What can your competitors teach you?
When was the last time you visited your competition’s websites? Has it been a while? If it has, it’s probably time to go and check them out.
It’s not that want to blatantly copy what they are doing; that won’t make you stand out from the crowd. Rather, you want watch for industry trends and make sure your site provides more reasons to return. Also, if they are outranking you in the search engines, you can look at their site for ideas to improve your own rankings.
Here are a few things to look for when doing a little competitive research:
Product Layout and Content – How are they displaying their products and services? Do they have better images, more in depth product information or a multitude of customer reviews to back up their products? Does your site “sell” your products and services better than theirs does?
Non-product Content – How much additional information do they provide visitors? Do they have a lot of how-to guides, frequently asked questions or information that visitors might bookmark as resources? What information can you provide to keep your visitors coming back to your site?
Contact Forms and Information – How easy are they making it for visitors to contact them? Are they offering several options and making it clear that they want to hear from customers and potential customers? How easy is it for your visitors to contact you?
Functionality – What does their website DO for visitors? Do they have a shopping cart, dealer locator or RFQ cart? What does your site do to help people solve their problems?
Trust Symbols – Does the competition proudly display industry certifications on their site? How about industry groups or associations they are members of? What symbols do you need to add to increase your potential customers’ trust?
Social Media – Do they have a Facebook page, Twitter profile or blog? What social media tools are they using to reach out to their customers? What social media channels are you using to reach your target market?
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It is always good to get some ideas from your competition as to how they approach the same demographic. Chances are they are looking at you already.
Comment by Nick Stamoulis — September 11, 2009 @ 7:16 am
You’re totally right Nick – best to just assume your competitors are looking at your site.
It’s also good to see if your industry has any expectations that have changed. If all your competitors have ecommerce but you don’t, you’ve got some catching up to do.
Comment by Anna — September 15, 2009 @ 3:31 pm