisions and team capacity. Evidence is more valuable than a large number of columns.
Does a competitor’s SEO report provide exact figures?
Generally not. Third-party estimates should be read with the limitations of their methodology and not the rival’s internal analytics data.
Do competitors have to be in the same industry?
Not always. Substitute products that solve similar problems can be indirect competitors.
When should a competitive analysis be updated?
When prices, products, regulations, or competitors change, and before major campaign decisions. Short monitoring can be more frequent than a full audit.
Conclusion
A good competitive analysis combines five stages of research, a comparison table, source notes, a SWOT analysis, and an action plan. Use the template as a thinking tool, not as evidence without research. Compare comparable competitors and validate data before deciding on product, pricing, or marketing strategy changes.
Authoritative References
- SBA — Market Research and Competitive Analysis
- Business.gov.au — SWOT Analysis
- Semrush — SEO Competitor Analysis 2026
- Semrush — Competitive Analysis 2026
