competitor-analysis

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

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

Tooling

• Use Astro MCP for competitor discovery and ASO evidence:
  • search_app_store — find competing apps for target keywords/store
  • search_rankings — compare keyword ranks; use includeHistory: true for trends
  • extract_competitors_keywords — identify competitor keyword opportunities
  • get_app_ratings — compare rating trend by store/country
  • get_app_keywords — compare tracked keyword coverage
• Use App Store Connect CLI for the user's official app data:

  asc auth status --validate
  asc apps list --output json
  asc apps info view --app "APP_ID" --output json --pretty
  asc reviews list --app "APP_ID" --output json --paginate
  

• Treat competitor download/revenue numbers as estimates unless they come from the user's own App Store Connect account.

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
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

1. Quick Win: [something you can do 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