competitor-analysis
appeeky/aso-skills
Analyze competitors' App Store strategies, identify keyword gaps, and find positioning opportunities.
What is competitor-analysis?
Competitor Analysis helps you understand how rival apps are positioned, what keywords they rank for, and where you have advantages. Use it when you need to benchmark your app against competitors, find untapped keyword opportunities, or refine your creative strategy based on market leaders.
- Compare metadata (titles, subtitles, descriptions) across your app and 3-5 competitors
- Identify keyword gaps: keywords competitors rank for that you don't, and vice versa
- Analyze creative strategy including screenshots, preview videos, icons, and design approaches
- Review ratings, user feedback, and top complaints to spot feature opportunities
- Track growth signals like chart position, download estimates, update frequency, and ASA activity
- Compare monetization models including pricing, subscription length, IAP count, and paywall timing
How to install competitor-analysis
npx skills add https://github.com/appeeky/aso-skills --skill competitor-analysis- Your app's App ID
- Competitor App IDs (or willingness to identify them via category charts and keyword overlap)
- Target country for analysis (defaults to US)
How to use competitor-analysis
- 1.Provide your app ID and identify 3-5 competitors (direct, aspirational, and emerging)
- 2.Specify what you want to learn: keyword gaps, creative strategy, positioning, or comprehensive analysis
- 3.Review the metadata comparison table to see how competitors balance brand vs. keywords in titles and subtitles
- 4.Examine the keyword gap analysis to find high-priority keywords to target
- 5.Analyze the creative strategy section to identify screenshot, video, and icon improvements
- 6.Review ratings and reviews to spot user pain points competitors aren't solving
- 7.Use the competitive position map and top opportunities to prioritize your next ASO moves
Use cases
- Find high-volume keywords your competitors rank for but you don't, to prioritize your ASO roadmap
- Discover what features users praise in competitor apps to identify gaps in your own offering
- Benchmark your app's visibility and ratings against direct and aspirational competitors
- Analyze competitor screenshots and preview videos to improve your own creative assets
- Identify underserved market segments or countries where competitors have weak presence
- App marketers and ASO specialists optimizing for App Store visibility
- Product managers evaluating feature priorities based on competitive gaps
- Mobile app founders benchmarking their position in crowded categories
- Growth teams planning keyword targeting and creative refresh strategies
competitor-analysis FAQ
The skill helps you find competitors through category charts (top apps in your category), keyword overlap (apps ranking for your target keywords), Apple's 'You Might Also Like' section, and user perception (asking what users would use if your app didn't exist).
Analyze 3-5 competitors: 2 direct competitors at your level, 1-2 aspirational competitors (larger/more successful), and 1 emerging competitor to watch.
Competitor analysis gives you the full competitive landscape and strategic positioning; keyword research dives deeper into specific keyword opportunities. Use keyword-research after identifying gaps here.
Yes—the creative strategy section analyzes competitors' screenshots, videos, icons, and design approaches. Use screenshot-optimization skill to implement improvements based on findings.
Run it quarterly or when competitors make major updates. Monitor growth signals (chart position, update frequency, ASA activity) monthly to catch shifts early.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from appeeky/aso-skills.
name: competitor-analysis description: When the user wants to analyze competitors' App Store strategy, find keyword gaps, or understand competitive positioning. Also use when the user mentions "competitor analysis", "competitive research", "keyword gap", "what are my competitors doing", or "compare my app to". For keyword-specific research, see keyword-research. For metadata writing, see metadata-optimization. metadata: version: 1.0.0
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
- Check for
app-marketing-context.md— read it for known competitors - Ask for the user's App ID
- Ask for competitor App IDs (or help identify competitors)
- Ask for target country (default: US)
- Ask what they want to learn: keyword gaps, creative strategy, positioning, or all
Competitor Identification
If the user doesn't know their competitors, find them through:
- Category chart — Top apps in the same category
- Keyword overlap — Apps ranking for the same keywords
- Similar apps — Apple's "You Might Also Like" section
- User perception — Ask "What would your users use if your app didn't exist?"
Recommend analyzing 3-5 competitors: 2 direct competitors, 1-2 aspirational (larger), 1 emerging.
Analysis Framework
1. Metadata Comparison
| Element | Your App | 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 (you don't):
| Keyword | Volume | Difficulty | Comp 1 Rank | Comp 2 Rank | Your Rank | Priority |
|---|
Keywords you rank for but competitors don't:
These are your unique advantages — protect them.
Keywords where you're outranked:
| Keyword | Your 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?
- Do they use 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 | Your App | 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? (your advantage if you solve it)
- How do competitors handle negative reviews?
5. Growth Signals
| Signal | Your App | 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 | Your App | 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, your position, and the biggest opportunities.
Competitive Position Map
HIGH VISIBILITY
│
Comp 1 ● │ ● Comp 2
│
LOW ──────────────────┼────────────────── HIGH
RATINGS │ RATINGS
│
You ● │
│
LOW VISIBILITY
Top Opportunities
- Quick Win: [something you can do this week]
- Keyword Gap: [specific keywords to target]
- Creative Edge: [screenshot/video improvement]
- Feature Gap: [what users want that competitors don't offer]
- 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 identifiedmetadata-optimization— Implement competitive insights into your metadatascreenshot-optimization— Redesign based on competitive creative analysisaso-audit— Audit your own listing with competitive contextua-campaign— Competitive paid acquisition strategy
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