How to spy on the competition? Find out with these tools
3 min read
Index:
1º Why is it important to study the competition in your company?
2º Professional strategies
3º Good practices and advice
Introduction
In the digital marketing universe it is very important to look at the strategy that the competition is carrying out. This can make the difference between having a strategy that consolidates you as a leader in your sector, being able to overshadow, or even be left behind. It is not copying for the sake of copying, it is learning from the successes and mistakes of the competition in order to enhance your strategy. In this article, we will explore tools to spy on your competitors, always in an ethical and effective way.
Why is it important to analyze your competition?
Spying on your competition is one of the best practices you can carry out, to polish or complement your strategy. Again, I am not telling you to copy, just to learn, and make decisions based on your criteria. I will tell you the reasons why it is good to spy on the competition:
Identify market trends: By observing your competitors, you can discover which strategies are working and how consumer preferences are evolving. For example, if you notice that several companies in your industry are betting on short-form video content, you can consider integrating it into your strategy.
Learn from mistakes and successes: You don't need to start from scratch, you can analyze what others are doing right or wrong and save time and resources. If a competitor launches a promotion that does not generate engagement, you can try to avoid making the same mistake by changing the approach.
● Improve your own strategies: Understanding how others connect with your target audience can help inspire you to optimize your efforts. For example, discovering how they segment their audience can help you create more relevant and effective messages.
Anticipate competitive moves: Knowing what your competitors are doing allows you to react quickly and, in some cases, to get ahead of them. If you notice they are launching a new product, you can prepare your strategy to highlight your competitive advantages.
Strategies to effectively spy on your competitors
1. Observe your communication channels
Your competitors' communication channels offer key clues about their strategy and their relationship with customers. Here you can see how to analyze each channel:
Social networks: Observe the content, as well as the interactions. Reading comments will help you analyze the most frequently asked questions from customers, the demand they have, and of course, how the company responds to these questions. Also observe which publications have more engagement, if they are publications about education of the product or service, for example, you can prioritize this type of content.
● Websites: You can examine structure, calls to action, colors, or loading speed. A smooth and clear navigation, with a simple design that aids the user experience, can be a competitive advantage worth trying to replicate.
● Newsletters: Subscribe to your competitors' newsletters and analyze the frequency, key messages or promotions. This information can help you adjust your email marketing campaigns.
2. Keyword analysis
SEO is a fundamental part of your company's digital marketing. Identifying which keywords your competitors use will give you an idea of how they attract organic traffic.
● SEO Strategies: Ubersuggest is a key tool to find out which keywords are positioning the competition and generate more traffic. For example, imagine that a competitor ranks for the keyword "best".
laptops for work in 2025," you can create content that competes for those same searches.
● Long tail keywords: It is just the keyword that I have put in the previous paragraph. I give you another example: "vegan restaurants in Madrid". They are keywords that are more specific, have less competition. You can always adapt your strategy to capture that audience.
3. Analyze what advertising they have active at the moment
Digital advertising is another area from which you can gain insight into how your competitors are working their strategy:
● Ad formats: Tools such as Facebook Ad Library and Google Ads Transparency Center allow you to see the active ads of your competitors. Look at the formats they use and how they structure their messages.
● Segmentation: If a competing business invests heavily in a particular audience, it's a clue as to which valuable segment they are exploiting, and it's likely generating results for them.
Tools to spy on your competitors
1. Facebook Ad library
It's a Meta tool. It's free, and allows you to explore active ads on Facebook and Instagram:
● What can you discover? Types of ads, creative, formats or messages. If your competitor uses explainer videos to promote a service, you can try to create similar content or ads.
● How do I use it? Browse the Ad Library. Search for the name of the competitor's page or keywords to get information about your competitor's campaigns. It is a very useful tool that will allow you to identify trends in your industry.
Google Ads Transparency Center
Google offers access to companies' active ads through this platform. You can visit it here : Google Ads Transparency Center
Benefits: You can identify effective keywords and formats used by your competitors. This is ideal for discovering which Google Ads strategies may be working best.
How to apply it: Search by advertiser name or categories to analyze strategies. For example, you can identify what types of messages they use to attract their potential customers.
3. Ubersuggest
It is an SEO tool in which you can discover:
● Keywords: You can find search terms for which your competition is ranking. In addition, you can discover new keywords that generate significant organic traffic.
High-performing content: Find out which pages are the most popular among your competitors, and analyze why they are successful. For example, if a blog has high engagement, you can create similar content tailored to your brand.
Visit Ubersuggest here: Ubersuggest
4. SimilarWeb
SimilarWeb allows you to analyze websites. How they attract your traffic and main sources of any site: SimilarWeb
● What data can you obtain: Volume of monthly visits, main traffic sources (SEO, SEM, social networks), geographic locations of the audience, etc.
● Practical use: Find out how your competitors attract and retain their users. For example, if they get most of their traffic from social networks, it would be wise to devise a strategy in that channel.
5. Wappalyzer
Wappalyzer helps you identify the technologies used by a website. It is a Google Chrome extension.
● What you can discover: marketing platforms, analytics tools or content management systems. If a competitor uses a tool you don't know about, you can consider integrating it into your strategy.
● Example: Learn what tools your competitors use to manage their online presence. For example, if you detect an advanced CRM, you can evaluate implementing a CRM in your business.
Best practices when analyzing competitors
● Keep ethics: Spying does not mean breaking rules or copying strategies. Always act within legal limits.
● Focus on learning: Use what you discover to improve your own strategy, not to replicate without adapting.
● Adapt it to your business: Not everything your competitors do will work for you. You must customize the ideas you get. Remember, every business is unique, and what works for some, doesn't have to work for others in exactly the same way.
Common mistakes when analyzing the competition
● Don't obsess: It's your business first, it's your strategy. Watching others for growth is fine, but the real focus should be on your strategy.
● Using data without validating it: You must ensure that the information obtained is accurate and relevant.
● Not having a goal: Define what you want to achieve, then start analyzing.
Conclusion
Analyzing your competition is a key tool that can help you improve your marketing. The tools I have shown you in this blog can help you learn valuable information about your competitors' strategies. Remember to act ethically, and take the spying in an educational way.
Do not copy 100%, surely not having personalization in your strategy will be a real failure. Remember the phrase mentioned earlier in this article: Every company is unique. And therefore, it has unique needs. If you want to know what marketing strategy is best for your business, contact us. We will help you take your strategy to the next level.
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