Online competitor analysis is one sure way to improve your success and productivity when trying to make money on the internet.
By analysing online competition, you can do several things, such as: hone in on keywords for SEO and PPC, create a unique selling proposition, stay abreast of news and trends, and continually improve your own strategy.
Keywords
Want to rank well for specific keywords and phrases because your keyword research tells you that they’re profitable? Analyze those who are currently ranking for those words and phrases. This will tell you a lot about how they got there and could reveal holes in their approach that become opportunities for you to gain a competitive advantage.
In search engine results pages, for instance, can you improve yourself over the top competitor’s meta description? Even if you can only get to spot 2 or 3, people could click your link rather than spot #1′s link if your description is more compelling. The same applies to pay per click campaigning. Maybe you haven’t got the highest quality score with Google for optimum page placement, for instance, but if your Adwords ads are more compelling than someone else’s or your landing page delivers more than theirs does, it may just stand out a bit better.
USP
By analysing the competitors you feel are the biggest potential threats (or the best mentors) you can determine what might be necessary to help your business compete. Businesses with a unique selling proposition can often win out over an incumbent. Anayse your competitors’ USP and then make yours more unique.
Trends
Through following your competitors’ activities, you can gain valuable business intelligence. Subscribe to their list, read their newsletter, check them out on social media. It could save your company time and effort and keep you more plugged in to news and trends so that you can act quickly with respect to jumping on bandwagons (or preferably, leading the pack), taking advantage of marketing opportunities, learning about industry news, etc.
Strategy
Through following and analysing online competition, and working to outshine them you can continually work on your own strategy. Over time you could find that others are following you because you’ve become a real competitor yourself!
See you at the top of Google!
Sean Rasmussen
SEO Australia Pacific
AussieSEO.com © 2007 - 2010
This is a great idea, using your competitors to your advantage instead of fearing them! Many great tips on how to do this in this article- good practical advice, Thanks Sean.
.-= Melanie Braggs´s last blog ..Building Chicken Coops =-.
I’m just starting to look at the ‘analysis & tracking’ side of things, as I’ve been fairly busy just trying to keep up with understanding SEO, links, blogging, Google’s pet loves & hates, so haven’t focussed on the value of analysing what others are doing. It’s a great idea though, to look at potential competitors as mentors in many ways – see what are they doing that looks good enough to Google that they got to No.1, then see if you can improve on it!
I have been concentrating on good quality meta descriptions though, since I realised that is exactly how I search for something on Google’s results – if there is a good description of info I’m looking for, that is the link that gets clicked & it’s often NOT the No.1 spot!
.-= Mel Smith´s last blog ..External Linking Guide =-.
Having a well crafted meta description is certainly worth putting time and effort into Mel, keep up the good work
I wish you hadn’t said that – it makes me think of all the crappy ones I have just shoved in! Oh well, more work – but worth it I know
Hi Sean,
I’m starting to spend more time analysing my online competition. It’s really helpful to find out where they get their backlinks from so I can see if I can get them as well.
I also like subscribing to any newsletters they have and downloading anything free that they’re offering. It just gives me a good look at what they’re doing and maybe find an area that they don’t have covered. I think it pays to be informed.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Learn and Earn – It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint =-.
Hi Jazz,
I fully agree – and have done the same (newsletters, free ebooks etc). It’s always good to see what the others are doing, and most of that stuff online is even free, so nothing stopping you.
And just like that you even improve the knowledge in your niche and become more and more the expert in your field. Nicely done
.-= Renee´s last blog ..10 Good Habits Worth Having =-.
Checking how your successful competitors are marketing themselves has always been a valid business strategy and in the current Internet Marketing universe it becomes even more so. Nowadays, it has become even easier to get a handle on how the competition is achieving their goals simply because of the information you can pick up about them on the ‘net.
Do your on-line research and the potential is there for you to match or exceed them.
