File: /home/seopositiveltd.co.uk/blog/simple-competition-analysis-for-seo.html
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "https://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="https://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" dir="ltr" lang="en-US">
<head profile="https://gmpg.org/xfn/11">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/>
<title>Simple competition analysis for SEO « SEO Positive Blog</title>
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/blog/simple-competition-analysis-for-seo" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/blog/wp-content/themes/seopositive/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen"/>
<link rel="pingback" href="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/blog/xmlrpc.php"/>
<!--[if IE 6]>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/wp-content/themes/seopositive/ie6.css" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/wp-content/themes/seopositive/ie7.css" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<script src="../ajax/libs/jquery/1.4.2/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/blog/wp-includes/js/comment-reply.js?ver=20090102"></script>
<link rel="index" title="SEO Positive Blog" href="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/blog"/>
<link rel="start" title="Link Building Tip #1" href="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/blog/link-building-tip-1"/>
<link rel="shortlink" href="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/blog/?p=2802"/>
<meta name="tweetmeme-title" content="Simple competition analysis for SEO"/>
<!--Plugin WP Missed Schedule 2011.0920.2011 Active-->
<script src="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/wp-content/themes/seopositive/js/AC_RunActiveContent.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<!-- Place this tag in your head or just before your close body tag -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js">
{lang: 'en-GB'}
</script>
</head>
<body class="single single-post postid-2802">
<div id="wrapper">
<div class="hidden"></div>
<div id="header">
<div class="hidden">
<img src="../wp-content/themes/seopositive/images/misc/main-but-ro.png" width="129" height="31" alt="SEO"/>
<img src="../wp-content/themes/seopositive/images/misc/action-but-drker-ro.jpg" width="144" height="33" alt="SEO Positive"/>
<img src="../wp-content/themes/seopositive/images/misc/action-but-ro.jpg" width="144" height="33" alt="Top SEO"/>
</div>
<div id="logo"><a href="https://www.seopositive.co.uk/"><img src="../wp-content/themes/seopositive/images/misc/seo-positive.png" alt="SEO Positive The Online Promotion Company" width="231" height="75"/></a></div>
<div id="header-info">
<div class="menu-top-container"><ul id="menu-top" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-4228" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4228"><a href="https://my.seopositive.co.uk/">Client Login</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-4227" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-4227"><a href="https://www.seopositive.co.uk/careers.php">Careers</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-4229" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-4229"><a href="https://www.seopositive.co.uk/partners.php">Partners</a></li>
</ul></div>
<div class="clear"></div>
<div class="call-us"><g:plusone></g:plusone> 0800 088 6000</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
<div id="content-container">
<div id="content" class="narrowcolumn" role="main">
<ul id="menu-main">
<li class="non-active"><a href="/">Home</a>
<ul class="first non-active"><li class="non-active"><a href="/">Home</a></li></ul>
</li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../about-us">About us</a>
<ul class="non-active"><li class="non-active"><a href="../about-us">About us</a></li></ul>
</li>
<li class="non-active"><a>Services</a>
<ul class="dropdown non-active"><li class="non-active"><a>Services</a></li></ul>
<ul class="services-bg non-active">
<ul class="non-active">
<li class="non-active"><a href="../search-engine-optimisation">Search Engine Optimisation</a></li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../pay-per-click">Pay Per Click Management</a></li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="https://www.webdesignpositive.co.uk/">Website Design</a></li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../website-design-portfolio">Design Portfolio</a></li>
</ul>
<ul class="non-active">
<li class="non-active"><a href="../email-marketing">Email Marketing</a></li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../reputation-management">Reputation Management</a></li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../link-building">Link Building</a></li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../hosting">Hosting</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="clear"></div>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../search-engine-optimisation">SEO Services</a>
<ul class="non-active"><li class="non-active"><a href="../search-engine-optimisation">SEO Services</a></li></ul>
</li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../pay-per-click">PPC Services</a>
<ul class="non-active"><li class="non-active"><a href="../pay-per-click">PPC Services</a></li></ul>
</li>
<li class="non-active"><a>Testimonials</a>
<ul class="dropdown non-active"><li class="non-active"><a>Testimonials</a></li></ul>
<ul class="testimonials-bg non-active">
<ul class="non-active">
<li><a href="../seo-testimonials">Search Engine Optimisation</a></li>
<li><a href="../ppc-testimonials">Pay Per Click</a></li>
<li><a href="../web-design-testimonials">Website Design</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="clear"></div>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../awards">Awards</a>
<ul class="non-active"><li class="non-active"><a href="../awards">Awards</a></li></ul>
</li>
