Black Belt Web Marketing.pdf - Costa del Sol

1.Known Competitors: Start with a list of known competitors – companies and/or
individuals, off-line and on-line. List known competitors even if you don’t know whether
or not they have a presence on the web. You’ll find out soon enough.
2.Super Directories: Return to the super directories where you requested your link be
added in Exercise 5-2. They are sure to have links to competitors. That may be how you
found the super directories initially. Follow the links until you find more competitors.
3.Yahoo: If you are in a field or specialty that warrants a page of related links in Yahoo!,
that is a good place for finding competitors. Follow the links through Yahoo’s
sub-directories until you come to it. Once you find a competitor, search for more
Yahoo pages where it is listed. Competitors are probably listed under different headings
since they get to choose where they want to be listed and under which headings they want
multiple listings.
4.Keyword Search: Using the same keywords you’ve been using since Lesson 2, search
for more competitors. When you find them, check their web pages for keywords you
hadn’t thought of that may be used to find still more competitors.
5.Discussion Groups: Monitor discussion in groups related to your field or specialty. This
is where you are most like to encounter competitors interacting with the same target
audience you want to reach. Check signatures and other clues to competitor Web sites.
The competitors you find here may be the ones that can teach you the most. They at
least are aggressively building web traffic by actively participating in discussion groups,
the subject of Lesson 7.
Learning from Your Competitors
After steps 1-5, you have probably identified most of your major competitors on the
Internet. The next step is to begin playing catch-up if their Internet presence is stronger
than yours. Learn from them by analyzing what they are doing to generate web
traffic. This should provide you with a better sense of what you can do to improve your
own web marketing plan. The next set of steps describes how to analyze a competitor’s
Internet presence. Complete a Site Evaluation form (Exercise 6-1) at each competitor site.
Summarize your findings in a consolidated report. This document will become an
important part of your web marketing plan and for site development.
1. Primary Objectives: What are the primary objectives of the competitors’ web sites? If
they aren’t the same as yours, maybe you need to reconsider your site’s objectives. Any
advantages or disadvantages of the competitors’ approach? Consider what you would
do differently if your objectives were the same as your competitors.
Lesson 6 Pg. 9