The internet is a wonderful thing, especially if you use it for business. You have access to customers from around the globe, and you can be open 24/7. Even if you’re sleeping, you’re still making money. But just like any other form of business, selling online has some drawbacks too. First, you have even more competitors because of the global reach of the internet. Second, you do not always know who your competitors are, so you might find yourself asking why you don’t rank #1 for your choice of keywords. When it comes to the internet, it can be a bit tricky to find where your competitors are hiding. Here are some ways you can find them and knock them out.
Research
The first step is to do research by using your preferred keywords and looking at how your competitors optimize their site for their keywords. Once you know what the keywords are, you can then find out how valuable they are by using Google’s Keyword Planner. This is to find out what keywords your competitors are using on their most important pages. Use this knowledge to either rank for other keywords or purchase said keywords so that your page will rank higher than theirs.
If you don’t like manually searching, then use tools like SEMRush or SpyFu. You simply input the URL, and they will spit out results for organic and paid keywords. Both tools give 5 to 10 keywords for free, which can be enough to get you started on your campaign. If you get the paid version, you can get more valuable info and keyword analysis.
Social Network
Social networks are not just for finding lost high school friends or relatives. It is now being used as a marketing tool by many businesses. Use social media to find out who your competitors are and stay in tune to public sentiment regarding your company and your competition. Monitoring social media mentions for your company and competitor is fairly easy, cost-effective, and affordable. Scour sites like Yelp for reviews and promos so that you are always one step ahead of the competition.
Even if your competitors do not use social media, they might be marketing through their newsletter. Sign up for these so that you know what’s going on and get updates on their products and services.
Customers
Don’t be afraid to ask your customers about the competition. They are the best and cheapest way to get information. When you have new customers, ask them who they used before and why they started using your service or product. Do the same if you lose a customer, and ask why they decided to shift to your competitors. This will give you an idea why customers are using your product or service or why they prefer others. This will give you what your competitor is offering and what you can do to beat them.
Conduct A Survey
If you really want to find out how many competitors are out there, hire a firm to conduct a survey. By knowing who your competitors are. By finding out how they do business, you can differentiate your product or sales process so that your company stands out. You don’t have to do this yourself because you can outsource this and have them analyze the data so that you can move quickly.
Hire Them or Who Are They Hiring?
One good way to find out how your competitor works is by hiring their employees. This is a good way to find out how they operate and what their long term plans are. Alternatively, watch who their hiring. This will give you an insight as to what they need or if they are planning to expand. For example if they are hiring patent lawyers, they could be into big innovations. If they are hiring programmers, they could be expanding their IT or tech department.
