Let’s start with an honest question, if copying competitors’ language works, why do so many websites feel interchangeable?
Same headlines.
Same promises.
Same “trusted by”, “end-to-end”, “best-in-class” phrases.
Different logos.
Same message.
We rarely notice it while building our own website.
But as customers, we feel it instantly.
Nothing feels wrong.
Nothing feels right either.
This article isn’t about calling anyone lazy or uncreative.
It’s about a pattern we’ve all fallen into — including me at different stages.
Copying competitors’ language feels safe.
It feels logical.
It feels… responsible.
And that’s exactly why it’s dangerous.
Why Copying Competitors Feels Like the Smart Move
Let’s be fair first.
When we’re building or revising a website, copying competitors doesn’t come from bad intentions.
It usually comes from pressure.
We look at competitors because:
- They seem successful
- They look confident
- They appear to “know what they’re doing”
So we reverse-engineer their words.
“If they say this, it must work.”
“If everyone uses this phrase, customers probably expect it.”
“If we sound similar, at least we won’t be wrong.”
And honestly, this makes sense — especially when:
- We’re short on time
- We’re unsure about positioning
- We’re afraid of saying the wrong thing
But safety in messaging often comes at the cost of meaning.
The Real Problem Isn’t Similarity — It’s Substitution
Here’s the part most people miss.
The danger isn’t that we reference competitors.
The danger is when we substitute thinking with imitation.
Instead of asking:
“What do our customers actually struggle with?”
We ask:
“What do others say?”
Instead of clarifying our difference:
We borrow someone else’s clarity.
Over time, something subtle happens.
Our website stops being a reflection of our business —
and becomes a collage of industry-approved phrases.
That’s not positioning.
That’s camouflage.
When Everyone Uses the Same Words, Customers Stop Listening
Let’s talk about how people actually behave.
Multiple studies show that buyers scan, compare, and pattern-match — especially online.
They don’t read deeply at first.
They look for signals.
Now imagine this experience:
We open five tabs.
Five competitors.
Five homepages.
And we see:
- “We deliver scalable solutions”
- “We are customer-centric”
- “We drive growth through innovation”
At that point, the brain doesn’t think:
“These are all great companies.”
It thinks:
“These are all the same.”
According to Nielsen Norman Group, users rely heavily on differentiation cues when scanning websites, and generic language reduces perceived credibility and memorability.
So copying competitors doesn’t make us blend in safely.
It makes us disappear quietly.
The Illusion of “Industry Language”
One of the most common justifications we hear is:
“This is just how our industry talks.”
But industries don’t talk.
People do.
And people don’t wake up thinking in industry jargon.
Customers think in:
- Frustrations
- Trade-offs
- Risks
- Doubts
Industry language often exists to:
- Sound professional
- Avoid specificity
- Protect us from being challenged
Which is useful internally — but costly externally.
When language becomes a shield instead of a bridge, communication breaks.
What Copying Competitors Actually Signals (Unintentionally)
This is uncomfortable, but important.
When customers see the same language everywhere, they subconsciously infer:
- “This offering is probably commoditized”
- “There’s no meaningful difference here”
- “I’ll decide based on price or convenience”
And that’s rarely what we want.
Especially for:
- Services
- SMEs
- B2B
- Premium or specialized offerings
Copying language often pushes us into price comparison, even if our value isn’t price-driven.
Why This Happens More in Growing Companies
Ironically, this problem shows up most in companies that are doing okay.
Early-stage businesses are usually raw and specific.
They talk like humans.
They say things imperfectly — but honestly.
As companies grow:
- Teams expand
- Approval layers increase
- Messaging gets “cleaned up”
Suddenly, the language sounds more professional —
and less human.
Marketing decks look better.
Websites look polished.
But clarity starts leaking out.
This is usually the moment when competitor language sneaks in — not because we’re lazy, but because we’re trying to look “legitimate”.
What We Lose When We Copy Language
Let’s name the real cost.
When we copy competitors’ language, we lose:
- Perspective
- Memory
- Emotional signal
- Narrative tension
But most importantly, we lose ownership of the story.
If our homepage could be swapped with a competitor’s —
then the message doesn’t belong to us.
And if it doesn’t belong to us, customers won’t remember it.
Peter Drucker once said:
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
In messaging, copying competitors does the opposite.
It locks us into the past — or at least into someone else’s assumptions.
How I Personally Deal With This (In Practice)
This is where I’ll get practical — not instructional, just honest.
When I work on messaging, I intentionally avoid competitor language at the beginning.
Not because competitors are irrelevant —
but because their words can contaminate clarity too early.
Instead, I try to anchor on:
- Actual customer conversations
- Sales objections
- Confusing moments
- Questions people repeat
Only after clarity exists do I look outward — to ensure differentiation, not imitation.
Competitors are useful as contrast, not templates.
What “Different” Actually Means (And What It Doesn’t)
Being different doesn’t mean:
- Being loud
- Being weird
- Being clever for its own sake
It means being precise.
Specific beats unique.
Clear beats clever.
Often, the most differentiated message is simply the one that says something real without hiding behind buzzwords.
Why This Is Harder Than It Sounds
Let’s be honest again.
Writing our own language forces us to:
- Commit to a point of view
- Exclude some audiences
- Accept disagreement
Copying competitors avoids all of that.
It feels safer.
Less risky.
More defensible internally.
But safety rarely builds strong brands.
What the Data Quietly Supports
Some grounding here.
- Research from Edelman shows that 81% of consumers say trust is a deciding factor in buying decisions.
- Trust increases when messaging feels authentic and consistent — not generic.
- Brands with clear differentiation consistently outperform in long-term recall and loyalty, even if short-term conversion is similar.
Generic language may not hurt immediately.
But it erodes brand strength over time.
The irony is this:
We copy competitors because we want to reduce risk.
But in doing so, we take the biggest risk of all — becoming forgettable.
In crowded markets, being forgettable is more dangerous than being imperfect.
A Simple Reflection Worth Asking
Before publishing any page, we can ask:
“If our logo were removed, would this still sound like us?”
If the answer is no —
the issue isn’t copy quality.
It’s identity.
Where This Leaves Us
This isn’t an argument against research.
Or awareness.
Or learning from others.
It’s a reminder that language is strategy made visible.
When we borrow language, we borrow someone else’s strategy — whether it fits us or not.
Not every business needs a revolutionary message.
Some just need an honest one.
And honesty rarely sounds like everyone else.
When we borrow our competitors’ words, we also borrow their limitations.
If this way of thinking feels uncomfortably familiar — and you’re looking at your website wondering why it doesn’t quite reflect who you are anymore — that’s often a signal worth listening to.
Sometimes the work isn’t about rewriting everything.
It’s about finally saying what you’ve been avoiding — clearly, simply, and in your own voice.
If that resonates, I’m always open to having that conversation.