“There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent” — everyone knows this famous quote by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. But did you know that this same philosophy applies to the world of business as well? No matter how far you climb up the ladder of success, you will always be compared to competitors that are doing better than you!
The scenario is not as hopeless as it might sound. Instead of feeling beat about it, you can learn a lot from your competitors. Let’s face it, they are doing something right, and you need to know exactly what it is. Thanks to modern technologies and the myriad of high-tech tools, you can now gather intelligence on your competitors. The following competitor analysis tools are the best, and you must try them out!
SpyFu:
PPC is absolutely essential if you want to increase website traffic. If you are thinking pay-per-click is way too expensive for your small business, or that you lack the expertise to carry out a successful PPC campaign, you are wrong! According to experts, pay-per-click is an effective channel that can be utilized by beginners to increase traffic and revenue.
However, for PPC to be successful, you need to find the right keywords to target. In fact, the selection of keywords will determine the fate of your PPC ad campaign. To make sure you choose the most profitable keywords, you must use SpyFu, the competitor analysis tool that will help you download and research the keywords that your competitors are using.
This handy tool reveals both paid keywords that your competitor is targeting, and the keywords that are being used for organic SEO performance.
Compete PRO:
Often dubbed as the “digital intelligence” tool, Compete PRO has garnered massive popularity among the SEO experts. This tool helps you track passive online customer behavior, demographical information, and seasonal trends among the competitors. You can never build an efficient marketing strategy without knowing exactly what your target consumers want and how they make their purchasing decisions.
Compete PRO has been deemed as the best tool that offers such deep insight. According to industry experts, if you are going to put your money somewhere, it better be something that brings you results, and Compete PRO has surely lived up to the standards. If you are still not sure, try the tool for free at first. You can upgrade your account later to get access to the more advanced features.
SimilarWeb:
Can you guess the exact the number of unique visitors your competitor generates every month? Odds are that making such an accurate guess would be difficult, if not entirely impossible. But with a tool like SimilarWeb, this not only becomes possible, but it also turns out to be a piece of cake! This competitor analysis tool helps you dig deep into a competitor’s website, platform or app.
A number of top brands are using SimilarWeb for its versatility and accuracy. So, why should you stay behind? You don’t even need to be a techie to be able to use this tool. Known for its simplified process, SimilarWeb is so user-friendly that even a beginner can use the tool with ease. All you have to do is click on the “mobile apps” or “website” option, put the URL of your competitor’s website, and hit “search”. You will have all the information within seconds!
Siteliner:
Do you want to know if your competitor’s website has broken link building or duplicate content related issues? As you might already know, links are important for improving search rankings. Contrary to what many people believe, there is still a strong correlation between Google search rankings and external links. No matter how useful the content is, if the website fails to generate enough back links, the organic search rankings will suffer.
Broken link building, as part of a popular link building tactic, can be scalable and effective. It can even be content focused and Google-friendly since the search engine giant wants to see the right content that is capable of earning editorial links. Through the tactic of broken link building, you can help webmasters and site owners replace dead links.
Siteliner is one such tool that helps you to discover such broken link building opportunities on your competitor’s website. In three simple steps, you can search through any website to find data related to duplicate content and broken links.
Google Advanced Search Operators:
There is no doubt about the fact that Google is the world’s most popular and best performing search engine. The sophistication of Google’s algorithm helps you find accurate results to your search queries. However, you need to know how to carry out a Google search properly to get accurate results every time. Google Advanced Search Operators is one such that helps you do just that! You can use this competitive audit tool when looking for something specific. Even if you tweak your search term, Google Search Operators shows accurate results quickly and efficiently.
This tool also identifies symbols or query phrases that you use when triggering special actions. Even in those instances, Google Search Operators offers the most relevant results. Considering the usefulness and effectiveness of this tool, a lot of marketers use it when creating blog posts, or when they need reliable data on a particular subject. You can also set up filters so that you don’t get any irrelevant research result. If you are searching for something simple, you won’t need to use Search Operators. Thanks to Google’s advanced algorithms, the search engine tries to understand the meaning of the search query and show the best results.
Analyzing your competitions is necessary before you start sketching out your marketing plan. It becomes even more crucial when you see no desirable results despite putting your best efforts into online marketing. When you look into the strategies of a successful brand, it not only gives you great ideas for your own company’s marketing plan, but it also shows the errors of your ways. Once you realize where your mistakes lie, you are likely to never repeat them again.
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Ken Adams is an online marketing expert, blogger, and entrepreneur. He owns a successful SEO NYC company, and works with clients from all over the world. He likes to write about trending topics related to the SEO and online marketing industry.