Digital Marketing Competitor Audit
Most businesses think of their competitors as other companies they know are power players in an industry. While true from a market share perspective, this thinking leaves you vulnerable to a different set of businesses that you’re competing with online - your digital competitors. It also assumes that your target audience is as educated on your industry as you, which is rarely the case, and one reason why you need to track competition online.
Why do you need an online competitor analysis in digital marketing?
More than likely, your client or customer knows a few businesses that provide the same services and products as you. But if they’re searching for a provider in your industry, they’re looking for options and might want to compare multiple companies to each other. They will look at websites they’re familiar with and new ones they’ve never visited.
It’s in these scenarios that you, just like your target audience, turn to Google or Bing, and begin researching options. The question is, which business are they finding? An online competitor analysis reveals which brands your audience is finding when they search for services and products you offer and gives you a starting place to track competition online. It also serves to diagnose shortcomings of your website and inspire new ideas on how to boost your rankings for crucial keywords.
How do you analyze my digital marketing competitors?
We use unbiased third-party tools that analyze the real rankings and search results pages, which gives you a more accurate picture of what your target audience sees. It’s different from what you see when you search from a personal computer. Search engines use algorithms that are based on a user’s past online behavior, so if you’ve been visiting your competitors' websites, or spending time on your own, it will skew what you see. For a chance to know what your audience will see in results, you need an objective review - that’s why our audit is different.
An In-depth Look at How to Audit Your Competitors Online
The Blue Compass Digital Marketing Competitor Audit takes a closer look at the four different elements that you need to evaluate for an accurate audit.
- First, we evaluate the most valuable keywords for the three primary services you offer. We compile a list and narrow it down to the most relevant phrase for each of the primary services. This process reveals which businesses you compete with online - and it might surprise you.
- Secondly, we show you all the potential brands that might be fighting for your customer’s attention. We isolate the four major digital competitors and analyze all their keyword rankings. With this information, we will have insight into which popular phrases and terms these competitors have strong rankings for, but are missing from your site.
- Third, we evaluate your website’s credibility using the same method as Google and Bing by analyzing backlinks. We find websites that could be linking to your company to boost your website’s ranking in search. Then we find which large, credible companies are linking to and sending traffic to competitors’ websites. We give you list of places to reach out to where you can start earning backlinks.
- Fourth, we look at the strength of your perceived competitors' online presence - those companies that you feel have the most significant market share in your market or industry. We’ll tell you if they’re as much of a threat online as they are offline. Finally, we’ll identify your primary digital marketing competitor and recommend the next steps to surpass them in the digital marketplace.
Using the Digital Marketing Competitor Audit
Blue Compass will deliver and present a 20-page report. It will give you a clear direction for where to focus your digital efforts. The digital landscape, especially competitive search results, shift frequently, and can change dramatically two or three times a year. Think of a digital marketing competitor audit as a gut check for your digital strategy and companies. Business owners, digital marketers, and marketing directors alike will be able to use the audit results to:
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Find missed opportunities
- Learn where your business is beating competitors
- Review your current standings against internal benchmarks and key performance indicators
- Discern new trends in the way your audience behaves online
- Leverage insight about your competitors
- Be confident knowing where you stand
Getting Started With Your Online Competitor Analysis
To start your project with Blue Compass, drop us a note using the form below and let us know you're interested in having us complete a Digital Marketing Competitor Audit. We’ll follow-up with a quick statement of work describing responsibilities and deliverables, and once we’re approved to move forward, we’ll schedule a kick-off call and invoice your team for half of the project value.
Kick-off Call
Our team will come prepared for this call, having completed some primary research for your company. We ask that you be ready to identify your top three service areas or products as well as who you believe to be your three to five primary competitors. We’ll talk through any ongoing digital campaigns you’re running and the current state of your website.
Digital Marketing Competitor Audit
After our call, we’ll audit the three services or products and do a deep dive into your perceived competitors and other competitors we find through our research. We’ll compile the data into a report and schedule a conference call or video meeting to report out our findings. To close out the project, we’ll send the final invoice for the remaining 50 percent, as well as answer any follow-up questions from your team.
Project Timeline
Blue Compass will contact you within one business day of filling out the form below. Expect to receive the statement of work within two days of the initial contact, and once approved to move forward, the report will be completed within five to seven business days. We’ll schedule the presentation meeting as soon as your schedule allows. The project could take anywhere from one to two weeks from start to finish.
Investment: $1,500