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What Are the Different Types of Online Competitor Analysis?

Alex Newth
Alex Newth

Online competitor analysis is used to judge how well a competing website is doing, but there are various ways of checking a website’s quality and success. Keyword analysis checks the keywords a competitor’s website is using and those for which it is ranking. To rank in a search engine, a website must have back links, and doing an online competitor analysis for back links will check the number, source and quality of the links. Content is very common online — most websites use content to draw in readers — and this analysis allows the user to read and judge a competitor’s blog posts, articles and sales messages. Optimizing a website for search engines is fairly simple but, if a competitor is not fully optimized, then a structural analysis will give the user an advantage.

Keywords, or search terms, are used as online doorways that lead readers into a website. By knowing the keywords for which a competitor is ranking, the user can figure out what keywords he or she should target for his or her own website. An online competitor analysis will typically only show keywords the competitor has in the top 20 listings, and sometimes the top 10, because these spots get the majority of clicks from people using a search engine.

Optimizing a website for search engines is fairly simple but, if a competitor is not fully optimized, then a structural analysis will give the user an advantage.
Optimizing a website for search engines is fairly simple but, if a competitor is not fully optimized, then a structural analysis will give the user an advantage.

A back link, or a link from an external site leading to the competitor’s website, increases search engine rankings based on the number and quality of links, and it can determine how difficult it might be for a newcomer to rank his or her website. By performing a back link online competitor analysis, the user will figure out how many back links a competitor has and from where the links are coming. The user typically can use these same sources to gain more back links.

Businesses should carefully monitor competitors' keyword advertising online.
Businesses should carefully monitor competitors' keyword advertising online.

Most websites have content, such as sales copy, informative articles or blog posts. By performing online-content competitor analysis, the user will see what type of content the competitor is creating. Most analysis programs also can determine if the content is optimized well, and if the user can improve his or her own content.

Making a website accessible to a search engine is fairly simple, but some websites are not properly optimized, which makes it easier for someone else to get a higher search engine rank. A structural, or search engine optimization (SEO), online competitor analysis will check for certain structural elements that typically help a website rank well. This same service can commonly be applied to the user’s website to show him or her if there are any optimization problems.

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    • Optimizing a website for search engines is fairly simple but, if a competitor is not fully optimized, then a structural analysis will give the user an advantage.
      By: Eugenio Marongiu
      Optimizing a website for search engines is fairly simple but, if a competitor is not fully optimized, then a structural analysis will give the user an advantage.
    • Businesses should carefully monitor competitors' keyword advertising online.
      Businesses should carefully monitor competitors' keyword advertising online.
    • A competitor analysis may be a wide scale analysis of the whole company or may be a more focused analysis, such as a competitive analysis only of marketing strategies.
      By: Minerva Studio
      A competitor analysis may be a wide scale analysis of the whole company or may be a more focused analysis, such as a competitive analysis only of marketing strategies.