Learning what inspectors that rank above you are doing can dramatically help your business.
Ever wonder why certain inspectors or companies rank higher than you?
Big businesses regularly do competitive analysis to make sure they're keeping pace.
Search results are a zero sum game. This means with only 3 local and 10 organic spots on page 1 of search results, each spot is relative. If a site moves up, a site has to move down. So you need to at least be doing what your competition is doing, or you're at risk of getting bumped down.
While there are hundreds of factors that go into search engine algorithms, competitive research can help uncover a few major opportunities that can help you move up.
Below, we'll cover the following ways competitive analysis can help grow your business:
Learning which sites link to your competition is invaluable.
Links are "votes" for your site. Links are still the primary way Google determines how popular or relevant a site is.
They can be the difference between getting a couple more jobs a month or not. That's real money.
Knowing who links to your competition can uncover opportunities & spur ideas for your own link strategy.
Here are just a few ways you can benefit from looking at competitor links:
Once you identify the types of sites that link to quality, local inspectors, then it's all about approaching them in the right way.
Chances are, inspectors that rank above you in local search also have a fairly complete and consistent citation profile.
Getting a snapshot of how consistent their NAP is across the web can help you see the value in investing in your own citation building. This is an area where just having the basics down could result in more traffic and business.
This is the first thing people see when looking at organic search results.
Click studies show that 30-40% of customers will scroll past ads & local search results and click on an organic listing.
This means that you should be paying attention to the words you're using in your titles and descriptions. This is often what prompts a customer or agent to click through to your site.
This is increasingly important if you're on page 1 of search results, but could also help you move up the rankings if you're new or working on your SEO.
Google places high value on being a topical authority in your field. This can be conveyed through informative and helpful blog topics.
Many experienced inspectors produce high quality content that not only helps their clients, but also their overall SEO. Knowing what they are writing about can help you uncover ideas and what resonates with clients & agents.
Some inspectors show pricing on their site. You can use this to your advantage by crafting your title tag, meta description and website copy to overcome any customer objections.
Here is an example:
A home inspector that ranks above you charges less than you, but you know experience is one of your assets.
You would accentuate this in your title and/or description so customers are seeing your main UVP when evaluating inspectors. It gives you the best shot at communicating your value.
The same example could be used for inspectors that are charging less because they have less experience.
Whether it's price, experience, services or location, there is a strategy to highlight your strengths.
[Some of these are included in our Online Presence Review to get you started. Higher level insight comes in our Premium package.]
Competitive analysis can help you: