Search Engine Optimization

Competition Analysis – Research

This article is a continuation of conversion optimization series.

Once you know your industry and customers you have to know competition. Competition research encompasses:

• Paid Search (PPC)
• Organic Search (SEO)
• Brand Equity
• Information Structure
• Site Message(copywriting)

PPC and SEO Competition Research

The goal is to measure search visibility of your competitors on major search engines. This one is pretty straight forward. Plug your keywords and see who appears and for what queries in both natural and paid search.

SEO Competitive Analysis Resources:

• SEO & PPC Competitive Analysis & Keyword Research Tools
• SEO & Competition Analysis – Part One
• SEO & Competition Analysis – Part Two

Brand Equity

Brand equity refers to the marketing effects or outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. And, at the root of these marketing effects is consumers’ knowledge. In other words, consumers’ knowledge about a brand makes consumers respond differently to the marketing of the brand. The study of brand equity is increasingly popular as some marketing researchers have concluded that brands are one of the most valuable assets that a company has. - Wikipedia

Sometimes strong brand does not need search, nor does it need strong copywriting. Strong brand is a half way sale. Competing with one is tough. To find out who has a strong brand, go out to forums, chats and blogs. If a site gets mentioned, linked and discussed – it’s likely has a strong brand within your niche. In most cases it will rely on direct traffic and outside links, while holding top search engine spots(due to natural links). To compete on search you will have to buy your way through SEO or work hard to develop the brand.

Online brand development.

SEO company that can get you search visibility.

Competitive Information Structure

Information structure has the capacity to double your profits. Many designers overlook it and shoot for eye candies. Good info structure will:

Make navigation a breeze

Best sites have seamless navigation that users take for granted and never notice. Look at your competitors, try to get from page F to page Z. How hard is it? Do you have to look around, click or go to the homepage to get there? If it’s good, you can get anywhere within 3 clicks(assuming there are 50+pages).

If your competitor has an effective site structure, copy some elements and wrap your own design with it.

Persuasion element

Effective site structure will also persuade. This is achieved with link text, amount of links and page links.

Link text is usually limited to SEO, so there not much room here and it can be sacrificed.

Links that cross connect related pages within page copy create persuasive momentum.

For example: Page talks about security. Reader will be interested to know how exactly it works. Within page copy you can create a benefit packed sentence with a link to a deeper overview. On that same page you can populate other related links. The goal is to ensure that visitors keep moving within your site and keep finding relevant information.

If your competitors achieve both persuasive momentum and make their navigation seamless you’re in trouble. Prepare for some work, since information structure and site optimization are industries on their own.

Competitive Site Messaging

Read through competitive writings. Are they we-we-we? Or do they focus on the benefits that products brings to the customer?

A good technique is to copy all the benefits from most competitive sites onto to a file. Add your own benefits on top of it, improve existing ones, and populate them on your own site. This way you don’t miss any benefits that competition has and ensure you have plenty of your own.

Also look at the copy structure and its persuasiveness. If a copy is good it will usually create desire to explore more and order the product.

You can take apart competitive sales copy with several structures:

• What is the problem?
• Why hasn’t It been solved?
• What’s Possible?
• What’s Different?
• Ask for Order?

My favorite:

• Open strongly and create desire
• Develop drama and differentiates the product
• Explain how to use product or service
• Elaborate Unique benefits
• Justify the Purchase or lasting value
• Address Service Concerns
• Ask for the order

A thorough analysis will let you know if competitors strategically developed their copy and help you develop a better one.