Content

What is a product review page?

A product review page is a POSITIONING content that spotlights your SaaS use cases in a defined market. 

It highlights the WHY, WHAT, and HOW behind your product in a specific niche, not in comparison to other SaaS competitors, but in alignment with your brand’s principles and use cases. 

Why is a product review page important?

I love product review pages because they make it easy to address ideal subscriber’s pain points.

It can help you, in clear and precise terms, tell subscribers WHY they should choose you without the comparison bias.

Unlike a homepage, which houses every potential user, a product review page accommodates only those in a specific niche or industry.

For example, see how this Pipedrive review page helped position the CRM software as the go-to platform for realtors:

The tone of voice, pain points, and features discussed ONLY highlight how Pipedrive serves realtors.

But this simple attempt to make Pipedrive a go-to tool for realtors didn’t end here. 

After a while, it not only drove up Pipedrive’s top-of-page bid for the keyword “Pipedrive for real estate…” 

But also empowered affiliate reviews like this:

Indeed, if Pipedrive capitalizes on this traffic, it can dominate the real estate space for years. 

That aside, here are other reasons you need a product review page:

🎁 It helps you control your overall WHY, how people think about your brand, and the beliefs they attach to it.

🎁 It helps highlight your unique value differentiators in a specific industry or niche market.

🎁 It gives affiliate marketers, influencers, and other subscribers interested in your SaaS a clear, unbiased view of your product. 

Best practices to create high-converting product review pages

🎯 Optimize for Google 

Optimizing a product review page for Google requires the same search intent and keyword strategies SaaS brands have been thriving on since its inception. 

But don’t forget that blogs rank higher than landing pages on Google. 

And undoubtedly, product reviews are better showcased as landing pages than blogs. To combat this issue, USE hybrid landing pages. Here’s an example from Hubspot: 

🎯 Focus on specific use cases 

For your product review to have a real, lasting impact, you can’t afford to tout every feature or benefit your SaaS offers. 

You need to focus on specific use cases that tell an ideal customer how certain features will be relevant to their day-to-day.

For example, see how MouseFlow uses a product review page to position its analytic tool as the perfect choice for healthcare experts:

Key takeaways:

• From the get-go, Mouseflow spotlights the “WHY, WHAT & HOW” behind its content. 
• Mouseflow was ultra-specific about the context (analytics for healthcare professionals). 
• The review page only focused on use cases that show how Mouseflow helps healthcare experts enjoy a more pleasant experience online. And nothing else.

🎯 Answer FAQs

Subscribers about to make a decision never grow weary of questions. But your sales team might.

You can avoid the dilemma by including FAQs on your review page. 

Here’s a plain example from Wrike: 

OR a more sophisticated approach from HubSpot:

🎯 State price plans

Not including price plans in your product review page is equivalent to leaving money on the table.

Because YES! Budget-conscious prospects will walk away confused, wondering whether or not they can afford you.

A table similar to this HubSpot example will do the trick:

🎯 Include testimonials 

I don’t see the need to stress the importance of social proof—be it awards or testimonials—on a product review page.

But if you need inspiration drafting a high-converting one, here’s an example from Creator IQ to guide you:

🎯 Sparingly use CTAs 

Without a CTA, prospects will quickly turn to fleeting consumers. 

But that doesn’t mean you should bombard them with a shiny “Request a demo” or “Sign up now” button at every turn.

Only include CTAs in your product review page when your narrative requires it, probably at the beginning, middle, or end of your page.

What is X vs. Y content?

X vs. Y content is a competitor comparison content that compares your SaaS offerings with a worthy rival.

It provides clear, direct, and unbiased information to:

• Prospects: Ideal subscribers interested in both brands but need to pick a favorite. 
• Existing subscribers: people who want to know how you fare with a priced competitor. 
• Affiliate marketers: folks reviewing your tool for a niche audience.

You can design an X vs. Y content as a landing page: Docusign vs. Dropbox sign:

Or as a blog: Recurly vs. Zuora:

For now, let’s iterate the importance of X vs. Y content.

Why is X vs. Y content important? 

Well, in a nutshell, it’s one of the few competitor comparison content you can use to vie with the behemoths and promising start-ups in your space. 

