If your business depends on local customers, it's a good idea to check out what your competitors are doing in terms of search engine optimization from time to time. This way, you can see what strategies you admire or don't care for and figure out where your business stands in comparison.

In this article, I'll show you how to analyze your local competitors' SEO strategies to enhance your own performance.

What Is a Local Competitor Analysis?

Local competitor analysis is a process where businesses identify and evaluate their rivals within a specific area. This analysis is crucial for any company looking to thrive in its local market. It involves understanding who your local competitors are, what they do well, and where they fall short. By doing so, you can uncover opportunities to differentiate your business and attract more customers.

The Benefits of Analyzing Your Local Competitors

Analyzing your local competitors is a crucial step for any business aiming to succeed in its local market. This process involves identifying and evaluating businesses in your area that offer similar products or services. Understanding the benefits of this analysis can help you make informed decisions, tailor your marketing strategies, and, ultimately, stand out in a crowded marketplace. Here, we'll explore the key benefits of analyzing your local competitors, incorporating insights from leading industry sources.

1. Gaining a Clear Understanding of the Market Dynamics

One of the primary benefits of conducting a local competitor analysis is gaining a deep understanding of the market dynamics within your local area. This includes insights into customer preferences, behaviors, and trends. By identifying who your local search competitors are and analyzing their strategies, you can better understand what appeals to your target audience. This knowledge allows you to adjust your offerings and marketing efforts to meet the specific needs and desires of your local customers more effectively.

2. Identifying Market Gaps and Opportunities

Analyzing your local SEO competition can reveal gaps in the market that your competitors have overlooked or areas where they are underperforming. This insight is invaluable for differentiating your business. By filling these gaps with improved products, services, or customer experiences, you can create a unique value proposition that sets your business apart. Additionally, understanding the keywords and phrases your competitors are targeting can help you find new opportunities for your local SEO efforts, ensuring you attract targeted local traffic.

3. Enhancing Your Marketing Strategies

Observing and analyzing the marketing strategies and promotional activities of your local competitors can provide you with a wealth of information on what works and what doesn't in your local market. This includes the types of content they produce, the channels they use to reach their audience, and the offers that generate the most engagement. By adapting and improving upon these strategies, you can capture more attention and loyalty from local customers, ultimately increasing your market share.

4. Improving Risk Management

Keeping a close eye on the strategies and moves of your local competitors helps in managing risks associated with market changes. By being informed about new offers, products, or services introduced by your competitors, you can swiftly respond to these changes, minimizing potential risks to your business. This proactive approach ensures you remain competitive and can adapt to shifting customer preferences and market dynamics.

5. Inspiring Innovation

Analyzing what makes your local competitors successful can inspire innovation within your own business. This could involve innovating your product offerings, marketing tactics, customer service, or operational efficiencies. By learning from the successes and failures of your competitors, you can identify opportunities for innovation that not only keep you competitive but may also position your business as a market leader.

6. Enhancing Local SEO Efforts

A thorough local SEO analysis helps improve your visibility in search engine results, attracting more local customers. By understanding how to find local search competitors and analyzing their Google My Business listings, reviews, and keyword strategies, you can enhance your own local SEO efforts. This includes optimizing your listings, encouraging satisfied customers to leave positive reviews, and targeting the right keywords to improve your rankings in local search results.

How to Find Your Local Competitors?

Identifying your local competitors starts with understanding who is vying for the same customer base in your geographical area. These are businesses that offer similar products or services within your local market. To start, make a list of your known competitors, but remember, there might be new or less obvious businesses impacting your market share.

Conducting Preliminary Local Keyword Research to Guide Your Search

Keyword research is the foundation of finding your local competitors online. Start by listing terms that potential customers might use to search for your products or services. Include both broad and specific phrases, considering how local customers might describe what you offer. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help identify relevant keywords, including LSI keywords that provide context to your primary terms. For example, if you're a local bakery, your primary keyword might be "bakery," while LSI keywords could include "fresh bread," "custom cakes," and "local bakery near me."

