Competitors, Clients &
Suppliers
It is vital you understand who your
competitors are and what are their strengths.
The best way to find your toughest competitors
it to talk to your clients and customers directly. Who do they use
already? Where would they go if they wanted to buy the product or
service you are providing?
With an online business, it is
also a good idea to act like a customer and conduct a
Google search on your
product or service. Use the keywords you expect your
customer would and see what results come up. Also look at
the Google Ads which appear on the results page. They will
let you know what companies have purchased these particular
keywords or keyword variants.
Another way to assess online
competitor strength is to use the
Alexa site. This
resource provides a relative ranking of websites based on
Internet traffic. Compare the competitors you identify in your
Google search to see who ranks higher. If the sites have enough
traffic you can also get some details on the types of visitors
such as age, gender, top search queries, education, browsing
location (work/home).
Once you have a list of competitors,
clients and/or suppliers keyword
search them directly online and in a periodical database. This will help you
to determine their public image and marketing strategy (i.e. how they
present themselves to their market)
You can access periodical databases through
your local public library web site. All you need it a valid public
library card.
Click here
to find your local public library website.
.jpg)
