As the owner of a growing business, you are responsible for maintaining the pulse of competition. By learning about the marketing strategies of your main competitors, their product blends and their emerging target markets, you can change your own marketing strategy to gain an edge in your industry. Here is a look at the top six things to find out about your rivals and how a website review will place you on the road to industry stardom.

1. The Latest New Products And Services They Are Offering

New products and services are a lifeline for business growth. They create excitement, increase brand awareness, and are always a welcome shot in the arm that encourages buying activity. Here are some things to look for when monitoring the releases of your competitors:

• Features and advantages that are missing in the existing product mix.
• Prices that are better than standard product pricing.
• Products with industry certifications that are missing in your products.
• Present advertisements that are being used to draw prospects.

2. Emerging Markets Your Competitors Are Targeting

An increasing number of businesses are moving internationally to boost their market presence and increase their profits. Gaining insight to the market expansion strategy of your competitor will help you prepare your own entrance into emerging markets. Or, if you already have a good foothold in certain parts of the world, you may intend to increase your presence in those regions.

• What’s their pricing strategy?
• Is there a connection to seasons or trends in the industry?
• What kind of strategic alliances have they created?

Also read: Video as Part of your Digital Marketing Strategy

3. Coming Trade Show Participation

Monitoring the participation of the competitors at a trade show is one of the best ways to find out about their target audiences and the new product releases. Here are a few steps to take in order to discover the new developments in the market and competition activities:

• Track the schedule of the competitors’ trade shows. Companies also post their schedule of trade shows on their websites and on social media.
• Plan on taking part in the listed trade shows. You don’t actually have to pay for booth space, but intend to “walk the floor of the trade show.”
• Please take thorough notes on the show operation. Trade shows provide useful insider knowledge on the emerging developments and goods of the industry.
• Pay attention to your competitors.  Please take note of their show, their goods and their latest promotions.
• Consider exhibition in the future. If activity is heavy and there are good quality leads, you should consider investing in booth space.

4. Their Weakness and Pain Points 

Awareness of the weak points of competing companies is one of the most valuable tools in the arsenal of business owners. By finding these weaknesses and making them the strengths of your company, you can capitalize on them and push their disgruntled customers right into your arms. Here are a number of examples of customer pain points to watch for:

• Recent attrition and frustration of workers: concentrate on providing benefits to employees that your competitors ignore.
• Lost Contracts and Business: Set your eyes on consumers who have left their competitors due to disappointment or lack of service.
• Recent infringements of industry standards: infringements, fines and penalties which cause consumers to lose confidence in their competitors.

Track Twitter or Google Notifications for the names of your competitor and by subscribing to their lists, go to their Facebook pages for any feedback. Then go over to Google Maps and search your business for feedback.

5. Notable Strenght and Recent Industry Recognition

Learning about the strengths of your competitors is not always a fun process. However, knowledge of their strengths and recent successes may provide useful advice for developing your own organization. You can find out about recent awards by checking the websites of your competitors, social media pages and industry newsletters. You can also subscribe to their blog to keep up-to – date with their latest promotions and articles.

6. Online Competitive Research with Search Engines

Using tools like SEMRush or AHrefs, you can do some very in-depth research on what your competitors are doing online. You can find the keywords they use, the websites that are sending them traffic, and which pages send the most traffic to their sites. This can give some great insight into your own online gaps. What are they showing up for on the search results that you are not?

• Search rankings. What are the words they show up for? Topic # 7 further explains the significance of keyword analysis.
• The overall Traffic. What is the total search traffic?  
• Paid or organic. What online strategies is your competition endorsing? Do they make any paid click ads with Adwords or Facebook? 
• Top landing pages. What pages are the top pages on which people land?
• Top referrers. What websites are sending traffic to them? Tools like Moz’s Link Authority will help with this.

7. Research Your Competitor’s Keyword

Keyword analysis helps to drive traffic to our pages and boost organic search rankings. Keyword research is the cornerstone of every form of digital marketing. When you do keyword research on your competitors, such as their search status, you will get a sense of what their business is known for. An effective keyword analysis is one of the most advantageous methods of competing in crowded space and gaining an advantage.

