How to Do Marketing Competitor Analysis (and What to Avoid)

Over the past few years, I’ve seen countless businesses obsess over their competitors’ marketing strategies, only to end up destroying their own results in the process.

In this blog post, I’ll explain how to effectively use competitor analysis and perform a competitor audit the right way. This will help you stay informed about the market, understand how to differentiate your business, and develop a unique proposition for your target audience.

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When conducting a competitor analysis or audit, it’s crucial to be aware of common pitfalls. Far too often, I have conversations with clients that go something like this:

Client: “One of our competitors is making Google Ads work really well, and they’re doing great.”

Me: “How do you know that?”

Client: “Well, they have way more followers than us, more likes on their posts, and I always see their ads.”

Me: “Do you know how much they’re making from those ads?”

Client: “No, but their company is growing year on year, they have way more employees than us, and they just moved into new offices.”

Me: “Do you know if that growth is coming from the marketing they’re doing, or is it from referrals and outbound sales?”

Client: “I’m not sure, but I looked in SEMrush, and their organic traffic is growing year on year.”

Me: “Okay, but have you noticed that most of the keywords they’re ranking for are irrelevant searches with no commercial intent?”

This scenario illustrates a key flaw in competitor analysis: relying too heavily on surface-level signs of success. Just because a company has many followers, likes, or consistent organic growth, doesn’t necessarily mean their digital marketing strategy is the reason for that success. Even if a company is publicly traded and you can see their revenue and headcount growing, you still don’t know what’s driving that growth.

You can’t know for sure which parts of their marketing efforts are actually working. For instance, even if their ads seem successful, you don’t have insight into their return on ad spend (ROAS). I speak to people daily who are spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads, only to realize they’re losing money.

This highlights an important reality: Appearances can be deceiving. Just because a competitor’s marketing looks successful on the surface doesn’t mean it’s working for them—or that it will work for you.

Take the case of online course creators. Many claim to have sold thousands of courses for £2,000 to £3,000 each, but after digging into their competitor analysis, we often find these courses were initially sold for just £5 on platforms like Udemy. Now, they’ve set up their own websites and are attempting to sell the same course for a much higher price.

This is the biggest flaw with competitor analysis: unless you’ve worked directly for the company or have insider knowledge, you simply can’t know how their marketing strategy is truly performing. Without that inside information, you can’t accurately assess which marketing activities are fueling their business growth.

If you’re wondering, “How can I stand out from the competition?”—you’re not alone. One of the most powerful strategies you can use is conducting an audience attention audit. The idea is to understand what your audience is exposed to daily, including ads from your competitors, and create a message that cuts through the noise.

Today’s consumers are bombarded with countless marketing messages. From email campaigns to Facebook ads, billboards, and pop-ups, people often experience what’s called “ad fatigue.” This means their brains are conditioned to ignore marketing messages. When they encounter any form of advertising, they instinctively switch off—scrolling past or ignoring the message. This happens because our brains are wired to look for patterns to avoid sensory overload.

To overcome this, you need to create a “pattern interrupt” in your marketing. A pattern interrupt is an attention-grabbing tactic that separates you from the competition. By standing out with a fresh approach, you’ll capture the attention of your target audience and win their interest.

Start by exploring the ad libraries of multiple platforms. Virtually every major advertising platform has a public ad library where you can view ads from your competitors. For instance, Meta has an ad library for Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn offers one for B2B ads, TikTok has its own library, and Google provides a transparency center. These tools allow you to search by advertiser name or industry, helping you discover competitors you might not even be aware of.

But the goal here isn’t to copy your competitors. Instead, think like a customer. Imagine you’re constantly exposed to ads all day long—what would it take for an ad to grab your attention? Examine the patterns in the ads you’re seeing, identify trends, and then create a polarizing, contrasting message that sets you apart.

Next, take a closer look at your competitors’ websites. Review their sign-up processes, design, and messaging. As you explore their sites, ask yourself, “How would I feel as a customer?” Does the website just follow typical patterns, or is there something unique that stands out?

For example, we revamped our own call booking page. While most agency websites feature a simple calendar widget for booking calls, we decided to add a personal video and included testimonials from clients. This enhanced the page’s appeal, increasing visitor confidence and making them more likely to engage with us.

Transparency is key. Many agencies shy away from displaying pricing on their websites, but we decided to show ours. Even though our pricing is customized for each client, providing a ballpark figure helps customers gauge affordability. The result? Our lead quality and volume both improved. This shows how much people value transparency—especially when competitors are reluctant to provide it.

When conducting your own competitor analysis, open up your competitors’ websites and compare them with yours. Ask yourself: What can you do to go the extra mile and give your potential customers confidence that they’re in the right place? What messages aren’t your competitors communicating that you can address?

Another valuable aspect of competitor analysis is conducting a content gap analysis. Use tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or SE Ranking to identify keywords where your competitors are missing opportunities — particularly in organic search. If they aren’t ranking for certain keywords, this is an opportunity for you to target those terms.

Many SEO professionals overly rely on keyword research tools, which may tell you that certain keywords have low search volumes. But just because a keyword has zero searches doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant. For example, I’ve written blogs on our website around keywords that had no search volume, only to find that those posts eventually ranked highly on Google, driving thousands of visits to our site.

Trust your instincts about what your customers might be searching for. If you believe a particular topic is relevant, create content around it—even if the data doesn’t show a lot of search volume. Your competitors might miss these opportunities by over-relying on data-driven tools rather than trusting customer insights.

I once heard a quote that stuck with me:

“The best way to tackle your competitors is to pay them no attention and instead focus entirely on your customers.”

Many large companies become so focused on their competitors that they forget to truly understand their customers’ needs. As a result, smaller, more agile startups often emerge and disrupt the market because they prioritize customer satisfaction and value.

The most important takeaway here is to put yourself in the shoes of your customers. Consider their daily experiences, needs, pain points, and how they interact with your products or services. Understanding your customers better than your competitors will give you a significant edge in the market.