<li class="non-active"><a href="../contact-us">Contact us</a>
<ul class="non-active"><li class="non-active"><a href="../contact-us">Contact us</a></li></ul>
</li>
<li class="active"><a>Blog</a>
<ul class="last active"><li><a href="../blog">Blog</a></li></ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div id="main-content">
<div id="content-left">
<div class="navigation">
<div class="alignleft"><p><a href="../blog/how-not-to-use-social-media-as-a-business" rel="prev">« How NOT to Use Social Media As a Business</a></p></div>
<div class="alignright"><p><a href="../blog/how-to-understand-the-kpis-of-social-media" rel="next">How to Understand the KPIs of Social Media »</a></p></div>
</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
<hr/>
<div class="post-2802 post type-post hentry category-search-engine-optimisation tag-engine tag-optimization tag-search tag-seo" id="post-2802">
<h2>Simple competition analysis for SEO</h2>
<hr/>
<div class="entry">
<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><iframe src="https://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seopositiveltd.co.uk%2Fblog%2Fsimple-competition-analysis-for-seo&style=normal&b=2" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p>Analysing the search results before you jump in is something that can save you months of pain down the road. I found this out with my first <a href="/">seo</a> project where I decided to rank for the phrase “web hosting” using my new adsense supported review blog. I had no concept of competition or the fact that some niches can take years to conquer. So is it really possible to work out how much competition there is in a market before getting involved? Well its not an exact science but it is possible to get an idea whether you should dive in or not.</p>
<h2>Putting a number on the links</h2>
<p>Numbers are always a nice place to start since it gives you a solid target to beat. Even though the type of links your competition has is very important (as I will talk about next) its still vital to count volume. So the mistake many webmasters make is just looking at the overall backlink count using the link: command in yahoo or google. <a href="../blog/category/google">Google </a>only shows a fraction of the links and yahoo counts more than on link from the same domain, for instance if you get a site wide link on a blog with a 1000 pages yahoo would say that’s a 1000 links. We know that a 1000 links from one site is not the same as 1 link from a 1000 sites so we cant use this data. Instead we want to know the number of unique domains (sites) that are linking to our competitor, a good place to do this is open site explorer by seomoz, you just plugin your main competitor and it throws you back a nice number under “linking root domains”. I believe that the total number of linking domains is a key factor so if this number looks unrealistic you may need to think again.</p>
<h2>Quality or questionable links?</h2>
<p>Its important to get an idea of what type of links your competition has because quality seems to become a bigger issue with every google update. What I look for is an overview of the type of links they are getting and if they are all coming from the same neighbourhood, for example are they all from footer links in WordPress themes? Or maybe most of their links are from forum profiles? These kind of links are easy to spot in either open site explorer or even yahoo and to me is a real sign of a short term link building strategy, but more importantly I know its a profile I can beat with just a few quality links. As mentioned what your really trying to do is get an overview and not trying to analyse every link in detail. You could get lost for days trying to give a value to each link, plus remember that only Google knows the true weight of any backlink.</p>
<h2>Authority domain or specialist site?</h2>
<p>I like to put every site I find in the results into one of two categories. The first is a big authority domain with maybe a single page on the subject like eBay or Amazon and the other is a smaller niche site which may have hundreds of pages dedicated to the niche. So many marketers see the bigger authority sites and give up straight away but I’m usually thinking the opposite. When your dealing with a niche keyword often these authority sites will have only a single content thin page on the subject, most of the data may even be copied from the manufacturers specs. When I see this I know its one area I can definitely improve on as I can easily create 40 - 50 quality pages on the subject, it just takes time. You see many of these bigger sites often appear as a default option, they may have little content but google knows they wont be spam. Its important to look at the links to these pages too (often very low) but in my experience if your prepared to create some quality content with a few good links you instantly become a more attractive prospect to google than these default listings.</p>
<h2>Connecting all the pieces</h2>
<p>At the end of all this analysis you have to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together to give a simple yes or no, do I go for the keyword or not? Its important to remember that throughout the whole process you are only looking for an overview of the main factors. Its easy to get lost inspecting every link and piece or content your competition has but unless you work for Google that’s pointless. Also bear in mind that difficultly is a very subjective thing, as some marketers can rank for things you cant and vice-versa. Ultimately its a personal decision, just make sure you can swim before you jump in!</p>
<p>This is a guest post by Paul over at <a href="https://earningmoneyonline.co.uk/" target="_blank">earn money online</a> which is a new webmaster <a href="../blog">blog </a>covering the basics of profiting from the web.</p>
