31 Dec How to do a Competitive Analysis in Digital Marketing?
It’s time to do some research. You’ve heard that phrase before, and you know what it means. But when it comes to competitive analysis in digital marketing, what does it mean, and how do you do it?
Don’t worry, we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps of doing competitive analysis for your business. We’ll start with understanding your competitors and the market they operate in, then move on to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we’ll give you some tips on how to use that information to your advantage.
What Is Competitive Analysis in Digital Marketing?
When it comes to digital marketing, competitive analysis is a key component of your overall strategy.
Simply put, it’s the process of assessing your competitors and understanding their strategies—including what works and what doesn’t. This information can then be used to help you develop your plans and tactics, making sure that you’re always one step ahead.
But who should you analyze as competitors in digital marketing? Well, that depends on your business and your goals. Typically, you’ll want to look at businesses that are in the same industry or market as you are.
Why Do You Need an Ongoing Competitor Analysis?
It’s not enough to simply do a one-off competitor analysis. You need to continuously monitor your competitors and stay up-to-date on their strategies, products, services, and pricing. Why? Doing an ongoing competitive analysis helps you identify any changes in the competitive landscape and respond quickly — before you get blindsided.
For example, you may discover a new digital marketing tool your competitors are using that you haven’t heard of yet. Or maybe they just launched a new product or service and you can use that information to inform your own strategy. By keeping an eye on the competition, you can stay ahead of the curve and anticipate any changes — or opportunities — that may arise in the future.
By understanding how your competitors operate on digital channels, how they reach customers, and how their positioning compares to yours, you’ll be able to stay one step ahead of them. This is key for staying competitive in digital marketing and ensuring that your own business remains viable in the long run.
How to Gather Competitive Data?
Now that you understand the importance of a competitive analysis, it’s time to gather data. Start by doing some research on your top competitors. What are they doing that you’re not? What are they doing well that you can emulate?
Take a close look at their website, social media presence, and marketing materials. Note what tactics they’re using and how they’re targeting their audience. What keywords are they targeting? What kind of content are they creating?
Please pay close attention to their language and the tone of their marketing materials. Try to get a sense of what their brand is all about. What kind of message are they trying to send to their audience?
You can also use tools like Google Trends to get data on your competitors’ website traffic and online visibility.
Analysis of Competitors’ Strengths and Weaknesses
So, how do you go about conducting a competitive analysis in the digital age?
Start by taking a look at your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. What are they doing that you’re not? What can you do better? And, most importantly, what can you do to set yourself apart from the competition?
Think about the unique selling proposition (USP) of your business and how you can make sure it’s front and center in your marketing efforts. What makes you different? Why should customers choose you over your competitors?
Oftentimes, businesses make the mistake of trying to be all things to all people. But that’s not sustainable—or successful. It’s much better to focus on your core strengths and build your marketing around them.
Identify Opportunities to Gain an Edge
Once you’ve identified your competitors, you can start to analyze the opportunities out there to gain an edge.
Analyzing trends, reviewing new products and services being offered by your competitors, as well as taking a closer look at pricing are just some of the ways you can get ahead. A great tactic is also to look at what platforms each of your competitors has a presence on and consider if there’s any way for you to leverage those platforms – such as paid advertising.
It’s also a good idea to review competitors’ reviews, content, and other marketing tactics to identify any gaps or weaknesses that you might be able to fill or capitalize on.
Last but not least, analyzing customer segmentation and targeting strategies is an invaluable tool for understanding what strategies are working right now in the market. After all, understanding who your competition is targeting may help you better understand how they’re perceived and what they offer.
Strategies to Apply the Results of a Competitive Analysis
Once you’ve identified your competitors, analyze their strategies, and are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, the next step is to use this information to create a plan of action.
First, consider what sets your company apart from the competition. What do you do better? How can you replicate their successes, but with your unique spin? Identify what gaps in the market your competitors have missed and make sure you fill them.
Next, look at how you can use their weaknesses to your advantage. Is there something they offer that customers don’t seem to like? Can you tailor your product or service to meet a specific customer need? This could be a great way to gain an edge in a crowded marketplace.
Finally, take note of where they’re allocating their resources and try to determine what approaches are working best for them. Every marketing strategy has its own set of trade-offs so be sure to understand those before committing to any one approach to make sure it works for both the short- and long-term goals of your business.
