Competitive analysis, and hence using competitive analysis tools, makes up for the beginning, the middle, and the end of every marketer’s and business owner’s work.
Why?
Because this kind of work will help you shape your strategy.
Strategic work has consequences on your business.
The thing is — things are uncertain. We live in a world of uncertainty: you have access to a limited level of knowledge, but you need to make decisions nevertheless.
You need to make the right decisions.
Competitive analysis will help you gather more data on your market, anticipate what the future trends might be, and which opportunities you’re uniquely positioned to take.
It will help you make better decisions, without getting lucky.
You’ll have more data to judge and decide.
Especially competitive research & analysis: it allows you to hit the ground running regarding your competitors' activities, how they do what they do, the digital platforms they focus on, the social networks they are on, the ads they run, and more.
From helicopter views down to the devil's realm of detail, competitive analysis teaches you more about marketing than if you were focusing solely on your own company’s performance.
Thankfully, you don’t have to drain hours trying to sweep the internet to find the data, information, inspiration, and insights.
You could use several competitive analysis tools to glean insights efficiently and quickly.
Here are some B2B competitor analysis tools you should consider:
Get this one: Panoramata
What would you do if everything you ever wanted to know about your competition could be handed over to you on your browser?
Panoramata is a competitive intelligence platform that allows you to track, gather, sort, and maintain lists of your competitors in a single place, for unlimited inspiration.
Save more than 20+ hours or more per month by tracking marketing SMS messages, newsletter broadcasts, email marketing campaigns, landing pages (including changes made to them, if any), website designs (and changes done), SEO profiles of your competitors, and so much more.
There are also other options.
However they might be limited in terms of options, and might not give you a full landscape to take strategic decisions.
From helicopter views down to the devil's realm of detail, competitive analysis teaches you more about marketing than if you were focusing solely on your own company’s performance.
We love them, but they all have a specific purpose only.
Builtwith
What kind of website is your competition using? Is it WordPress? Is it Shopify? Is it Wix? Is it HubSpot?
What other plugins, apps, tools, and Javascript snippets are being used in addition to the technology backend?
Find those answers with Builtwith.
With more than 3.3 million visitors, Builtwith has always been -- and possibly will be -- the “go-to” tool to quickly get a glimpse of the technology profile of your competitors.
It’s one of the best competitive analysis tools if you ever want to look under the hood of your competitor websites, landing pages, and other front-facing web properties.
Semrush
Semrush is the all-purpose Swiss army knife equivalent of competitor research and competitive analytical tools, at least as far as digital marketing competitive analysis goes.
Semrush covers the bread-and-butter for marketers including SEO, social media presence andPPC competitive research.
Semrush comes equipped and armed with several tools for each of the above, there are even more tools at your disposal
That includes the famous keyword magic tool (to find hidden SEO opportunities), SEO ranking + continuous tracking, Semrush AI writing tools, competitive PR monitoring, backlinking, link building, link management, website monetization, and more.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs, like Semrush, has been around for a while (and doing well at that).
Compared to other tools on this list, Ahrefs mostly focuses on search engine optimization and pay-per-click campaigns.
For instance, there’s not much in terms of insights on newsletters or email marketing campaigns on Ahrefs.
What it does not have, it makes up well with what it does provide: self-monitoring your website performance, website auditing tools, tracking your rankings, keyword performance, identifying keyword opportunities, uncovering search trends, and more.
Similarweb
Similarweb is an astounding monster of competitive intelligence software.
It covers 100+ million websites, tracks 6+ billion keywords, digs into 20+ million companies, and 8+ million apps, and spans across 210+ countries.
Brand24
Is social media an unmistakable, undeniably, and overwhelmingly large part of your marketing strategy?
Do social networks drive revenue, conversations, and social engagement for you?
Social media monitoring, keeping a tab of conversations around (or about) your brand, and social management are must-dos.
What if you also wanted to see how your competitors manage or use social media? Say hello to Brand24, the quintessential competitive intelligence and benchmarking tool built for social media.
Brand24 is a social listening platform that gives you magical (also AI-powered) access to user mentions across social media, PR mentions, news, blogs, videos, forums, podcasts, reviews, and more.
VidIQ
More than 2.5 billion active users on YouTube make it a sticky, relentless, addictive, and engaging platform for users.
VidIQ tracks and ranks the most popular YouTube channels in the world.
That includes the top 50,100, and 150 channels in the world, emerging trends with keywords, trending keywords, and specifically the types of keywords and/or topics that your Youtube channel should be ranking for.
Drilling into an extensive database of popular channels (and knowing why they are popular), VidIQ helps you create titles and thumbnails, write scripts, and accelerate your YouTube channel growth.
VidIQ also has several tools (some AI-powered) such as title generators and keyword generators.
Some features help you specifically manage competitor research (within YouTube’s realm): the ability to identify and add competitors, top competitor videos, and tracking views or subscribers of your competitors.
SparkToro
Run by the much-loved and influential Rand Fishkin (previously at Moz), SparkToro is a great product, especially in its new avatar today. SparkToro provides you with crucial trusted audience research information derived from public social profiles, Google SERPs, and anonymized clickstream data.
Your targeted audience: Who do they follow? What do they read? What websites do they visit? What are they listening to?
It uncovers affinity (websites, podcasts, YouTube channels, and social networks) that your audience relates to and indulges in.
SparkToro also helps reveal the right keywords you should be focusing on and the social networks your target audiences spend time on.
It also extracts complete data-backed personas for your audiences.
Save time tracking competitors with analysis tools
Choosing the right competitor analysis tool can give your business a real edge by keeping you informed about industry trends, competitor strategies, and new opportunities.
The eight tools covered here each offer unique strengths, so consider your goals and select the one that best fits your needs. Start with a trial to explore the features and see the impact on your strategy.
Ready to step up your competitive analysis? Try Panoramata today and watch your insights grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a B2B competitor analysis tool?
A B2B competitor analysis tool helps businesses monitor competitors' strategies, including emails, social media, ads, and SEO tactics. It gives valuable insights to refine your own approach and stay competitive in the market.
2. How can competitor analysis tools benefit my business?
These tools help you identify trends, discover what resonates with your audience, and spot opportunities for improvement. With regular insights, you can make data-driven decisions and strengthen your marketing efforts.
3. What features should I look for in a competitor analysis tool?
Look for features like email monitoring, social media tracking, keyword analysis, and customizable reporting. Also, make sure the tool integrates with your existing platforms for a smoother workflow.
