Competitive Edge – Know Thy Competition: Quick SEO Tips

Recently I have been talking to a client about their website, and ways to improve it. The client is in a highly competitive industry, has not made significant website changes in a long time, and is actively running social media and paid marketing campaigns. Their website may be the issue though.

One quick thing I suggested doing, was to look at competitor websites to see what they are doing to achieve top rank in search engines. A quick competitive analysis, combined with website analytic data, should give us a great idea of where we can add value, as well as providing the client hindsight for areas of improvement on the website.

Part of a competitive analysis is to look at Meta Data – Is the competition using keywords you are missing?

Having trouble keeping up with the competition? Here are a few ideas for you to consider. Combined with your other marketing tools, it might offer insight on current trends or areas where your website could use a boost.

1. Look at the URL – Does the competition use keywords in their name?
2. How does their Meta Data flow? Does it look good when ranked in the search engines? What keywords are they are using in their Meta Data?
3. If you type “key” keyword phrases into search engines, where does the completion rank? Where do you rank?
4. What one page content does the competition provide to potential clients? Are they using keywords that you are missing?
5. Does their website load quickly? Does it look aesthetically appealing? Are there calls to action that are clear to you? Does the flow of their website make sense to visitors?
6. Does the competition use engaging photos with appropriate ALT tags?

These are just a few of the things that I look at when checking out a competitors website.

After viewing several competitors you should have ideas on what might be missing from your website or areas of improvement for your website. Use tools like Google’s Keyword Tool to determine which keywords you are using well, which keywords might draw in a larger audience and which keywords might be missing. Then combine this information with analytic information about your website. If this task seems daunting, hire an expert to complete an audit for you. With an ever changing World Wide Web, you’ll be surprised at what insight you’ll be able to gain from doing this quick exercise!

How do you get insight into what the competition is doing to appear at the top of search engine results?