Utilizing Google Search to Identify Potential Local Competitors

Once you have your list of keywords, it's time to use Google Search to find your local competitors. Enter your keywords into Google, paying close attention to the local pack (the box that appears at the top of Google's search results with local business listings) and the organic search results. Look for businesses that appear consistently across different searches, as they are likely your main competitors.

Identifying Direct Competitors in Your Vicinity

The next step in analyzing your local SEO competition is to identify who your direct competitors are. These are businesses within your geographical area that offer the same or similar products or services. Here's how to pinpoint them:

• Start with Local Keyword Research: Identify keywords that potential customers might use when searching for your products or services. Include both broad and specific terms. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you find relevant keywords, including LSI keywords that add context to your search.

• Utilize Google Search: Use the identified keywords to search on Google. Pay close attention to the local pack and organic search results. Businesses that consistently appear in these results are your direct local competitors.

• Analyze the Local Pack: The local pack is a critical area to focus on because it's prominently displayed in Google search results for local queries. Note the businesses that appear here when you search with your targeted keywords.

• Consider Proximity: Your direct competitors are not just those who offer similar services but also those who are geographically close to your business. Proximity plays a significant role in local search rankings.

• Check Local Directories and Social Media: Local directories and social media platforms can also reveal direct competitors. Listings in directories and active social media profiles using local SEO strategies are good indicators of who your competitors are.

Exploring Google My Business (GMB) Insights for Competitor Activity

Google My Business (GMB) is a powerful tool for local businesses, and its insights can offer valuable data for analyzing your competitors. Here's how to make the most of GMB for competitor analysis:

• Examine Competitors' GMB Listings: Look at how your competitors categorize their business, the keywords they use in their descriptions, and how they engage with customer reviews. This can give you insights into their local SEO strategies.

• Analyze Posts and Offers: Many businesses use GMB to post updates, offers, and events. Analyzing these can provide clues about their marketing strategies, promotional tactics, and customer engagement.

• Review Ratings and Reviews: Customer reviews and ratings on GMB can tell you a lot about a competitor's reputation, customer service quality, and areas where they excel or lack.

• Study Q&A Sections: The Q&A section of a GMB listing can reveal what customers are curious about and how the business responds to inquiries. This can offer insights into customer service strategies and common customer concerns.

• Monitor Changes and Updates: Regularly check your competitors' GMB listings for any changes or updates. This can include changes in operating hours, new photos, or changes in services offered. Such updates can indicate shifts in strategy or new focuses.

The Best Tools for Conducting a Local Competitor Analysis

Conducting a local competitor analysis is essential for businesses aiming to understand their position in the local market and identify opportunities for growth. Two powerful tools that can aid in this process are Competitors.app and Google My Business (GMB) Insights. Each tool offers unique features and has its own limitations, making them suitable for different aspects of local competitor analysis. Here's an overview, key features, and limitations of each tool to help you analyze your local SEO competition effectively.

Competitors.app

Overview: Competitors.app is a monitoring tool designed to help businesses keep an eye on their competitors' online activities. It provides insights into various aspects, including social media presence, website changes, email marketing, and more. This tool is particularly useful for businesses looking to gain a comprehensive understanding of their competitors' strategies across different digital platforms.

Key Features

• Social Media Monitoring: Tracks competitors' social media activities, including posts, engagement rates, and follower growth.

• Website Changes Tracking: Notifies you of any updates or changes made to competitors' websites.

• Email Alerts: Sends notifications about competitors' email campaigns, allowing you to analyze their email marketing strategies.

• SEO Monitoring: Offers insights into competitors' search engine optimization efforts, including keyword rankings and content updates.

• User-Friendly Dashboard: Provides a centralized platform to view all competitor activities, making it easy to analyze and compare data.

Limitations

• Limited Free Version: The free version offers basic features, with more advanced functionalities locked behind a subscription.

• Focus on Digital Activities: Primarily tracks online activities, which may not capture the full scope of local competitors' strategies, especially offline efforts.

• Learning Curve: New users may need time to familiarize themselves with the dashboard and features to fully leverage the tool.

