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April 2005
Learn More About Your Competition—Use
Search Engines for Competitive Research
By Rosemary Brisco
The Internet contains many tools that enable you to evaluate
your competition and compare your business strategies with your
competitors’. We’ll show you where to find those tools
and how to use them.
Competitor Websites
- Reviewing a competitor's homepage provides
a wealth of information about the search phrases the company is targeting. Using
these tools, you will be able to answer:
- How effective are the homepage and main product areas
in conveying the company message?
- What search phrases is the company using in the page
content?
- How does the company rank in the search engines for those
terms?
- What search phrases is the company using in its Title
tag and Meta description tags? What phrases is the
company using in <H1> tags,
in bold and italic text and in bulleted lists on the
homepage? What anchor text (the text contained within a link)
is the company using?
- What
is the company’s Google Page Rank? Page Rank
measures the number of sites that link to a Website and the
popularity of the site. Note that Page Rank is only one factor
out of many and the numerical value is not always reliable.
- Is your competitor repositioning its company
and products/services frequently? Check the “Way Back Machine” to
see when the site was last re-launched, at: www.archive.org/web/web.php
- Determine how well-known a potential positioning
statement or product name is, by typing your keyword
phrase into the search box: intitle:"your phrase"
Identifying important search phrases
 You can create an at-a-glance comparison of your competitors
and their search phrases by building a matrix. The following information
is important to include in the matrix and will provide the data
you need to effectively strategize for your business and see who
has copied your messages.
- Natural listings: Who dominates the natural listings
for your preferred search phrases?
- Paid advertising (PPC): Who is purchasing your preferred
search phrases in Google, Yahoo, and MSN? Determine how aggressive
they are by determining what positions they are buying.
Websites with similar themes
 Find Websites that the search engines consider to be similar to
your Website and your competitors' sites. There are several ways
to do this:
- Go to the Google
Directory and type in your company name and review the "Similar
pages" link.
- Go to the Google
Directory. Select a business category that fits your business.
The listings of websites within a category are organized by
Page Rank.
- Go to www.alexa.com and type
in the competitor’s website URL. Then review the listing of “People
who visit this page also visit:"
Competitors and link popularity
Search engine rankings are heavily influenced by the other sites
that link to them. This is known as "link popularity."
These tools will assist you in determining the link popularity
of your site.
- Identify competitor link popularity
across multiple search engines at www.marketleap.com
- Who
is linking to your competitors’ sites? Type this
search string into www.google.com: link:www.domainname.com
- What companies reference your competitor? Type into Google: "Competitor
Company" (include the quote marks).
Google news alert
 Google has created the perfect tool to assist in keeping current
on your competitors, your industry, and in identifying companies
linking to your Website. With it, you can:
- Monitor references to your company name, product name, CEO,
and other key staff members and also your competitors’ information.
- Find
out when there are new links to your site from other Websites.
- If you are testing positioning statements, monitor the use of possible
statements in online news and Websites.
Rosemary Brisco, president of ToTheWeb, understands what
it takes to transform a good Website into a great sales tool.
She has more than 25 years experience in business development,
a strong understanding of computer technology, and international
sales experience. Contact Rosemary at: www.totheweb.com or 650.627.8800.
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