- Comparison Pages Are Still Working
- Why It Will Decline
- Comparison Content Tips
Table of Contents
Competitor comparison landing pages have been a staple of SEO forever. A staple of marketing, really, since marketing’s earliest days.
But comparison pages won’t be viable traffic drivers for much longer — at least for brands comparing themselves against other brands. Someone will always rank for “[brand] vs [brand]” searches, but we’ll see more unbiased third-party sources getting that traffic.
If you asked me two weeks ago, I would have bet that most businesses have already seen some decline in their competitor comparison page traffic.
I wanted to verify that before I wrote this article, though, so I sent out a short survey to some other content marketers.
And here’s the thing:
I Was Wrong: Competitor Comparison Pages Are Still Great for SEO
At least for now, and at least according to the 52 people I talked to.
Actually, 35.8% of survey respondents say that their competitor comparisons performed better than ever in 2024.
Another 49.1% say that they saw no noticeable change in organic page performance, or that some pages improved while others declined.
That leaves only 15.1% of respondents saying that comparison pages have declined in performance. So my pessimistic outlook was wrong, in that regard.
In retrospect, I should have known this would be the case, because a lot of the competitor comparisons we’ve created here at Intergrowth are doing just fine.
This article we published with JS Dental Lab, for example, is selling more night guards than ever. It’s one of the top-performing pages on their site.
Kaumudi Tiwari from Zonka Feedback, who was kind enough to respond to our survey, said that her Zonka Feedback vs Competitors article has seen an 85% increase in traffic and contributed to a 25% increase in trial sign-ups over the past three months.
Here’s Why I Still Think Competitor Comparison Pages Will See a Decline in Organic Search Traffic
While we are admittedly working with a small sample size, some of our respondents have seen a decline in the performance of their competitor comparisons.
Their pages are losing traffic. Not driving the conversions anymore. Or, still driving sales, but only with paid ads bringing viewers to them.
There are three reasons why I suspect this is happening, and they all have to do with recent changes at Google:
- AI Overviews: Nearly 60% of all Google searches end without a click. A lot of people are getting their information from the AI Overview at the top of the SERP.
- Helpful content updates: Google’s recent updates make it clear that they’re serious about promoting reliable, people-first content. The reality is that, if you’re comparing yourself to a competitor, you’re always going to be an unreliable narrator.
- Programmatic content: A lot of businesses have attempted to scale their competitor comparisons, either with AI-generated content or with low-quality content that might as well be AI-generated. I believe this is why big review sites like G2 and Capterra have seen huge traffic declines in recent years.
That’s not to mention the traffic Google will lose to AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Perplexity. Qualified customers will still come from those platforms, but there’s no way to predict how many.
Related: Google Is Changing (and so Is Ecommerce SEO)
But Doesn’t Someone Have to Rank for Competitor Comparison Searches in Google?
Yes. Google still needs pages to populate the SERPs. Some people will still click them, even. Plus, Google needs pages to cite in its AI Overviews – that information has to come from somewhere.
So competitor comparison content will still be worth creating, and it will always be good for SEO (even if it’s not as effective as it used to be).
But the pages that rank will be pages with good, handmade content. Written by people who’ve actually tried the product. And, unfortunately for a lot of brands, pages from unbiased sources (i.e., not brands comparing themselves to competitors).
Let’s look at an example:
When I search “Casper vs Nectar”, here’s what I see (after the sponsored listings):
As you can see, the first three pages that appear in the traditional results are from CNET.com, Sleeopopolis.com, and MattressClarity.com. In the AI Overview, the top three results cited are the CNET page, the Sleepopolis page, and a BusinessInsider.com page.
When I click each of those links, I land on pages that all share two important elements:
- A side-by-side comparison sheet: Simple data like pricing, feature comparisons, etc. This is straightforward to pull off. You’ll find it in almost every comparison article across the internet.
- Customer testimonials: Helpful for social proof, but again, straightforward to pull off.
- Photographic or video evidence of use: I believe this element is what distinguishes these articles from others, and why they are the first four pages in the SERP.
And before you say, “Yes, but those sites are all very well-known domains…”
Sure, but the next ranking result is from NapLab, which has an Ahrefs Domain Rating of 48:
That said, my advice is to document yourself using any products you review for competitor comparisons. Whether you’re a brand comparing yourself to other brands or you’re a third-party product reviewer, it’s the best way to show you actually know what you’re talking about.
Wait … I’m building a competitor comparison for my own product. Should I really test my competitors’ products?
