How to Do Kickass Competitor Analysis with BrightLocal
Competitor analysis is a crucial part of any local SEO strategy. It can help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your competition and uncover new opportunities for your own business. However, performing a thorough competitor analysis can be time-consuming and overwhelming, especially if you’re not sure what metrics to look at.
This is where BrightLocal comes in. Their suite of SEO tools is specifically designed to make competitor analysis easier and more intuitive. In this article, we’ll show you how to use BrightLocal to perform kickass competitor analysis.
First Things First: What is Competitor Analysis?
Competitor analysis is the process of identifying and evaluating your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as their marketing strategies, to gain insight into how you can improve your own business. This includes analyzing their website, SEO performance, social media presence, online reviews, and any other factors that may impact their visibility and lead generation.
Competitor analysis helps you understand the landscape of your industry and identify gaps or opportunities that you can leverage to outperform your competitors. It also helps you develop a strategic plan to optimize your marketing efforts and stay ahead of the game.
Step 1: Identify Your Competitors
The first step in performing competitor analysis is to identify who your competitors are. This may seem obvious, but it’s important to be comprehensive and identify both direct and indirect competitors.
Direct competitors are businesses that offer the same products or services as you and are located in the same geographic area. Indirect competitors are businesses that offer similar or related products or services but are not located in the same geographic area.
Once you’ve identified your competitors, you can start analyzing their online presence using BrightLocal’s suite of tools.
Step 2: Analyze Their Website
A website is often a business’s first point of contact with potential customers. Analyzing your competitors’ website can give you insight into how they’re presenting their brand and what their customer journey looks like.
Use BrightLocal’s Website Analyzer tool to get an overview of your competitors’ websites. This tool provides a detailed report of their website health, including page speed, mobile responsiveness, and on-page SEO factors. You can also use it to analyze their website structure and identify any technical issues that may be affecting their SEO performance.
Step 3: Analyze Their Local SEO Performance
Local SEO is all about making sure your business appears at the top of search results when potential customers search for businesses like yours in their area. Analyzing your competitors’ local SEO performance can help you identify key areas where you can improve your own strategy.
BrightLocal’s Local Search Results Checker tool allows you to see how your competitors are ranking in local search results for specific keywords. You can also compare their ranking to yours and identify any gaps or opportunities for improvement.
Step 4: Analyze Their Social Media Presence
Social media is an important part of any marketing strategy. Analyzing your competitors’ social media presence can give you insight into what content resonates with their audience and how they engage with them.
BrightLocal’s Social Media Tracker tool allows you to track your competitors’ social media activity across multiple platforms. You can analyze their posting frequency, engagement rate, and follower growth to see what’s working well for them.
Step 5: Analyze Their Online Reviews
Online reviews are one of the most important factors that influence consumer behavior. Analyzing your competitors’ online reviews can give you insight into what their customers love and hate about their business.
BrightLocal’s Reputation Manager tool allows you to monitor your competitors’ online reviews across multiple platforms. You can analyze their overall rating, review sentiment, and response rate to see how they’re managing their online reputation.
FAQs
Q: How often should I perform competitor analysis?
A: It depends on how frequently your industry changes. Generally, it’s a good idea to perform competitor analysis every three to six months.
Q: What should I do if I find a major gap between my business and my competitor?
A: Identify the root cause of the gap and develop a strategic plan to address it. This may involve improving your marketing strategy, optimizing your website, or investing in new technologies.
Q: Is it legal to gather information about my competitors?
A: Yes, as long as you’re not engaging in unethical or illegal practices such as hacking into their systems or stealing their intellectual property.
Key Takeaways
Performing competitor analysis is a crucial part of any local SEO strategy. By identifying your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, you can gain insight into what’s working well in your industry and what you need to improve to stay ahead of the competition.
BrightLocal’s suite of tools makes competitor analysis easier and more intuitive. By analyzing your competitors’ website, local SEO performance, social media presence, and online reviews, you can develop a comprehensive understanding of their marketing strategies and identify gaps or opportunities for improvement. So, go ahead and give it a try for yourself!
Original Article:https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/how-to-do-kickass-competitor-analysis-with-brightlocal/
