# Competitor analysis Human Guide

## What This Is For
When the user wants to analyze competitors' App Store strategy, find keyword gaps, or understand competitive positioning. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for competitive research: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Competitor analysis agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for competitor analysis.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Competitor analysis guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- 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
- **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?"
- What keywords do competitors prioritize in their title?
- How do they balance brand vs keywords?
- What positioning angle does each take?

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Initial Assessment, Competitor Identification, Analysis Framework, Metadata Comparison, Keyword Gap Analysis, Creative Strategy, Ratings & Reviews, Growth Signals, Monetization Comparison, Output Format.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Keywords only competitors rank for (you don't):
- Keywords you rank for but competitors don't:
- **Feature Gap:** [what users want that competitors don't offer]

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Competitor analysis human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the eronred/aso-skills skill entry for `competitor-analysis`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# 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**
3. Ask for **competitor App IDs** (or help identify competitors)
4. Ask for **target country** (default: US)
5. 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:

1. **Category chart** — Top apps in the same category
2. **Keyword overlap** — Apps ranking for the same keywords
3. **Similar apps** — Apple's "You Might Also Like" section
4. **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 |