Pricing

• Business: $19.90 per competitor per month

• Business Plus: $29.90  per competitor per month

• Custom

Google My Business (GMB) Insights

Overview: Google My Business (GMB) Insights is a feature within the GMB platform that provides businesses with data on how customers find their listing on Google. It offers valuable information on search queries, customer actions, and engagement metrics. GMB Insights is crucial for businesses looking to optimize their local SEO efforts and improve their visibility in local search results.

Key Features

• Visibility Insights: Shows how customers find your GMB listing, whether through direct searches (searching for your business name or address) or discovery searches (searching for a category, product, or service).

• Engagement Metrics: Provides data on customer actions, such as website visits, direction requests, and phone calls made directly from the GMB listing.

• Search Query Data: Reveals the specific keywords and phrases customers used to find your business on Google.

• Geographic Insights: Offers information on the locations from which customers request directions to your business, helping you understand your local reach.

• Competitive Benchmarking: While not a direct feature, analyzing changes in your insights can indirectly indicate competitive movements and shifts in local search dynamics.

Limitations

• Limited to Your Own Business: GMB Insights focuses on your own business's data, requiring manual comparison for competitor analysis.

• Data Delays: Insights are not real-time and can have delays, making it challenging to react swiftly to immediate market changes.

• Generalized Data: Some insights are broad and may not provide the granular details needed for in-depth analysis.

Pricing

• Free

SEMrush

Overview: SEMrush is a powerful digital marketing tool that offers extensive features for SEO, PPC, content, social media, and competitive research. It's particularly renowned for its capabilities in SEO and competitor analysis, making it a go-to tool for businesses looking to analyze their local search competitors and improve their online visibility.

Key Features

• Competitive Research: Offers insights into competitors' strategies in display advertising, organic and paid search, and link building.

• Keyword Research: Provides extensive keyword data, including volume, trend, and keyword difficulty, helping identify local keywords your competitors are targeting.

• Local SEO Toolkit: Includes features specifically designed for local SEO, such as listing management, position tracking, and local rankings.

• Site Audit: Analyzes your website for SEO issues and provides recommendations for improvement.

• Backlink Analysis: Tracks your and your competitors' backlink profiles, offering insights into link-building strategies.

Limitations

• Complexity and Learning Curve: The extensive range of features can be overwhelming for new users, requiring a significant time investment to learn.

• Cost: While offering a robust set of features, SEMrush can be expensive for small businesses or individuals just starting with SEO.

• General Focus: While it has tools for local SEO, SEMrush’s broad focus might not provide the granularity needed for hyper-local market analysis.

Pricing

• Pro: $129.95 per month

• Guru: $249.95 per month

• Business: $449.95 per month

BrightLocal’s Competitor Analysis Tools

Overview: BrightLocal is a specialized local SEO platform that provides tools and reports specifically designed to help businesses improve their visibility in local search results. Its competitor analysis tools are tailored for local businesses looking to gain an edge in their specific market.

Key Features

• Local Search Rank Checker: Allows you to track your and your competitors' rankings in local search results, including Google’s Local Pack.

• Google My Business Audit: Offers insights into your and your competitors' GMB profiles, highlighting areas for improvement.

• Citation Tracker: Helps identify where your competitors are listed and where you might be missing out on citation opportunities.

• Reputation Manager: Monitors online reviews for you and your competitors, providing insights into customer sentiment.

• Local Search Audit: Provides a comprehensive overview of your local SEO performance, including comparisons with competitors.

Limitations

• Focus on Local SEO: While excellent for local SEO, businesses looking for broader digital marketing insights might find the toolset limiting.

• Data Variability: The accuracy of local search data can vary, especially in less competitive or smaller geographic areas.

• Subscription Costs: Multiple features are behind paywalls, which might add up for small businesses needing several tools for comprehensive analysis.

Pricing

• Track: $39 per month

• Manage: $49 per month

• Grow: $59 per month

How to Conduct a Local Competition Analysis?

