Online Competitor Communication Analysis as a Methodological Tool for Marketing Management Decision-Making: A Case Study from Gastronomy E-Commerce

This paper develops and demonstrates a six-step methodological procedure for analysing online competitor communication in a sector-specific e-commerce environment. The procedure is intended for marketing managers who need to transform observable online signals into structured evidence for competitor benchmarking and decision-making. The empirical application focuses on the Slovak gastronomy e-commerce market. Customer-oriented search simulation based on twelve query themes identified 15 competitors and 65 company-query occurrences. Four comparable websites—World Gastro & Office, Europapier, Gastrokuchyne.sk and METRO—were subsequently selected through purposive criteria and examined using a standardised SEO audit. The recorded indicators were organised in a case-by-indicator matrix and analysed through within-case profiling, descriptive cross-case F summary statistics and structured managerial interpretation. The overall SEO scores ranged from 54 to 60 points, with a mean of 57. The audited websites displayed different combinations of technical, semantic and trust-related strengths and weaknesses: METRO achieved the strongest reported speed result but the weakest metadata profile, while Europapier obtained the highest overall score but had the largest page size. The main contribution is a transparent and replicable framework that links customer search behaviour, competitor identification, audit measurement and managerial prioritisation. The method can support website optimisation, content planning and marketing resource allocation, particularly in small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses.