Early in my blogging career, I wrote a post asking whether my blog was better than my friend Garry Conn's site. The honest answer was no, and it was not even close. When I first met Garry, I had 25 RSS subscribers, and my wife and I were responsible for five of those. Garry had more content, more subscribers, a bigger email list, and made more money from his blog than I did. He had also been at it longer and had helped far more people.
Why Comparing Yourself to Others Can Be Useful
Now, I could have looked at that gap and felt discouraged. Instead, I found it motivating. Comparing your blog or online business to someone who is further ahead is actually one of the most productive things you can do, as long as you approach it the right way. The goal is not to feel bad about where you are. The goal is to identify specific areas where you can improve.
When I compared my blog to Garry's, here is what I noticed. He published more frequently and more consistently than I did. His content was deeper and more practical. He had invested time in building relationships with readers and other bloggers. He had systems in place for monetization that I had not even considered yet. Each of those observations gave me a concrete action item.
How To Do a Competitive Blog Analysis in 2026
If you want to improve your blog or content business, find three to five sites in your niche that are clearly outperforming yours and study them. Look at these specific areas:
- Content depth and quality. Are their articles more comprehensive than yours? Do they include original insights, data, or examples that yours lack?
- Publishing consistency. How often do they publish? A consistent schedule builds audience expectations and search engine trust.
- Design and user experience. Is their site easier to navigate? Does it load faster? Is it optimized for mobile?
- Monetization strategy. How are they making money? Affiliate links, digital products, advertising, memberships, services?
- Community engagement. Do they respond to comments? Are they active on social media? Do they have a podcast or YouTube channel that extends their reach?
The Real Lesson
What I eventually realized is that blog rankings and subscriber counts are vanity metrics if they are not connected to a real business strategy. Garry's blog was more successful than mine by almost every measure at the time, but both of us were building businesses in our own way at our own pace.
The comparison was valuable not because it told me who was winning but because it showed me what was possible and gave me a roadmap for getting there. Use your competition as inspiration and a source of ideas, not as a reason to quit. Everyone starts at 25 subscribers. What matters is what you do next.
Congratulation when your blog 26th at Top 100 pro blogger.
A second on the congrats Mark. Garry has a great site and Garry is a full time marketer – you’re not – so, that’s a big thumbs up for your part time efforts.
The list is a little odd to me in some regards. Hard to believe Dosh Dosh only comes in at 16.
Well, I have been saying for a while that I am not real crazy about the algorithm….I agree with you that DoshDosh is too low.
As for Garry — GarryConn.com is a tiny part of his business. That really is a part-time thing for him.
Wow, if nothing else Mark, the title alone grabbed my attention. Don’t compare you and Garry to Darth Vader and Obi-Wan. Think of it more like David Caradine in Kung-Fu. “You are now ready, Grasshopper. For the student is now the teacher.”
LOL he has me past the 100 mark because his algo looks at technorati rank and TBPR, which is next to worthless 🙂 Luckily my readers know that algorithm is trash. BUT your blog is better than many on that list, so that’s one of very few that may very well be in the right spot!
Regardless of the flaws, it is a great accomplishment to be mentioned along side other great bloggers.
Garry does change things way to often. But that is probably the ADHD.
Mark, congrats dude… While I agree, this is fun to rank on a list, sometimes I have issues with it because in my opinion many higher quality blogs are ranked too low. To see DoshDosh and Court not in the top ten is a sin. If I had to choose only ten blogs to read, both would be on my top ten list for sure.
@CD — thanks, man. I have certainly been working at it.
@Garry — about time you showed up dude. LOL. Thanks for stopping by. I love the fact that I finally outranked you at SOMETHING, even if it is a very questionable victory.
Thanks for everything that you have done to help me (and others) along the way. I will never forget it.