Small companies usually face limits with their time and financial resources, restricting their ability to experiment with various approaches. When their content or search engine optimization tactics fail to deliver results, they might not have the option to overhaul their strategy entirely.
In such scenarios, competitive analysis and competitive research reports can become a critical survival tool.
By conducting a comprehensive and diverse analysis of their competition, companies can identify the factors that contribute to the success of their competitors, allowing them to recognize potential opportunities, expansion opportunities, and areas for improvement.
But what should you evaluate?
Below is a list of 10 points that a local enterprise ought to review while evaluating its competition.
1. SEO directories
SEO directories are essential for local businesses, especially when developing a link-building profile. When analyzing your competitors, be sure to identify and take note of all the SEO directories they use to gain backlinks.
However, do not rush to use every directory you find. After compiling a list of SEO directories used by your competitors, take the time to assess each directory to determine which ones will be beneficial to your company.
2. Local websites
Websites within the community often help nearby businesses. By identifying websites that support your competitors’ websites, you can not only identify potential sources of valuable backlinks but also get an understanding of your competitor’s tactics.
Take, for example, discovering that a regional digital news outlet reported that your competitor’s company was participating in an event or organizing a charity event; This is information that you may encounter during your reviews.
3. .edu links
Links from .edu domains are very influential. Pay attention to whether your competitor’s website has such links. Also, analyze their approach to getting these links and try to emulate it.
4. gov links
Just as .gov links are also highly sought after and difficult to acquire. Local businesses can often rank on reputable sites, such as the Chamber of Commerce to get .gov links.
Pay attention to every government website (.gov) that has links to your competitor’s website, and try to emulate their tactics.
5. Keyword research
It’s obvious, but when doing a competitor analysis, you should create a comprehensive list of every keyword that their website is focusing on.
Additionally, identify the keywords that your competitor effectively ranks for, but you have not yet targeted. This approach can serve as a basis for developing future content for your site.
6. Content
When researching competitors, it is important to identify the content that generates the most traffic on their sites. Then find out whether there are recurring themes or trends.
What is the optimal length for your content? Given that every small business operates with limited resources for content development and marketing, is it more effective to create one exceptionally detailed 10,000-word article each month, or publish ten shorter 1,000-word articles instead?
An in-depth analysis of your competitors can help you understand what strategies are successful for them and which ones can bring the best results for your company.
7. Site architecture
The structure of a website is a critical element. It serves as the base for the creation of a site. Without a solid foundation, it’s impossible to build a strong and tall high-rise building.
Find out the website structure of the businesses you are competing with.
How many pages do they have?
How many categories do they have?
It’s also important to consider whether they use subdomains or directories for different sections of their site. That is, do they use blog.website.com or site.com/blog to host their blog?
It is generally recommended to choose a subdirectory (website.com/blog) instead of a subdomain (blog.website.com) as this concentrates the value of the links.
8. Meta content
Understanding how your competitors use meta content to their advantage can be very helpful.
Meta content that contains a variety of relevant keywords can help Google decipher the topic of a web page, which in turn can help improve its ranking in search engine results.
The importance of meta content lies in its ability to increase organic click-through rates. Simply appearing on the first page of Google search results is not enough. It is equally important to attract organic traffic by motivating internet users to click on your website preview.
9. Website loading speed
The loading speed of a website is taken into account when determining its position in search engine results. This speed not only affects a site’s ranking, but also has a direct impact on the number of visitors who take the desired action and the site’s revenue. Research shows that for every extra second it takes for a website to load, visitors are 7% less likely to convert into customers.
If all other factors are equal, a competitor with a faster loading website will likely appear higher in search engine results than your site. This competitor has a good chance of achieving higher conversion rates and increased overall profits.
10. Site health
Finally, examining the overall health of your competitor’s website can give you a significant understanding of its potential search performance relative to your site.
Use the Ninjareports tools to conduct comprehensive technical SEO due diligence and get a site vitality rating. Compare your site’s rankings with those of your competitors to get a complete understanding.
Conclusion
There is a wide range of activities you can do when analyzing your competitors, but by focusing on just these 10 elements, you can get a deep understanding of the strategies and activities of other nearby companies in your sector.
Armed with all the important details, you can begin to implement the necessary measures to increase the attractiveness of your site to both visitors and search engine algorithms.