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Free Website Content - Staying Ahead of the Competition
Competition
By Sharon Housley
Staying ahead of the competition can be an
on-going struggle. While it is not healthy for a company
to focus too much time and attention on the competition,
it is important to stay abreast of what your competition
is doing. When evaluating the competition, assess the industry
giants and companies closest to your space. But be sure
that you don't exclude the small companies in your assessments.
Sometimes a small competitor can have innovative ideas or
marketing concepts, but may lack the capital to really benefit
from the concept. This may present you with an opportunity.
When evaluating the competition pay attention
to the following:
1. Pricing
Evaluate your competitor's pricing scheme
and price structure. What is the price point of your competitor's
products or services? Are your products better or inferior?
Do the product differences justify any cost difference?
2. Meta Tags / Search Engine Optimization
Evaluate your competitor's website. View the
meta data of competing websites. Look at their Alexa ranking,
and review who links to their website. Are there links you
are missing that might be beneficial to your website?
3. Search Rankings
Perform generic searches in the major search
engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN) for critical phrases. Determine
how the competition stacks up in the search listings. Do
any of your competitors "own" important rankings. Consider
your search engine strategy and how you can better compete
in the search engines.
4. Specials / Marketing Campaigns
Access your competitor's special offers and
any marketing campaigns. Determine how they are defining
themselves. Evaluate any niche marketing -- perhaps they
have located an untapped market that might be ripe for you
as well.
5. Advertising
Where do your competitors spend their advertising
dollars? Watch for trends -- an increase in spending may
mean that a competitor has seen a significant return on
investment, and it may represent a channel that you should
also consider advertising in.
6. Evaluate Links
Determine who is linking to your competitor's
websites. By using the special Google search feature "links:
domainname.com" you can see the indexed web pages that link
to a specific domain. Are you missing any important link
opportunities?
7. Evaluate USP
Evaluate your competitors USP (Unique Selling
Propositions). This will give you an idea of how a company
sees themselves, and what they feel their strengths are.
How does their unique selling proposition differ from yours.
Are there areas within your company that need work so you
can compete more effectively?
8. Industry Authority Assessments
How do industry authorities view the competition?
Are they considered industry leaders, or is the space wide
open with an undefined leader? Understanding how you stack
up compared to your competitors will help you assess your
strengths weaknesses, and define your business.
Knowing your competition is an important aspect
to your business, but it should not be the sole factor that
dictates your decisions. Educate yourself about your competitors
so you can make informed decisions and compete effectively.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and
podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll
http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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This article may be used freely in opt-in
publications and websites, provided that the resource box
is included and the links are active. A courtesy copy of
the issue or a link to any online posting would be greatly
appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
Additional articles available for publication available
at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm
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