Conducting a local competition analysis is a strategic approach to understanding your position within the local market and identifying opportunities to enhance your visibility and engagement with potential customers. This process involves a detailed examination of your local competitors' online presence, from their Google Business Profiles to their website's landing pages and conversion funnels. Here's how to effectively conduct a local competition analysis, incorporating insights from Competitors.app, BrightLocal, and Moz.

Compare Google Business Profiles

Google My Business (GMB) profiles are a cornerstone of local SEO and provide a wealth of information about how businesses are perceived and found online. Comparing your competitors' GMB profiles can offer insights into their local SEO strategies, customer engagement, and overall online presence.

• Key Information and Categories: Note the categories and attributes your competitors use. These can influence how they appear in local searches. Ensure your profile is accurately categorized to compete effectively.

• Reviews and Responses: Analyze the quantity and quality of reviews, as well as how competitors respond to them. This can indicate their level of customer service and engagement.

• Posts and Updates: Look at the frequency and content of their posts and updates. Regular, valuable updates can improve a business's visibility and attractiveness to potential customers.

• Photos and Videos: The number and quality of photos and videos can affect a profile's performance. High-quality, relevant media can enhance engagement and click-through rates.

Analyze on-site landing pages

Your competitors' websites can provide critical insights into their marketing strategies, SEO efforts, and customer engagement tactics. Pay particular attention to their on-site landing pages.

• Content Quality and Relevance: Evaluate the content for quality, relevance, and use of local keywords. High-quality, informative content that addresses local search queries can significantly improve SEO performance.

• SEO Elements: Check for the optimization of title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and image alt texts with local keywords. These elements are crucial for ranking in local search results.

• User Experience (UX): The layout, design, navigation, and mobile responsiveness of landing pages can affect both SEO rankings and user engagement. Pages that offer a superior user experience are more likely to convert visitors into customers.

Note Conversion Funnels

Understanding how your competitors guide website visitors through the buying process can reveal opportunities to optimize your own conversion funnels.

• Call-to-Action (CTA) Placement and Messaging: Observe how competitors use CTAs on their landing pages. Effective CTAs can significantly increase conversion rates by guiding potential customers through the desired actions.

• Lead Capture Forms: Pay attention to the placement, length, and fields of lead capture forms. Optimizing these forms can improve lead generation and customer data collection.

• Customer Journey: Map out the customer journey on competitors' websites from landing page to conversion. Identifying gaps or strengths in their funnels can inform improvements to your own strategy.

Audit Local Citations

Local citations, which are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on various online platforms, play a crucial role in local SEO. Auditing both your and your competitors' local citations can reveal opportunities to improve your local search visibility.

• Consistency Across Platforms: Ensure that your business's NAP information is consistent across all listings. Inconsistencies can confuse search engines and potential customers, negatively impacting your local search rankings.

• Identify New Citation Opportunities: By examining where your competitors are listed but your business is not, you can uncover new directories or platforms to target for your own citations, potentially improving your local visibility.

• Quality Over Quantity: Focus on getting listed in high-quality, relevant directories. Being listed in reputable local or industry-specific directories can be more beneficial than having numerous citations in less relevant or lower-quality directories.

Review their Backlink Profiles

Backlinks, or links from other websites to your site, are a significant ranking factor in SEO. Analyzing your competitors' backlink profiles can provide insights into their link-building strategies and help you identify opportunities to acquire new, high-quality backlinks.

• Identify High-Quality Link Sources: Look for authoritative websites that link to your competitors. These could be local news sites, industry blogs, or local business associations. Identifying these sources can help you target similar sites for your own link-building efforts.

• Analyze Link Types: Pay attention to the types of backlinks your competitors have, such as editorial links, directory listings, or sponsorships. This can inform your own link-building strategy by highlighting effective types of links to pursue.

• Monitor Link Velocity: Observe how quickly competitors are acquiring new backlinks. A rapid increase in backlinks could indicate active link-building campaigns or content marketing efforts worth emulating.

Start Monitoring Your Local Competitor’s Rankings

Keeping an eye on how your competitors rank for key local search terms can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of their SEO strategies and highlight areas where your business can improve.