In an X vs. Y contest, you go head to head with a brand that:

• Can do some things (or many things) as well as or better than your brand.
• Brands that make superior products or command greater loyalty. 
• Or SaaS companies with better leaders and people who act with a clearer sense of purpose than you do. 

One major mistake brands make in their X vs. Y campaigns is vying with brands they can outflank just to make themselves feel or look superior. 

But indeed, if you want to feel superior, you are better off with a Top alternative to X content. 

With that said, X vs. Y content is also powerful for nurturing brand LOYALTY.

Woven around genuine narratives, X vs. Y content gives subscribers a point-blank view of the WHY behind your SaaS offerings.

It allows prospects to:

• Understand what your brand stands for—the cause behind your actions. 
• Learn about your SaaS strengths and weaknesses.
• See how well you can stand your ground before worthy competitors. 

The gist is that, with X vs. Y content, you don’t need to take up the competition relying on an industry-accepted comparison checklist.

NAH! 

Instead, you can focus on winning the hearts and minds of a SPECIFIC audience by:

• Building your narrative around your overall WHY. 
• Being ultra-specific about who you’re talking to. 
• Spotlighting why you care about this audience. 
• And pitting ONLY features you deem appropriate to this audience.  

But you need to do it with a content type that’s informative, inspiring, and can easily rank on Google, which brings us back to an issue we previously overlooked:

Cons of X vs. Y comparison content 

• It thrives on heavy, in-depth research. 
• It’s challenging to eliminate bias.
• It requires regular updates to remain relevant. 
• Contrary to popular opinion, X vs Y content isn’t the most effective format for stealing mindshare; X vs. Y vs. Z content is.

Not recommended when: 

• Your SaaS doesn’t have any stand-out features. 
• You’re trying to dominate a new market with an awareness gap. 
• You don’t have a balanced budget to run and maintain a comparative content marketing campaign.

Best Practices to Create High-converting X vs. Y Content (plus examples to inspire you)

🎯 Analyze search intent 

If you have a well-known SaaS, it’s easy to analyze search intent and find the right keyword. You can start with Google’s suggest feature.

Type “your brand name vs.” in Google search and… example:

If your brand is unknown, type in a rival’s name instead and take note of all the competitors listed. 

Next, use the “Discover new keyword” feature on Google keyword planner to analyze average monthly searches and the “top of page bid” range. 

Here’s an example of the “Hubspot vs.” keyword:

You can kick off your X vs. Y campaign by going head-to-head with competitors having a high “top of page” bid. 

Or you can start with less-known competitors, as it will be easier to get a good ranking, especially if it’s a new startup that popped out with a lot of funding.

It all depends on how much you want to invest.🙂

🎯 Focus on Buyer Personas 

You can’t woo everyone in your target market with your X vs. Y campaign.

Even with a best-in-class product, a lot of potential users will still be misfits. 

So, instead of going toe-to-toe in an effort to steal your competitors’ audience, focus on carving out your own space. 

Focus on speaking to ideal subscribers represented by detailed buyer personas, not the entire target market. 

This way, you can avoid scope creep and review only features relevant to your best-fit customers.

🎯 Create a comparison hub 

Prospects who trust you enough to read your X vs. Y content want to see how you stack up with a particular competitor. 

But that doesn’t mean they won’t find other comparison articles useful. 

For example, a prospect choosing between Brevo and Mailchimp can draw insightful takeaways from a Godaddy vs. Mailchimp comparison page. 

That’s why it’s super important to create a side-by-side product comparison hub. Here’s an example from Mailchimp:

Or seek inspiration from this project management software comparison hub from Pipedrive, it’s more robust than the aforementioned example, but of a simpler nature:

🎯 Indulge an infinite mindset 

X vs. Y software comparison is not a finite game. 

It’s not like a football game with defined rules or definite winners.

Regardless of what you do, certain people will still value your rival’s product over yours.

And sadly, no marketing or sales tactics can change this.

So instead of trying to woo everyone with your product, identify:

• The just CAUSE both brands piggyback,
• The FEATURES of each product,
• And the SUBSCRIBERS both SaaS serves best.

Then, shamelessly build your X vs. Y campaign around how well you and your rival can meet the finite needs of this audience now and in the future. 

🎯 Prioritize transparency

Prospects shy away from branded X vs. Y comparison pages because of content like this:

In this Asana vs. Monday product comparison example, Asana didn’t reference Monday’s positioning or USP. 

