In today’s fast-paced digital world, knowing what your competitors are up to can make all the difference. For Marketing Directors, Content Managers, and Digital Strategists, getting a handle on how your competitors position themselves is key to fine-tuning your own strategies and boosting growth. This blog post offers a straightforward guide to conducting competitive messaging analysis across different websites.
Key takeaway: Analyzing competitor content gives you clarity on market gaps, messaging opportunities, and what it takes to stand out in search and AI tools like ChatGPT.
Wondering why you should look into your competitors’ content? Here’s why it matters. First, it helps you see where your competitors shine and where they fall short, letting you position your offerings more effectively. Second, updating and creating content based on this analysis can really boost your search engine rankings and enhance your presence in large language models like ChatGPT. Lastly, it gives you a peek into market trends and customer preferences, which can shape your broader marketing strategy.
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Time: 1–2 hours
Start by listing your direct competitors. Try using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to see who else is showing up when people search for what you offer. Don’t forget those indirect competitors who might not sell the same products but are vying for the same audience.
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Estimated Time: 3–5 hours
Gather data on your competitors’ website content. Tools like SimilarWeb can offer insights into traffic sources and audience behavior, while BuzzSumo can help you spot high-performing content.
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Estimated Time: 3–4 hours
Take a closer look at the tone, style, and key messages your competitors use. What pain points are they addressing? How do they position their product or service? This qualitative analysis is crucial for figuring out how to make your messaging stand out.
Level of Difficulty: Hard
Estimated Time: 5–6 hours
You can gauge how well a competitor’s content is performing by looking at traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, and social engagement using tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, BuzzSumo, and Similarweb. These platforms help you identify which pages are driving results, what topics are gaining traction, and where content gaps or opportunities exist.
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Estimated Time: 2–3 hours
Put together your findings into a report your team can actually use—what’s working, what’s not, and what you’re going to try next. Keep it simple, actionable, and clear.
Key takeaway: Better Sites takes the tedious out of competitor research so you can focus on what to do with the insights, not how to find them.
If reading through this process has you thinking, “That’s a lot of work,” you’re not wrong. Competitive analysis can be time-consuming, especially when you’re juggling multiple channels, campaigns, and team priorities. That’s where Better Sites comes in.
Rather than opening a dozen tabs to manually monitor competitor websites, Better Sites keeps an eye on the key pages for you like: homepages, product pages, pricing, and more. It tracks changes automatically and shows you exactly what’s been updated, helping you spot trends and shifts before they become industry-wide norms.
It’s especially helpful during Step 2 (Collect Data) and Step 3 (Analyze Content Themes and Messaging). Instead of sorting through content by hand, you get a focused view of what’s new, what’s changed, and how it may impact your positioning. It saves time and helps you respond with content that feels intentional, not rushed.
Key takeaway: Use a mix of tools to round out your research—Better Sites plays well with others.
SEMrush: For competitor keyword analysis
SimilarWeb: For traffic and audience insights
BuzzSumo: Tracks top shared content across social channels
Moz: For SEO performance metrics
Competitive analysis might sound like a big lift, but it doesn’t have to be. With a few smart tools and a little structure, you can uncover insights that give your content a meaningful edge.
And if you’d rather not start from scratch? Better Sites was built to take the guesswork (and the grunt work) out of staying ahead. Track your top competitors, spot their moves, and adjust your message with confidence.
Ready to get started? Explore the Better Sites Beta Program and see how easy it can be to stay in the know.
