competitor-analysis
Conduct full competitor strategy breakdowns across SEO, ads, social, email, pricing, and positioning. Use when the user asks to analyze competitors, benchmark against rivals, understand competitive landscape, find competitor weaknesses, or build a competitive matrix. Trigger phrases include "competi
By openclaudia · 459 installs
npx skills add openclaudia/openclaudia-skills --skill competitor-analysis
Source repository · Upstream listing
Competitor Analysis Framework
You are an expert competitive intelligence analyst. When the user asks you to analyze competitors, build competitive matrices, or identify competitive advantages, follow this framework.
Optional API Integrations
The following API keys enable richer data collection. All are optional the framework works without them using web search and manual research.
SEMRUSH API KEY Domain overview, organic keywords, competitor discovery, traffic estimates
SERPAPI API KEY Real time SERP competitive analysis, ad copy extraction
SCRAPINGBEE API KEY Scrape competitor pages that block direct fetching
SemRush API (if SEMRUSH API KEY available)
Domain Overview Get traffic, keywords, and authority for any competitor:
Columns: Db=Database, Dn=Domain, Rk=Rank, Or=Organic Keywords, Ot=Organic Traffic, Oc=Organic Cost, Ad=Adwords Keywords, At=Adwords Traffic, Ac=Adwords Cost.
Organic Keywords See what keywords a competitor ranks for:
Columns: Ph=Keyword, Po=Position, Nq=Search Volume, Cp=CPC, Ur=URL, Tr=Traffic %.
Competitor Discovery Find domains competing for the same keywords:
Columns: Dn=Domain, Cr=Competition Level, Np=Common Keywords, Or=Organic Keywords, Ot=Organic Traffic, Oc=Organic Cost.
Keyword Gap Find keywords competitors rank for but you do not:
The filter + P0 Eq 0 returns keywords where your domain (position 0) does not rank.
SerpAPI (if SERPAPI API KEY available)
SERP Competitive Analysis See who ranks for key terms in real time:
Use this to:
Identify which competitors dominate organic results for target keywords (parse organic results )
Extract competitor ad copy from ads and shopping results fields
Discover related competitor keywords from related searches
See competitor presence in SERP features: knowledge graph , local results , featured snippet
Google Ads Competitor Analysis:
The response ads array contains: position , title , link , displayed link , tracking link , description , sitelinks . This reveals competitor ad copy, landing pages, and messaging.
ScrapingBee (if SCRAPINGBEE API KEY available)
Use ScrapingBee to scrape competitor pages that block direct fetching via WebFetch (e.g., JavaScript heavy pages, bot protected sites, pricing pages):
Set render js=true if the page requires JavaScript rendering (SPAs, dynamic pricing tables). Useful for:
Extracting pricing page details when WebFetch returns incomplete content
Scraping competitor landing pages for messaging and positioning analysis
Capturing competitor feature comparison pages
Getting content from sites that block automated requests
Note: ScrapingBee charges per request. Use sparingly try WebFetch first and fall back to ScrapingBee only when needed.
Step 1: Gather Context
Establish: user's product, industry/vertical, target audience, known competitors, key concerns (pricing, features, marketing), available tools (SEMrush, Ahrefs, SimilarWeb), goal (strategy, launch decision, investor deck, repositioning).
Step 2: Competitor Identification
Three Categories
Direct (same product, same audience): 3 5 competitors
Indirect (different product, same problem): 2 3 competitors
Aspirational (market leaders to learn from): 1 2 competitors
Discovery Methods
Google "[category]" (ads + organic top 10), G2/Capterra "Compare" pages, Reddit/Twitter "[competitor] alternative", customer interviews, job postings, funding announcements, SEMrush "Competing Domains" report.
Step 3: SEO Analysis
If SEMRUSH API KEY is available, use the Domain Overview and Organic Keywords endpoints (see Optional API Integrations above) to populate the profile below with real data. If SERPAPI API KEY is available, supplement with real time SERP position data. Otherwise, use WebSearch and public tools to estimate.
For each competitor:
Traffic Source Reality Check (do this BEFORE trusting the numbers)
A headline like "74% organic" does not mean a competitor is winning at SEO discovery. Most tools report the last click , which hides where awareness was actually created. Decompose before you draw conclusions:
1. Branded vs non branded search. Tag every keyword containing the brand name (normalize out spaces/dots so auto ppt matches autoppt ). Branded search = people who already know the name navigating back, not Google discovering them.
2. Navigational bucket = branded search + Direct traffic. Treat them as one: an existing audience returning, not new acquisition.
3. Genuinely acquisitive search = non branded organic (generic terms, competitor brand terms, how to content). This is the only slice that is truly SEO driven discovery — size it explicitly.
4. Reconcile your tools. A big SimilarWeb/whole funnel total vs a small Ahrefs/SemRush organic estimate means heavy untracked long tail (often non English). Different top countries between tools = discovery happens where users are , not where rankings are tracked.
5. Sanity check the users are real. Bounce rate, pages/visit, time on site. Bot/incentivized traffic shows as ~100% bounce, 1 page, a few seconds.
Channel fingerprint → find the real top of funnel. Key diagnostic: when branded search + direct dominate but no last click acquisition channel is large, the discovery engine is upstream and invisible to these tools.
Fingerprint Real growth engine
High branded search + high direct, but social/referral/paid all small Off last click: short video (TikTok/Reels/Shorts), messaging apps, word of mouth — strips referrers, resurfaces later as brand search + direct
High non branded organic, deep blog/long tail Genuine SEO content engine (editorial or programmatic)
Ranks on competitors' brand names ( <rival alternative , <rival pricing ) Deliberate competitor interception SEO
High referrals concentrated in few domains Partnerships / directories / affiliate / integrations
High paid + display Paid acquisition (check if profitable for the niche)
genAI referral channel non trivial and growing LLM citation traffic (ChatGPT/Perplexity)
Confirm, don't assert: search the brand on YouTube/TikTok for a viral wave; check whether branded search growth lagged a social spike; name the actual top referrers; read who the content is written for; let top countries tell you the community. Only then write the "how they really grow" verdict.
Gap Analysis
Keyword gaps : Keywords competitors rank for that you do not
Content gaps : Topics competitors cover that you do not
Backlink gaps : Domains linking to competitors but not you
Step 4: Paid Advertising Analysis
Key questions : Which keywords bid most aggressively? What landing pages do ads point to (reveals best offers)? How long have top ads been running (long = profitable)? Running retargeting?
Step 5: Social Media Analysis
Step 6: Email and Lifecycle Marketing
Sign up for every competitor's list, trial, and newsletter. Track:
Newsletter : Frequency, content type, subject line style, personalization
Onboarding sequence : Day by day breakdown with subject, purpose, CTA
Promotions : Discount frequency, seasonal campaigns, urgency tactics
Retention : Churn prevention emails, re engagement campaigns
Step 7: Pricing and Positioning
Pricing Comparison
Note model type, billing options, add ons, discounts, price anchoring.
Positioning Map
Create a 2x2 map on the two most important dimensions (e.g., Price vs. Simplicity). Identify white space opportunities.
Messaging Extraction
For each: tagline, value proposition, key differentiator, target persona, tone, primary proof points.
Step 8: SWOT Analysis
For each major competitor:
Weakness sources : G2/Capterra 1 2 star reviews, Reddit/Twitter complaints, Glassdoor, Down Detector, feature comparison gaps, support forums.
Step 9: Competitive Matrix
Step 10: Strategic Recommendations
Ground every recommendation in specific competitor data. Prioritize by impact and ease of implementation.