How to write competitor comparison pages for SEO

Every summer, my family and I travel to Ireland to see our extended family. And one of our favorite activities to do during our vacation is surf at Achill Island.

But if one thing is for sure, surfing in Ireland has its pros and cons.

On one hand, you have some of the best waves to ride along the Wild Atlantic Way. But on the other hand, one wave can send you flying off your board and lead to losing your favorite sports watch.

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While I have been looking for a new watch to replace my timepiece now at the bottom of the sea, I’ve been finding myself at a crossroads between one product and another. From prices, to features, to colors, I have been struggling to make a final decision 

So how do I go about this? I decided to look for a page that compares these products. This is where competitor comparison pages come in: serving as a guide at this intersection to guide your customers to your offered solution.

But what exactly are competitor pages? In this article, we will discuss what a competitor comparison page is, why you should create one, and some tips and tricks to create your own!

What are competitor comparison pages?

Competitor comparison pages are website pages that compare your product or service to competitors. Usually, these pages include:

• A feature comparison table
• Messaging about your product or service’s unique differences
• Social proof
• A call-to-action (CTA)

Competitor comparison pages used to be utilized by SaaS (Software as a service) businesses for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Every time a user clicks on your PPC ad, you are charged for every click. 

But now, SaaS companies have realized the long-term potential of these pages. SaaS companies now use competitor comparison pages for their SEO (search engine optimization) strategies. With these pages, businesses can rank brand keywords (brand or product names) in organic searching.

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Why? Because if you can optimize your competitor comparison pages in this way, you can crank out conversions over the long term - without using PPC. 

But why should you create a competitor comparison page for SEO? Let’s walk through this question below.

Why create competitor comparison pages for SEO?

Creating a competitor comparison page for your SEO is a strategic decision that will serve you in the long run. There are several reasons why competitor comparison pages can be valuable to you and your SEO. Some of these reasons are:

• Generating high conversion rates
• Making keywords (occasionally) easy to rank
• Aiding your sales process

Let’s dive into why you should create competitor comparison pages for SEO.

High conversion rates

Two common types of competitor comparison keywords are “versus” keywords (Safari vs. Google Chrome) and “alternative” keywords (Safari alternatives).

Even though SEO tools report a low monthly search volume for comparison keywords, it has been proven that these keywords can:

• Generate high traffic
• Deliver significant conversion rates

Ultimately, comparison keywords are a handy tool to have in your kit. Let’s move on now to ranking keywords.

Keywords can (occasionally) be easy to rank for

Competitor comparison pages rank for keywords that not only are targeted but also have variety.

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Comparison keywords are powerful because if they are optimized to rank for a specific topic, they can cover a broad range of terms, including:

• The specific feature of your product 
• Your competitors’ names 

Comparison keywords help you expand your reach into spaces not yet targeted by your competitors. This makes ranking for these keywords relatively easy, even in a competitive market. 

Combined with 1) their high conversion rates and 2) their ranking potential, comparison keywords are an asset to your competitor comparison pages.

Let’s now go through how competitor comparison pages can aid your sales process.

Aid for your sales process

Because competitor comparison pages are well suited to inform your potential customers about how your product or service differs from competitors, they can help identify the main contenders for sales conversations. 

Competitor comparison pages in the end serve you by:

• Helping you understand your unique sales angle
• Clearly identify what makes your product or service different from competitors

By using this knowledge, you can optimize your SEO and sales strategy to attract your target customers.

But how do you write an effective competitor comparison page that converts? Let’s walk you through our tips and tricks to do so in the section below.

How should I write a competitor comparison page for SEO and to convert?

So, how do you exactly write a competitor comparison page? You have to find a balance between two factors:  providing valuable information to your readers and persuading your target audience that you are the best choice for the product or service they want. Some tips and tricks we recommend for beginning your competitor comparison page are:

• Ask questions
• Identify your comparison keywords
• Create your content
• Strategically position your competitor comparison pages

Let’s walk through these tips and tricks now to help you get started.

Ask questions

Before you start any project, you have to ask yourself questions. 

You don’t have to be like Stephen Hawking and question the fabric of the universe. However, you should ask yourself some surface-level questions such as these: 

• Why should your target customer buy your product or service vs competitors?
• Who is your target customer vs. competitor?
• How does your product or service solve your customer’s problem differently from your competitors?

