Ready to improve your web content? First step: Check out the competition. Studying your competitors’ websites can absolutely make yours better.
A competitive gap analysis is a deep dive into what your organization and your rival brands are doing right and wrong. And it will show you how to emerge as a leader in your space.
What Is a Competitive Gap Analysis?
You may have seen a competitive gap analysis that looked like a grid with the strengths and weaknesses of competing brands. And sure, you can find those fill-in-the-blank worksheets online.
At Aha Media, we go beyond fill-in-the-blank. We provide a thorough competitive gap analysis, examining you and your competition to understand the similarities and differences in:
- Brand messaging such as voice, tone and unique value proposition
- Content inventory including the types of content created and how often
- Content quality assessment to determine if the content is clear and findable with strong CTAs
- Search engine optimization and how they are ranking against your own analytics
And what makes an Aha Media competitive gap analysis truly stand out is the “how-to”: Your content strategist uses the findings to present recommendations about next steps. We never leave you wondering, “But now what?”
Stand Out by Studying the Competition
A thorough examination of the websites of the other hospitals and health systems in your market gives you the knowledge you need to enhance your own.
Here are 3 reasons for measuring your content against your competitors.
1. The weaknesses on your competitors’ websites = your opportunities
As you look at your rivals’ websites, notice what they’re not doing or what could be improved. Those instances are opportunities for you to provide an improved experience for readers.
Consider these scenarios:
Confusing navigation
If your rival hospital’s website has a complicated IA, and it’s difficult for users to find what they’re looking for, use that to your advantage. Make your navigation straightforward so potential patients can get what they need.
Lack of related content
Maybe you noticed that after your competitor explains a condition or treatment option, they don’t leave users with additional information. Customers have to leave the website and open a search engine to get more details.
That’s a lightbulb for you to pull in your health library content or related blog posts or videos into your web pages. You’ll keep potential patients sticking around for longer while building trust with your brand. And you’ll also build those pages with strong calls to action so you avoid the loop that many hospital websites send their users through.
2. Define what differentiates you
When you spend time on your competitors’ websites, you also get to know their voice and tone. You understand their unique value proposition and get a picture of the audience they’re targeting. This knowledge will help you see what’s different and better about your organization.
Maybe their organization isn’t as focused on research, so that’s an area you can incorporate into your messaging. Or perhaps the warmth of their care team doesn’t come through. By highlighting how patient-focused your team is, you’re setting yourself apart.
3. Discover where you need to improve
You’re bound to see areas where your competition is doing something better than you are. Don’t feel down. This is a chance for you to brainstorm how to compete or how to make your own user experience better.
Maybe your rival has an online tool that helps patients easily find clinical trials they qualify for. Or they have a fancy ticker that displays the high number of surgeries they perform, which gets updated daily.
So yeah, they’re crushing this. But use their success as motivation and brainstorm how you can improve your content and tools.
Competitive Gap Analyses Are Actionable
Remember: A competitive gap analysis is more than a report of strengths and weaknesses. It should also include takeaways and next steps so you can improve your website and stand out against the competition.
Learn more about Aha Media’s approach to competitive gap analysis.