From top to bottom, Asana tooted its own horn. 

And even in the FAQ where the “which should I use” question popped up, “Asana or Monday,” the writer didn’t make any direct reference to Monday:

It was as if they were shy or scared to talk about how Monday stacks up, which is a deal breaker for serious subscribers. 

While I love Asana’s drift design, if you want to reel in sales with your comparison pages, prioritize transparent content like this:

Or go for fun and witty stuff that oozes genuine opinions:

Because as much as you want to come out on top, the only way your content can move the needle or inspire loyalty is if you give competitors genuine credit where credit is due.

🎯 Use interactive designs 

Show, don’t tell is an age-old marketing cliche that’s forever evergreen. 

Truly, some things are better shown than told. 

Use GIFs, videos, and other interactive visual formats to make key value differentiators STICKY. 

You can draw inspiration from this Anaplan vs. Pigment product comparison page design.

🎯 Include relevant testimonials 

Here is what I mean by relevant testimonials:

Not this:

Simple difference:

The testimonial from Wave:

• Provides an image to boost authenticity,
• Shows that the reviewer has used both tools,
• Highlights a simple yet powerful difference. 

On the other hand, the testimonial from Twist perpetuates no real value. It’s pretty vague and generic.

🎯 Don’t forget FAQs 

FAQs are super important in X vs. Y comparison content, especially if your industry has an awareness gap.

You can finalize your X vs. Y content with a simple FAQ section like this:

Or sprinkle relevant questions across content as Asana did here:

🎯 Engage skimmers with skimmable content 

Harsh truth: subscribers rarely read comparison content from top to bottom.

On the best occasions, they skim. 

So yeah, you want to make your X vs. Y content as skimmable as possible.

You can start by creating a competitor comparison table similar to this Zendesk example:

For content flow, this Zenefits interactive sidebar is a beautiful example:

Just don’t forget to break long tables into expandable sections and avoid listing unnecessary features. 

Prioritize features that inspire subscribers to sign up or switch tools speedily, e.g., persuasion elements like zero-cost migration support.

📌 X vs. Y vs. Z 

What is an X vs. Y vs. Z content?

X vs. Z vs. Y content is a three-way comparison page where you pair three SaaS brands to identify the best fit for different subscribers. 

It involves pitting your brand with TWO worthy rivals or well-funded startups to SPOTLIGHT the best fit for a target market. 

Why is X vs. Y vs. Z content important?

X vs. Y vs. Z comparison content is crucial for GENERATING demand, STEALING mindshare, and PIGGYBACKING off the category leader’s search demand. 

You see, in every SaaS market, there are top dogs and underdogs—tools with millions of subscribers and then SaaS tools scrambling to land a few thousand.

If your brand is new to the market (even if your SaaS has better features than the competition), it’s tagged an underdog. 

Why’s that?

Well, for one, it’s unknown. 

A Majority of the market doesn’t know your SaaS exists. They do not know your brand and are, in most cases, unwilling to look.

To draw their attention, you must take up their fair-weather champions (or popular brands) heads-on. 

You need to show you can stand your ground against worthy competitors. 

You must show that your SaaS has what it takes to become their new champion.

And that’s where X vs. Y vs. Z articles come in. 

X vs. Y vs. Z software comparison blogs pit your product with that of category leaders to make your SaaS a popular consideration among subscribers. 

What is X vs. Y, then Z content?

X vs Y, then Z content is also a three-way comparison, but not in the X vs. Y vs. Z sense.

In an X vs. Y, then Z comparison, two competitors or prospects (mostly behemoths) take the stage as the primary topic while your tool stays on the sideline, waiting to be introduced as a good alternative in strategic corners where you can easily score points. 

It entails evaluating two SaaS brands for a target audience where your tool is a fine alternative or excellent intermediary.

Why is X vs. Y then Z content important? 

The importance of X vs Y, then Z content is similar to X vs. Y vs. Z.

At least it can help you steal mindshare and piggyback off search demand. 

But there’s one subtle yet significant difference. 

X vs. Y, then Z content works best when you aim to win a defined market segment. 

Here’s the gist: 

With an X vs. Y, then Z content, you’re not actively participating in the comparison debate. 