As you ask yourself these queries, their answers will help you build a foundation for two things:

• A better understanding of your target customer 
• A better understanding of your product or service

You can’t begin to promote a product if you don’t know how to advertise it, especially when you are comparing yourself to your competitors. Why should your product or service matter? So remember, questions are your best friend. 

This part will take some time, so be patient. Inevitably, differences between your product and your competitor’s product will come to you and you will now have a basis for the content of your competitor comparison page.

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To help get your gears churning, you could consider making a competitor comparison table. A competitor comparison table helps you visualize what makes you different from your competitors. As long as your table:

• Showcases an objective view of you and your competitor’s products
• Adds to your story and value proposition
• Includes only significant details

Your table can help you narrow down the key features and differences of your product. You should also include a refined, concise version of this table on your competitor comparison page.

Besides tables, you can also consider asking past clients to explain why they chose your product or service over your competitors. That way, you can understand what makes you stand out to your target customer and use that for your page.

Let’s now dive into identifying your comparison keywords

Identify your comparison keywords

As we have mentioned, competitor comparison pages are usually framed by versus keywords or alternative keywords. 

Both types are incredibly helpful because when optimized correctly, they can help your page rank and do so for both keywords on one page.

To identify your comparison keywords, make a list of your competitors and then use keyword research tools to identify branded keywords that use phrases like “versus”, “vs.”, or “alternative”. 

With a keyword research tool, you can find potential keywords to target. One free and easy-to-use tool we would recommend for keyword research is Google Search Console (GSC).

Google Search Console is a Google service that allows you to maintain and monitor your site's presence in Google Search results. You can also use it to see which keywords are driving traffic to your website. To learn more, just read our blog on how to use Google Search Console for keyword research.

Create your content 

Once you’ve found your competitor comparison keyword, it’s time to create a page that ranks and converts visitors.

To do this, you have to 1) give your readers a detailed answer to their question and 2) highlight what makes your product different. 

To create an effective competitor comparison page, you have to have these factors:

• A headline: pose your headline as a question to grab your reader’s attention (Why Choose Centori over Semrush?)
• Your message: show your readers you’re not here to trash your competition, but to help them understand the differences between you and your competitors
• A comparison table: use this visual tool to highlight important differences between you and your competitors
• Social proof and testimonials: show why past customers have used your product to provide further credibility 
• A call-to-action (CTA): use a single CTA to invite readers to learn more about your product or service 

Here is a graphic below to help you visualize your page:

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Once you gather these factors, your competitor comparison page will start to come together! But now, we have to know where to showcase this page on your website. Let’s go through this in the section below. 

Strategically position your competitor comparison pages

Competitive comparison pages are important to your website’s structure because they help readers make informed decisions about purchases.

For this reason, you want to identify opportunities on your website where your customer is at the bottom of the funnel (BOFU), or about to make a purchase. 

This is where you can link to your competitor comparison page to help customers understand why your product is the best option. And adding these links also benefits your overall SEO! 

But how does this exactly look? Let’s look at an example of the online marketplace Shopify.

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Shopify helps users build their own businesses. But there are many other websites in the same marketplace, such as Etsy, Square, WooCommerce, and Wix. So to showcase their features, Shopify has strategically linked to a page titled “Compare Shopify” to help users learn how the company compares to their competitors. 

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On this page, Shopify has listed its competitors in a block formation to make it easy for users to click on a competitor and see why they should choose Shopify. These blocks are embedded with links that strategically use the comparison keyword “vs.” 

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By making a “Compare X Company” page on your website, you can guide users at the BOFU to make a final decision that leads them back to you! But there are other ways you can strategically position your competitor comparison pages.

Another popular position for competitor comparison pages is under a “Why Us” link. A “Why us" link is handy for your website because it helps users better understand your business. And it's easy to link a comparison of yourself to other companies under this page.

For Centori, we make sure to link our “Why Us” page at the top of our website in the middle of our services, pricing, and resources. 

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This way, if users want to learn more about our service, it’s easy to access and read to learn a bit more about why users should choose Centori.

Download our SEO strategy guide today

Looking for more ways to improve your SEO and outrank your competitors? Look no further than our free-to-download SEO strategy guide. 

Competitor comparison pages are a handy way for you to improve your SEO. They can help you generate high conversion rates, make keywords easier to rank, and can aid in your sales process.

So it's time to take action and grow your strategy. By using our proven 4-step framework, you can build a winning SEO strategy that will help you leave outdated SEO tactics behind and start winning at SEO!