Why and How to Conduct a Competitive Content Analysis

By Michelle Voznyuk, Marketing Specialist at Heinz Marketing

For years, B2B organizations have focused on developing content to support their demand generation efforts. But more recently, buyers have changed the way they consume information and interact with businesses. Today, buyers no longer wait for organizations to reach out to them to make decisions. They are now proactive and independent in researching technology and services when a need arises.

Because of this, it’s essential that organizations prioritize content to meet buyers where they’re at. This means making sure they have content to support all stages of the funnel and various topics of interest, and being able to reach them via the methods and channels where they’re most active. Additionally, businesses should evaluate what their competitors are doing in order to understand how they stack up.

This can be done through completing a competitive content analysis.

Why Conduct a Competitive Content Analysis

There are a few reasons why a competitive analysis can boost an organization’s effectiveness. First, it can highlight various gaps and opportunities. It can help organizations understand what additional topic areas they should explore, content needed to balance the funnel, and how to improve content variety. It can also uncover how competitors are positioning themselves in the market and assist organizations in identifying whether or not their messaging is speaking to prospects’ pain points. Lastly, a competitive analysis can help organizations understand if their website is in need of a revamp in order to keep up with the competition.

How to Conduct a Competitive Content Analysis

To complete a competitive analysis, organizations should start by identifying their top 3-5 competitors. They should then spend time sifting through their website and document the following information for each competitor:

Links to resource centers

• The company blog and any other content pages

Content examples

• A few different asset types or funnel stages

General thoughts

• Overall feelings on their content and messaging

Themes and topics

• How they are tagging their content on the website or topics within the assets

Funnel stages

• What stage(s) of the funnel their content is focused on

Messaging/positioning

• Common language and how they’re positioning themselves in the market

Content takeaways

• Specific insights and how they rank against other competitors listed

Key differentiators

• What makes them different?

Recommendations

• Based on what was found, what could be improved, explored, or done differently?

Creating a summary of findings from the analysis can also be useful in communicating changes that need to be made and getting others in the organization on board.

Conclusion

All in all, conducting a competitive content analysis has multiple benefits and can help organizations discover potential blind spots and new opportunities. Understanding how they rank against competitors and continually evolving can ensure they aren’t left behind. In today’s over-saturated market, knowing how to stay top of mind and generate content that stands out is key to reaching prospects, no matter where they’re at in the buying journey.