Instead, you’re pitting two top brands against each other with your product on the sidelines, waiting to join the conversation ONLY when the spoils are ripe. 

Wondering how? Here are two tried and true X vs. Y, then Z strategies with examples. 

Not recommended when: 

• You don’t have a good budget to run and maintain a comparative content marketing campaign. 
• You don’t have any power feature or USP worthy of comparison.

Best practices to create high-converting X vs. Y, then Z content 

🎯 Focus on best-fit customers 

As much as X vs. Y, then Z blogs can easily help you steal mindshare; not every subscriber will switch sides at the sight of your product, even if it offers better value. 😶

Your best bet at success is focusing on best-fit customers—subscribers your product explicitly serves.

For example, see how Semrush, although reviewing two functional-fit products, “Shopify vs. WordPress,” still focused on its best-fit customers: e-commerce merchants:

This way, you can avoid scope creep and review only features relevant to ideal subscribers.

🎯 Map features to benefits and values before reviewing 

Features, benefits, and values mean different things. 

• Features: something your product DOES or has. For example, you have a PM tool that offers one-click invoice reports; that’s a feature. 
• Benefits: this is what the feature ENABLES  for subscribers. For example, your PM tool, which offers one-click invoice report, can enable fast, effortless report generation; that’s a benefit. 
• Values: how each feature and benefit LEADS TO A GOAL subscribers want to achieve. For example, with your PM tool’s one-click invoice report, project managers can rest assured freelancers will have accurate, up-to-date info on their pay scale, eliminating the need for back-and-forth debates come payday; that’s value.  

Here’s a perfect “features to benefits and values” depiction from Converkit’s product review page:

By mapping each brand’s RELATED features to benefits and values, you spotlight the WHY, WHAT, and HOW behind your product.

🎯 Don’t be intrusive 

Indeed, X vs. Y, then Z comparison content requires that your SaaS product remain on the sideline till an opportunity to stress its power features arises. 

Well, such opportunities don’t always exist in plain sight. Most times, you have to create room for it. 

And that’s where most SaaS writers go wrong. 😶

In an effort to toot their brand’s horn, they ignore content flow, offering unwarranted recommendations at the slightest chance.

If you want your X vs. Y, then Z content to convert, you must avoid such mistakes at all costs, because being intrusive will make your words sound salesy and boring to readers.

Only introduce your product when confident readers will find value in it. 

Here’s an example from Hotjar for inspiration:

🎯 Use lots of white spaces 

X vs. Y, then Z blogs are long, complicated reads.

Using bullet points, pro tips, and tables to make your content skimmable might not be enough to keep potential users glued.

Take it further with white spaces and unique colors. 

Or, in more easy-going words, optimize your blog like a hybrid landing page.

You can draw inspiration from Hotjar’s Shopify vs. Wix review.

🎯 Conclude with an actionable summary

Your conclusion is the final touchpoint of your content. 

Fleeting and skimming subscribers (as well as avid readers) usually touch base at this junction before waving goodbye.

That’s why concluding with an actionable summary is SUPER important.

The easiest way to do this is by

—Highlighting the major differences between the two SaaS you reviewed

—and then wrapping up with how your SaaS product serves as a good alternative or intermediary. 

Here’s a prime example from Swimm:

What is a ‘Top Alternatives to X’ content? 

Top alternatives to X content sheds light on how good your SaaS and a host of other products vie compared to an industry behemoth. 

Here’s an example from Zonka:

Zonka used this blog to talk about Qualtrics (an industry leader in academic market research) before positioning its product and a handful of other tools as the next best alternative. 

Overall, alternatives to X content are usually listicles comparing niche-specific tools, not landing pages where you only talk about your product.

Why are alternatives to X content important? 

With so many SaaS products offering similar features, you’ll always find subscribers searching for the next best alternative to

—Either a tool they are already using 

—Or a purchase they are about to make.

And they do this for a host of reasons that are sometimes unpredictable. Obvious ones include: 

• Limited budget
• Lack of specific features 
• Steep learning curve 
• Desire for change, etc.

In essence, alternatives to X content are important because they can position your brand (in a new or existing market) as the next best thing since sliced bread. 🙂

Cons of top alternative comparison content

• It’s less potent for stealing mindshare than X vs. Y, then Z blogs. 
• It comprises only niche-specific tools, so you can’t use it to attract prospects in other sectors.