• Track Key Local Keywords: Identify the local search terms most relevant to your business and monitor how your competitors rank for these keywords over time. Tools like SEMrush, BrightLocal, and Moz offer features to track local search rankings.

• Analyze Ranking Fluctuations: Pay attention to any significant changes in your competitors' rankings. Drops in rankings could indicate penalties or lost backlinks, while improvements could signal effective SEO strategies.

• Leverage Insights for Your Strategy: Use the data gathered from monitoring your competitors' rankings to refine your own SEO strategy. If a competitor consistently ranks well for a particular keyword, analyze their content and backlink strategy for that keyword to identify tactics you can adopt.

Analyze Google My Business Listings

Google My Business listings play a pivotal role in local SEO, acting as a direct line between businesses and their potential customers. Analyzing your competitors' GMB listings can provide valuable insights into how they optimize their presence and engage with their audience.

• Examine Listing Completeness: Check if competitors' GMB listings are fully completed, including business descriptions, categories, services, and operating hours. A complete profile can significantly impact visibility in local search results.

• Observe Use of Keywords: Notice the keywords and phrases competitors use in their business name, description, and posts. Strategic use of local and industry-specific keywords can improve a listing's relevance in search results.

• Analyze Post Frequency and Content: Look at how often competitors post updates, offers, or events on their GMB listings. Regular, engaging posts can enhance a business's visibility and interaction with potential customers.

• Visual Content: Evaluate the quality and quantity of photos and videos uploaded to competitors' listings. High-quality visual content can attract more views and engagements.

Check Reviews and Ratings

Reviews and ratings are influential factors that affect consumer decisions and local search rankings. Analyzing this aspect of your competitors' online presence can reveal their reputation management strategies and customer satisfaction levels.

• Quantity and Quality of Reviews: Assess the number of reviews and overall ratings. A higher number of positive reviews can improve a business's credibility and attractiveness.

• Response Strategy: Note how and when competitors respond to reviews, especially negative ones. Timely and professional responses can mitigate negative impacts and demonstrate a commitment to customer service.

• Review Keywords: Pay attention to the keywords mentioned in reviews, as they can influence a listing's relevance in search results. Positive mentions of specific services or products can boost visibility for those search queries.

Conducting Local Keyword Research

Local keyword research is the foundation of any successful local SEO strategy. It involves identifying the terms and phrases potential customers use when searching for products or services in your area. This process not only helps you understand what your audience is looking for but also reveals the language they use, enabling you to optimize your content and online presence accordingly.

• Start with Broad Terms: Begin by listing broad terms related to your business and services. For example, if you run a bakery, start with terms like "bakery," "cakes," and "bread."

• Refine with Local Modifiers: Add local modifiers to these broad terms to capture local search intent. This includes your city, neighborhood, and even landmarks. Examples include "bakery in [City Name]" or "cakes near [Landmark]."

• Utilize Keyword Research Tools: Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Moz Keyword Explorer can provide valuable data on search volume, competition, and related local keywords. These tools can also help identify local search competitors.

• Analyze Search Intent: Understanding the intent behind searches—whether people are looking for information, a specific type of product, or a service provider—can help tailor your content to meet those needs.

• Monitor Competitors' Keywords: Pay attention to the keywords your local competitors are targeting in their content and SEO strategies. This can provide insights into effective keywords you might be overlooking.

Analyzing Your Local Competitors’ Google Ads

Analyzing your competitors' Google Ads campaigns can offer valuable insights into their marketing strategies, target keywords, and offers that resonate with your shared audience. This analysis can help you refine your own paid search strategies to compete more effectively.

• Identify Competitors' Ads: Use Google Search to identify which competitors are running ads for your target keywords. Note the ad copy, offers, and call-to-actions (CTAs) they use.

• Analyze Ad Copy and Offers: Pay close attention to the language and offers in your competitors' ads. Effective ad copy can highlight benefits, unique selling points, and special offers that attract clicks.

• Keyword Targeting: Look at the keywords and phrases your competitors are targeting in their ads. This can reveal high-intent keywords that drive traffic and conversions.

