Competitor Analysis.

A classic competitor analysis compares offering, prices, target groups and brand presence. Online, a second level is added, because the competitors in the search results are often not the same as in the market. For 'web design Zurich', it is not only agencies competing, but also directories, comparison portals and guide articles. An online competitor analysis therefore starts with the search terms your customers actually use, and looks at who is visible there.

A workable approach has five steps. First, define the most important search terms, separated by service and location. Second, record for each term who is in the top positions and in the Google Maps Local Pack. Third, look at those pages: which questions do they answer, in how much depth, with what evidence? Fourth, check the technical side, such as loading speed, structure and linking. Fifth, derive which pages of your own are missing, which need expanding and which terms realistically cannot be won.

Two mistakes make many analyses worthless. The first is blind trust in search volumes from tools: these figures are estimates and are sometimes well above the actual values, so they should be cross-checked against a second source. The second is copying: anyone who rebuilds the page of the top-ranked competitor will at best come second. The goal is to answer the searcher's question better, with your own experience, real examples and clear prices.

A competitor analysis is not a one-off project. Search results change, new providers enter, and AI answers shift attention. Repeating it with the same terms after a few months shows whether your own measures are working.