/prd-v09-alternatives-pages

name: prd-v09-alternatives-pages
description: >
  Generate "X vs Y" and "Alternative to X" SEO/CRO pages targeting competitive search intent
  during PRD v0.9 Go-to-Market. Triggers on requests to build comparison pages, target
  competitive search traffic, or when user asks "build alternatives pages", "X vs Y page",
  "competitor comparison page", "we're better than X page", "capture branded search",
  "competitive SEO". Outputs SCR-ALT-* page specs and GTM-* channel entries.
context: fork
allowed-tools:
  - Read
  - Write
  - Edit
  - Glob
  - Grep
  - WebSearch
  - WebFetch

execution_modes:
  default: standard
  supports: [quick, standard, deep]

Alternatives Pages (Competitive Comparison SEO/CRO)

Position in workflow: v0.9 AEO Audit → **v0.9 Alternatives Pages** → v0.9 Launch Metrics

Execution Mode

Default is **standard**. See [`.claude/rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md`](../../rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md) for selection logic.

| Mode | What this skill produces | |------|--------------------------| | **quick** | 2 pages for the single most-searched competitor (X-vs-us + alternative-to-X) | | **standard** | 5–10 pages covering top 3–5 competitors with both variant types; CRO copy + comparison table | | **deep** | Full competitor portfolio (10+ competitors); plus multi-way comparison ("X vs Y vs Z"); page-level A/B test plan; SEO targeting per page |

What This Does

Produces a portfolio of high-intent comparison pages — `/x-vs-us` and `/alternative-to-x` — that capture buyers actively searching for competitor names + comparison/alternative keywords. These are the highest-converting acquisition surface for B2B SaaS and many consumer products: the buyer has already passed awareness and is in active evaluation.

The pages must be **fair, credible, and conversion-oriented** — acknowledging where the competitor wins, claiming where you win, with social proof and a clear "when to pick each" guide. Aggressive trashing fails: buyers fact-check, and one false claim loses the page.

How It Works

1. **Source the competitor list** — From the AEO Audit's comparison gaps and v0.2 CFD- competitive landscape. Rank by search volume (use Ahrefs/Semrush/free volume estimators) × buyer-intent strength. 2. **For each competitor, design two pages**:

• **`/<competitor>-vs-<us>`** — Symmetric comparison. Buyer is comparing both.
• **`/alternative-to-<competitor>`** — Asymmetric. Buyer is leaving competitor or shopping replacements.

3. **Apply the page template** (see Output Template) — Honest comparison table on 5–8 dimensions, "When to pick each" guidance, your unique attributes (from Dunford positioning), social proof, CTA. 4. **Anchor in positioning rules** — Each page must respect the BR-POS-* constraints. If positioning says "not for enterprise procurement," the page does not court enterprise buyers. 5. **Plan attribution** — Each page gets its own UTM source and a conversion event. Track per-page activation rate to identify dead pages.

Example

Competitor: **Mixpanel** (mid-search-volume, B2B SaaS analytics).

**Page 1: `/mixpanel-vs-us`**

Symmetric comparison table:

| Dimension | Mixpanel | Us | |-----------|----------|-----| | Setup time | 1–2 weeks (data engineering required) | 15 minutes (autoinstrument) | | Analytics depth | Industry-leading (cohorts, retention, funnels) | Solid (cohorts, funnels — no formula language) | | Pricing | Custom enterprise; usage-based | Flat tier; predictable | | Best-fit team | 50+ person product orgs | 1–20 person teams |

"**Pick Mixpanel if**: you have a data team and need advanced funnel/cohort analysis." "**Pick us if**: you're a small team that needs analytics today, not after a 2-week setup."

CTA: "Start free trial — full setup in under an hour"

**Page 2: `/alternative-to-mixpanel`**

Asymmetric, replacement-oriented. Headline: "Looking for a faster Mixpanel alternative?" Same table, plus migration guide ("export your Mixpanel events; we'll set up identical funnels in 1 hour"), plus customer story ("[Customer X] moved off Mixpanel in 2 days — here's how").

What You Get Back

• **SCR-ALT-\* page specs** — One per page. Includes URL slug, headline, comparison table content, "when to pick each" copy, social proof references, CTA. Hands off to design/dev for build.
• **GTM-\* with Type=Channel** for each page — The page treated as a channel (Owned layer), with attribution plan
• **Page priority queue** — Build order ranked by competitor search volume × conversion potential

When to Use It

| Trigger | Mode | |---------|------| | AEO Audit identified comparison gaps | standard | | Competitor raised prices / had a public incident (capture displaced buyers) | quick (single page, fast) | | Quarterly competitive SEO refresh | standard | | Launch wave needs additional Owned-channel surfaces | standard | | Enterprise / paid-tier buyer education | deep |

Do **not** use for products in tightly regulated categories where comparison claims have legal exposure (e.g., medical devices, financial advice) without legal review.

Consumes

• **CFD-\* competitive alternatives** (from v0.2 + v0.3 Moat) — Anchor for honest comparison; CFD- entries should include competitor strengths, not just weaknesses
• **GTM-AEO-\* gaps** (from v0.9 AEO Audit) — Comparison gaps become page priorities
• **GTM-\* positioning** + **BR-POS-\*** (from v0.9 Positioning) — Defines "when to pick us" claims; pages must honor BR-POS- constraints
• **CFD-\* customer stories** (from v0.1–v0.4 + post-launch) — Social proof and migration stories
• **FEA-\* feature list** — Anchor for "what we have" claims (no vaporware)

Produces

• **SCR-ALT-\* page specs** (subcategorized SCR- entries for alternatives pages, lives in `SoT/SoT.USER_JOURNEYS.md` alongside other SCR- entries)
• **GTM-\* with Type=Channel** for each page (the page-as-channel with attribution plan)
• **CFD-\* gaps surfaced** — If a competitor strength is unaddressed, log CFD- research-gap

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