How to Do a Competitive Analysis in B2B Digital Marketing

The biggest mistake B2B marketers make is thinking they’re playing a single-player game. They believe if they just get good enough at producing content or managing ad spend, they will see bottom-line results. But the reality is everything you do exists within a complex, competitive environment – and you can only succeed by out-competing other vendors. 

This article explores how marketers can use competitive analysis to make smarter decisions – and understand the true multi-player, zero-sum game they are engaged with. We look at how evolving B2B buyer behavior has changed how companies should run analysis and offer proven tips from over 60 years of combined industry experience. 

Expect to learn: 

• How “good marketing” can put you at a massive disadvantage 
• Why B2B companies should specifically analyze their competitors’ digital channels 
• Everything you need to run a comprehensive competitive analysis  

Why Undertake Competitive Analysis? 

B2B companies exist within a specific market – and everything they do is perceived in relation to other brands in that space.  

Imagine promoting a case study that reveals how you helped customers increase their earnings by 20% - only to find every other vendor in your category produces 50% earnings increases for their partners. What looked like a sure-fire proof point now looks like a (very public!) acknowledgment of inferiority. 

Competitive analysis helps you avoid that fate by developing a clear and objective view of your market – and where your company sits within it. Many companies take a “soft” approach to this process, making conjecture or hypotheses based on gut feelings, pet theories or their personal (and usually very limited) exposure to the market. But a proper competitive analysis should be based on objective facts and research. 

The Role of Digital Marketing in Competitive Analysis 

B2B buyers have migrated to the internet en mass over the last few years – and now, buying teams complete up to 90% of their journey without directly interacting with a vendor. That means for most buyers, your digital presence is your business. 

A competitive analysis in 2025 must factor this reality into the strategy process, evaluating the competitive landscape not only at the level of product or service – but also digital presence.  

You need fan overview of:  

• How other companies in your niche use digital marketing channels 
• What they are doing well that can be replicated and improved upon 
• Gaps in their marketing you can fill with your own strategies 
• Where you can generate the greatest competitive advantage with digital marketing

All of these require a complete digital-specific analysis process. 

How to Run a Digital Competitive Analysis in B2B 

A digital competitive analysis involves scouring every digital channel and website to gain a detailed view of your competitors’ marketing activities. There are two basic steps you need to take: 

1. Gather data: Take screenshots of each competitor’s marketing materials (ads, stats on their website, landing pages, etc.), gather data from advertising and search, and amass any other relevant information – such as their social followers and the frequency with which they post. 
2. Run Analysis: Compare hard data and use expertise and empathy to make inferences about a) the company's strategy and b) how buyers likely perceive them. 

Given the time and resources this process could take, we recommend identifying 4-6 key competitors to analyze. Choose companies that are: 

• Representative: Select companies that are diverse enough in their marketing approach and market position to give a general representation of the larger market. Five or six companies covering a range of marketing approaches, maturity levels and target audiences should give you a reasonably good proxy for the entire competitive landscape. 
• Relevant: Only look at companies that could reasonably steal business from your brand. While you can learn a lot from brands in adjacent markets, it is not important at this stage to use resources to analyze them. 

Once you have a strong selection of competitors, you can start analyzing and comparing them. 

What Should Your Competitive Analysis Include? 

There are seven core factors we recommend every competitive analysis looks at: 

1. Positioning: 

There are two factors to consider here: 

• The position itself 
• How well the company executes the positioning 

For example, being the “fun B2B vendor” might be a great position to take in the market. But if it’s executed poorly, the company will probably be actively hurting itself. 

Key Questions: 

• How do your competitors present themselves?  
• What impressions would a buyer get from their website?  
• How do they use messaging and imagery on their website and social media?  
• How do they signal credibility (client logos, testimonials, proof points, awards + case studies...)? 

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)   

SEO performance tells you a lot about a company’s marketing maturity. You can see which keywords are most popular and how companies are trying to build their search presence. For example, some companies will focus on longer, higher-value content, while others will produce a large volume of shorter, more informative content. 

Key Questions: 

• How do competitors rank for relevant keywords?  
• What kind of strategy have they implemented?  
• Are there keywords they’re not ranking for that you could capitlize on? 
• Do they have a local SEO strategy? 
• Is their Google My Business profile optimized for SEO and generating reviews? 
• How competitive is the current keyword landscape? 

3. Content 

Content is a core foundation of B2B marketing, with 40% of all buyers interacting with business content every day. But differentiation is vital to “cut through the noise” and ensure content actually leaves an impression. You, therefore, need to understand how other companies within your niche are approaching key topics in their content. 

