SaaS Competitor Comparison Pages Checklist

What is a SaaS competitor comparison page?

Competitor comparison pages are landing pages designed to present an honest and comprehensive comparison between your product and its top competitors.

The idea is that prospects will inevitably compare products before finalizing one, so why not make it simpler for them while positioning yourself as a credible and valuable contender?

For SaaS, competitor comparison pages are one of the key types of bottom-of-the-funnel content, highly valuable for traffic and lead generation via both SEO and PPC.

Why create SaaS competitor comparison pages?

Making comparisons isn’t always a good thing, but comparative marketing isn’t dirty. Sure, you can run your own race, but don’t let your competitors or sites like G2 frame comparisons for your product in Google. Chances are, they’ll (unwittingly) share inaccurate information, turning prospects away from your product.

Here are a few strong reasons why you should create comparison pages for your SaaS:

To better control the narrative for prospects about how your products match up.
To help prospects in their research process with clear and transparent information about your strengths, weaknesses, and USP, which helps establish trust.
To filter out poor-fit customers whose priorities are more aligned with your competitors’ products.
To achieve a higher conversion rate by targeting high-intent people who are near the bottom of the funnel, trying to decide a purchase or product switch.
To boost your SEO by creating a solid content resource infused with relevant, high search volume keywords (such as “<your product> vs. <competitor product>” or “<competitor product> alternatives”).

How to make compelling SaaS competitor comparison pages?

Nail your SaaS competitor comparison pages by checking off these best practices:

Build separate one-on-one comparison pages for each competitor to aid understanding.
Try the competitor’s product to understand its ins and outs and the exact nuances of how your products actually differ.
Approach the headline as a question “Why choose <your product> vs. <competitor>?”, so as to grab prospects’ attention and provoke them to read further.
Start with a quick acknowledgment that you’re not here to trash your competitor but rather help understand the differences between the two solutions.
Answer these key questions in your page’s copy:
- Why should your target customer buy your product over the alternative available?
- What type of customer would your product be a better fit for vs. the competitor?
- How do you solve your customer’s core pain points differently?
Create a feature-comparison table to help readers quickly learn about your product’s upper hand. Limit the feature list to the top features to avoid overwhelm.
Also include a pricing comparison table if your product is priced competitively.
Optimize your comparison pages to rank for competitors’ keywords and high-intent long-tail keywords.
Use GIFs to show how your product’s best features and let readers visualize what it’s like to actually use your product.
If applicable, include G2 and Capterra ratings.
Interview your customers to understand what truly matters to them as users and try to reflect their insights on your comparison page.
Display top customer reviews, logos, and testimonials as a prominent separate section on the page to reinforce your credibility.
If applicable, provide details on how easy it is to switch/migrate from the competitor’s product to your product.
End with a call to action (CTA) at the bottom of the page to invite readers to try your product for free or request a demo.
Add an option to get in touch with your team (such as via live chat or email).
Include an FAQ section to boost your page’s SEO while helping the reader further understand your product.

Common mistakes with SaaS comparison pages

You know the dos, but also keep in mind these don’ts when building your comparison pages:

If your SaaS product doesn’t have a USP or a use case that’s far better than your rivals, then defer creating comparison pages for later.
Don’t direct traffic to thin landing pages that are solely focused on converting visitors into trials. People expect to see detailed information and simply slapping a keyword-based H1 to a page that doesn’t make a true comparison will only lead them to bounce.
Don’t create boastful pages or overly downplay your competitors. It would likely be perceived as tacky and reflect poorly on your brand.
Don’t use your competitor’s logo or other branding elements, only use their brand name and that too as sparingly as possible.
Don’t bad-mouth your competitors as it would reflect badly on your brand.
Nobody likes their name misspelled. Ensure to use the correct letter casing in the brand name. For instance, don’t write “MailChimp” instead of “Mailchimp”.

A couple of key SaaS comparison page metrics you must track

Monitor how effective your SaaS comparison page is by tracking these two Google Analytics metrics:

Bounce rate: If visitors tend to bounce right after arriving on your comparison page, it might indicate that they feel you’re overly promotional or downplaying your rivals instead of sharing the actual differences.

Conversion rate: A low conversion rate means readers aren’t signing up for a free trial, requesting a demo, or checking out your pricing page, which means your content or offer isn’t compelling enough, or the page design needs rework.

Handpicked SaaS comparison page examples for inspiration

Here are some great comparison pages from successful SaaS brands doing it right:

Found this checklist useful? Here’s a handy infographic version you can share with your colleagues and network.

Author

Arkin Khemchandani

Arkin is a content marketer at Growfusely - a SaaS content marketing agency specializing in content and data-driven SEO. Besides work, he's an ardent recreational runner who loves beaches and trance music. Connect with him on Twitter: @arkin008