Competitive analysis is the key to success. Before you launch
your first web site, you need to know what's already out there. The problem
with performing competitive analysis is that it can be time-consuming.
In the past, when starting a web makeover project for a new client, I will
look at their existing web site, determine a list of relevant keywords that
describe their product or service, and then start searching on Google for the
top ten sites using those same keywords. This is a good solid way of
performing competitive analysis, but it takes me a long time, and not every
client is willing to pay for this level of analysis. They'd rather just get
their new site up and running.
WebComp
Analyst is a new tool from Jonathan Leger who has created many
time-savings tools for web marketers. This new tool enables you to search for
sites by keywords and phrases, and then perform comparisons in the number of
back links, site links, and page ranking. All you do is enter the keywords you
want to search for, and click Analyze Competition. Instantly, WebComp
Analyst displays results. If you want to compare results for different
combinations of keywords and phrases, WebComp
Analyst will keep pulling and displaying results so you can do
side-by-side comparisons. Here's an example of my search comparing top ten
sites for the keywords phrases "ebook cover artist" and "ebook
cover designer".
As you can see by the results, I am actually doing pretty good
for rankings for "ebook cover artist". My site EbookCoverArtist.com
is in first and second place; my site EbookCoverCreator.com
is in third place, and my site GraphicsAssistance.com
is in ninth place. Unfortunately, I am not listed at all when someone searches
for the phrase "ebook cover designer".
Once you see your results, you will want to know why some
sites have more links or higher page ranks than others. Simply click on any of
the URLs in the list and then click on the Analyze Links button to see deeper
results. Typically, what you will find is better use of keywords for text
links. In other words, it is always better to say "Learn more about Ebook
Cover Design" where "Ebook Cover Design" are the keywords
AND the text link, than it is to say "Click here for information
about Ebook Cover Design" where "here" is the text link. See
the difference? WebComp
Analyst surely does and will show you how keywords are being used for
text links.
Let's say you want to add more keywords to your text links and
META tags but are not sure which words are most likely to provide increased
web site traffic through the search engines. Simple click on the Keyword
Suggestion Tool in WebComp
Analyst and watch it generate a list of popular relevant keywords
related to your search.
Don't have a product of your own yet and wondering where to
focus your product development time? Rather than take guesses and waste time
and money, simply click on the Niche Keyword Generator button and watch WebComp
Analyst quickly compile a list of top-ranking keywords. Now you can
pick a topic from these keywords for your next product that is already
receiving lots of traffic.
All in all, WebComp
Analyst is a very cool tool, easy to use, and will save you endless
hours of competitive research. I highly recommend it. To learn more and see it
in action for yourself, please click here.
WebComp Analyst
