When a major competitor exits, immediately contact authors of high-ranking content to replace the defunct brand
Large competitor shutdowns create a unique SEO arbitrage opportunity. Existing high-authority articles ranking for '{Competitor} alternative' keywords need to update their recommendations. By directly contacting authors and asking to be mentioned or to replace the defunct competitor, new products can gain backlinks and visibility on valuable keywords they could never rank for organically.
When to use
When a major competitor announces shutdown, acquisition, or product discontinuation. Most effective immediately after the announcement while content creators are updating their articles.
Don't do this
Waiting weeks or months after the announcement. Reaching out to irrelevant content. Mass spamming without personalization.
1 Founder Who Did This
When Skype announced shutdown in March 2025, Dennis searched for 'Skype alternative' keywords, found ranking blog posts, identified authors via X/LinkedIn/email, and directly asked them to mention Yaphone or replace Skype in existing articles