The global sales of e-commerce are growing and have already surpassed US$ 26.7 trillion. As more businesses discover how simple and profitable it is to operate an eCommerce site, the more they are interested in it. There is now an opportunity for more participants thanks to the evolution, increased adoption of new technology, and clever integration. All sorts of businesses ranging from small, medium-sized, and large firms, have a place in the market. They sell a variety of necessities on the internet.
Due to the seamless and hassle-free operation, the eCommerce market is now swamped, making it more difficult to increase sales and client attraction. However, you don’t have to fret over it! You can stay ahead of the crowd by conducting an eCommerce SEO analysis.
First, let’s look at what competitor analysis is.
The process of doing a competitive e-commerce analysis includes finding and distinguishing your e-commerce rivals. Competitor analysis relies on thorough data and research to comprehend the shortcomings as well as the capabilities of the competitors. E-commerce competitor analysis answers your concerns, irrespective of whether you’re establishing your e-commerce firm or currently running a well-established business but are unsure how to keep track of your rivals.
You might think competitor analysis is a tall task, but it is not!
With these tips, tricks, and tools in mind, you can effortlessly and effectively conduct an eCommerce competitor analysis. Let’s begin!
Also Read: What actions must you take to enable Enhanced Ecommerce in Google Analytics?
Contents
Before You Analyze Your Competition, Understand Them.
Since Google offers the best promotion platform, it can be a great spot to start your search for competition. It will also help you comprehend how your target market responds to various marketing initiatives. Start by compiling a list of relevant search terms for your company. Then use them to perform a Google search to see who appears first in the results. You can then browse their online stores. Make a list of their advantages and disadvantages while remaining calm and observant.
Your main competitors who offer the same goods or services as you can be found on the first page of Google. Always pay attention to companies in your field and ignore big online markets like Amazon. You should be reluctant to compare your business to market leaders and contenders unless your firm is an established large-size company.
Comparing your company with these companies can be detrimental as they already have a significant market share, a powerful brand presence, and substantial marketing budgets, which provide them significant competitive advantages.
Instead, you might compare yourself to market followers, a group of profitable companies that adhere to the trend set by market leaders and challengers.
SpyFu is a tool that can assist you in this. It can assist you with competitor research and keyword and ad analysis. SpyFu provides several tools you may use, whether you choose to concentrate on PPC, SEO, or keyword research.
Keep Tabs On The Organic And Paid Keywords Of Your Competitor.
Keywords are one of the most important factors in market performance. Thus, understanding that the target market and products are directly related to searches and keywords will help you identify your competitors’ most effective keywords that contribute to their growth.
To analyze the keyword used by your competitors, you have to look for a good tool like WordStream. Simply type a competitor’s URL (rather than a search query) into the tool and click “Search.” Based on your search, WordStream will show a variety of competitive keyword data to you. Any one of the four criteria in the report, including Google search volume, competition, cost per click, and opportunity score, can be used to sort and display this keyword data.
Keep Track Of Your Competitor’s Backlinks.
You need to keep the knowledge of the backlinks of your competitor. Keeping tabs on the backlink profiles and backlinking to them will enable you to stay ahead of your competition. It will help you compete with more potential.
Use the tool known as RankWatch to analyze the backlinks of your competitors. As the name suggests, it is a free backlink checker tool that checks and evaluates the whole backlink profile for the URL you supplied. All you need to do is type in the URL of your competitor. Then click on search, whereby a list of URLs referring to that URL will appear. With this, you may analyze your website’s backlinks and those of your competitors in-depth.
Analyze The Social Media Of Your Competitors
You might learn which social media platform might be superior and might work well for you by following your competitors there. If a particular social media strategy works for your competitor, it is most likely favorable for you. It is best to realize now that such an observational technique will assist you in building a beautiful social media platform that may be crucial for your company in attracting customers.
For this, you can make use of tools like Sprout Social. Sprout Social has expertise in social media management and analysis. It goes above and beyond by providing you with real-time social monitoring. It offers insights into your competitors’ content, messages, social presence, and more.
