Competitive Research for SEO - SMX East 2014

COMPETITORS HAVE TOP
RANKINGS IN SEARCH RESULTS
FOR SOME OF YOUR PRIME KEYWORDS.
HOW DID THEY DO IT? TODAY WE LOOK AT
HOW TO ANALYZE YOUR COMPETITORS
COMPETITIVE RESEARCH FOR SEO
EDITION
HI.
IT’S 2014.
IN THE LAND
OF GOOGLE, YOUR
SMX EAST 2014 • #SMX CASIE GILLETTE • KOMARKETING • @CASIEG

SMX EAST 2014 • #SMX CASIE GILLETTE • @KOMARKETING • @CASIEG

When looking at search results, we want to know who our competitors are, what type of
content is ranking, and why they are ranking. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. So often, I’ll
look at a result and it just isn’t clear to me what is going on.

The results just don’t make sense. In the words of Dark Helmet, I want to know
“What the hell am I looking at?”

THINK BIG PICTURE
To really understand what is happening, we can’t just point to a set of backlinks
and assume that’s why they’re ranking. We have to look at the bigger picture.

COMB THE DESERT!

WSTHRAYIG AHRTE T TOH ETYH ER ASONKUIRNCGE?

• SEO PLUGINS
• A/B TESTING CODE
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
Source code can give you a wealth of information on your competitor’s marketing efforts. For
example, the code for an SEO plugin can show you they are at least acknowledging SEO. We
can also identify if they are running paid campaigns, retargeting campaigns or A/B testing.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
There are also a few tools out there that can help you keep tabs on your competitors. Tracked
Content is a paid tool that monitors both HTML and on-page copy and will notify you when a
specific page changes. It also keeps revisions so you can compare.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
Change Detection is an oldie but a goodie. Similar to Tracked Content, it will monitor pages
and send you an alert when anything changes. It will also show you where the differences are
on the page.

UNDERSTANDING LINKS
Knowing what types of links are pointing to a competitor’s site can give you a pretty good idea of
what type of marketing they are doing. It can also present potential opportunities for you.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
Most people are familiar with Open Site Explorer. It gives you the breakdown of who is linking
to your site, the top pages, top anchor text, etc.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
Majestic also has a pretty good tool that will help you find out information on your
competitors’ links.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
Raven’s Research Central basically takes those tools and that data and puts it into one place.

If we go back to our first slide and look at who is ranking, we can take that piece of content
and put it into Research Central.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
We will get all of the statistics and site metrics around the link and then we can break it down
even further.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
You can get the anchor text data to determine how people are linking to the page. This can
also help show you if perhaps the company is/has done some SEO in the past.

We can see the neighborhoods around the URL. What other sites are on the same IP? Is the
competitor setting up microsites or using a link network?

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
We can also get semantic data. For me, this is the biggest advantage. We now have an
understanding not just of how people are linking or what is perhaps on the page, but we
have an understanding of what that page is actually about.

CONTENT ANALYSIS

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
WHERE DO I SPEND MY BUDGET?
It’s one of the biggest challenges we hear from clients, potential clients, friends, etc.
Competitive analysis can help you identify where to start, saving you time and money.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
One of the best ways to figure out what type of content is on a site, is to scan it! Screaming
Frog will list all of the URLs on a site, giving you insights into competitive content.

• /BLOG
• /ARTICLES
• /NEWS
• /WHITEPAPERS
• /VIDEOS
• /RESOURCES
• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
SOME SITES BLOCK SF. SIMPLY
CHANGE THE USER AGENT

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
OPEN
SITE
EXPLORER
SEMRUSH
MOZ
RANK
TRACKER
Other tools can help you determine how specific pieces of competitive content perform. OSE
can show you top linked pages, SEMRush will tell you which piece of content is ranking for a
specific keyword.

SOCIAL ANALYSIS
We can gain a better idea of who a competitor’s audience is by looking at
not just company social profiles but by who is actually sharing their content.

• AUDIENCE
• SHARED ASSETS
• TOP INFLUENCERS
• TOP CONTENT
Social can help you reach a new audience, it can tell you which assets tend to be shared, and
it can help you identify influencers in your industry that you may not have known existed.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
BuzzSumo is an amazing tool for identifying top content and top social sharers. For example,
if I want to know who’s sharing my competitors content, I can put in the domain, and choose
“View Sharers.”

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
BuzzSumo will then show me who those profiles are (Twitter specific) and you can break it
down by company, blogger, journalist, etc.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
CHECK OUT AJ KOHN’S RIPPLE
BOOKMARKLET FOR THIS.
Google+ ripples are also an excellent way to find specific people who are sharing content.

• SEO PLUGINS
• SCHEMA MARKUP
• OPEN GRAPH TAGS
• ADWORDS
• ANALYTICS
One of Facebook’s “newer” features, allows you to watch other pages. Keep in mind, those
pages are notified that you are watching them.

LOOK TO EMPLOYEES
Company employees can give you some inside tips on what’s happening.
It’s an easy, and often over looked competitive tactic.

FOLLOWERWONK
Followerwonk allows you to search Twitter bios by keyword. Searching a company can give
you an easy list of employees to follow. Create private lists so you don’t look like stalker.

TOPSY
INFLUENCERS
Topsy Influencers can give you both employees and even non-employee influencers for a
brand.

LINKED
QUERIES
Then of course there is LinkedIn. Along with general queries, you can use advanced search
queries to find specific positions within a company.

WHEW!
THANKS FOR COMING
I HOPE THE PRESENTATION
WAS USEFUL AND YOU TOOK AWAY
A FEW TIPS. FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME OR
CONNECT ON TWITTER OR LINKEDIN. YOU CAN
ALSO DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION WITH ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION RIGHT NOW. HURRY UP AND GO DO IT!
SLIDESHARE.NET/CASIEG
I’M MY OWN BEST
FRIEND
SMX EAST 2014 • #SMX CASIE GILLETTE • KOMARKETING • @CASIEG

Competitive Research for SEO - SMX East 2014

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