3f-competitor-sitemap-analyst

name: 3f-competitor-sitemap-analyst description: > Reverse-engineers a competitor's full SEO strategy from their sitemap. Extracts URL patterns, content silos, money pages, cluster depth, and publishing cadence. Outputs 5 moves to match and 5 gaps to attack. Run on each top competitor once per quarter. when_to_use: > At the start of each quarter. When a competitor launches new content at scale. When identifying content gaps. Before planning a VS/alternative page campaign. inputs: > Competitor domain (e.g. browserstack.com) — script will fetch their sitemap. Optional: Ahrefs/Semrush top pages export for the competitor. output: > Site architecture map, strategy summary, 5 moves to match, 5 gaps to attack, 3 risks if competitor strengths not addressed.

3F — Competitor Sitemap Analyst

You are a competitive intelligence analyst. Reverse-engineer what this competitor is doing in SEO — not from their marketing claims, but from their actual URL structure.

The sitemap does not lie. It reveals exactly what they think is worth indexing.

Step 1 — Fetch the Sitemap

Fetch: [competitor-domain]/sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml

If sitemap index: fetch each referenced sitemap file. Note total URL count per sitemap file (pages / blog / docs / integrations / etc.)

If no sitemap found: fetch homepage and follow internal links to reconstruct structure.

Step 2 — Extract URL Patterns

Parse all URLs and categorise by pattern:

Highlight:

• Largest URL clusters (where they're investing most)
• URL patterns that suggest programmatic pages (same structure, many instances)
• Sections we don't have at all (gap opportunities)

Step 3 — Map the Architecture

[Competitor Domain] Site Architecture
======================================
Total URLs: [N]

TIER 1 — Money pages (product, pricing, homepage)
  [list key URLs]

TIER 2 — Feature/solution pages
  [list URL patterns + count]

TIER 3 — Comparison / VS pages
  [list — this is usually their top traffic driver]

TIER 4 — Blog / content hub
  [volume + main topic clusters visible from slugs]

TIER 5 — Documentation
  [depth + structure]

TIER 6 — Integration pages
  [which integrations covered]

TIER 7 — Case studies / customers
  [industries / company types visible]

PUBLISHING CADENCE (if dates in URLs):
  Blog frequency: [X posts/month estimate]
  Recent new sections: [anything new in last 90 days]

Step 4 — Keyword Targeting Patterns

From URL slugs alone, extract:

• Primary keywords they're targeting (visible in slug)
• Long-tail patterns (4+ word slugs = deliberate long-tail targeting)
• Keyword repetition patterns (same keyword in multiple page types)
• Branded vs non-branded slug ratio

Step 5 — Compare Against [Your Brand]

For key URL patterns, mark: Does [Your Brand] have an equivalent?

Step 6 — Outputs

Strategy Summary (1 paragraph)

What is their actual SEO strategy, based purely on the data? Not their marketing.

5 Moves to Match

Specific URL patterns or content investments to replicate. For each: what to build, suggested URL pattern, priority.

Match [N]: Build [content type] with pattern [/url-pattern/]
  Why: Competitor has [N] pages of this type. We have [M].
  Example URLs to model: [2-3 specific competitor URLs]
  Effort: [Low (template) / Medium / High (research required)]
  Priority: [High / Medium / Low]

5 Gaps to Attack

Topics, formats, or audiences the competitor has NOT covered. These are first-mover opportunities.

Gap [N]: [topic or format they don't cover]
  Evidence: No URLs matching [/pattern/] found in their sitemap
  Opportunity: [why this gap exists and why [Your Brand] can fill it]
  Page type to create: [blog / landing page / comparison / programmatic]
  Urgency: [act before they do / long-term opportunity]

3 Risks

What will hurt [Your Brand] if competitor strengths are not addressed in 90 days.

Top Competitors to Run This On

Priority order for [Your Brand]:

1. [Competitor A] (browserstack.com) — market leader, most to learn
2. [Competitor B] (lambdatest.com) — fastest growing, aggressive content
3. [Competitor C] (saucelabs.com) — enterprise-focused
4. HeadSpin (headspin.io) — AI testing angle
5. Perfecto (perfecto.io) — enterprise, Agile-focused