Competitor Research Fundamentals

Competitor research isn’t about copying—it’s a shortcut to conviction. Use it to validate which acquisition motions and channels can work, to uncover disruptive angles, to sharpen value props and messaging, and to feed a pipeline of experiments. Look beyond direct rivals to high-relevance indirect competitors (same customer/problem, different solution). Prioritize who to study with three filters: quality (revenue or funding, team beyond founders, durable growth), rigor (public experiment write-ups, growth hires, experimentation/analytics tools in use), and relevance (direct first, then different-solution indirects, then same-solution/different-problem). The aim is speed to insight, not a perfect report.

Find competitors by asking leads which alternatives they considered, scanning directories like Crunchbase, Product Hunt, and G2, breaking down the user’s workflow to see substitute tools, and Googling your target keywords. Then mine growth signals. On websites, note the problem they anchor to, features emphasized, pricing, perks, and any A/B hints (variant URLs, changing layouts). In ads, watch retargeting, check Meta/LinkedIn/Reddit ad libraries, and use PPC tools to see keywords and landing pages. In content, analyze top organic pages, backlinks, and most-shared posts; gauge brand momentum with Google Trends; and skim social for authentic comments, not vanity metrics. Capture what’s working, translate it into hypotheses, and act—use findings to prioritize channels and design tests rather than trying to clone playbooks.