• Landing Page Experience: Click through to the landing pages from your competitors' ads to analyze the user experience, messaging alignment with the ad copy, and the overall conversion path. This can offer insights into how competitors optimize their landing pages for conversions.

• Use Tools for Deeper Insights: Tools like SEMrush’s Advertising Research feature can provide deeper insights into your competitors' paid search strategies, including ad spend, targeted keywords, and performance metrics.

To outshine local competitors, leveraging the best AI search engine can give your business a powerful advantage.

How Can You Evaluate the Impact of Which Strategies Are Working for Your Competitors?

Evaluating the impact of strategies that are working for your competitors is a crucial step in refining your own business strategies to compete effectively in the local market. By understanding what works for your competitors, you can gain insights into market trends, customer preferences, and effective marketing tactics. Here’s how you can assess the impact of your competitors' strategies through monitoring performance metrics, analyzing customer feedback and reviews, and observing sales and market share changes.

Monitor Performance Metrics

Performance metrics offer a quantitative way to gauge the success of your competitors' strategies. These metrics can include website traffic, search engine rankings, social media engagement, and conversion rates. By monitoring these metrics, you can identify which strategies are driving success for your competitors.

• Website Traffic and SEO Rankings: Tools like SEMrush and Moz offer insights into your competitors' website traffic and search engine rankings. Look for trends in traffic growth and high-ranking keywords to understand what content or SEO strategies might be contributing to their success.

• Social Media Engagement: Analyze your competitors' social media profiles for engagement rates, follower growth, and content that receives high interaction. This can indicate effective social media strategies that resonate with the target audience.

• Conversion Rates: While harder to directly measure for competitors, you can infer conversion rate success by looking at visible factors such as the number of reviews, user testimonials, or case studies published on their website.

Analyze Customer Feedback and Reviews

Customer feedback and reviews are invaluable for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors' products, services, and customer service. This qualitative data can provide insights into what customers value and any gaps in the market.

• Online Reviews: Platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, and TripAdvisor host reviews that can shed light on why customers prefer certain competitors. Look for common themes in positive reviews and note any recurring complaints in negative reviews.

• Social Media Mentions: Monitor social media platforms for mentions of your competitors. Customers often share their experiences, both good and bad, which can offer insights into the effectiveness of your competitors' customer engagement strategies.

• Surveys and Feedback Forms: If your competitors use surveys or feedback forms, they may publish the results or customer testimonials that highlight what customers appreciate about their offerings.

Observe Sales and Market Share Changes

Changes in sales and market share can be indicative of the effectiveness of your competitors' strategies. While direct sales data may not always be available, there are indirect ways to gauge market performance.

• Industry Reports and Market Analysis: Look for industry reports or market analyses that provide data on sales trends and market share. These reports can highlight which competitors are gaining ground and which are losing market share.

• Product Availability and Stock Levels: For competitors with online stores, changes in product availability and stock levels can indicate sales velocity. Products that frequently sell out or are restocked might be high performers.

• Promotional Campaigns and Pricing Strategies: Observe any changes in your competitors' promotional campaigns and pricing strategies. Successful promotions or pricing adjustments that are maintained or expanded can signal effective strategies for boosting sales.

Assess Content and Advertising Success

Content and advertising are two pillars of digital marketing that can significantly impact a business's ability to attract and retain customers. Evaluating the success of your competitors' efforts in these areas can provide valuable insights into what works (and what doesn’t) within your local market.

• Analyze Content Quality and Engagement: Review your competitors' websites, blogs, and social media profiles to assess the quality of their content. Look for high-engagement content, such as articles with a lot of shares or posts with numerous comments, to understand what resonates with your shared audience.

• Evaluate Advertising Strategies: Pay attention to the types of ads your competitors are running, including Google Ads, social media ads, and local print or broadcast ads. Note which platforms they use, the messaging and offers presented, and any patterns in timing (such as seasonal promotions).

• Monitor Audience Response: Audience reactions to content and ads can be telling. Look for feedback in the form of comments, reviews, and social media interactions to gauge how well content and advertising strategies are being received.