• Top keywords. Top keywords your competitors rank for.
• Find the keyword difference. What are your competitors not ranking for, and for which phrases will you easily find success? 
• Volume. How much volume are they generating?
• Main deliberate words. When you look at your competitor’s phrases, ask yourself whether they are phrases that display intent to buy, or are they merely information?Branded key word. What most people miss are the complex main phrases or phrases that signify a brand name. Often it’s a special method that your competitor has set up and markets for. Is there a particular product that they are promoting?
• Longtail keyword. “In fact, keywords with very high search volumes can also suggest unclear intent, which, if you target these terms, may put you at risk of attracting visitors to your site whose interests may not fit the content of your website.”

Read more on how to research keywords here

8. Your Competitor’s Social Media Marketing Techniques

Competitive social media analysis will give you some useful insights into what works in your industry and will give you some insights into what you may need to change. It’s a perfect way to keep up with the pulse of technology and get acquainted with the philosophy and customer service of your competitors. It’s shocking sometimes how much people share. You will find their journeys, the events they attended, even their customers.

Finding out more about your competitors’ social media marketing tactics is as simple as clicking the “Follow” button on Facebook , LinkedIn, and other social networking sites. Take a few minutes per week to take note of the social media behavior of your competitors. You will gain useful insight into their business practices, including their participation in conferences, professional societies and trade shows.

You will also be able to see how their followers react to their products and to any special promotional tactics, such as contests.

Here is a list of important research information:

Followers. How many people like and followers do they have? If the content of your competitor is gaining momentum, it is helpful to see who is helping to boost it.
Engagement. How much networking and engagement are they getting? Often the posts that drive most of the ties are not necessarily the posts that drive most of the engagements.
Content. What kind of details do they share?
Schedule. When do they post and how much engagement are they getting at those times?
Influences. Are they using influencers to share their content?
Networks. Which networks and formats are working for them

9. Research Your Competitors Online Content

Researching the type of content that your competitors share is a perfect way to find holes that you can fill. For instance, you could find that your competitors are only doing simple text-based blogs. If you can start doing any video content, you can overwrite their online content submissions and potentially hit a market that is hungry for knowledge on fast-format video from your industry. Or maybe your competitors are putting out short posts that lack substance, in which case you can create more long-form, informative content.

• Type of content. Are they creating long blog posts, YouTube videos, podcasts?
• Subject matter. Are they supplying consumers with comprehensive ‘How to’ videos or are they producing monthly case studies?
• Testimonials. Are they directly asking for customer feedback and posting them online?
• Popular Topics. Using the tools below, such as SEMRush and AHrefs, you can see which topics create buzz and traffic.
• Backlinks and Referrals. Then, for the popular topics which website sends traffic to them. Can you substitute or add to it?
• Schedule. How often are they planning and sharing their content?

What is the Best Way to Remain a Step Ahead of your Competitors?

As illustrated above, it is important to keep abreast of the latest tactics your competitors are using in an attempt to gain an edge in your industry. However, the only best way to stay ahead of your competitors is to arrange a thorough review of your company’s website. This analysis should be undertaken by an established industry professional with the expertise to assess your SEO and recognize the strengths and limitations of your website.

When carried out properly, a professional review can put your company on the road to industry stardom. During an online search, you can discover what steps you need to take to help prospects locate your business quicker than your competitor’s. You will also learn useful content-related tactics that will please your consumers and turn potential prospects into returning customers.

Your Solution To Surpassing The Competition

Before you schedule your review, it is important to recognize that not all website review providers are created equal. Seeking an award-winning provider with the proper industry certifications is the only way to ensure that your review is comprehensive and accurate.

We invite you to contact us at Techynista to schedule a complimentary website performance review. Here are just a few benefits our professional review will bring:

• A Fast Response: You can expect to receive the results of your review within 24 hours
• Organized Results: You will receive an organized written report and website grade in your inbox
• Clear Takeaways:  Your report will clearly outline the areas where your website is succeeding and failing
• Actionable Suggestions: We will outline the specific steps you should take to improve your website and outperform your competitors

We encourage you to reach out to our team today. Within a day or two, you will receive valuable feedback that will take you one step closer to a stellar website and industry excellence. We look forward to helping you outperform your competitors!