How to Spy on Your Competitors’ Content Strategy in Minutes

Keeping an eye on your competitors’ content strategy can give you a serious advantage. By tracking their updates, identifying their top-performing pages, and analyzing their keyword trends, you can refine your own strategy and stay ahead. The good news? You can do this quickly and efficiently with just a few tools.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to:

• Pull all competitor sitemaps
• Add Ahrefs data for deeper insights
• Spot trends and opportunities

Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Pull All Sitemaps

Every website has an XML sitemap that contains links to all its pages. By extracting these sitemaps, you can see their latest updates and new content additions.

How to Extract Sitemaps:

1. Use the “Import from Web” Google Sheets Add-on
   • Install the Google Sheets add-on “Import from Web” (found in the Google Workspace Marketplace).
   • Open a new sheet and use the add-on to import XML sitemaps.
   • Example formula: =IMPORTXML("https://competitor-site.com/sitemap.xml", "//loc")
   • This pulls all URLs from their sitemap into your sheet.
2. Track Multiple Sitemaps
   • Some websites have multiple sitemaps (e.g., /sitemap1.xml, /sitemap2.xml).
   • Add each sitemap URL to your sheet to track all their new content.

What you get: A live list of all the latest pages published by your competitor.

Step 2: Add Ahrefs Data for Deeper Insights

Now that you have their URLs, the next step is to analyze how those pages are performing.

How to Do It:

1. Export “Top Pages” from Ahrefs
   • Go to Ahrefs Site Explorer.
   • Enter the competitor’s domain.
   • Navigate to Top Pages and export the data.
   • Import this CSV file into your Google Sheet.
2. Analyze Key Metrics
   • Traffic Changes – Identify which pages are gaining traction.
   • New vs. Refreshed Content – See if they’re updating old articles or publishing new ones.
   • Top-Performing Keywords – Find the keywords bringing them the most traffic.
   • Trend Analysis – Look for recurring topics and seasonal spikes.

Step 3: Identify Trends and Weak Spots

By combining sitemap tracking with Ahrefs data, you can quickly spot patterns in their content strategy.

What to Look For:

• High-Traffic Pages – Which articles are getting the most clicks?
• Content Updates – Are they refreshing old content for better rankings?
• Newly Published Articles – Are they targeting trending topics?
• Keyword Shifts – Are they optimizing for new search terms?

Example:

• A competitor’s Wirecutter-style product review gained 25K clicks right after publishing.
• This tells you that writing a similar in-depth review could be a great opportunity.

Why This Works

This method gives you real-time competitor intelligence without expensive tools. Instead of guessing what works, you can see exactly what’s driving their traffic and engagement.

Bonus: Automate Your Tracking

Want to make this process even easier? Set up Google Apps Script to automatically refresh your sheet and pull new sitemap data daily. This way, you always have up-to-date competitor insights.

Your Competitors’ Content Strategy in Minutes

Spying on your competitors’ content strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. By tracking their sitemaps and integrating Ahrefs data, you can gain valuable insights and refine your own strategy for better results.

Want a step-by-step video on this? Let us know in the comments! 🚀

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