Tracking your competitors online

Search engine marketing may be considered by some to just be about search engine rankings and search referral traffic. However, any true search engine marketing campaign is ultimately about increasing business enquiries from search, which means that the conversion rate from a website or business process also plays a key role, as does the impact of competitor websites.

Reviewing ranking reports to assess the ranking positions being achieved, or website analytics to gauge the volume and type of search engine referrals, does provide valuable information, but this is often just a snapshot of what is really going on within the search market for your business. High search rankings may not necessarily convert into increased business, whereas better volumes of search engine referral traffic may still be generated, despite some poor rankings for the main search terms.

All these elements need to be considered as part of the overall marketing process and one of the main factors that can often be ignored is what the actual searcher experiences. When your website ranks well for a particular search term that’s relevant to your business, what else will the searcher ‘ and potential customer ‘ see? Which other companies are ranking in the ‘natural’ or paid listings? What are they saying on their search links to their websites? And what will the searcher find when they compare your site to others?

Just as in any other business sector, online companies need to be aware of their competitors within the search market. You should be searching the market on a regular basis to know who are your competitors here, since they may be different to those that are competing with your business ‘offline’. You should also consider how they are operating, by reviewing such factors as:

* how do they attract searchers to click on the link to their site from the search results?
* what initial impact does the potential customer see once they land on the site?
* what ‘tone of voice’ does the site address the visitor?
* what is a the usability of the site like ‘ does it work quickly and make the enquiry or ordering process easy for the user?
* what is the functionality of the site like ‘ is it easy to navigate and does it offers tools or services that others don’t?
* what information is provided about their products or services?
* are they offering any free services or special offers and, most importantly, what are their prices like?

Some of these items may be difficult to assess and ideally you should also get an independent view of your competitors’ websites compared to yours. You also need to consider how important some elements may be in attracting visits and business away from your site.

As we have highlighted previously, it’s now more important than ever to convert as many visitors to your website as you can, which may mean testing some different approaches and learning from your competitors what may or may not work well. The search market can also change quickly, so this is an area that does need regular attention, because it may be the case that your competitors are doing the same to you!

We can provide help with different levels of competitor analysis, so if you want to know more, please contact us for details.

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