Let\u2019s take a clever competitor analysis strategy and break it down into simple steps.<\/p>\n
<\/span>1. Revise Your Current Strategy<\/span><\/h2>\nBefore you begin analyzing your competitors’ marketing strategies, it’s a good idea to assess what you have first. When your own strengths and weaknesses are unknown, how are you going to make accurate comparisons to your competitors later? When you aren’t aware of the opportunities you have, how will you grow in the right direction? You can’t build a strategy without a basis for your future judgments.<\/p>\n
To start, answer the following questions:<\/p>\n
\n- Backlinks:<\/strong> how many do you have right now? Are they all beneficial to your site, or maybe there are a few bad apples among them? If you have doubts, be sure to scan your site for toxic backlinks<\/a> with WebCEO.<\/li>\n
- Keywords:<\/strong> are they niche, long-tail keywords, or are they too general and competitive for your site to take the lead anytime soon (if ever)? Check them with WebCEO’s Get Suggestions tool<\/a> just to be safe.<\/li>\n
- Social media activity:<\/strong> have you created a page for your site on each prominent social network (e.g. Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn)? Do you post there regularly? Is the content on those pages diverse? Refer to WebCEO’s Social Engagement tool for a quick rundown on your social activity<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While you’re at it, you may also want to check your site for any technical issues<\/a> with WebCEO’s Technical Audit tool, just to avoid any sudden unpleasant surprises. Act of your own accord here.<\/p>\n<\/span>2. Choose Your Competitors Carefully<\/span><\/h2>\nA competitor is someone who targets the same audience and pursues the same business objectives as you. Be careful not to pick a fight with a company that isn\u2019t even trying to steal your slice of pie; that would be a waste of your time and effort.<\/p>\n
The easiest way to choose your rivals is to punch a keyword in Google’s search bar and choose whoever appears on the first page. It’s also the least optimal way. A page with nothing but links to a bunch of sites (sometimes pages of the same site) is a rather scant source of information. Instead, you could use WebCEO’s Dangerous Competitors tool<\/a>. It asks for more information than just a single keyword, but the results it returns are appropriately more generous.<\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.webceo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/How-to-Do-a-Competitor-Analysis-in-SEO-spy-on-competitors2.png\")
<\/p>\n
Enter your keywords plus the search engines you want to check for and you will get a long list full of relevant and helpful information about the best websites competing for your set of keywords. Optionally, you can also punch in a few competitor URLs that you are sure about. It\u00a0will save you a little time.<\/p>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.webceo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/How-to-Do-a-Competitor-Analysis-in-SEO-spy-on-competitors1.png\")
<\/p>\n
But you shouldn’t stop there. Be thorough and talk to your prospective customers next. Ultimately, it’s the customers who decide whose business is the best and most-deserving of their patronage. They can be a goldmine of useful information if you ask them to answer a few questions… for example, in a survey.<\/p>\n
Let your imagination go wild with the questions. Some of them may include:<\/p>\n
\n- What kind of keywords do you use in your online research?<\/li>\n
- What companies’ services in this niche do you use? What are their websites?<\/li>\n
- What do you like about the service they provide online?<\/li>\n
- What do you like about their websites?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The voice of the people can speak with more conviction than a silent SERP and is more trustworthy.<\/p>\n
<\/span>3. Visually Analyze Their Sites<\/span><\/h2>\nNow that your list of competitors is ready, it’s finally time to dissect them. I mean their sites. Start with a visual analysis and look for the speck in their eye, just like you tried to find the beam in your own eye before. Try not to lose your spirits when your competitors prove to have much better designed websites than yours; more often than not, it\u2019s a case of the grass being greener on the other side of the fence.<\/p>\n
Keep your eyes peeled for things like:<\/p>\n
\n- Design<\/li>\n
- Titles<\/li>\n
- Headers<\/li>\n
- Content<\/li>\n
- Calls-to-action<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Think about what makes them good or bad and how you can come up with something superior in terms of user experience and engagement. Then make the necessary changes on your own site.<\/p>\n
