What is local SEO competitor analysis?
Examining the SEO traits of competitors to determine how they are performing in the search engine optimization arena is known as a competitor’s SEO Analysis. It demonstrates a way for you to achieve success, demonstrating the distance between the spot you are currently at and the place that you need to arrive at. Examining what your rivals are doing enables you to devise a plan for surpassing them and determine how much money is required for this.
It is very beneficial to utilize SEO when beginning a new venture or when trying to heighten your local SEO if your present website is not scoring very high in SERP.
Why analyze local SEO competition – What does it give us?
It is essential to examine the local SEO landscape of competitors. This enables us to assess our competitor’s website standing and to develop, carry out, observe, and modify our SEO plan in line with the existing competitive situation.
By examining the local SEO landscape, we can gain an understanding of our rivals’ pros and cons, while being able to spot threats and advantages both offensively and defensively.
From a strategic perspective, this research can reveal the deficiencies of our rivals that we can take advantage of. If our competitors don’t make an effort when it comes to SEO, then we have a prime opportunity here to come out on top in the organic channel with very little investment.
From a defensive stance, we can ward off rival companies if they attempt to take advantage of our vulnerabilities. For instance, if a rival company is creating content that is comparable to what we have on our website, we can revise our material to stop it from being too frequent in the search engine result page.
In conclusion, the competitor analysis gives us the information we need to position ourselves better than our rivals and come out ahead.
How can you analyze local SEO competition?
In order to assess local SEO rivalry, it is necessary to take a few essential steps into account.
1. Find your SEO competitors
You can’t conduct a SEO assessment of localized rivals without identifying who they are. In some situations, it is simple to recognize SEO adversaries (they can be determined from the offline competitors you confront in your everyday life), yet at times it is not that straightforward: there are websites that firmly rank for the keywords you are interested in and the pool of rivals could be wide.
2. Analyze competitor’s sites
Once you have figured out who your SEO rivals are and looked through their websites, dive into a more comprehensive investigation of them. Look into the organization of the websites, examine if the material is of a high caliber, determine if there are active elements, and conduct other inspections. After this initial examination, the first inferences concerning your SEO adversaries can be made.
3. Perform competitor keyword analysis
Keywords are the foundation of SEO. Consequently, if your adversaries make the most of the keywords suitably, their web page will turn up highly on search engine results. Gleaned from this study, you can form your SEO plan and establish keywords to use on your website.
4. Check details on Google My Business
Look into user feedback on your Google My Business page, as well as compare ratings, spot your location on the Google Map, etc.
5. Detect the backlinks of the competitors
The backlinks are another tool used to do SEO. It is necessary to scrutinize references to other sites that vie with yours, looking into how numerous they are and where they come from, and so forth.
6. Look into other SEO factors
Keywords and backlinks are significant for SEO, yet they are not the only components. In order to conduct a competitive analysis, it is important to assess the domain authority of the subject’s website on not only Google, but also on other popular search engines such as Yahoo and Bing. It is also important to take into account the amount of webpages that have been indexed by search engines.
7. Analyze the competitors’ presence on Social Networks
A company’s presence within Social Media platforms greatly impacts its status on search engines. The involvement of the team demonstrates that the business is alive and constantly changing. Hence, it is essential to take into account an examination of how rivals act on social media platforms.
8. Analyze competitors’ PPC campaigns
Many firms employ paid promotional strategies to generate more visitors to their website. Google Ads is the go-to resource utilized for Pay-Per-Click advertising campaigns. So, look for these and deduce your own strategy.
9. Study SERP metrics
The various SEO measurements such as domain authority, page authority, the number of Facebook shares, backlinks, and monthly visitors can show important data to allow you to outrank your opponents.
Metrics such as amount, rivalry, and keyword challenge offer a good idea of the situation. No matter how nicely highlighted a keyword is, if your competitors have higher authority in the sight of both Google and customer, it will not be successful. Complete your assignments first, then develop your own tactics.
Factors To Include In A Local Competition Analysis
Researching the competitive landscape in your area is essential in order to identify opportunities and plan your marketing strategy accordingly. Make sure to focus on your intended market, specialty, and location while exploring the local competition.
On the surface, a local competition analysis will include the following factors:
- Content.
- Links.
- On-page SEO.
Going into greater depth, it is essential to investigate the following in order to comprehend the competitiveness of the area appropriately.
Keep in mind that not all of the elements on this list will enhance the ranking of your local business; some may, but this list is here to assist you in devising a successful local approach to counter what your competitors are doing.
Links
- Local SEO directories.
- Niche local sites.
- Editorial local links.
- Chamber of Commerce links.
- Local .GOV links.
- Local .EDU links.
Content
- Who is writing the content?
- What is the content about?
- When is the content being written?
- Where is the content focused (locally)?
- Why is the content being written?
- How many social shares is the content getting?
- How many reviews are listed?
On-Page Technical SEO
- High-quality, validated HTML and CSS coding.
- Schema.org coding for local SEO.
- Locally optimized title tags.
- Locally optimized meta descriptions.
- Locally optimized URLs.
- Locally optimized on-page copy with tight topical and keyword focus.