.-= Don White´s last blog ..New Ireton Data =-.
Thanks Sean,
These are some really great tips & ideas to think about! I find Seo competition to be very exciting and a lot of fun. With my first ever website that I created last year I noticed a new comer to my niche a few months ago with a very similar site layout which for a I found was a bit of a worry. I am still keeping an eye on them using my internet marketing software & regularly check their site stats to see what they’ve been up to. I guess it really comes down to having the best industry knowledge and resources to win the battle on the day : )
.-= jeremy´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
Sounds like you are on the ball with your competition Jeremy, good to hear mate
You need to know what your competitor is doing while still focusing on your business. Knowing this you may get more tips on how to improve your web presence..and keep up with latest trends..
John`s last blog http://enrichingmindset.uwcblog.com/mindset/expose-your-strengths/
Hi Sean
I have really enjoyed reading this article because I like the thought of analysing my competitors, looking at their strengths and weaknesses and lots of healthy competition.
Subscribing to their newsletters, being on their email list like you suggested, would be so easy to do and a great method of keeping tabs on what they are doing in the market.
As yet, I have not got my blog finished as I have been nicely distracted with the competition and IMPOTY, so juggling a few things, but working on all things at allotted times so everything is moving forward nicely.
Thankyou for this information, it is valuable to know about.
Blessings
Elly
.-= Elly´s last blog .. =-.
Analyzing your online competition is a great way to learn in your chosen niche and to improve what you are doing. The benchmark should always be the best, and then be better
I really like to do keyword checks on my competitors pages to see if there is something I can incorporate in my sites as well and I have always learned something by checking their sites.
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Self Improvement Books – What Are Your Favourites =-.
Hi Renee,
I have been doing Keyword checks on competition sites as well, picking up some information along the way from other sites can be very helpful.
.-= RitaPepper´s last blog ..Learn Affiliate Marketing- For A Few Dollars more =-.
Hi Renee and Rita,
I think doing keyword checks on your competitor’s sites is a great idea. It’s only something I’ve just started to do. It’s really surprising what you can find out just by poking around someone’s site.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Finding Your Passion =-.
Not ‘minding your own business’ takes on a whole new slant with this doesn’t it! Don’t forget Googles foxySEO – it’s on the Google toolbat the dropdown “keyword’ and if you click page analysis it reveals keyword density of the page you are on – plus more info
I’m a big fan of meta descriptions. I feel a lot of site owners let themselves down and simply stuff them with keywords, rather than also making them as attractive as possible to the user. A meta description acts as a mini-blurb for your site pages. It’s what users read before they opt to click through. If you really want to get the edge over your online competition your meta description should entice (as well as utilise keywords)
.-= David Moloney´s last blog ..Choosing the Best Domain Name =-.
Great information Sean. I especially liked the mentors reference under your USP subtitle. At this stage of my Internat Marketing journey, I feel I have a lot to learn from other, more established bloggers, so I try to look at them more as mentors than competitors. One day of course I aim to rank above them though
.-= Colin´s last blog ..Gratitude =-.
Learn from them, then work on outranking them… I like your style Colin
Sean I learn a lot from your articles.
When you talk about Analysing Your Online Competition – I used a method where I looked at some of the best blogs online such as your SeanSEO, and several more in the technorati top 100 world blogs.
I had a good look at what they were doing. Most of the big blogs doing well have something unique about them and have their personality and style that stands apart from the others blogs.
This, to me, is a key principle. So I asked myself , “What can I offer that is unique on my blog?”
Every time I write a blog post I ask this question and work at putting out a blog post that has some value to the reader.
I enjoy reading about what you say about keywords and this is an area I could use some work. I am learning all the time and I also use your YEAR OF THE AFFILIATE guide to assist with traffic to my blog online.
I like, in your book, what you say about the one article per day method, this appeals to me as a way to get more traffic.