<\/span>4. Analyze Their Ranking Keywords<\/span><\/h2>\nThere\u2019s a good possibility your competitors are using the same keywords as you, and they are most likely outranking you, too. How do you make sure your keyword set doesn’t overlap with theirs and put you at a disadvantage?<\/p>\n
You can spy on competitors<\/a> with WebCEO’s Keyword Research tools and bring up a long list of their keywords. You aren’t going to need all of them. You just need to make sure you aren’t trying to strategically rank for the keywords that are doing much better for them than they would for you. And if you can, find in that list keywords that are relevant to your site, but aren’t placing your competitors too high in Google search results. This task, however, is better suited for a different tool: Competitor Rankings by Keyword<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.webceo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/How-to-Do-a-Competitor-Analysis-in-SEO-spy-on-competitors.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.webceo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/How-to-Do-a-Competitor-Analysis-in-SEO-spy-on-competitors3.png\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>5. Monitor the Competitors\u2019 Backlinks<\/span><\/h2>\n
While you’re at it, you may also want to check your site for any technical issues<\/a> with WebCEO’s Technical Audit tool, just to avoid any sudden unpleasant surprises. Act of your own accord here.<\/p>\n A competitor is someone who targets the same audience and pursues the same business objectives as you. Be careful not to pick a fight with a company that isn\u2019t even trying to steal your slice of pie; that would be a waste of your time and effort.<\/p>\n The easiest way to choose your rivals is to punch a keyword in Google’s search bar and choose whoever appears on the first page. It’s also the least optimal way. A page with nothing but links to a bunch of sites (sometimes pages of the same site) is a rather scant source of information. Instead, you could use WebCEO’s Dangerous Competitors tool<\/a>. It asks for more information than just a single keyword, but the results it returns are appropriately more generous.<\/p>\n Enter your keywords plus the search engines you want to check for and you will get a long list full of relevant and helpful information about the best websites competing for your set of keywords. Optionally, you can also punch in a few competitor URLs that you are sure about. It\u00a0will save you a little time.<\/p>\n But you shouldn’t stop there. Be thorough and talk to your prospective customers next. Ultimately, it’s the customers who decide whose business is the best and most-deserving of their patronage. They can be a goldmine of useful information if you ask them to answer a few questions… for example, in a survey.<\/p>\n Let your imagination go wild with the questions. Some of them may include:<\/p>\n The voice of the people can speak with more conviction than a silent SERP and is more trustworthy.<\/p>\n Now that your list of competitors is ready, it’s finally time to dissect them. I mean their sites. Start with a visual analysis and look for the speck in their eye, just like you tried to find the beam in your own eye before. Try not to lose your spirits when your competitors prove to have much better designed websites than yours; more often than not, it\u2019s a case of the grass being greener on the other side of the fence.<\/p>\n Keep your eyes peeled for things like:<\/p>\n Think about what makes them good or bad and how you can come up with something superior in terms of user experience and engagement. Then make the necessary changes on your own site.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a good possibility your competitors are using the same keywords as you, and they are most likely outranking you, too. How do you make sure your keyword set doesn’t overlap with theirs and put you at a disadvantage?<\/p>\n You can spy on competitors<\/a> with WebCEO’s Keyword Research tools and bring up a long list of their keywords. You aren’t going to need all of them. You just need to make sure you aren’t trying to strategically rank for the keywords that are doing much better for them than they would for you. And if you can, find in that list keywords that are relevant to your site, but aren’t placing your competitors too high in Google search results. This task, however, is better suited for a different tool: Competitor Rankings by Keyword<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/span>2. Choose Your Competitors Carefully<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n
<\/span>3. Visually Analyze Their Sites<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
<\/span>4. Analyze Their Ranking Keywords<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/span>5. Monitor the Competitors\u2019 Backlinks<\/span><\/h2>\n