Competitor Research & Battlecards
Purpose
Identify, analyze, and document the client's competitive landscape. Produce actionable battlecards with positioning recommendations, content gaps, and differentiation strategies. Covers SEO, content, UX/design, and business model comparison.
When to Use
- Step 2 of FWS Discovery workflow
- When building competitive positioning for a new website
- When creating comparison pages or sales enablement content
Inputs Required
- Client website URL, to understand current positioning
- Meeting transcription, competitors mentioned by client
- Industry/niche, from discovery context
- Sitemap findings, from Step 1 (if available in discovery-context.md)
Workflow
Step 1: Competitor Identification
Find 3-5 key competitors using multiple methods:
From client input (meeting transcription):
- Direct competitors mentioned by name
- "We lose deals to..." mentions
- "Our customers also look at..." mentions
From search research:
- Search the client's primary service + location keywords
- Note which sites rank in top 10 for target terms
- Check Google Maps/Local Pack for local competitors
From SEO tools (if ~~SEO tool connected):
- Organic competitor overlap
- Paid competitor analysis
- Backlink competitor analysis
Classification:
| Type | Definition | Action |
|---|
| Direct | Same service, same market | Full battlecard |
| Indirect | Adjacent service or different market segment | Abbreviated analysis |
| Aspirational | Where the client wants to be | Study their playbook |
Step 2: Per-Competitor Deep Analysis
For each of the top 3-5 competitors, analyze:
A. Business Positioning
- Value proposition (from homepage hero)
- Target audience signals
- Pricing model (if visible)
- Key differentiators claimed
- Trust signals (awards, certs, testimonials count)
- Brand tone and voice
B. Website & UX Assessment
- Overall design quality (1-10)
- Mobile experience (1-10)
- Site speed (fast/medium/slow)
- Navigation structure
- CTA strategy (primary and secondary CTAs)
- Lead capture mechanisms (forms, chat, phone)
- User flow: homepage → service page → contact
- Unique UX features worth noting
C. Content Strategy
- Blog frequency and topics
- Content types used (blog, video, podcast, tools, guides)
- Content quality assessment (depth, EEAT signals)
- Estimated word counts on key pages
- Content freshness (last published date)
- Lead magnets offered (ebooks, tools, templates)
D. SEO Profile
- Estimated organic traffic range (research-based)
- Top ranking keywords (visible from search)
- Domain authority signals
- Backlink profile highlights
- Schema markup usage
- Local SEO presence (GMB, citations)
Use ~~SEO tool if connected for precise metrics.
E. Social Proof & Trust
- Testimonials (count and quality)
- Case studies (count and depth)
- Reviews on third-party sites (Google, Trustpilot, etc.)
- Industry certifications
- Media mentions or awards
- Client logos displayed
Step 3: Competitive Matrix
Build a comparison matrix across all competitors:
| Factor | Client | Comp 1 | Comp 2 | Comp 3 |
|---|
| Value Proposition | | | | |
| Website Quality | /10 | /10 | /10 | /10 |
| Content Depth | /10 | /10 | /10 | /10 |
| SEO Strength | /10 | /10 | /10 | /10 |
| Social Proof | /10 | /10 | /10 | /10 |
| Pricing Position | | | | |
| Unique Differentiator | | | | |
Step 4: Build Battlecards
For each competitor, create a battlecard with:
Quick Intel:
- Company name, URL
- Estimated size (employees, years in business)
- Primary positioning statement
Where They Win:
- Their strongest advantages
- What they do better than the client
Where They Lose:
- Their weaknesses and gaps
- What the client does better
How to Beat Them:
- Positioning strategy against this competitor
- Content they don't have that we should create
- Keywords they rank for that we should target
- UX/design elements to match or exceed
- Trust signals to develop
Objection Handling:
- "Why not go with [Competitor]?"
- Key differentiator talking points
Step 5: Gap & Opportunity Analysis
Content Gaps (they have, client doesn't):
| Content Piece | Competitor | Our Priority | Effort |
|---|
| | High/Med/Low | Easy/Med/Hard |
Feature/Service Gaps:
- Services competitors offer that client doesn't mention
- Features on competitor sites worth replicating
Positioning Opportunities:
- Underserved angles no competitor owns
- Messaging gaps in the market
- Audience segments competitors ignore
Step 6: Update Discovery Context
Append to discovery-context.md:
- Top 3-5 competitor names and URLs
- Competitive matrix summary
- Top 5 content gaps found
- Key positioning recommendations
- Competitor keywords to target
- UX/design patterns to consider
Output
Write findings to 03-Competitor-Report.md using the template.
CITE Domain Rating Integration
When assessing competitor domain strength, reference the CITE framework (40 items):
- Credibility: expertise signals, citations, certifications
- Infrastructure: technical SEO, schema, performance
- Trust: reviews, transparency, security
- Engagement: content freshness, community, UX quality
See shared references/cite-domain-rating.md for full framework.
Quality Checklist
Anti-Patterns
- Don't: Analyze more than 5 competitors (diminishing returns)
- Don't: Focus only on SEO metrics (UX and positioning matter more)
- Don't: Copy competitor strategy (differentiate, don't imitate)
- Don't: Ignore indirect competitors (they steal attention)
- Don't: Skip the "where they lose" analysis (every competitor has weaknesses)