All businesses have competitors. Whether you’re selling hardware tools or a service like landscaping, there are probably ten other companies in your area offering something similar. If you own an online business, the competition is endless. For instance, those who refurbish vintage clothing and upcycle them before selling them online compete against people on multiple platforms. Each of those businesses wants to attract customers and ensure that those consumers choose their products over yours. In today’s world, therefore, you have to have a close eye on your competition. The goal isn’t only to increase profits and engage audiences, it’s to survive in an increasingly challenging market.
Competitor analysis is all about researching your competitors and learning what makes them tick. Your tactics don’t need to be aggressive; you don’t want to actively work against other businesses or derail their operations. However, you can make use of the public information that’s available to you. Ideally, you want to learn from their successes and failures so you can make better, more informed business decisions. Here are a few things your competitor analysis needs to be successful:
1. At-a-Glance Reporting
The first thing you want to do is organize a list of your competitors. There are a few additional things you’ll want to include here as well. Take note of web traffic numbers, the scope of their site, how long they’ve been in the business and the number of backlinks they’ve obtained. With this information in front of you, you’ll be able to make draw conclusions and find important connections. For instance, you might notice an older company that doesn’t gain as much web traffic as another similar business. From there, you can dive in and discover why.
2. Customer Review Analysis
Sentiment analysis is one of the best ways to understand your competitors. What do customers like about their products and services? What don’t they like? Has the company been able to maintain good reviews over time, or have reviews slipped considerably? As a similar business, you’ll want to avoid the errors that other businesses make. Perhaps the shipping process is slow, their customer service is unfriendly, or consumers have trouble receiving help from their representatives. Whatever the problem is, you’ll want to do the opposite. In the same vein, it’s crucial to pay attention to positive reviews. Can you offer your customers a similar experience?
3. Your Competitor’s PPC Keywords
Being aware of your competitor’s PPC keywords is important if you want an inside look at their marketing strategy. How much traffic are their keywords bringing in? What branded keywords are they using? This will give you insight into their competitors. Furthermore, when it comes to paid ads, looking at a competitor’s keywords can help you decide how you want to spend your money.
4. Social Media Analysis
More than likely, your competitors are taking advantage of social media in every way they can. For Facebook and other social networking platforms, you can perform an analysis and take a look at their data. Here, you’ll be able to learn how customers engage with a business’ social media page. Do more posts equal higher engagement levels? What’s the best day of the week to post? Do customers tend to comment and leave reviews on social media sites? You’ll have answers to all these questions and more with social media analysis.
5. The Questions Customers Ask about Your Competitor
If you’ve ever typed a question on Google, you’ve probably encountered their “Google’s People Also Ask” feature. This allows people to view similar questions that other searchers have asked. For marketers, this is a gold mine. If you’re busy running your business, you may not be keeping an eye on these branded questions, but you should be. Customers might ask where they can find help elsewhere if a local business doesn’t meet their needs. With this tool, you can learn about a business’ failures and customers’ interactions during the purchase process.
6. Who Supports Your Competitors
This is when backlinks come in handy. Essentially, backlinks let you know who supports and promotes your competitors. Once as you have this information, you can get in touch with those promoters. Maybe you can offer them better products or partner with them simultaneously. If you can’t find promoters via backlinks, try using social media. It only takes a little bit of digging to find those who might be interested in what you’re selling. From that point, the possibilities are endless. When you find one promoter, that might lead you to five other individuals or entities who might support your company.
Gauge Digital Media Can Help You with Competitor Analysis
Do you need assistance with competitor analysis reports? At Gauge Digital Media, we’re experts when it comes to digital marketing, and we can help you attain your goals. Our professionals will direct your ad campaigns, display ads across Google AdWords and Bing Ads, and gather information to help your business thrive. No matter how high you want to climb, our experts can help you reach the summit.
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