How to do a competitor analysis for a small business
A competitor analysis tells you who a customer compares you with before they call, and what those businesses offer, charge and say. For a small business it does not need to be a long report. Here is how to find the right competitors, what to record about each one, a simple comparison table, and how to turn it into one or two changes to your own marketing.
The method follows the U.S. Small Business Administration's page on market research and competitive analysis. The ad research uses Google's help page on ads transparency and Meta's help page About the Meta Ad Library. The order of work and the advice on what to change are our view.
Who counts as a competitor
Your competitors are not only the businesses you know by name. They are the ones a customer sees when they look for what you sell. The SBA says your analysis should "identify your competition by product line or service and market segment", so do this per service: a cleaning company that does homes and offices may have two different sets of competitors.
Search the way your customers do, signed out of Google and from your own area:
- Search results. Search your main service with your town ("roof repair Springfield") and without it. Note the businesses in the first page of organic results. Directories and review sites that rank there count too, because customers compare through them.
- Maps. The businesses in the map results are often the ones a local customer calls first. Note the top few for each of your main services.
- Ads. Note who advertises on those searches. If you run Google Ads yourself, the Auction insights report lists the other advertisers in the same auctions as you.
Also write down the indirect ones. The SBA lists "Indirect or secondary competitors who may impact your success" as part of the picture: for a bookkeeper that may be accounting software, for a personal trainer a gym membership or a fitness app. You will not compare these line by line, but they shape what customers expect to pay.
In our experience five or six direct competitors per service is enough. Pick the ones that show up in more than one place.
What to record about each one
The SBA's list of things to assess includes "Strengths and weaknesses" and "The importance of your target market to your competitors". For a small business those turn into a few practical checks, done mostly on each competitor's website and profiles:
- Offer. What exactly they sell, who it is for, and how they describe it. Is it a package, a fixed price job, a subscription? Do they target the same customers as you, or is your market a side line for them?
- Prices they show. Record only what they publish: a starting price, a price list, a free quote, a guarantee. Note if they show no prices at all. Do not guess the rest. Our guide to pricing pages covers how to show your own.
- Pages. Which services have their own page, whether they have location pages, case studies, a blog or guides, and how easy it is to book or ask for a quote. Note the main promise in their page titles and headlines.
- Reviews. On their Google Business Profile and the main review sites for your trade: how many recent reviews they have, what customers praise, what they complain about, and whether the business replies. Complaints are the most useful part; they show what customers care about and where others fall short.
- Ads. Whether they advertise, where, and what the ads promise. The next section shows how to look this up.
Take screenshots with the date. Websites and offers change, and next year you will want to see what moved.
Checking their ads
Google Ads Transparency Center
Google describes the Ads Transparency Center as "a searchable repository of advertisers and the ads they've served on Google platforms like Search, Display, Gmail, and YouTube". You can search "using the advertiser or website name and filter your search results by details like date and targeted location". Search each competitor's website, filter to your region, and note what the ads say: the offer, the price or discount they lead with, and the page they send people to. An advertiser with many ads over a long period is usually putting real money into that channel.
Meta Ad Library
For Facebook and Instagram, Meta's help page says: "Anyone can view and search the Ad Library." It "contains all active ads that are shown across Meta technologies", and you can search for a term, a name or a Page. Two limits matter for ordinary business ads in the US. Meta's table shows that for ads that are not about social issues, elections or politics and are not delivered to the EU or associated territories, amount spent is not shown and the ads are not archived. So you see what a competitor is running now, not what they spent or ran last year. Check again every few weeks if ads matter in your market.
If you advertise on Meta yourself, our Meta ads basics guide covers the setup.
A comparison table
Put it all in one spreadsheet with one row per business, your own business included. A version for a made-up house painting company might look like this (all names and details are invented):
| Business | Found in | Offer | Prices | Pages | Reviews | Ads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Us | Maps | All painting | None | One page | Few, no replies | None |
| A | Search, Maps | Exterior, warranty | From, per room | Per service, gallery | Many, all replied | Google, warranty |
| B | Maps | Painting, repairs | None | One page | Late start complaints | None |
| C | Search | Cabinets only | Packages | Case studies | Many | Meta, before and after |
| Directory | Search | Lists painters | Cost guides | City pages | Per listing |
In the spreadsheet, add a last column for what you can learn and fill it in after the rest, so you compare first and judge second.
What to do with it
The aim is not to copy the strongest competitor. A copy is always second, and customers comparing you side by side will notice. Look instead for gaps between what customers want and what everyone offers. In the example above, nobody but one specialist shows real work, one competitor gets complaints about missed dates, and we show no prices at all.
Then pick one or two changes, not ten. From the table above they might be:
- Add a page per main service with photos of your own jobs and a clear way to ask for a quote.
- Lead with what competitors get complaints about: a written start date, for example, if you can keep it. Our guide to writing a value proposition shows how to turn that into a headline.
Put those changes into your marketing plan with a date and a way to measure them. If the gap you found is in search (competitors have pages you lack, or rank where you do not), run an SEO audit of your own site before writing new content. Repeat the analysis once a year, or when a new competitor appears in your map results.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free competitor analysis template?
A spreadsheet with the columns in the table above is enough: business, where found, offer, prices shown, pages, reviews, ads and what you can learn. Paid tools add estimates of traffic and keywords, but a small local business can get far with free sources.
Can I see how much a competitor spends on ads?
Not for ordinary business ads in the US. Google's Ads Transparency Center shows advertisers and their ads, and Meta's help page states that the Ad Library does not show amount spent for ads that are not about social issues, elections or politics and are not delivered to the EU or associated territories.
How many competitors should I analyse?
In our view, five or six direct competitors per main service, chosen because they appear in search results, Maps or ads, plus a note on the indirect alternatives customers consider.
Want help turning what you found into a better website or campaign? Our services page lists the websites, apps and Google and Meta ads management we offer.