This article covers the "My Competitors" Feature in Diib
Why the “My Competitors” Feature Matters
Have you ever wondered why your competitor’s business shows up higher than you in Google? Or why a newer competitor is suddenly nipping at your SEO heels? With our “My Competitors” tool, we can show you why AND how you can outrank them.
Glossary
- Keyword. These are words and phrases that users type into search engines (like Google) to find information on a particular topic. Keywords are the building blocks of SEO.
- Backlinks. Links from a page on one website to another. If someone links to your site, that means you have a backlink from them.
- Anchor Text. Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. In most cases, the link text tells the visitor what to expect if they click on the link. Anchor text is a component of every backlink and is an important part of SEO. Look at your anchor text and in most cases, you will see words containing your business name and/or terms relevant to your industry.
- Referring Domains. Referring domains is the total number of websites that link to your website. The ratio of the total number of backlinks to referring domains can impact how Google ranks your site. For instance, a website with 100 backlinks coming from 50 websites could have a ratio of 2 backlinks per referring domain. This can be seen as more trustworthy in the eyes of Google than a website with 1000 backlinks from 2 websites.
- Follow/Nofollow Ratio. Many SEO experts will tell you that you should try to maintain a natural ratio of Follow vs. Nofollow links. Some say that 70/30 is the “most” natural, but every website will have its own natural ratio. See what’s normal in your industry by comparing your website to your competitors. If you have a 99% Follow ratio and all your competitors have a 70% Follow ratio, that might look strange to Google.
- Website Authority/Domain Authority. Website authority predicts how likely a website is to rank for keywords in search engines. Website authority scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores correlating to more powerful websites. When using website authority as part of your SEO strategy, remember to focus on websites in your industry/location that rank for similar keywords. For example, a dentist in London should compare their website authority to other London dentists’ websites.
How to Use This Tool
Enter a competitor’s website
Try to stick with competitors that look the most like your business and ones you know are actual competition. Even though Amazon or Wikipedia probably rank above, they aren’t very useful competitors to analyze for keyword ideas.
If you can’t think of any competitors off the top of your head, go to Google Maps and do a search for your service + “near me” (so “dentists for kids near me”, “large dog boarding near me”, “golf lessons near me”, etc.). The people that outrank you or are close to you are your competitors. Using someone close to your service and in your proximity will give you the most accurate results from your competitor, too!
Build a list of potential keywords
Look at the related keywords and volume under each competitor you add. Could you also use any of these in the title and content of an article or blog post?
Start writing!
We suggest making your articles at least 1000 words long. Write naturally (only using the keyword occasionally) and when you have a great article, post it on your website. Don’t have a blog? Consider creating one. You can link products or services inside your blog posts, as well as contact forms.
Scroll through their backlinks
The higher the authority the more important they are to your competitors and likely to you! Focus on the backlinks that are in your industry and have something to do with your services and/or products.
Tips and Tricks
- Build a custom keyword list based on competitor data.
Compare volume with how difficult it will be to rank for a keyword. See how much people pay to rank for certain keywords on Google advertising (keywords that people pay a lot to rank for tend to convert better).
- Monitor the growth and decline of competitors’ backlinks
Spot new competitors that are investing heavily in building backlinks. Track the overall health of all your competitors’ backlink profiles.
- Keep a spreadsheet of all the backlink opportunities you have found and include any notes (i.e., when you email them, if you’re heard back, etc.).
Backlinking is one of the most important things you can do but it also takes significant time. Plan on devoting at least a few hours a month to this or have an employee/family member do it for you.
- After you've found some new keywords, search for them in Google and see what types of articles already rank well.
This should give you an idea of what to write about. For instance, if you Google “raw honey” you will see a lot of articles in the top 10 positions talking about the “benefits” of “raw honey”. It is a good idea to follow their example! Also localize your article if you are focused on a specific city or area. For instance, it is easier to rank for “How to find a dog walker in Brooklyn” than the national term “Dog walker”.
FAQ
How To Delete Competitors
To delete a competitor, you might need to scroll over until you see this small trash can.
Click it and then click Yes to delete it. You can delete up to two competitors a month when you’re a Diib Pro member.
Why Do My Competitors Outrank Me?
Good question! There are a lot of reasons they could be outranking you, even if your site is older or your company has been around longer. They could be focusing on keywords that a lot of your users are searching for and writing helpful content around those keywords. They could be building backlinks and increasing their site strength. Maybe they’ve built out a blog and post original, compelling content to it twice a week.
This is why the My Competitors tool is so helpful. When you add your competitor, you can see what keywords they’re targeting and what pages on their site are ranking so that you can do some investigating. And of course, if you’re a Pro member, you can always join a free demo and we can go over any questions you have about outranking your competitors or how to use this tool!