Competitive analysis critical to SEO success
Understanding your competitors — their strategy, their tactics, their level of success, etc. — is crucial to the success of your SEO initiatives. I’m not just talking about your traditional competitors, I’m referring to the other sites occupying spots in the SERPs (search engine results pages) for keywords that you are targeting.
Many free competitive analysis tools are out there, but you have to know where to look for them. One of my favorite SEO blogs (Stuntdubl) offers a veritable Home Depot of such tools, at Mr. Ploppy’s Monday Tool List.
It’s a bit like walking into a DIY store and being faced with an overwhelming array of options. What is the right tool for the job?
Here’s a sampling of some of the SEO tools that I use for competitive analysis and what I specifically use them for:
- URL Checker, Product Page Checker — to check saturation (# of pages indexed)
- PageRank Lookup, PageRank Search, Webmaster Eyes, SEO-Links — to run bulk checks of PageRank scores, to analyze PageRank flow
- Neat-o — to review anchor text of inbound links
- Link Checker, Yahoo Site Explorer — to check link popularity and review inbound links
- Alexa — to check Alexa Rank and review traffic trends on someone’s site
- What’s That Site Running — to determine what server software a site is running
- Check Server Headers — to see what type of redirect (301 or 302) is being used; to see if a 404 is being served when it’s supposed to be, etc.
- Keyword Ranking Tool — to track positions in the SERPs
Comments
Chapter 7:
Content Marketing
From the fundamentals of link building to the nuances of natural linking patterns, virality, and authority.
Related Posts
Your Ultimate Guide to Google Penalties
When your website’s traffic suddenly takes a tumble and you don’t know why, it can be maddening. Why is this happening? It’s possible you’ve been hit with a Google penalty, or have come up against one of Google’s algorithm updates. If you’re wondering how Google penalties work and what you should do to avoid them, […]
Read More
Using Psychology to Boost Your Conversion Rate Optimization
Can a better understanding of the human brain help you get more conversions? Absolutely! Let’s look at how to incorporate some psychological concepts into your conversion rate strategy, along with some examples. Behavioral economics: humans are irrational What is behavioral economics and what does it have to do with conversion rates? Traditionally, economists believed that […]
Read More
How to Master Social Selling on LinkedIn
Social selling could be your key to securing new prospects and boosting your bottom line. When not done properly, however, social selling can also ruin your online presence and repel potential customers. So what is social selling, and why does your brand need it? More importantly, how do you master social selling? Let’s look at […]
Read More