Competitive Benchmarking

Competitive benchmarking involves comparing your business's performance against that of your competitors in key areas. This process helps identify strengths to build upon and weaknesses to address.

• Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Determine which metrics are most important for your business, such as website traffic, search engine rankings, social media engagement, or conversion rates. These KPIs will form the basis of your benchmarking.

• Gather Data: Use tools and resources to collect data on your competitors' performance in these areas. This might include using SEO tools to compare search rankings, analyzing social media analytics, or using customer feedback to gauge satisfaction levels.

• Compare and Analyze: With data in hand, compare your competitors' performance to your own. Look for patterns or discrepancies that can offer insights into competitive advantages or areas for improvement.

Use Competitor Analysis Tools

Leveraging competitor analysis tools can streamline the process of gathering and analyzing data on your competitors. These tools can provide a wealth of information on local competitors, local search competitors, and broader market trends.

• SEMrush and Moz: These tools offer features for tracking keyword rankings, analyzing backlinks, and monitoring brand mentions, providing a comprehensive view of your competitors' online presence.

• BrightLocal: Specializing in local SEO, BrightLocal provides tools for tracking local search rankings, managing citations, and monitoring online reviews, making it easier to compare your local search performance against that of your competitors.

• Competitors.app: This tool focuses on monitoring competitors' digital marketing activities, including social media presence, content updates, and email marketing efforts, offering insights into their strategies and performance.

Customer Surveys and Market Research

Customer surveys are a direct method of gathering feedback from your current and potential customers about their experiences, preferences, and expectations.

• Designing Your Survey: Create a survey that asks specific questions related to your products or services, customer service experience, and what factors influence their decision to choose your business over competitors. Include questions that probe into what customers search for online when looking for services or products similar to yours. You can easily do this by using an AI survey generator.

• Distribution Channels: Utilize various channels to distribute your surveys, including email, social media, and your website. Consider offering incentives to increase participation rates.

• Analyzing Responses: Carefully analyze the survey responses to identify common themes and insights. Pay particular attention to mentions of your competitors or aspects of their service that customers appreciate.

Market research involves collecting and analyzing data about your industry, target market, and competitors. This broader approach complements the direct feedback from customer surveys with comprehensive market insights.

• Identify Local Search Competitors: Use tools like Google My Business and local SEO analysis tools to identify who your main local competitors are. Understanding who you are competing against in the local search landscape is crucial for targeted market research.

• Analyze Competitor Strategies: Look into your competitors' marketing strategies, online presence, customer engagement tactics, and product offerings. This can reveal what strategies might be working for them and where there might be gaps in the market.

• Trend Analysis: Stay updated on industry trends and consumer behavior changes. Tools like Google Trends can help you understand how demand for certain keywords or services is evolving in your local area.

Conclusion

Understanding and analyzing your local competitors is an essential strategy for any business aiming to secure a competitive edge in the local market. The insights gathered from Competitors.app, BrightLocal, and Moz highlight the importance of a comprehensive approach to local competitor analysis. This involves not just identifying who your competitors are but also delving deep into their strategies, from their Google My Business listings and customer feedback to their content, advertising successes, and overall market presence.

The process of analyzing local competitors encompasses several key steps, including conducting thorough local keyword research, evaluating competitors' content and advertising efforts, benchmarking against competitive metrics, and utilizing advanced competitor analysis tools. Each of these steps provides valuable insights that can inform your SEO and marketing strategies, helping you to better meet the needs of your target audience and stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

In this section, we address some common questions and concerns about local competitors

How often should I conduct a local competitor analysis?

Conduct a local competitor analysis at least once every quarter. This ensures you stay updated on market changes and competitor strategies.

Can local competitor analysis help in identifying potential partnership opportunities?

Yes, analyzing local competitors can reveal potential partnership opportunities by identifying businesses with complementary products or services.

How do I track the impact of changes made based on competitor analysis?

Track the impact of changes by monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, conversion rates, and local search rankings before and after implementing changes.