What is the bullseye model?
The bullseye model is a strategic analysis tool that helps you get an overview of your competitive landscape. The model organises your competitors into four concentric circles, just like a shooting target, where the distance from the centre shows how direct the competition is. It gives you a visual and logical system that makes it easier to understand who you're actually competing with – and at what level.
At the centre are the businesses that offer a product that almost matches your own and that target the same audience. The outermost rings, on the other hand, hold products or services that meet the same basic need but do so in a different way. In other words, the model moves from direct product competition to broader needs-based competition. That structure helps you see the market in layers, not just as direct opposites.
You can use it in many contexts – whether you work with strategic branding, marketing or SEO. In SEO, it's used, among other things, to assess which competitors you should actually compare your visibility with, and where you can find inspiration to strengthen your own position in the search results.
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How do you use the bullseye model?
You use the bullseye model by first defining your own products, your core value and the target audience you address. Once that's in place, you start placing your competitors in the rings, from the centre outwards. The process requires both market insight and an honest assessment of what your business actually offers.
Here's how you can use the logic of the rings in a practical analysis:
- Inner ring: Identify the businesses that have the same product and target audience as you. This is where you'll find those you share most of your traffic, customers and keywords with.
- Ring 2: Map competitors who sell the same product, but to a different target audience. This can give you insight into new segments you could potentially expand into.
- Ring 3: Find players in the same product category, but not necessarily at the same price level or with the same positioning.
- Ring 4: Note players who meet the same overall need in a different way – for example, products that could replace your own as an alternative solution for the consumer.
By structuring your competitors this way, you can analyse patterns in the market. You can see where competition is tightest and where there's room to differentiate yourself. The model also helps you prioritise: you can focus most on the competitors in the centre while keeping an eye on the outer layers to spot new trends and substitutes.
Why you should use the bullseye model
The bullseye model is useful because it condenses a complex market into a simple visual structure. It lets you identify where you stand in the field and how you can build a clear brand compared with others. In practice, it makes it easier to decide where your marketing resources will be used most effectively.
If you work with SEM or social media marketing, for example, you can use the model to choose which competitors' advertising to monitor closely and which ones to just keep an eye on from a distance. It gives you a basis for prioritising your efforts – based not only on who exists in the market, but on how much real influence they have on your target audience.
It also helps with strategic positioning in branding and communication. You can use insight from the model to define how your brand differs from those closest to you, so you don't communicate the same thing as your nearest competitors.
How do you use the bullseye model in practice?
In practice, working with the bullseye model requires you to gather data from several sources. You should analyse keywords, audience behaviour and the media landscape. When you work with SEO, you can supplement the analysis by looking at your competitors' visibility, backlink profiles and content strategies. That way, you get a concrete understanding of how your direct competition performs digitally.
An example of a practical approach:
- Start by selecting 10–15 competitors that cover both your direct and indirect competition.
- Gather visibility data and traffic estimates using SEO tools, so you can place the competitors in the four rings on a factual basis.
- Analyse where the overlap is greatest, and see where you clearly differentiate yourself on content, design or price.
- Then adapt your communication, your content and your digital strategy to strengthen your position in the segments where you want to compete most actively.
So it's not just about finding out who your competitors are. It's just as much about understanding how to use that insight in your marketing, your design and your strategic planning. When you combine the model with ongoing analysis of performance data from Google Ads or your social channels, for example, you get a more complete understanding of the market.
Shed light on the competitive situation with the 4 elements
The bullseye model is based on four rings that determine the size of the competitive field. The final assessment depends on how you define your competitors. If you compete on price, you should pay attention to all products in the same price range. If you operate in a niche market, it's the specific products competing to be the best that are relevant. So get a solid overview of the market and your competitors before you start.
Same product
In the innermost ring, the competitors are all the businesses that offer the same product or service at a similar price. The target audience will typically see the products as more or less the same, which means competition is narrow and based primarily on brand value. A classic example is Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Same product category
In the next ring, the competitors are businesses that offer products within the same category – but not necessarily at the same price. Price therefore often becomes the deciding factor, and the competitive field is slightly broader. One example is SAS and Norwegian, which both offer flights, but at different price levels.
Same basic need
In the second-outermost ring, the competitors are businesses that meet the same basic consumer need – without their products having to be the same. One product can replace the other, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. One example is airlines and rail companies: both offer transport, which is the essential need the consumer wants met.
All products
In the outermost ring, all businesses, regardless of industry, are seen as potential competitors – as they all compete for consumers' income. Here, the competitive field is at its broadest, and your business is, in principle, competing with everything from beauty products to kitchenware.
What should you be aware of?
When you use the bullseye model, be aware that the market is constantly changing. New products can quickly move from the outer ring towards the centre if they become popular or change customers' expectations. This means you should update your analysis regularly, so your decisions are always based on a current picture of the competitive situation.
You also need to be realistic when you place competitors in the rings. It's easy to overestimate how different your own product is, especially when you see it from the inside. So use objective criteria such as price, function, distribution channels and customer profile to place your competitors as precisely as possible.
Finally, remember that the bullseye model doesn't stand alone. It works best when you combine it with other analysis tools – for example, data from your keyword research or insights from digital strategy and branding. That way, it becomes an active part of your overall marketing effort, not just an exercise on paper.