What You Want To Obtain During The Competition Analysis
This examination of rivals should concentrate on the 10 highest-ranking outcomes on Google.
Carry out a search using the name of your location plus the words related to the sector you are aiming to be a part of (e.g. [Orange County personal injury lawyers]).
Combine various link examination services such as Google Search Console, Majestic, Semrush, Raven Tools and Ahrefs to obtain all the data, join that data and examine the link profile.
It is beneficial to utilize at least two or three link profile analysis tools as opposed to just relying on a single tool since all of the relevant data may not be attainable through an individual instrument.
What you are looking for in this link profile are things like:
Local SEO Directories
- What directories do these sites have?
- What niche local links do these sites have?
- What kind of editorial local links do these sites have?
- Do these sites have any chamber of commerce links, and if so, which ones?
- Do these sites have any local .gov or .edu links?
Directories remain an effective way of creating links, but only if they are of good quality and not identified as being spam.
Essentially, it’s just a list – quite straightforward here.
You are in search of directories that don’t have a plethora of ads, meaning ads don’t take up most of the page and don’t obstruct visitors looking for the link. The records usually have a neat, superior grade, and can help build links of great trustworthiness.
Niche Local Sites
Smaller, specialty websites particular to your sector which are acknowledged experts in their subjects are termed niche local sites.
They may range from animal welfare agencies to philanthropic organizations to other pages that lend credibility when they connect to you.
When pursuing these referrals, it is important to guarantee that they are of the highest caliber and do not contain any dubious content.
These sites can also masquerade as local partners.
It should be made clear that I am not in favour of doing link exchanges like this because it is not a good suggestion. I am proposing that we collaborate with other regional companies to get backlinks that will improve our website’s rankings in the search engine results pages.
We are attempting to evaluate the possibility of ranking higher than the website in the search results. We don’t want to actually copy their link profile.
Assessing the possibilities of ranking will make it simpler to come up with a comprehensive linking plan later.
The primary motive we don’t want to imitate their link portfolio is because there’s nobody to help out all the way through the process.
If you make the mistake of using a link that has low quality, in the end you could get a penalty by having an excessive number of them. Once you begin, it can be hard to break away from former practices.
Chamber Of Commerce Links
Chamber links are essential to good local SEO.
They deliver top-tier reputation, can be an excellent cooperative connection, and may also point to nearby businesses.
It is essential to bear in mind that not all Chamber of Commerce sites are of the .gov variety.
Local .gov And .edu Links
Connection from administrative branches of the government, charities, and institutions of learning within the same area can be established here.
Having links that are from a .gov and .edu source is an important benefit.
The importance of .gov and .edu links in terms of weight remains the same.
These links are still generally regarded as top tier in terms of quality.
Content Considerations For The Local Competitor Analysis
When gathering data for the local competitor analysis, it is important to consider things like:
- Who is writing the content?
- What is the content about?
- When is the content being written?
- Where is the content focused locally?
- Why is the content being written?
The factors mentioned above will be the basis of what information will be included on the website and how it will be organized.
Please note that Google’s John Mueller has stated that content doesn’t have to be long content to rank well:
” There isn’t a set number of words each piece needs to contain, there is no requirement to publish a certain amount of articles each day or a set amount of webpages on a website. In most cases, quality is better than quantity. Our algorithms make an effort to look for and propose websites that give excellent, one-of-a-kind, and gripping material to users. Don’t fill your site with low-quality content. Concentrate on ensuring that your website is the premier example of its type.
On-Page Technical SEO
Basic URL Best Practices
Be sure to always ensure that your site can be accessed from a local position.
When employing specialised, targeted search words, they should be incorporated into the title of your webpage when constructing its URL.
If you do not ensure that Google can crawl your website and that it is functioning correctly, then it is unlikely that it will be placed highly in the search engine rankings by them.
High Quality, Validated HTML And CSS Coding
Despite what most SEO professionals might claim, having high quality and valid HTML and CSS coding is essential.
Google does not demand any particular coding rules. However, excellent coding is worthwhile and may notably enhance rankings as a feature of quality.
When you write code accurately, you diminish the possibility of the browser having to ‘speculate’ what you desire it to display.
When you write and construct a website in the proper manner, you can enhance page loading time and the speed at which a browser processes it.
It is widely recognized that page speed is an aspect of SEO that Google considers when ranking websites.
Benefits of competition research in local SEO?
SEO competition assessment brings benefits such as:
- You know the trends and habits in the industry in which you operate well,
- You know what promotional and sales tactics are used by your competitors,
- You know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors so that you can stay ahead of them,
- You gain knowledge about your position compared to your competitors, which makes it easier for you to assess your strengths and weaknesses, such as to perform a SWOT analysis.
- You gain valuable data on key phrases and can create a better SEO strategy for your business.
The final verdict
When evaluating your competitors in regards to local SEO, it is essential to not just simply replicate what they are doing, but to compare their strategies to your own. By utilizing it, you can formulate deductions, apply those deductions to your own activities, and experiment with different remedies. It’s important to keep in mind that carelessly duplicating concepts can have a negative impact on both the agency and its customers. So, take professional assistance.
