How to do Competitor Analysis in Digital Marketing?

In a world where businesses are in a constant state of flux,  keeping a watchful eye on the competitive landscape can only ensure success. This involves the arduous process of conducting a thorough competitor analysis, which entails scrutinizing the marketing strategies of the companies operating within a particular market. 

The purpose of this exercise is to unearth vital information pertaining to the techniques that rival brands utilize to attract and retain customers, as well as to ascertain the driving forces behind the traffic to their web pages and the success of their advertising campaigns. Through this process, it is possible to identify gaps in the market and accurately estimate potential opportunities to leverage, thereby empowering your business to optimize its own marketing efforts and emerge triumphant in the face of cut-throat competition. 

This article aims to delve deeper into the concept of competitive analysis in digital marketing, exploring its definition, key points, and the steps involved in conducting a successful analysis.

What is competitive analysis in marketing?

Competitive analysis in marketing is the systematic and in-depth examination of the strategies used by competing brands to establish a strong online presence. This process includes a comprehensive evaluation of various elements, including website design, user experience, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, social media engagement, paid advertising, and more. 

Why do you need to conduct a competitor analysis in digital marketing?

The ultimate goal of competitive analysis strategies is to gain a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and to use this knowledge to inform your own digital marketing strategies, optimize your online presence, and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

How often do you need to conduct a competitor analysis?

The optimal frequency for conducting website competitive analysis is influenced by several factors, including the industry’s characteristics, the pace of technological advancements, and the level of market competition. As a general guideline, it is recommended to conduct a website competitive analysis at least once a year, allowing businesses to stay abreast of the latest market trends, shifts in consumer preferences, and emerging technologies. Monthly analyses may be recommended for keeping tabs on trends, while quarterly analyses may be necessary for implementing bigger changes in campaigns.

A step-by-step guide to conducting a competitive landscape analysis

Identifying your Competitors

In today’s highly competitive digital landscape, staying updated on your competitors’ market positions is crucial to ensure that your business is not left behind. By keeping a close eye on your competitors’ digital marketing strategies, you can gain insights into what is working well for them and what is not, and make adjustments to your own approach accordingly. Get a complete mapping of your competitors through various tools like Semrush etc to gain insights into your competitors’ online presence, their target audience, and the keywords they are targeting.

Monitoring Your Rivals’ Market Position

Analyze your Competitor’s Social Media Strategies before creating your own social media marketing strategy. This entails social media competitor analysis that is closely examining their social media presence on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. Fortunately, Facebook provides a free tool, the Facebook Ad Library, which enables businesses to gain insights into their competitors’ active ad campaigns. By conducting keyword competitor analysis and social media competitor analysis businesses can uncover valuable information about their competitors’ marketing tactics. 

Evaluate competitor’s preferred platforms for advertising

To uncover your competitors’ preferred platforms for advertising and media placements, there are several strategies you can employ. First, find competitor websites and social media pages to see what types of ads they are running and where they are placed. Second, consider using third-party tools like Adbeat, AdEspresso, and WhatRunsWhere to track your rivals’ advertising and media placements. Third, keep an eye on industry publications to see where your competitors are placing their ads or being mentioned. However, it’s important to remember that your business’s target audience and marketing goals should dictate which platforms you utilize, rather than blindly copying your competitors’ strategies.

Assess competitor’s Content Marketing Strategies

To investigate your competitors from a content standpoint, you’ll need to analyze their blog posts, social media presence, and backlink profiles. By looking at what types of content perform best for your competitors, you can identify gaps in your own content strategy and develop a plan to fill them. To effectively research and analyze your competitors’ content marketing strategies, it’s important to review several key aspects. These include their main navigation page content, how pages on their website are interlinked, how competitors showcase their products or services, the formats they use for marketing content, gated and non-gated content resources, and their main topic hubs. 

Decode competitor’s top Marketing Campaigns

Exploring your competitors’ PPC efforts can be a valuable tactic for fine-tuning your own advertising strategies. Fortunately, there are several dependable tools at your disposal. One of the most effective ways to start Keyword competitor analysis is by accessing Google’s Keyword Planner, which will help you find the keyword volumes and average costs per click for the keywords being used by your rivals in the chosen location.

Ahrefs is another useful tool for investigating your competitors’ PPC strategies. It allows you to scan their currently active keywords and top-performing landing pages. You can gain insight into their PPC investment and how it’s performing. With Semrush you can get detailed information about their ad strategies and budgets. You can also study their ad copies, monitor ad spend, track the most profitable PPC keywords, and observe live ads. All this information can notify your own paid ads strategy, from high-converting landing pages to campaign structure and keyword targeting.

Benchmark competitor’s Google ads

Analyzing your competitors’ Google ads can be a valuable exercise in keeping up with the latest trends in digital advertising and staying ahead of the competition. To benchmark your competitors’ ads, you must scrutinize their ad campaigns, including their ad types, copy, targeting strategies, and landing pages. Once you have gathered this information, you can use it to identify areas where you may be falling behind the competition and to develop strategies for improving your own ad campaigns. This might involve experimenting with different ad formats or targeting strategies, refining your ad copy to better appeal to your target audience, or optimizing your landing pages to increase conversion rates.

Investigate Your Competitor’s Search Engine Optimization

To conduct SEO competitive analysis, you’ll need to employ a range of tactics. SEO experts recommend using web crawlers to collect data from your site and your competitors’ sites, identifying top-performing pages and keywords, setting up visibility reports, and watching out for rising SEO trends. One popular tool for this is Screaming Frog, which can help you detect technical issues affecting a page’s visibility on Google, such as duplicate or thin page content, and the status of all links to and from a page. Ahrefs can help you assess your competitors’ organic performance by narrowing down their high-traffic pages and the keywords they target. 

In essence, competitive analysis strategies in digital marketing are akin to a surgical procedure, requiring meticulous attention to detail and a thorough understanding of the complex digital landscape. It involves not only identifying your direct competitors but also exploring the broader competitive landscape to understand the overall industry trends and shifts. The process of competitive analysis in marketing also involves keeping a watchful eye on the latest advancements in digital marketing, such as emerging technologies, new social media platforms, and changes in search engine algorithms, to ensure that your digital marketing strategies remain relevant and effective in the ever-evolving digital realm.