Why not?
It’s an interesting idea. Try them out. Don’t badmouth them, but it allows you to compare your product from a truly informed perspective.
A lot of brands don’t want to mention competitors, and I get that. But there’s a good chance your content won’t rank if you’re just pulling specs from your competitor’s website and listing them in a comparison table.
More Tips on Creating Competitor Comparison Pages
A few additional ideas to help you build (and promote) high-quality competitor comparisons:
1 . Make them skimmable
Shoppers want quick answers. They want to know which product is better and why. This is the reason we see so many.
Extend that logic to the rest of your page. Assume your reader is going to leave the page if they have to search for information. They have questions. Give them easy-to-find answers.
2. Include high-quality photos and/or videos
AI Overviews don’t include photos, at least not right now.
But shoppers want to look at images. They want to see detailed product photos and software interface screenshots.
Original images can help you steal traffic back from AI Overviews — to give the reader something that AI Overviews doesn’t.
As discussed, photos can also prove that you know what you’re talking about.
3. Create them even if you’re not getting organic traffic
The hard truth is that your competitor comparisons just may not rank anymore. That’s okay. It would be a mistake to stop creating them altogether, though.
There are plenty of ways to distribute comparison pages: PPC, email, etc. It tends to have a really high conversion rate when it’s done well. Don’t lose out on those potential customers.
4. Consider sending free products to reviewers
Can’t rank for comparison terms? Reach out to someone who can. Could be an easier way to get your product mentioned in the top-ranking result, especially for highly competitive terms.
For example:
If you’re a new mattress company, there’s no point trying to outrank SleepFoundation.org for the term “best mattresses.” But Sleep Foundation accepts products for review. Sending a mattress could give you a better shot at getting featured in that article.
Note: You can’t pay for positive reviews (unless the relationship is clearly stated). But there’s no law against sending products to bloggers — happens all the time.
5. Don’t ignore low-volume (or no-volume) keywords
Brand or product comparison searches won’t always have a ton of search volume, but they also have less competition. Ranking at the top of Google for a niche term can connect you with the people who need your product most.
Take a term like “best mattress for spondylitis” as an example. Something that speaks to a very specific pain point.
It only has 20 monthly searches, according to Ahrefs, but there’s barely any competition. A well-written, doctor-reviewed article could put you right at the top of the SERPs. It could connect you with a very qualified segment of your target audience.
For SaaS products, comparisons should speak to different jobs and use cases. Aaron Whittaker from Thrive Marketing said he’s seen the most success with comparisons organized around specific business problems, rather than product features.
“For example, instead of comparing generic CRM features, we focus on how different CRMs solve specific challenges like ‘managing remote sales teams’ or “automating lead nurturing,’” he says.
6. Lead the conversation about your product
People are out there talking about your product, whether it’s in forums, on social media, or wherever else people talk about the things they buy. Join these conversations and share what you know about how your product helps people.
After all, you’re the foremost expert on your product. You know what types of customers it has helped and what types of problems it has solved. Get this information out there so other people know about it and can share it. Even if folks don’t get that information from you, it could lead to purchases down the line.
“After seeing that Reddit threads comparing our product to other tools were ranking and getting more visibility than our own product comparison content, we decided to redirect our energy to Reddit,” says Rachell Lee of Seamless.
“We’re responding to more comments and engaging directly in relevant threads or communities to have some advantage in the narrative about our product.”
7. Focus on helping your reader
As we discussed, the competitor comparisons that show up in SERPs will be the articles that Google finds most helpful for readers.
But even if you’re planning to drive traffic via PPC or email, you’ll find the most success with a page that aims to help readers, rather than trying to sell.
As Elisa Montanari of Wrike told us:
“Don’t use product comparisons as a glorified advertisement—savvy users see right through those tactics. Product comparisons are supposed to help users make an informed purchase decision, so use this content to educate rather than push your product or service. The right people will still come to you while effectively disqualifying those who aren’t the right fit for you anyway.”
Moving Forward with Competitor Comparison Pages
There’s no telling what Google SERPs will look like five, three, or even one year from now.
We know that people will always buy things, though. They’ll always compare products before they buy, too.
So comparison content will always be valuable, whether you’re distributing it via email, paid ads, or search engines.
But today, even with AI Overviews, we still have the opportunity to create content that drives organic leads on autopilot. The brands that earn that traffic will be the ones who help first and sell second.
Looking for a team to help you build a winning content strategy? Let’s talk!
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