Competitors: we dislike them, but they make us better. While many business professionals understand how to conduct a general competitor analysis, most don’t know the same can be done for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and the results could mean completing tasks as simple as adding the proper extension or crafting configurable products to meet customer needs.
Why do I need an SEO Competitor Analysis?
Competition is a healthy part of business. Monitoring and trying to perform better than your direct competitors is what keeps firms sharp. It encourages innovation and prevents complacency. SEO competitor analysis is how companies achieve the oft-unspoken edge to increase web traffic and improve SERP rankings. We all want a big ROI with our eCommerce platform, and so do competitors.
So how do we learn where we stand?
How do we know what content to provide consumers with?
How do we make more sales month over month?
Competitor analysis!
By providing top competitors, companies are able to get a comprehensive report revealing which keywords market opponents are ranking for; where they’re bringing customers in from; and what content is making the biggest impact on sales decisions. The report can be performed as part of End of Month (EoM) SEO reporting recommendations for existing clients or as a separate service.
In practice, Human Element’s SEO Team has often used this as a way to get a visual, data-driven snapshot of how our clients and competitors stack up in the eCommerce space. It may be surprising to discover that your business has been losing traction on hundreds of keywords for the past year, but it happens every day and knowing provides the means to respond to previously undiscovered issues.
The report identifies areas for improvement by cross-examining client site/s with top business and SEO competitor sites. This often entails reviewing competitor top pages, shared keywords, and more. We want to know what and why competitors are doing better and strategize on how we can beat them in rankings. This allows clients to recover lost sales, gain new visitors, and improve users’ page experience.
So what do I do with the analysis once I have it?
The report can provide a company with a list of words to target on your website, blog content, and more. It’s a weapon that gives marketing professionals the ability to write better, more targeted content and claim competitors’ keywords as your own when you rank above them.
The data collected here can also be used in a backlinks audit, which can have a major impact on search engine results. Reporting on competitors allows professionals to glimpse the future movements of competitors that would otherwise be a mystery. If a company is looking to get into a new vertical, they will likely tailor content to guide people to their new release. Without a competitor analysis, it would all simply be guesswork.
The Bottom Line
If investing has taught us anything, hindsight leads to long term success. SEO is no different, and the right investment in the latest data analytics can provide the secret to better Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) success.
