Marketing Strategy & 360° Consulting · ServiceMOFU
Competitor analysis that ends in opportunities
The short answer
Competitors publish more of their strategy than they realise. Ad libraries show every active ad they run. Search tools show which keywords they rank and bid on. Marketplaces show their pricing, ratings and review complaints. AI answer engines show who gets recommended for your category's questions. All of it is public.
PMG turns that public information into specific opportunities: messaging gaps, underserved keywords, weak offers, unhappy customers and unclaimed channels.
What we analyse
- Active ads, formats, hooks, offers and how long each has run (longevity hints at a winner)
- Organic search rankings, content depth and gaps
- Paid search presence and keyword overlap
- Pricing, discounting patterns and bundles
- Positioning and claims on websites and landing pages
- Reviews — what their customers praise and what they complain about
- Social presence and engagement quality
- Presence in AI-generated answers for category questions
What you get
- A competitor matrix across positioning, pricing, channels and proof
- A creative teardown of their longest-running ads
- A keyword gap list — terms they own that you don't
- A review-mining summary — their customers' unmet needs
- A shortlist of specific opportunities, ranked by effort and impact
How to use it
- Differentiate — claim the positioning they've left empty.
- Target their gaps — keywords, audiences and channels they neglect.
- Answer their customers' complaints in your messaging.
- Monitor — a lightweight quarterly refresh catches new moves.
Public sources for competitor research
| Source | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Meta Ad Library | Active ads on Facebook and Instagram |
| Google Ads Transparency Center | Ads a business runs on Google |
| SEO tools | Keywords, rankings, backlinks |
| Review sites and marketplaces | Customer sentiment |
| Social platforms | Content and engagement |
| AI assistants | How your category is summarised |
Turning analysis into action
- Identify gaps — needs competitors don't serve well.
- Sharpen positioning — where you're genuinely different.
- Prioritise channels — where competitors are weak or overcrowded.
- Brief creative — messages that stand apart.
- Monitor — changes in competitor activity.
Competitor analysis by purpose
| Purpose | What we analyse |
|---|---|
| Market entry | Positioning, pricing, channels |
| Paid media | Ad libraries, keywords, offers |
| SEO | Rankings, content, links |
| Product marketing | Messaging and reviews |
A worked example
A brand assumed its competitors spent heavily on Google. Ad library and search analysis showed they relied on Meta creators and marketplaces instead. The brand found an under-served search niche and won it cheaply.
Before competitor analysis
- Competitor list (direct and indirect)
- Questions the analysis should answer
- Markets and channels in scope
How a Competitor Analysis engagement with PMG runs
- Audit (week 0–1). Accounts, analytics, tracking, website, CRM flow and competitors reviewed, with a written list of what's broken, what's wasted and the three moves we'd make first.
- Plan (week 1–2). Break-even ROAS or a target cost per lead, a measurement plan and a 90-day roadmap for Competitor Analysis, with owners and dates.
- Launch (week 2–4). Clean structures, verified conversion signals, the first creative sprint and landing-page fixes.
- Optimise (months 2–3). A weekly test cadence, with budget following the cheapest incremental results rather than platform-reported ones.
- Scale (month 3 onwards). New channels, geographies and retention loops, added only when the economics hold.
Every week you get a one-page scorecard, a change log, the test board and a 30-minute call with your strategist. See how we work and pricing for details.
Why teams choose PMG for Competitor Analysis
- Measurement first. Unit economics and clean tracking come before any increase in spend.
- You own everything. Ad accounts, data and creative stay in your name; ad spend goes straight to the platforms.
- Senior hands on the account. The strategist you speak to is the person running it.
- Weekly transparency. Scorecard, change log and test board — every week.
- Short minimum terms. We keep clients with results, not contracts.
- India and international. One Mumbai team running campaigns across Indian cities and overseas markets, Mon–Sat, 7am–9pm IST.
Where we run Competitor Analysis
We manage Competitor Analysis for businesses across India — including Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad — and for companies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Germany. Campaigns are planned market by market, with language, currency, platform mix and privacy rules matched to each. See all Indian locations and international markets.
Free growth audit
Get a written audit for Competitor Analysis.
No sales call required. Tell us where to look; a strategist replies within working hours and sends the written audit within 72 hours.
- Tracking check
- Pixels, Conversions API, GA4 events and offline conversions — what is firing, what is double-counted, what is missing.
- Wasted spend
- Search terms, placements, audiences and overlap that cost money without producing qualified leads or sales.
- Conversion path
- Landing page speed, message match, form friction and follow-up time — where interested people drop off.
- 90-day priorities
- The three changes we would make first, with the metric each one should move.
Frequently asked questions
Is competitor ad research legal?
Yes — the major platforms publish ad libraries specifically for transparency. We only use publicly available information.
Should we copy competitors' winning ads?
No. Understand why they work, then make something distinctly yours. Copying makes you forgettable and invites legal risk.
How often should we repeat the analysis?
A full analysis annually, with quarterly check-ins on ads and search.
Is it legal to research competitors' ads?
Yes. Ad libraries and public content are designed for transparency. Don't copy creative or use competitors' trademarks misleadingly.
How often should competitor analysis be repeated?
Quarterly for most businesses; monthly in fast-moving categories.
Should we copy a competitor's winning ad?
No. Learn the insight behind it, then express it in your own distinctive way.
What sources do you use for competitor research?
Public sources such as ad libraries, search results, websites, reviews and marketplace listings — never confidential data.
How often should competitor analysis be updated?
Quarterly for fast-moving categories, at least annually otherwise.
How long does competitor analysis take?
Typically one to three weeks, depending on scope.
Is there a long contract?
No. Minimum terms are short, because we would rather keep clients with results than with contracts.
Will we own the ad accounts and data?
Yes. Everything runs in your own accounts with partner access for PMG, and you can see it all at any time.
What do you need from us to start?
Access to ad accounts and analytics, your margins and order values (or deal values), brand assets, and a decision-maker available for a weekly 30-minute call.
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