Here’s the thing about marketing today – it’s moving so fast that if you’re not keeping tabs on your competition, you’re basically flying blind. Doing competitor analysis can completely change how you approach your business. It’s not just about seeing what everyone else is doing; it’s about finding those sweet spots they’re missing and figuring out how to capitalize on them.

With AI tools becoming more accessible, the whole process has become significantly easier. We’re seeing AI handle more and more tasks these days, and competitor analysis is definitely riding that wave. But here’s what we’ve learned – the tools are only as good as the person using them.

Why Competitor Analysis Matters

How to do competitor analysis sounds like one of those marketing strategies that consultants throw around. But here’s why it’s actually worth your time:

You’ll stumble across market gaps that your competitors are completely ignoring. If you can find keywords or content topics that nobody in an industry is really tackling well, that’s free real estate.

Your marketing strategy gets sharper when you see what’s working (and what’s not) for others. Instead of guessing, you’re making decisions based on actual data. Your target market responds better when you understand the competitive landscape they’re navigating.

Bonus, you’ll spot trends before they become obvious to everyone else. Some businesses pivot their entire approach because they caught wind of what their competition was planning through good old-fashioned analysis.

Finding Your Real Competition

This is where most people mess up. They think they know who their competitors are, but they’re usually only seeing part of the picture.

Direct Competitors

These are the obvious ones – companies selling the same items or services to the same people. These are your primary comparisons.

Indirect Competitors

This is competition you don’t want to ignore. These guys might be solving the same customer problems with completely different approaches. Sometimes they’re your biggest threat because customers don’t even realize they’re choosing between you and them.

Aspirational Competitors

They are the big players you want to compete with someday, or the up-and-comers who might disrupt your space. Keep an eye on these folks.

Here’s how to actually find competitors: Start with Google searches using your main keywords. See who’s showing up in the top results. Check industry reports if you can get your hands on them.

Additionally, some of the best intel comes from just asking your customers what other options they considered before choosing you.

What to Look For in a Competitor Analysis

Once you’ve got your list, here’s what to dig into:

Website

A website is the best starting point. How does it feel to navigate? Is it mobile-friendly? (If it’s not, that’s a huge opportunity for you.) Check their calls-to-action – are they compelling or just generic?

SEO Performance

Use tools to see what keywords they’re ranking for and how their backlink profile looks. Domain authority matters, but don’t get too hung up on it.

Content Strategy

A competitor’s content strategy tells you a lot about their priorities. What topics do they cover? How often are they posting? What formats are they using—blogs, videos, podcasts? The quality varies wildly between companies, and that’s where you can find your opening.

Social Media

This is where you see their personality. Are they engaging with their audience or just broadcasting? What’s their tone like? How big is their following, and more importantly, how engaged are those followers?

Advertising

Where are they spending money? Google Ads? Facebook? LinkedIn? What messages are they pushing in those ads? Sometimes you can learn more from a company’s ad strategy than from its website.

Branding & Positioning

This reveals how they see themselves in the market. Who do they say their target audience is? What problems are they claiming to solve? This matters because it shows you where they think the opportunities are.

Getting the Information & Recommended Tools

This used to take forever. But combining some manual digging with the right tools makes it manageable.

Manual research still has its place. Always visit competitor websites and review their social accounts. You get a feel for their brand that data alone can’t give you.

For the heavy lifting, SEO tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz are worth their weight in gold. They’ll show you keyword rankings, backlink profiles, and organic traffic estimates. Social listening tools like Brandwatch or Hootsuite help you track what people are saying about your competitors. Website analysis tools like Similarweb give you traffic data and audience demographics.

If you want to see their ad strategies, SpyFu or Adbeat will show you which keywords they’re bidding on and how their ad creatives have evolved over time.

How to Do Competitor Analysis Using AI

Here’s where things get interesting. AI tools are changing how to do competitor analysis.

AI can churn through competitor content and give you summaries in minutes instead of hours. It can analyze customer reviews to spot sentiment trends and identify the key messages competitors are pushing. AI-powered SEO tools monitor keyword shifts and competitor ad changes in real time.

Social listening gets a major upgrade with AI because it filters out all the noise. Instead of wading through thousands of mentions, you get the stuff that actually matters.

But here’s the thing – AI is a tool, not a replacement for thinking. You still need to interpret what it’s telling you and figure out how to do competitor analysis with that information.

Analyzing the Competitor Data

Data collection is just the beginning. The real work happens when you analyze what you’ve found and turn it into something actionable.

Using a SWOT analysis framework forces you to think systematically:

Strengths: What are your competitors doing really well? This helps you benchmark your own performance and identify areas where you need to step up.

Weaknesses: Where are they falling short? These gaps are your opportunities to gain a competitive advantage.

Opportunities: What trends or unmet needs are your competitors missing? This is where you can get ahead of the curve.

Threats: What could hurt your business? Aggressive competitor moves, industry changes, and shifting customer preferences.

Once you’ve got this analysis done, you need an action plan. Maybe a competitor is ignoring a valuable keyword – time to prioritize it in your SEO strategy. If their social engagement is weak on certain platforms, consider ramping up your presence there.

If their video content is lacking, that’s your cue to create engaging tutorials, behind-the-scenes content, product demos, or customer testimonials to fill that gap.

How to Do Competitor Analysis Successfully

How to do competitor analysis isn’t just some marketing exercise – it’s essential for staying competitive. When you identify your competitors, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and use AI-powered tools to gather and interpret data, you make better business decisions.

The analysis is the process that turns raw information into insights about your competitors’ products, marketing efforts, and overall business strategy. Understanding your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, along with their target audience and market share, gives you the competitive advantage you need.

A solid competitor analysis report becomes the foundation for your business strategy moving forward. It helps you understand the competitive landscape and develop a competitor analysis framework that works for your specific situation.

Feeling overwhelmed? That’s normal. A competitor analysis template can help, and having someone who’s done this before makes all the difference.

Download a free competitor analysis template here.

Contact Krush today for a consultation and let our team help you develop a winning competitive strategy that actually gets results.

KRUSH is a full-service strategic marketing firm and advertising agency. We specialize in SEO, branding, graphic design, media planning, photography, social media, videography, as well as website development & design. Our focus is to create strategic and innovative marketing & advertising that will surpass your expectations. Our methods will grow your brand and your bottom line. We are your strategic marketing partner. Check out our portfolio of work and contact KRUSH today!