Call it market research, call it having a nose, but however you frame it, keeping an eye on your rivals’ activities has never been easier – Katrina Bell explains.
You are in a daily turf-war for your target audience’s attention so there’s no room for squeamishness. Distinct from price benchmarking, keeping a close eye on socials and web traffic can be awkward as you may not want to be seen following, let alone investigating, your opposite numbers. Luckily there is a whole suite of competitor analysis tools available that can give you the vital insights you need.
Here’s how to complete regular analysis – and not get caught in the act!
1. Sprout Social Professional
Alongside analysis and scheduling of your own social performance, Sprout Social also includes competitor reports in the package across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Graphs and charts are a user-friendly alternative to endless spreadsheets and can be tailored to specific marketing campaign timescales and overall trends. A free demonstration is available, as is a 30-day trial. Pricing begins at £230 a month.
2. Phlanx
Usually considered the prototype Instagram analysis tool for Instagram, Phlanx has extended its reach to several other platforms. At its essence it is a supremely user-friendly way to get a snapshot of your competition's follower base's location, gender, and even influencer status. Not only will this allow you to locate new opportunities, but also inform your future activity to prioritise areas of opportunity.
After a 30-day free trial period pricing begins at £38 a month and includes unlimited engagement searches for Instagram, TikTok, X(Twitter), Facebook, YouTube and Twitch. There are also engagement calculators for TikTok, YouTube and Threads. Other features include unlimited projects and keyword monitoring for the entire web, statistical competitor comparisons in graph form, as well as Unlimited audits for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts.
3. SpyFu
For those who enjoy a number-rich dashboard, search analytics specialist SpyFu will give you a massive tranche of data of any website you choose to investigate. From there you can view which pay per click (PPC) ad spends and organic search keywords are making your opposition the optimum revenue. Live demos are available via the website and price plans start at £30 a month.
4. SimilarWeb
If you purely want a breakdown on another company’s web or app traffic, SimilarWeb is as inquisitive as you can get without getting a job there. It will also tell you common popular tasks on the site and what the conversion rate is typically. You can also view where their traffic is sourced from – for instance, are most of their new views coming from Instagram or Google Ads. The free-to-use website traffic checker is a gateway into more detailed data and is just as useful for giving your website a speedy healthcheck.