<p>Tags: <a href="../blog/tag/engine" rel="tag">engine</a>, <a href="../blog/tag/optimization" rel="tag">optimization</a>, <a href="../blog/tag/search" rel="tag">search</a>, <a href="../blog/tag/seo" rel="tag">seo</a></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="sidebar">
<h3 class="widget-title">Pages</h3> <ul>
<li class="page_item page-item-1673"><a href="../blog/advertising" title="Advertising">Advertising</a></li>
<li class="page_item page-item-2014"><a href="../blog/internet-world" title="Internet World 2011">Internet World 2011</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 class="widget-title">Authors</h3>
<ul><li>Ben Austin</li><li>Danielle Haley</li><li>Danny Hall</li><li>Evaldas Balcius</li><li>Lewis Austin</li><li>Matt Wood</li><li>Peter Andrease</li> </ul>
<h3 class="widget-title">Categories</h3> <ul>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-989"><a href="../blog/category/analytics" title="View all posts filed under Analytics">Analytics</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-3"><a href="../blog/category/announcements" title="View all posts filed under Announcements">Announcements</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-4"><a href="../blog/category/bing" title="View all posts filed under Bing">Bing</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-78"><a href="../blog/category/blog" title="View all posts filed under Blog">Blog</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-5"><a href="../blog/category/click-fraud" title="View all posts filed under Click Fraud">Click Fraud</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-6"><a href="../blog/category/content" title="View all posts filed under Content">Content</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-7"><a href="../blog/category/email-marketing" title="View all posts filed under Email Marketing">Email Marketing</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-984"><a href="../blog/category/facebook" title="View all posts filed under Facebook">Facebook</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-8"><a href="../blog/category/google" title="View all posts filed under Google">Google</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-9"><a href="../blog/category/in-the-press" title="View all posts filed under In The Press">In The Press</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-10"><a href="../blog/category/internet-news" title="View all posts filed under Internet News">Internet News</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-11"><a href="../blog/category/link-building" title="View all posts filed under Link Building">Link Building</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-12"><a href="../blog/category/pay-per-click" title="View all posts filed under Pay Per Click">Pay Per Click</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-1212"><a href="../blog/category/reputation-management" title="View all posts filed under Reputation Management">Reputation Management</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-562"><a href="../blog/category/search-engine-optimisation" title="View all posts filed under Search Engine Optimisation">Search Engine Optimisation</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-14"><a href="../blog/category/seo-glossary" title="View all posts filed under SEO Glossary">SEO Glossary</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-15"><a href="../blog/category/seo-tools" title="View all posts filed under SEO Tools">SEO Tools</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-16"><a href="../blog/category/social-media" title="View all posts filed under Social Media">Social Media</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-17"><a href="../blog/category/twitter" title="View all posts filed under Twitter">Twitter</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-1"><a href="../blog/category/uncategorized" title="View all posts filed under Uncategorized">Uncategorized</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-18"><a href="../blog/category/website-design" title="View all posts filed under Website Design">Website Design</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-19"><a href="../blog/category/website-hosting" title="View all posts filed under Website Hosting">Website Hosting</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-20"><a href="../blog/category/yahoo" title="View all posts filed under Yahoo">Yahoo</a>
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-1103"><a href="../blog/category/youtube" title="View all posts filed under YouTube">YouTube</a>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="widget-title">Archives</h3> <ul>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/12" title="December 2011">December 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/11" title="November 2011">November 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/10" title="October 2011">October 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/09" title="September 2011">September 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/08" title="August 2011">August 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/07" title="July 2011">July 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/06" title="June 2011">June 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/05" title="May 2011">May 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/04" title="April 2011">April 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/03" title="March 2011">March 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/02" title="February 2011">February 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2011/01" title="January 2011">January 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/12" title="December 2010">December 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/11" title="November 2010">November 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/10" title="October 2010">October 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/09" title="September 2010">September 