What is a “Best X tool” blog?

A “Best X tool” blog is a type of software comparison content you can use to spotlight your SaaS unique offerings in a list containing:

• Direct competitors offering similar solutions in a niche market. For example, this CodeGiant blog: 

• Or indirect competitors in a market segment. For example, this Friday’s blog:

Why is “best X tool” content important?

Best X tool blogs are among the few comparison content that serves navigational and commercial needs. 

It can help subscribers find a stack of synchronized tools for their arsenal—tools aligned with their budget and creative needs. 

These blogs usually offer genuine opinions on how a set of tools can help creatives enjoy confident workflows. 

Some other key advantages of “Best X tool” content include:

• You can use it to show how your brand fits into a sought-after category, e.g., free, cheapest, most potent, etc.
• You get to review other tools that effortlessly complement your product.
• You can go head-to-head with aspirational competitors; SaaS brands you compete with for attention, not sales. 
• It helps subscribers make quick decisions when comparing criteria like cost, audience, functionality, etc. 
• Unlike alternatives to X, you don’t have to review only niche-specific tools. So yeah, “best X tool” blogs are wonderful website materials for attracting prospects in other industries. 

Step #1: Visit G2 to get a comprehensive list of your competitors. 

G2 is among the few software comparison sites with a robust list of the most advanced SaaS tools.

Simply visit the platform and enter your software category. 

For example, let’s say your SaaS tool is in the project management niche. 

Visit G2 and type the software CATEGORY, “e.g., project management,” into the search portal. 

And you’ll be graced with a page like this: 

Note the number of listings, 440. That’s a lot.

It will take forever to write a comparison blog comparing all 440 listings. And running keyword research against all possible matches will also take forever. 

So, let’s break the list down a bit. 

To do this, answer the following questions:

• Which indispensable feature is my SaaS product offering?
• What’s the price range? 
• Which audience is it serving?

Answering the above questions will help you categorize the competition further using G2:

For example, let’s say your project management tool is perfect for task prioritization and a good tool for the enterprise market.

Here’s what you’ll find:

After categorizing, we’re left with 46 listings. 

Now, this is a list you can work with. 🙂

If you have the budget, you can efficiently run an X vs. Y campaign on all 46 listings—going toe to toe with all viable competitors.

But since, in most cases, budget is a hindrance, and there are other more subtle yet promising comparison content types like X vs. Y vs. Z and top alternatives to X, let’s go a step further.

Step #2: How to generate high-value keywords for your list. 

To break the list down further, you will need to focus on KEYWORDS. 

And for that, you need an SEO tool. 

There’s Ahref, Semrush, and a bunch of paid tools to aid in this endeavor. 

However, to help you rank your comparison blogs even when on a budget, I’ll use Google keyword planner. It’s FREE. 

Google designed its Keyword planner for Google ad campaigns. But over the years, it has become a tested, approved, and trusted tool for SEO research. 

So yeah, you can start by creating a Google ads account. This will grant automatic access to the keyword planner:

On the keyword planner’s dashboard, click the “Discover new keyword” option and input the name of a noteworthy competitor from your G2 listings. Include the term VS at the end of the listing.

For example, Asana vs:

Click “Get results” and then look for keywords that compare “Asana” to the other project management tools on your list:

I got 340 keyword ideas. Another a lot to take in.😓

But thankfully, not all are valuable. So, let’s filter for the ones that are easy to rank for and offer good value for money. 

Use the filtering option to filter your search so it only shows keywords above or below a certain level of competition (average monthly search volume). 

In this case, LOW:

NOTE THAT: 

• 20-100: With exceptional content, you can hit the first page right away.
• 100-1k+: Reaching the first page with top-tier content takes a few weeks/months.

Here’s the result:

Now you know that, with quality content, you can easily rank for a handful of keywords from the above list.  

But this raises another question: Which keyword will MAKE YOU MORE MONEY? 

To KNOW, you’ll have to check out each keyword’s commercial intent. It’s top of page bid:

The top-of-page bid shows how much it would cost to place an ad for a selected keyword at the top of Google. 

So, to make good money from your comparison campaigns, focus on creating content around keywords with higher top-of-page bids; it reflects ideal subscribers’ search intent. 🙂

FAQs