Ocean Conservancy
Scope
Competitive Analysis
Role
Content Strategist
Duration
Fall 2024
Overview
Ocean Conservancy is a leading nonprofit focused on protecting ocean health and advancing ocean justice through science-based advocacy. With the rise of environmental urgency and increasing competition for nonprofit funding, it is vital for Ocean Conservancy to understand its position within the broader landscape of ocean-focused organizations.
Analyze competitor content strategies and formats
Evaluate SEO performance and discoverability
Identify content gaps and underserved topics
Recommend tactics for improving user engagement and visibility
Objective
This project was completed as part of ICM 513: Content Strategy, a graduate ICM course at Quinnipiac University.
Getting Started
To lay the foundation for this competitive analysis, I followed a structured research approach focused on uncovering actionable insights. Key steps included
Establish research goals
Defined key focus areas: content strategy, SEO performance, and audience engagement.
Identify relevant competitors
Selected three organizations with strong digital presence and mission alignment:
– Oceana
– The Nature Conservancy
– Monterey Bay Aquarium
Conduct in-depth website analysis
Evaluated navigation, content formats, tone of voice, and user experience.
Assess SEO performance
Used tools like Screaming Frog and Ahrefs to analyze metadata, alt text usage, and keyword rankings.
Review social and community engagement
Analyzed how each organization leverages storytelling, influencer collaborations, and calls to action.
Project Methods
Competitive Analysis
SEO Analysis
Content Audit
SWOT Analysis
Competitors
A direct competitor focused exclusively on ocean advocacy through science-based campaigns and legislative efforts.
Oceana
The Nature Conservancy
An indirect competitor addressing broader environmental issues including oceans, climate, and land conservation.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
An aspirational competitor known for public education, in-person experiences, and emotional storytelling through animal rehabilitation.
Oceana
Focus: Ocean policy and science-backed advocacy
Prioritizes issue-specific content (e.g., overfishing, ocean pollution)
Strong use of campaign updates and legislative wins to build credibility
Clear calls to action on donation and advocacy pages
Content is data-driven, informative, and aimed at motivating civic engagement
Lacks emotional storytelling and community-focused content
Content Analysis
The Nature Conservancy
Focus: Broad environmental conservation, including oceans
Excels at using personal stories and community perspectives
Offers educational resources like how-to guides and regional conservation efforts
Visual content is high-quality, paired with digestible copy
Engages audiences with interactive features like photo contests
Content blends scientific accuracy with a warm, educational tone
Content Analysis
Monterrey Bay Aquarium
Focus: Public education, marine life, and sustainability
Leverages emotional appeal through animal rescue stories and immersive visuals
Educational content for families, students, and teachers
Strong social media presence with interactive and community-driven posts
Uses video storytelling and livestreams to create real-time engagement
Prioritizes connection and inspiration over policy or data-heavy content
Content Analysis
SEO Analysis
To assess Ocean Conservancy’s discoverability and search engine performance, I conducted a comparative SEO analysis using tools like Screaming Frog and Ahrefs. This revealed technical gaps, content visibility challenges, and keyword opportunities when benchmarked against key competitors.
Note: The Monterey Bay Aquarium runs a blocker on their website which prohibits programs from running SEO diagnostics, therefore they are omitted.
Ocean Conservancy
Meta descriptions were missing across all pages, reducing clarity in search engine previews
38% of images lacked alt text, affecting both accessibility and crawlability
Inconsistent use of H1 tags and header structure
Broken internal links and duplicate tags were present
Oceana
Generally uses meta tags and alt text, though not consistently across all content
Internal linking is strong, guiding users and search engines through key content paths
Occasional gaps in older content where SEO elements were missing or outdated
The Nature Conservancy
Most polished SEO implementation across the group
Consistent metadata and alt text application site-wide
Clean technical structure with minimal crawl errors and strong site organization
Keyword Analysis
Keywords are phrases that customers or users type into search engines when looking for information. These keywords help organizations understand the content on a webpage and match it with relevant user searches. Using Ahrefs, I pulled the top 5-7 top-ranking keywords.
Keyword Observations
Competitors consistently integrate keywords into page titles, headers, and metadata, improving search visibility and alignment with user intent.
Ocean Conservancy underutilizes keyword-rich headings and lacks a structured keyword strategy across its core content.
High-performing competitors balance broad terms with specific, niche topics (often tailoring content to policy, education, or local relevance).
Internal linking and consistent use of long-tail keywords support strong topic authority and improved discoverability across competitor sites.
Content Format & Engagement
Clear and effective communication is critical for all 3 companies. Since they are raising awareness about such complex issues, they need to ensure that all demographics can understand.
Each has a similar tone, they are educational but put in a way that anyone could read and understand, regardless of prior knowledge of the subject. Furthermore, each emphasizes the importance of quick action and provides ways for people to make an impact.
While their voices are similar, what sets each apart from the other are their value propositions (what they can offer their users/what they can do better than others) and their brand values.
Identified Content Gaps & Opportunities
Uncovered Topics: Explore underserved intersections like how ocean health impacts tourism and coastal economies.
New Formats: Introduce interactive infographics, short-form video series, and podcasts to diversify content.
Audience Connection: Develop feature stories and success narratives that make user impact feel tangible.
Education: Launch youth-focused environmental programs and classroom-ready content to build early brand awareness.
As competition for funding intensifies, Ocean Conservancy must differentiate itself by adopting key best practices identified in this analysis.
Its science-based content is informative but often dense. Packaging information into digestible reports would improve accessibility and audience retention.
Boosting engagement on social media is also essential. While the organization has a strong following, interaction remains limited.
Running interactive campaigns like contests or engaging directly in the comments can help build a stronger sense of community and position the brand as a thought leader.
Finally, launching educational programs would connect Ocean Conservancy with younger audiences, introducing the concept of Ocean Justice early and fostering long-term advocacy.