Continue To Keep An Eye On Your Competitors’ Pricing.
Pricing is a variable, dynamic, and always fluctuating aspect of the eCommerce business. Customers don’t mind leaving your store and shopping at another online store because there are many e-stores. Since they can, the competing store will sell the identical thing for less money. You can accomplish that, but you were unaware of it, so your competitor now benefits from your customers by making a little bit less money than you do.
For this, you can use Prisync. For e-commerce businesses of all sizes worldwide, Prisync is a competitor’s price tracking program. E-commerce businesses can use Prisync to automatically monitor the product pricing and stock levels of their rivals to more profitably as well as competitively set their prices.
Look Out For Your Competitor’s Mentions Along With Researching The Contents.
This action will greatly boost the amount of content you can produce for your website since you can learn how and why something is effective by following the most popular post of your competitor. You can grasp the keywords and themes that can be useful in getting an audience by keeping track of the views and mentions your competitors receive. Additionally, you can determine the format and duration of a certain post type.
You can receive notifications by using specific tools and setting alerts, which will let you know if any other posts are also receiving much attention.
Buzzsumo is one tool that can be useful for keeping track of mentions and content from your competitors. According to its name, BuzzSumo focuses on what’s ‘buzzing’ online. To ensure that your plans are as well-informed as possible, it displays content from rival brands and the best-performing articles on subjects related to your brand.
Continue To Check Out The Website Of Your Competition And Track Any Changes.
You can find out what modifications your competitors are making to their websites by checking the contact information. This will then inform you of the available products, any modifications being made to the purchasing process, the website’s user interface (UI), and any upcoming or current promotions.
What tools can you use to keep an eye on your competitor’s website? It is a tool like Kompyte. It supports competitor detection, competitor analysis in social media, competitor AdWords viewing, competitor keyword research, and competitor website tracking.
Gather The Newsletters Of Your Competitors.
Emails and newsletters have proven to be excellent tools for keeping in touch with your audience and advancing your marketing strategy. Keeping a tab on their newsletters is a significant tip because many eCommerce companies today use newsletters to let their customers and audience know about future discounts, brands, items, and offers. By consistently subscribing to his newsletter, you may keep informed and even one step ahead of your competition.
Mail charts are a useful tool for gathering newsletters from your competitors. You may avoid the hassle of surreptitiously subscribing to your competitors’ emails and wasting hours looking for useful information by using MailCharts. You can monitor and report on rivals, as you can with many of these tools. Even better, you may view the email calendar of a rival so you can adjust your plans and strengthen your efforts.
To guarantee that your campaigns are properly optimized, you can also compare your current campaigns with their database of email marketing campaigns, which provides you with a list of email best practices, including frequency, timing, and subject line length.
Lastly, let’s look at the relevance of competitor analysis in eCommerce.
Why Is an eCommerce Competitor Analysis Necessary?
You could be brimming with questions like
“Should I undertake a competitor analysis if it requires so much work”?
“Can’t we use our resources—time and money—better”?
The quick response is “No.”
You must remain flexible if you want your company to remain competitive. Just like your rivals, you must keep evolving and adapting, which is what a thorough competitor analysis provides you with.
Additionally, by performing a competitor analysis, you can-
- Deepen your knowledge of the business world, which will aid you with brand positioning;
- Find your unique selling propositions (USP) and stand out;
- Learn from the advantages of your rivals;
- Utilize opportunities and take advantage of your rivals’ flaws;
- Learn about the marketing tactics employed by your rivals, then utilize this knowledge to develop your marketing plan;
- Create a realistic budget strategy and concentrate on the channels that your rivals pay particular attention to.
Also Read: Software Development for e-Commerce: 7 Amazing Facts to Know
Conclusion
We have tried to give you the greatest checklist of tips, tricks, and tools to watch out for when you study your competitors. Additionally, eCommerce merchants offer a great picture of the market and data. While doing competitor analysis, you can use this data set to reach your business goals. With the advancement of technology, you have the tools to help you with your eCommerce competitor analysis process. Use them to get ahead of your competitors.
