by Samuel Gitukui
Take athletes. They spend hours going through previous matches on video. They do this to learn about their competition and why they are performing as well as they are. They can then replicate this and improve their own performance.
The same goes for business. If you really want to succeed, you need to be aware of what your competitors are doing. This is an invaluable skill. By learning what makes your competitors successful, you can include this in your business and perhaps even do it better than they do.
Let’s find out how you can study your competitors. A great place to begin is the internet.
1. Go Online
Start off by creating a list of all your competitors. These includes those who are doing better than you as well as those who are lagging behind. Visit their social media pages and their websites. You would be surprised at the amount of information you can gather.
For example, by reading their blogs, you can see which posts have the most comments and attract the most interest. As you compare the information, you will start to see the difference.
You can then use this to improve your own products or customer service.
2. Blogs with the Most Buzz
By figuring out which blog posts have the most interest, you can create similar posts on your website and draw traffic. Luckily there are tools that can help make this entire process simple for you.
Buzzsumo is one of those great tools. You can use it to figure out which topics or posts create the most interest on social media.
You will also need to learn how the competition draws traffic to their site. And there is a tool for this as well. SimilarWeb will help you figure out which channels the competitors are using to generate traffic.
3. Your Competitor’s Competition
It’s time to take things a notch higher. Not only is it important to study your competitors, but it is equally important to analyze their competition as well. SimilarWeb will help you do this by giving you information on what your competitors are doing to stay ahead of the game.
4. Finding the Right Keywords
One of the main ways through which websites receive traffic is through creating interesting and engaging content around certain keywords. You can find out which keywords your competitors are using to generate traffic through tools such as SpyFu.
With the right keywords now available to you, it is now time to create content that is even more engaging, in-depth and fun to read based around those keywords.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that conducting competitor analysis does not mean you copy exactly what they are doing. The aim is to pick their best points and incorporate these into your strategy.
Competitor analysis is not a one-time thing and you will need to regularly keep yourself updated on what they are up to. This way you will always remain ahead of the game.