Tips for Utilizing Digital Marketing Tools for Analyzing Competitors
Once you have identified and categorized your competitors, you can start using digital marketing tools to analyze them. Here are some tips for utilizing the tools to their fullest potential:
Search for their website traffic data.
Many digital marketing tools provide insights into website traffic, including its sources of it (search engine queries and advertisement clicks) as well as other metrics such as bounce rates and time on site. Knowing this data will help you understand where your competitor is succeeding and where there may be weaknesses you can exploit.
Utilize keyword research tools like Google AdWords.
Doing keyword research can provide valuable insights into what customers are searching for and how they’re likely to find the products that both you and your competitor are offering. This data can then be used to develop a targeted marketing strategy that resonates with potential customers.
Look at social media presence.
Analyzing a competitor’s social media presence will give you insight into how they engage with people online, which may be different than how you typically do it. You can use this knowledge to plan out your own social media strategy while also keeping an eye on what they’re up to.
Use a framework for analysis
If you want to do a thorough competitive analysis, you should use a framework. This can help you organize your data and make sure that nothing is overlooked.
Start by looking at each competitor’s audience and understanding the demographics, psychographics, and preferences that they have in common. Look at which type of content they are pushing out and what kind of engagement it is getting. It’s also helpful to look at the results from campaigns—did they produce any direct response, branding, or awareness insights?
You can then use this information to build a profile of your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses. What advantages does each competitor have? What areas need improvement? How does your brand compare against them in terms of these metrics?
Finally, use all this information to come up with a strategy for how you will differentiate your product or service from theirs. Pay close attention to the elements that they are lacking to create an advantage for yourself.
Find best practices
Once you understand who your competitors are and what they offer, you’re ready to review their best practices. Think about what strategies are driving their success and how you can apply them to your own business. What channels are they using? How often do they post content? What type of content do they post?
Take a look at their strategies, tactics, and objectives: What works well for them? Is there anything that could be improved upon? Are there any areas that have been neglected or forgotten about?
Examine their digital marketing campaigns. Do they have any digital assets such as website pages or a blog that could be used to engage your audience? Have they established strong relationships with other businesses or influencers in the industry? Are they using any paid advertising platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Ads?
By examining the competition’s best practices, you can come up with more effective strategies for your digital marketing campaigns.
Organize your data for analysis
Once you have gathered the data from your competitive analysis, the next step is to start organizing it for analysis. To begin, you’ll want to create a spreadsheet and note down the information you found about your competitors. This includes things like their website design, pricing strategies, marketing channels, and customer service tactics.
In addition, you should also jot down any changes your competitors have made in the past few months. Now that you have all of this information compiled in one place, it’s time to analyze it and find out what works best.
You can do this by looking at each of the categories separately and noting any differences between them. For example, if one competitor is constantly making changes to their website design while another isn’t, that could indicate that they are successful in that area which could lead to something you may want to implement yourself. Pay attention to these patterns and use them as benchmarks for your strategy.
Competitor analysis tools
Knowing your competitors and how to analyze them is vital for success in digital marketing. But, don’t worry if this sounds overwhelming. There are plenty of tools available to help you out here.
For keyword research and tracking, you can use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner, or Moz’s Keyword Explorer. Other helpful tools include SimilarWeb and SpyFu to track competitor website performance and traffic flows. If you want to better understand the competition on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, then use BuzzSumo or Hootsuite insights.
It’s important when doing competitor analysis that you have a comprehensive view of the market and identifies the main players in your industry or niche. The right tools will provide you with the insights you need to make educated decisions about how your digital marketing strategy should progress.
Recap
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how to do a competitive analysis in digital marketing, but there are some key steps you can take to get started.
Start by identifying your closest competitors and gathering as much information about them as you can. This includes their strengths and weaknesses, as well as what tactics they’re using to succeed online.
Once you have a good understanding of your competitors, you can start to develop your strategy and tactics to outperform them. Use the information you gathered to inform your marketing plan and make sure you’re always tracking your progress and adjusting your strategy as needed.
In short, doing a competitive analysis in digital marketing is essential for any digital marketer looking to stay ahead of the curve. By following the steps above, you can create a plan that will help you crush the competition and come out on top.