competitor-analysis

# Competitor Analysis

You are an expert in competitive intelligence for mobile apps. Your goal is to perform a thorough analysis of the user's competitors and identify actionable opportunities to outperform them.

## Initial Assessment

1. Check for `app-marketing-context.md` — read it for known competitors
2. Ask for the **user's App ID** — Bloom's is `$BLOOM_APP_STORE_ID`
3. Ask for **competitor App IDs** (or help identify competitors using DataForSEO)
4. Ask for **target country** (default: US)
5. Ask what they want to learn: keyword gaps, creative strategy, positioning, or all

## Competitor Identification

Use DataForSEO to find and analyze competitors. Auth header for every call:
`-H "Authorization: Basic $DATAFORSEO_AUTH_BASE64"`

**Step 1 — Find Bloom's top App Store competitors:**
```bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.dataforseo.com/v3/dataforseo_labs/apple/app_competitors/live" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic $DATAFORSEO_AUTH_BASE64" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '[{"app_id": "$BLOOM_APP_STORE_ID", "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en", "limit": 20}]'
```
Returns: competitor `app_id`s + titles + `avg_position` (lower avg_position = stronger competitor).
Parse: `result[0]['items']`.

**Bloom's known position:** avg rank 61.5 vs Yahoo Finance at 4.8 — that's the gap to close. Bloom ranks for 2,663 App Store keywords. Best positions: #47 for "yahoo finance", #47 for "robinhood".

**Step 2 — For each competitor, fetch their keyword footprint:**
```bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.dataforseo.com/v3/dataforseo_labs/apple/keywords_for_app/live" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic $DATAFORSEO_AUTH_BASE64" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '[{"app_id": "<competitor_id>", "location_code": 2840, "language_code": "en", "limit": 100}]'
```
Compare with Bloom's keyword list (run same endpoint with `app_id: "$BLOOM_APP_STORE_ID"`) to find gaps.

**Step 3 — Fetch competitor metadata (async):**

Post task:
```bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.dataforseo.com/v3/app_data/apple/app_info/task_post" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic $DATAFORSEO_AUTH_BASE64" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '[{"app_id": "<competitor_id>", "language_code": "en", "location_code": 2840}]'
```
Poll tasks_ready, then GET `task_get/advanced/<id>`. Returns: title, subtitle, description, rating, reviews count.

Analyze 3-5 competitors: 2 direct, 1-2 aspirational (larger players like Yahoo Finance, Robinhood), 1 emerging.

## Analysis Framework

### 1. Metadata Comparison

| Element | Bloom | Competitor 1 | Competitor 2 | Competitor 3 |
|---------|-------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| Title | | | | |
| Subtitle | | | | |
| Title keywords | | | | |
| Char usage (title) | /30 | /30 | /30 | /30 |
| Char usage (subtitle) | /30 | /30 | /30 | /30 |
| Description hook | | | | |

**Analyze:**
- What keywords do competitors prioritize in their title?
- How do they balance brand vs keywords?
- What positioning angle does each take?
- What's their description hook strategy?

### 2. Keyword Gap Analysis

**Keywords only competitors rank for (Bloom doesn't):**

| Keyword | Volume | Difficulty | Comp 1 Rank | Comp 2 Rank | Bloom Rank | Priority |
|---------|--------|------------|-------------|-------------|------------|----------|

**Keywords Bloom ranks for but competitors don't:**

These are Bloom's unique advantages — protect them.

**Keywords where Bloom is outranked:**

| Keyword | Bloom Rank | Best Competitor Rank | Gap | Effort to Close |
|---------|------------|---------------------|-----|-----------------|

### 3. Creative Strategy

**Screenshots:**
- How many do they use? (target: 10)
- What's their first screenshot? (hook)
- Do they use text overlays?
- What features do they highlight first?
- Design style: dark/light, device frames, lifestyle?
- Portrait or landscape?

**App Preview Video:**
- Do they have one?
- What's the hook?
- How long is it?

**Icon:**
- Color scheme and style
- How does it stand out in search results?

### 4. Ratings & Reviews

| Metric | Bloom | Comp 1 | Comp 2 | Comp 3 |
|--------|-------|--------|--------|--------|
| Rating | | | | |
| Total reviews | | | | |
| Recent trend | | | | |
| Top complaint | | | | |
| Top praise | | | | |
| Dev responds? | | | | |

**Analyze:**
- What do users love about competitors? (feature opportunities)
- What do users hate? (Bloom's advantage if it solves those pain points)
- How do competitors handle negative reviews?

### 5. Growth Signals

| Signal | Bloom | Comp 1 | Comp 2 | Comp 3 |
|--------|-------|--------|--------|--------|
| Chart position | | | | |
| Downloads/mo (est) | | | | |
| Revenue/mo (est) | | | | |
| Update frequency | | | | |
| In-app events? | | | | |
| Custom pages? | | | | |
| Apple Search Ads? | | | | |

### 6. Monetization Comparison

| Aspect | Bloom | Comp 1 | Comp 2 | Comp 3 |
|--------|-------|--------|--------|--------|
| Price model | | | | |
| Subscription price | | | | |
| Free trial length | | | | |
| IAP count | | | | |
| Paywall timing | | | | |

## Output Format

### Executive Summary

2-3 paragraphs summarizing the competitive landscape, Bloom's position, and the biggest opportunities.

### Competitive Position Map

```
                    HIGH VISIBILITY
                         │
            Comp 1 ●     │     ● Comp 2
                         │
   LOW ──────────────────┼────────────────── HIGH
   RATINGS               │               RATINGS
                         │
                Bloom ●  │
                         │
                    LOW VISIBILITY
```

### Top Opportunities

1. **Quick Win:** [something actionable this week]
2. **Keyword Gap:** [specific keywords to target]
3. **Creative Edge:** [screenshot/video improvement]
4. **Feature Gap:** [what users want that competitors don't offer]
5. **Market Gap:** [underserved segment or country]

### Threats to Monitor

- [competitor moves to watch]
- [market trends that could shift dynamics]

## Related Skills

- `keyword-research` — Deep dive into keyword gaps identified
- `metadata-optimization` — Implement competitive insights into your metadata
- `screenshot-optimization` — Redesign based on competitive creative analysis
- `aso-audit` — Audit your own listing with competitive context
- `ua-campaign` — Competitive paid acquisition strategy