Competitor Analysis: Knowledge is Power
Competition is a huge part of life. We compete for important things like jobs and houses. We have fun by competing with each other in sports and other games. And more than anything, we enjoy watching competition, and the higher the stakes, the better.
In the business world, competition inevitably comes with comparison. Whether it’s businesses matching themselves with competitors or consumers endlessly pitting products and services against each other, comparison is a key cog in markets everywhere.
With competition and comparison in mind, we focused our latest digital marketing video on the benefits of running a competitor analysis. In understanding how you stack up against your toughest competition, you’ll gain the insights you need to tweak and improve your business and in turn, its path to success. Here are the five key areas a competitor analysis should focus on:
1. Website Content Benchmarks
A competitor’s website is a goldmine of free information. It’s the equivalent of walking around a brick-and-mortar store to get an idea of what you’re up against (especially if they don’t actually have a physical store). It’s easy, it doesn’t cost you anything, and it doesn’t even take much time, so there’s no excuse for not knowing your closest competitors’ websites inside and out.
More specifically, it’s important to keep tabs on the content your competitors are creating. Is it fresh and relevant? Does it provide value to your potential customers? Are your competitors using social media to amplify their content and create engagement around it? The answers to these questions are on your competitors’ websites right now, and once you have them, you’ll know how to improve your own content marketing strategy.
2. Search Engine Optimization
Come up with a list of three phrases you think your customers would use to search for your products or services on Google. Once you have them, run each one through Google and take a look at the results. Does your website appear on the first page? Do any of your competitors? Building content around the keywords and phrases your target audience is using to find you is an integral part of a consistent and successful digital presence, but it involves beating your competitors to the SEO punch.
3. Pay-Per-Click and Remarketing
PPC and remarketing campaigns can be tough to efficiently manage, especially if you lack accurate data on what kind of money your competitors are spending to acquire customers with certain keywords and phrases. Luckily, if you look in the right places, you can find out how your competitors are spending their money, and in turn, a list of terms that are too expensive to target. From here, your goal is to discover terms and phrases that potential customers use almost as often, but aren’t being targeted by your competitors’ campaigns. Happy huntin’!
4. Social Media Engagement
Keeping an eye on how your competitors are using social media to connect with their audience and, more importantly, which content is most engaging, is extremely valuable. If you’re just jumping into the social scene, it’ll give you great insight on what works and what doesn’t within your industry. Not making the same mistakes as your competitors have made is a great way to get ahead of them.
5. Lead Nurturing Calls to Action
Analyzing the things your competitors are asking their customers to do – that is, their calls to action – is a quick way to get a peak at the purchase paths your target audience is following. You can even follow these paths yourself, which should give you some insight on where they fail and how they can be improved. Conversion is extremely important to any digital marketing strategy, so any information you can glean from your competitors’ conversion points is valuable.
If you would like more information on having a professional competitor analysis done for your business,call WSI Lead Generator today at 416-826-8100