Plus your tips on , when writing articles and blogging, to never mislead readers, but to be straight forward at all times, to achieve a good click through rate. I like this approach as it feels right for me.
Plus you explain all about click through rates from articles, and this tells you about visitor traffic, and go into article directories really well.
I also find that the number of backlinks, or link love as some internet marketers call it, has an influence in the ranking of a blog, and you also explain the importance of backlinks in your book.
Thanks again for the all the information sharing.
.-= psychicjim´s last blog ..Career Change- Stop Bad Habits =-.
Great to hear you have benefited from my book and articles Jim. Learning the information and putting it into action is what it’s all about
I have heard before about doing this and liked the idea – but do I do it – rarely. This comp is certainly picking up on my slackness! Time to be re-focussed I think.
And first of is the description as I haven’t really put much effort into that!
If the competition makes you aware of some of the things you may be neglecting, my work is done Peter
There are some really basic things that we tend to forget – and I agree that Seans competition is great to re-focus and check if we are still on the path to do the best we can.
It’s amazing what a huge effect some small tips (like analyzing your online competition) can have on our own success – and how easy it is to do with all the tools that are offered for free.
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Self Improvement Books – What Are Your Favourites =-.
I totally agree with having compelling Meta-Descriptions.
When searching for something in google, I always click on the result with the most relevant meta description. So it makes sense to apply a bit of thought and effort into crafting a compelling description.
I also like the idea of researching your competitors, to develop a strategy to develop a foothold in your chosen niche. Its something I’m starting to do myself, and can see the real value.
.-= Cade´s last blog ..Chauffeured Limousine Service =-.
Analysing your online competition is something I don’t think of doing when thinking about my own blog posts but makes sense if they are in first place on google. I quite often look at websites with number 1 ranking and wonder how the heck did they get there. I will be looking at them a lot more closely from now on.
.-= Jackie Stenhouse´s last blog ..What to Look For in a Child With Anxiety =-.
Love it!!! I have been doing this, albeit I did not realise that I had been doing this
. Now I can inform my husband that I am actually working and not playing on the computer!
This article is going to lead to a brainstorming session on my key focus especially for keywords – which will assist in creating my niche.
The links are great to Sean, I was zipping off all over the place reading up on keywords and USP.
.-= Nateele´s last blog ..Belly Laugh for the Day =-.
Hi Sean,
I would like to look at my competitors site and say with confidence “I can do better than that” If this happens I’ll know I’ve improved a lot!
Until then I’ll just plod along, enjoying the learning and in the process analysing the website competition.
Great info Sean. Thanks.
Hi Sean,
Very much like off-line business, keep an eye on the opposition and stay one step ahead, only the tools are different.
Work out what your successful competition is doing and copy them.. Also look for ways to improve on what they are doing.
Learn lots of them to avoid some mistakes in the learning process..
Seeing what your competitor is doing is half the work, but the challenge is to do it better and or different. IMPOTY member
.-= Angus McDonald´s last blog ..Hello world- =-.
I never knew what USP was before this, but think it is very useful to do what your competitors are doing right, and on top have something unique to ad to it!
This ties in well with one of your previous blogs about getting people back to your site through aspects such as e-courses and newsletters. Perhaps these are aspects your competitor is not doing?
Im also beginning to learn about long tailed keywords, hope you cover this at some point in your blogs!
.-= Tegan´s last blog ..Mindset and affirmations =-.
Analysing your online competition is definitely worth doing. Reading these tips can certainly help me along my way. Finding the time to implement everything is my next challenge, but one step at a time, one step at a time.
Cath
I have started using my competitors for links as long as they are not selling the same products. I have also started analysing their sites before writing my posts on a particular keyword and this seems to have helped me rank a little higher. I especially agree with you that if you have a better meta description you are more likely to get the click because I do this myself. I may click on the 3rd or 4th ranked site when looking for something.
.-= Jackie Stenhouse´s last blog ..Anxiety Separation in Children =-.