Key Questions: 

• What kind of digital content do they currently publish?  
• What sort of content strategy does it imply? 
• Is it gated or ungated?  
• Are their assets valuable or fluff? 

4. User Experience (UX) 

User Experience (UX) is increasingly important as buyers rely less on salespeople and often even prefer to complete purchases online. It’s important to understand the benchmark within your industry – so you can deliver a smoother experience that stands out. 

Key Questions: 

• How easy are your competitors’ websites to navigate?  
• Are CRO best practices being followed? 
• What kind of experience would a buyer have when researching this company? 

5. Organic Social 

Organic social is a crucial growth channel for many B2B brands, but there is a wide range of ways it can be approached. You must understand how buyers are used to hearing from “thought leaders” in your niche and which insights or angles have already been used. 

Key Questions: 

• How often do your competitors post?  
• What do they post about, and on which platforms? 
• Are they getting traction on their posts in terms of likes, shares, comments, etc.?  
• Has their following grown over time – and what can you deduce from this?  
• Are they using Events on LinkedIn?  

6. Paid Social

Paid social is a great way to promote campaigns and reach new buyers, but ads only work if they stand out. You must, therefore, find competitors’ ads and assess everything from the underlying strategy to the design and copy approach they’ve taken. 

Key Questions: 

• What are they promoting in their ads (ToFu content, BoFu offer, etc)? 
• Are the ads targeted or broad? 
• How well do their messaging and landing pages connect? 

7. Paid Search 

Paid search is another great way to accelerate your marketing reach and capture buyers’ attention. However, it’s important to consider how other companies use this channel to feed their funnel – and the experience buyers will have engaging with their ads. 

Key Questions: 

• Which keywords do competitors target? 
• What kind of landing pages do they use? 
• What are the most common messaging patterns and strategies?

Five Ways to Make Your Competitive Analysis More Valuable 

Competitive analysis is a big time and resource investment. Our experience shows the following five steps ensure you generate the maximum value from it: 

1. Include Multiple Perspectives 

Research often falls into subjective speculation. A single “analyst” may respond strongly to a competitor's positioning or social posts – and present a highly unrepresentative viewpoint that actually warps your view of your market. 

Tackle that tendency by having multiple people share their thoughts and gain a more objective view of competitors. We recommend including at least three people in the process, ideally from different specialisms or even departments if possible. 

2. Contextualize Your Brand 

It’s easy to allow your personal allegiances or biases to shape how you view your company. But there may be a gap between how you would like to present your brand and how it’s actually perceived – and that gap can be disastrous for marketing.  

Do the same objective analysis of your own company to get a better understanding of your competitive possibilities. Where do you fit within the current competitive landscape? How do you really compare to other companies right now? 

3. Learn from Competitors 

Competitive analysis is not just about finding gaps to exploit; it’s also about getting inspiration to level up. Looking for flaws or gaps can also distort your process and lead you to underestimate your competitors’ strengths. 

Not every aspect of your competitors’ digital marketing appears effective. While you should never copy them directly, these can be vital inspiration for future marketing. 

4. Make Insights Actionable

Competitive analysis can feel highly theoretical – and some marketers get frustrated with the lack of action. But the process should be folded directly into your larger strategy and start driving campaigns immediately. 

Start by creating a list of low-hanging fruit items: low-effort, high-impact tasks you can knock out for quick improvements. Then, prioritize longer-term goals and figure out how to delegate and get those in motion. 

We also recommend marketers plan the first three campaigns they will run after their analysis. Select the channels that appear to be most promising and plan: 

• Messaging that will help you stand out against competitors 
• An offer that reduces friction and promises value competitors aren’t offering 
• Your path to ROI so that competitive analysis produces returns faster

5. Revisit and Revise

Your competitors are not inert; they, too, will be looking at the landscape and trying to adapt. They might even take inspiration from your marketing, which means you’ll need to evolve your approach over time to maintain an advantage.  

Set an official cadence to reassess the market and revise your strategy. Run new analyses every time a new audience or revenue path emerges. And perhaps most importantly, continue to update your view of your own company to stay objective. 

Assess Your Competitors Without Draining Your Resources  

A comprehensive competitive analysis takes a lot of time and expertise – so it’s no wonder most B2B companies skip the process. But ProperExpression offers a complete track for B2B companies that want to identify their most promising competitive opportunities faster and with less effort. 

We have helped countless companies leverage their market position to drive faster growth and higher ROI. Want to book 15 minutes in which our CEO can quickly help you identify ways to immediately gain an advantage?