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If your agency is invested in marketing online there is no doubt that tracking your local competition has to be top of your mind. Your local keywords are the easiest to rank for and it drives in great friendly and local business to you back door. Many times these contacts are in the community and may have driven by your office a million times.
While it’s easier to rank locally it can also be easily taken away from you if you aren’t on top of it. If another agency invests in a marketing person, local ads, or starts working on online reviews, your precious top spots can be easily overcome. We all know that the second page of google search may as well be like being in the Yellow Pages. No one will be seeing you. But if you were on page 5 and are making your way to page 1, then kudos to you!
There are some easy ways you can track your competition and I want to give you some ideas to get started.
Google Reviews
Take a look once per month at your Google reviews and that of your competition. You may see a negative review on your listing that has to be addressed or you may see your competition gaining steam. The review game is real and the one with the best reviews, spread out over time generally wins. Make sure you are investing in getting reviews and curating them so that if a negative one arises you can hop on it.
Website
A new website means your competition is investing in a new look and feel. Be prepared for that to catch some eyes. You can also review your competition’s website and get some recommendations on your own site by going to: https://website.grader.com/. Now, no site is perfect but it can better. Take the advice and find out your competitor’s weaknesses.
Traffic Ranking
You can also test out your traffic rank compared to your competition. Alexa.com has a free trial that will help analyze your traffic and determine your traffic rank. This will help you see where you are in relation to your competition. Take full advantage of the free trial and get your list of things to do to boost your site’s SEO and kick the competition in the behind!
Linking Domains
Google loves the idea that when other sites put a link from their site to yours it gives you credibility. Think of it like a vote for the Homecoming Court. Most votes and you are Homecoming King and top on Google. Second most votes well you’re the Court Jester and not at the top. You want to try to encourage as many links as possible to gain the most votes. Moz.com has some free tools you can use to test out your links and find new ones.
Confused and Overwhelmed?
That’s ok! Hubspot has a great tool inside of their marketing platform that allows you to see all this seamlessly. We are Hubspot Approved Vendors so if you are looking to learn more, let us know!
