Content Competitor Research Is Overrated
Today’s opinion post is by Lucy Mitchell, VP of Content at Cloudscape. She has over 15 years of experience in marketing, SEO, and analytics.
Content competitor research isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve spent years watching marketers (myself included) get caught up in the hype, treating it like some magical solution. Honestly? After countless hours digging through competitor blogs and keywords, I’ve realized we’re just playing an endless game of follow-the-leader.
I get it. Last month I spent three days analyzing our top competitor’s content strategy. What did I learn? That they were probably doing the exact same thing to us. Pretty ironic when you think about it. We’re all just chasing each other’s tails.
The real problem? This obsession with competitor research kills creativity. I’ve sat in too many meetings where someone says “ Company X is doing this, so we should too.” That’s not strategy - that’s copying homework and hoping the teacher doesn’t notice.
Instead of stalking competitors’ social feeds, I’ve found better results by talking to our customers. Wild concept, right? Real conversations beat spreadsheets of competitor keywords any day. Plus, you learn things no amount of competitor analysis could tell you.
Sometimes I peek at what others are doing - I’m human after all. But there’s a huge difference between awareness and obsession. We can’t see their internal data, their failed experiments, or their real metrics. For all we know, that shiny new content approach they’re using is tanking their conversion rates.
Here’s what works:
- Know your brand. Figure out what makes your company tick and lean into that uniqueness.
- Listen to your audience. Start real conversations instead of just tracking social mentions.
- Analyze your own data. Learn from your wins and losses rather than someone else’s highlight reel.
I learned this lesson the hard way after wasting months trying to replicate a competitor’s content strategy. Turns out they were struggling just as much as we were. Should’ve trusted our gut and focused on our strengths instead.
The tech world moves too fast for copycat strategies. Your weird, unique approach might be what sets you apart. I’ve seen small companies outperform giants simply because they weren’t afraid to be different.
Keep tabs on competitors if you must. But don’t let them drive your strategy. Focus on your audience, trust your instincts, and create content that means something. Sometimes the best move is ignoring what everyone else is doing and blazing your own trail.