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/08" title="August 2010">August 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/07" title="July 2010">July 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/06" title="June 2010">June 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/05" title="May 2010">May 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/04" title="April 2010">April 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/03" title="March 2010">March 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/02" title="February 2010">February 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2010/01" title="January 2010">January 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/12" title="December 2009">December 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/11" title="November 2009">November 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/10" title="October 2009">October 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/09" title="September 2009">September 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/08" title="August 2009">August 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/07" title="July 2009">July 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/06" title="June 2009">June 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/05" title="May 2009">May 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/04" title="April 2009">April 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/03" title="March 2009">March 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/02" title="February 2009">February 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2009/01" title="January 2009">January 2009</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog/2008/12" title="December 2008">December 2008</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 class="widget-title">Blogroll</h3>
<ul class="xoxo blogroll">
<li><a href="../link-building">Link Building</a></li>
<li><a href="../pay-per-click">Pay Per Click</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.micrositez.co.uk/seo.html">SEO</a></li>
<li><a href="../blog">SEO Blog</a></li>
<li><a href="/">SEO Company</a></li>
<li><a href="../news-sub/index">SEO Positive News</a></li>
<li><a href="../tutorials-sub/index">SEO Positive Tutorials</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.websitedesignpositive.co.uk/">Website Design</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="footer" role="contentinfo">
<div id="footer-content">
<div class="footer-section">
<h3>Additional Pages</h3>
<div class="menu-additional-pages-container"><ul class="menu" id="menu-additional-pages"><li class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-645" id="menu-item-645"><a href="../my-sub/index">Client Login</a></li>
<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-44" id="menu-item-44"><a href="../terms">Terms & Conditions</a></li>
<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-270" id="menu-item-270"><a href="../privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a></li>
<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-2699" id="menu-item-2699"><a href="../tutorials-sub/index">Tutorials</a></li>
</ul></div></div>
<div class="footer-section">
<h3>Sitemaps & Feeds</h3>
<div class="menu-sitemaps-feeds-container"><ul class="menu" id="menu-sitemaps-feeds"><li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-697" id="menu-item-697"><a href="../sitemap">Sitemap</a></li>
<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-699" id="menu-item-699"><a href="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/sitemap.xml">XML Sitemap</a></li>
<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-2740" id="menu-item-2740"><a href="../blog">Blog</a></li>
<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-2761" id="menu-item-2761"><a href="../news-sub/index">News</a></li>
</ul></div></div>
<div class="footer-section footer-section-big">
<h3>Our Address</h3>
<p><strong>Chelmsford Head Office</strong><br/>Milstrete House<br/>29 New Street<br/>Chelmsford<br/>CM1 1NT</p>
</div>
<div class="footer-section">
<h3> </h3>
<p><strong>London Head Office</strong><br/>3rd Floor<br/>1 Ropemaker Street<br/>London<br/>EC2Y 9HT</p>
</div>
<div class="footer-section footer-section-small no-padding-right">
<h3>Social Links</h3>
<a href="/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="../wp-content/themes/seopositive/images/misc/rss-icon.png" alt="RSS Feed"/></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/seopositiveltd" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="../wp-content/themes/seopositive/images/misc/twitter-icon.png" alt="Twitter"/></a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/seopositive" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"></a>
<h3>W3C Compliant</h3>
<img src="../wp-content/themes/seopositive/images/misc/w3c-css.png" alt="Valid CSS" class="compliant"/>
</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
<div id="footer-btm">
<p>© Copyright 2011 SEO Positive Ltd | Registered company in England & Wales | Company Number: 06643590 | VAT Number: 974449769</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<script src="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/wp-content/themes/seopositive/js/jqueryui.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/wp-content/themes/seopositive/js/jquery.anythingslider.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/wp-content/themes/seopositive/js/mac-screen-slider.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/wp-content/themes/seopositive/js/class.horinaja.jquery.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="../wp-content/themes/seopositive/js/javascript.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://www.seopositiveltd.co.uk/wp-content/themes/seopositive/js/read-more.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<!--Plugin WP Missed Schedule 2011.0920.2011 Active-->
</body>
</html>