Content & Strategy
Competitive Analysis
Beyond keyword overlap reports and ranking comparisons. Strategic competitive intelligence covering technical SEO, content depth, ranking patterns, and AI Search citation share. So you know where to compete, where to defend, and where the category is actually moving.
Deliverables
Strategic competitor audit
Per-competitor analysis covering technical SEO foundations, content depth, ranking patterns, internal linking strategy, and editorial positioning. Documented per competitor with comparative scoring.
AI Search citation share analysis
The layer most competitive analysis services skip entirely. Which competitors are being cited by ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview - for which queries, and why. The leading indicator of category share movement.
Gap and opportunity mapping
Where competitors outperform you (defence priorities), where they underperform (attack opportunities), and where the whole category has room (greenfield). Not a comparison table - a strategic map.
Content depth and entity comparison
How competitors cover the core entities and topics in your category. Where their content depth gives them citation advantages and where your content can leapfrog them.
Forward-looking landscape view
Where the category is moving over the next 12 to 18 months. Which competitors are positioning for AI Search dominance versus playing defensively. The view leadership actually needs for strategic decisions.
Battlecards and documented framework
Sales-ready competitor battlecards with positioning angles, plus the framework your team can apply to refresh the analysis themselves on a quarterly cadence.
Process
Discovery call
Thirty minutes. We walk through your category, your direct competitors, the queries that define your space, and the strategic questions you need answered. By the end I know which competitors to analyse, which queries to track, and which AI engines matter most.
Competitor audit
Two weeks. Per-competitor analysis across technical SEO foundations, content depth, ranking patterns, internal linking strategy, and editorial positioning. Documented per competitor with comparative scoring across each dimension.
Citation share mapping
One week. Which competitors are being cited across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview for the queries that matter in your category. Citation patterns mapped, share-of-voice quantified per AI engine.
Gap analysis and strategic synthesis
One week. Where competitors outperform you (defence priorities), where they underperform (attack opportunities), where the whole category has greenfield. Strategic recommendations documented with prioritisation reasoning.
Battlecards and handover
Per-competitor battlecards built for sales and marketing use. Framework documentation so your team can refresh the analysis on a quarterly cadence going forward. Direct contact for 30 days after delivery for follow-up questions.
Packages
Focused Competitive Audit
From £2,000
Two to three direct competitors, deeply analysed
3 weeks
- Per-competitor audit across technical, content, and ranking dimensions
- AI Search citation share analysis across your category queries
- Gap analysis with attack and defence priorities
- Documented strategic recommendations
- Battlecard format suitable for sales and marketing use
Comprehensive Competitive Intelligence
From £4,500
Full category analysis with strategic synthesis
5 to 8 weeks
- Five to seven competitor audits (direct plus adjacent)
- Full AI Search citation share mapping per AI engine
- Content depth and entity comparison across the category
- Forward-looking landscape view for the next 12 to 18 months
- Strategic gap map with prioritised opportunities
- Battlecards plus documented framework for internal quarterly refresh
Ongoing Competitive Monitoring
From £600/month
Quarterly intelligence as the category shifts
Quarterly cadence
- Quarterly competitive intelligence refresh
- Citation share movement tracking per AI engine
- Competitor content and technical shifts logged
- Strategic implications documented quarterly
- Direct email access for ad-hoc competitive questions
Case Studies
Cendric
Competitive intelligence for a B2B SaaS category
B2B SaaS was losing AI Search citations to a smaller competitor and could not explain why. Audit revealed the competitor had built a tighter entity foundation across their content, even with less authority. Strategic recommendations focused on rebuilding entity coverage on the topics that mattered most. Citation share recovered within two quarters.
Outcome:
Brixley & Co
Category landscape audit for a DTC entry
DTC brand entering an established category needed to know where the genuine opportunities sat versus where larger competitors had locked things down. Audit produced a clear map of attack zones, defence zones, and greenfield. The brand prioritised three attack zones and shipped content against them within ninety days.
Outcome:
Halewood Editorial
Quarterly competitive monitoring for an editorial brand
Editorial publication wanted ongoing competitive intelligence rather than a one-off audit. Quarterly programme covering ranking shifts, citation share movements, and content depth comparisons across three direct competitors. Output drives editorial planning meetings every quarter.
Outcome:
FAQs
How is your competitive analysis different from a Semrush competitor report?
Semrush and similar tools show keyword overlap, ranking comparisons, and traffic estimates. Useful, but they tell you what your competitors rank for. The analysis I produce additionally covers AI Search citation share, entity coverage depth, technical SEO posture, and forward-looking strategic positioning. Tool exports are part of the work; they are not the work.
How do you measure AI Search citation share?
Per-query testing across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview. For your priority queries we record which competitors are being cited, how often, and in what context. The data is more manual than rank tracking but the patterns are reliable enough to surface meaningful share-of-voice signals across the category.
How many competitors do you analyse?
Focused audit: two to three direct competitors. Comprehensive intelligence: five to seven competitors, typically a mix of direct competitors and adjacent threats. We agree the competitor set during the discovery call, balancing depth against breadth based on your strategic priorities.
Will you tell us what to actually do, or just give us data?
Strategic recommendations are part of every engagement. The deliverable includes prioritised attack opportunities, defence priorities, and category-level positioning recommendations. Data without synthesis is just a report; the value is the strategic interpretation built on top of it.
Can the analysis inform our sales positioning, not just SEO?
Yes, intentionally. The battlecard format works for sales and marketing as well as SEO teams. Competitor strengths, weaknesses, and positioning angles documented in a format suitable for sales enablement. Many engagements deliver value beyond the SEO team.
How often should we refresh competitive intelligence?
Quarterly is the sweet spot for most categories. Faster-moving markets benefit from monthly check-ins; slower-moving categories can run on six-month cycles. The ongoing monitoring engagement is built for quarterly refresh by default but adapts to your category pace.
Do you handle international competitive analysis?
Yes, often alongside the International SEO service. Per-market competitor analysis works the same way as single-market analysis, applied across each market in scope. We confirm market scope during discovery.
Do you keep the analysis confidential to my brand?
Yes. Every engagement is scoped to a specific category and brand. I do not work with direct competitors of any active client. Confidentiality and competitive overlap are scoped explicitly during discovery.