Mastering Competitive Research in Digital Marketing: A Comprehensive Guide

HOW TO PERFORM A COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS FOR KEYWORD RESEARCH

In digital marketing, a keyword is a word or phrase that people use when searching for information online. Keywords act as a bridge between what users are looking for and the results provided by search engines.

Keyword research identifies phrases and terms searched on Google, Bing, and other major search engines. For example, the term Air Jordan High Tops, as seen below, has 6,600 monthly searches.

Analyzing your competitors’ keywords is crucial in developing a robust SEO strategy. By gaining insights into their keyword portfolios, you can reveal the types of content they produce, thereby understanding what resonates with your shared audience. You can also identify gaps in your keyword strategy and refine your content strategy to increase keyword market share.

For example, let’s say you own a local shoe store and wish to expand your regional footprint. In that case, you would benefit from knowing what keywords some of the largest shoe manufacturers in the world are targeting. Below is a screenshot of Nike’s most significant keyword position changes over the last 30 days.

Highlighted above are three keywords a local shoe store should target based on Nike’s position changes. The first is a Spanish keyword, revealing a strong market for Spanish speakers searching for Nike shoes in the U.S. Perhaps it is wise to include Spanish in meta-information to optimize local search. 

The second keyword pertains to weightlifting shoes, which means likely weightlifting trends require further investigation. 

The third keyword is a longtail term for Air Jordan shoes, specifically “high tops.” This informs us that fashion is leaning towards high-tops over low-tops, and perhaps more content should be geared towards different types of high-top shoes, not just the Nike brand.

As demonstrated above, analyzing a competitor’s organic traffic can yield insights you otherwise wouldn’t have found.

 

HOW TO RESEARCH COMPETITOR AD COPY?

Businesses running pay-per-click campaigns spend hundreds to thousands of dollars per month on advertising, so it’s imperative they have a strategy to avoid wasteful spending. One clever tactic we implement at Mile High Content is analyzing the ad copy of our client’s competitors to find trends. For example, if a competitor uses specific phrases and keywords month after month in their ad campaign, it indicates something is working, and perhaps we can learn from it. On the contrary, if they switch their ad copy frequently, they probably don’t see the desired results and are testing new ad copy to find the correct phrasing and call-to-actions.

Above is a screenshot of Nike’s ad copy for women’s shoes from August through December 2021. As circled in red, Nike did not change its ad copy from August to October. However, it changed its ad copy to a call to action about Black Friday in November. This indicates that its ad copy was probably quite effective, so they did not change it for three months. The only reason for the change was because of Black Friday. 

So, how can competitor ad copy be used to gain an advantage over industry rivals? Returning to the example of a local shoe retailer, it would be a good idea for the local retailer to use exact or similar wording in their ad campaigns as Nike does. What is working for the most prominent shoe brand in the world would most likely be effective for a local retailer selling the same products, as well.

 

ANALYZE COMPETITOR BACKLINKS TO FIND LINK-BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES

Link building is a fundamental process in SEO. Hyperlinks pointing back to your website from other sites help boost domain authority, thereby raising SERP keyword rankings. But where do we acquire such backlinks? One helpful strategy is to look at your competitors’ backlink profiles to find link-building opportunities. Below is a backlink profile of a local shoe retailer in Colorado.  

If you own a local shoe store and want to outperform other retailers in the area, the chart above could provide a roadmap for where to start. The left column represents the website authority score, and the right column represents the website domain. For example, Westword has an authority score of 72, while Dansko has a 55. This means a link from Westword holds more SEO value than Dansko. It also means you will match your competitor’s top backlinks if you get links on both Westword and Dansko. Seeing your competitor’s backlinks is a tremendous competitive advantage for outperforming them digitally!

 

GAIN AN EDGE BY KNOWING YOUR COMPETITORS’ TRAFFIC CHANNELS

Traffic channels are the funnels through which visitors come to your website. For example, if a visitor finds your website on Facebook, the channel is social media. On the other hand, if a visitor types in your URL, the channel is considered direct traffic. Other default traffic channels to pay attention to are organic, referral, and paid. You can also set up custom channels such as Google Business, newsletter, etc.  

In evaluating which traffic channels will be most effective in your digital marketing strategy, looking at your top competitors’ channels is critical. Below is a graph of Nike’s traffic channels over the past six months.

The graph above reveals tremendous insight into Nike’s digital marketing strategy. Unsurprisingly, Nike’s largest channel is direct traffic, as it runs millions of dollars worth of ads to promote its brand. However, it is shocking their next largest channel is referral traffic. This implies they have affiliate and e-commerce links throughout the web, bringing in visitors. It is also unusual that social media has the lowest traffic channel, even less than paid advertising. 

This begs the question, how can a local shoe retailer use this information to increase sales? Replicating Nike’s model could increase brand awareness and affiliate links. Local TV and radio ads or billboards could improve business through direct traffic. Also, as mentioned above, scouring competitors’ backlink profiles could reveal which affiliate sites are most lucrative in their referral channels.

 

BENCHMARKING AGAINST COMPETITORS NEEDS TO BE TAKEN WITH A GRAIN OF SALT

Benchmarking allows companies to =understand how well they perform compared to industry competitors. You can benchmark against websites in the same industry, in a similar size range, or across sectors. The question is not necessarily whether you should benchmark but how to properly do it.

Most companies must identify their key performance indicators (KPIs) before benchmarking. Start by determining your top goals. For example, two of your KYI may be raising your domain authority score and growing your newsletter list. 

Let’s examine the former. Raising your domain authority score is relatively straightforward because you can view any website’s score on MOZ or SEMRush for free. Therefore, benchmarking your domain authority score is simple and easy. However, evaluating your newsletter list versus a competitor might be difficult. How do you determine how extensive a competitor’s newsletter list is? Most third-party SEO software clumps Newsletter traffic into the direct traffic channel. You can set up a custom channel group for your list, but certainly not for competitors. 

The lesson is that benchmarking has to be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, it’s important to compare yourself to competitors. And yes, it’s important to benchmark your success over time. But make sure your KPIs and goals are set before benchmarking. Also, remember that not every business has the same goals, is the same size, or even in the same industry as you. So, segment your competitors appropriately when benchmarking.