How to Add Competitors and Read Brand Rankings

Why Competitor Tracking Matters

AI answers are competitive.

When users ask for recommendations, AI platforms may mention multiple brands.

If competitors appear more often, rank higher, or are described more positively, they may capture attention before users visit your website.

Competitor tracking helps answer:

Who appears above us? Which competitors are gaining visibility? Which prompts do competitors own? Which sources cite competitors? How does sentiment compare? Where should we improve first?

Without competitor tracking, AI visibility data is incomplete.

How to Choose Competitors

Choose competitors your buyers actually compare with you.

Include:

Direct competitors Category leaders Regional competitors Enterprise alternatives Emerging competitors Substitute solutions

For a SaaS brand, competitors may include other tools, platforms, directories, or category leaders.

For e-commerce, competitors may include brands, marketplaces, and product alternatives.

For healthcare, competitors may include clinics, hospitals, labs, and local providers.

For financial services, competitors may include banks, fintech platforms, exchanges, wallets, and cards.

Start focused. Add more later.

How to Add Competitors

Inside Hema AI, add competitor names and websites.

For each competitor, make sure the spelling is accurate.

If a competitor operates under multiple names or domains, use the most common customer-facing version.

After adding competitors, Hema AI can compare visibility across:

Brand ranking Visibility score Share of voice Mentions Citations Sources Sentiment Prompt performance

This helps you understand where your brand stands.

How to Read Brand Ranking

Brand ranking shows which brands appear most prominently in AI-generated answers.

Review:

Your position Competitor positions Average position Visibility percentage Mentions Sources Sentiment

If your brand ranks below competitors, inspect the prompt, sources, and sentiment behind the ranking.

A lower rank may be caused by:

weak content missing citations poor source coverage unclear positioning competitor-owned prompts thin pages negative sentiment

Ranking is a starting point for investigation.

How to Read Share of Voice

Share of voice shows how much of the AI conversation your brand owns compared with competitors.

A competitor may not rank first every time, but if they appear across many prompts, they may have higher share of voice.

Review:

overall share share by competitor share by platform share by prompt group movement over time

Share of voice helps teams understand category presence, not just one answer position.

How to Act on Competitor Insights

When competitors are ahead, identify why.

Ask:

Which prompts do they appear in? Which sources are cited? Is sentiment stronger? Do they have better comparison pages? Is their pricing clearer? Are they present in directories or review sites? Do they have deeper content?

Then decide the action.

Possible actions:

create comparison pages improve pricing clarity add FAQs publish prompt-led content improve source coverage update solution pages fix site health issues monitor movement monthly

Competitor insights should become a content and visibility roadmap.

How many competitors should I add?

Start with 3–5 key competitors.

Can I add more competitors later?

Yes. Add more when expanding into new products, regions, or customer segments.

What is brand ranking?

Brand ranking shows where your brand appears compared with competitors in AI-generated answers.

What if competitors appear more often?

Review prompt gaps, source gaps, citation gaps, content depth, and sentiment.