When people market their business, they pay little attention to their competition. However, they can learn a lot from them. Your competition plays a large role in your business and in your marketing efforts, so don't ignore them.
There is an old saying, "Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer". In this case, your enemy is your competition. You shouldn't look at your competition as an enemy, but, as a guide or a valuable tool.
Your competition can be an asset to your business. I want you to think about this for a minute, your competition is like having a one stop shopping center, they have it all. Let me give you an example, take a look at your fearsome indirect competition, they have it all. They may have targeted an area of the market that you've missed, on the web that's not hard to do.
Who Are Their Link Partners
One day when I was analyzing my competition I immediatley noticed something about their link partners, a lot of them were different, but some were the same. Let me give you an example, if you were to take three of your competitors, you may only find a few of them with the same link partners, other than that, a large portion of your competition's link partners will be different.
Once you've found out who your competitor's link partners are, persuade them to link to you. By getting your competition's link partners to link to you, it will take some of your competition's traffic away and give it to you, bringing targeted traffic to your web site.
How do find your competition's link partners? A couple of ways, one is you can use software like Arelis. Arelis will retrieve all the web sites that are linked to your competitor in minutes, saving you a boatload of time. Another way to find your competitor's link partners is by using Marketleap's Link Popularity Tool, which is free to use.
Who Are Their Affiliates
Another way to take advantage of your competition is to find out who their affiliates are. If you offer an affiliate program, this may be an ideal strategy for you. Track down your competition's affiliates and persuade them to promote your product or services, instead of your competitor's.
If your competitors offer their affiliates a lower commission percentage than you, then you already have the upper hand. How? Affiliates are always looking for away to make more money and by offering them a higher commission percentage, they'll be able to increase their affiliate profits.
How do you find your competition's affiliates? You can use the same methods to find their affiliates, as you would trying to locate their link partners, by using Arelis and/or Marketleap's Link Popularity Tool.
Spying On Your Competition
Thanks to the power of the internet, spying on your competition couldn't be any easier. You can easily find out what their marketing angle is, what they have for products, how much they are charging for their products, and any new products that they may be working on.
If you were to go to your competition offline and evaluate their establishment, while taking notes on their products, you would immediately draw attention to yourself and get thrown out of the store. There is nothing worse than letting your competition know you are keeping tabs on them, but on the internet, it's completely anonymous. Your competition will never know you are there or what your doing there.
When you pay a visit to your competition's web site, the first thing you want to know is, what their weaknesses and their strengths are. That way, you can capitalize on the opportunity of making their weaknesses, your strengths.
About The Author
Rich Hamilton, Jr is the CEO/President of http://www.ElitesMarketing.com and the Author of Inside Internet Marketing. His book will show you how to laser in on your targeted market with unconventional marketing strategies to promote your web site without ever having to pay a cent in advertising. http://www.InsideNetMarketing.com.
Many website owners all too often give up on their... Read More
One of the most exciting things about doing business online... Read More
There's one thing that's sure-fire guaranteed to ruin your profits... Read More
Hi there,It is still scary to see how many internet... Read More
Why is this funny?Because in essence, a "click-through" places money... Read More
Although RSS and blogs are slowly reaching mainstream, they are... Read More
Cross promotion is, without doubt, a powerful technique used by... Read More
It will happen! TV and the Internet will eventually merge... Read More
There are over 200 million people worldwide connected to the... Read More
Are you interested in making your online sales soar like... Read More
One of the "secrets" in Internet Marketing is knowing that... Read More
When the economy is booming, you may do well in... Read More
In search of the coveted search engine traffic? Yes? Then... Read More
Hello, do you have any website that is not bringing... Read More
There is no reason to be afraid of creating an... Read More
-- Internet Marketing Determines Web Success --Internet marketing is essential... Read More
In my previous article How To Be 100% Sure That... Read More
Before you set out to explore the online shopping market... Read More
For some reason, people who look to the internet to... Read More
The following 3 secrets revolutionized my life. For years I... Read More
Starting an internet based business when you have zero marketing... Read More
There is lots of freelance help available on the internet,... Read More
Everyone has heard about viral marketing but what is it... Read More
Do classified ads really work? Should you include an email... Read More
Establishing a web presence on the internet is based on... Read More
While a virus, in Medicine, is the smallest infectious agent,... Read More
Step one: Knowing your CustomerTo find your ideal customer, you... Read More
I'm sure you've seen it before, your inbox overflowing with... Read More
Did you make the switch from corporate slave to independent... Read More
Internet Marketing has been a buzzword for over a decade... Read More
Once your site is up and running, the best method... Read More
There are thousands of marketing tool kits available online for... Read More
Have you noticed the explosion of Websites related to love,... Read More
According to many market forecasts, 2004 is likely to be... Read More
Building a website is easy. Building a successful e-business is... Read More
Why is it some people are incredibly successful at utilizing... Read More
Could you use some laughs? I'll bet you could, especially... Read More
All small business owners, especially those internet based, are concerned... Read More
Cold calling doesn't work, it's no fun and often you... Read More
The current climate on the internet is very unfavourable to... Read More
Today, the internet is an excellent media to reach out... Read More
So you've been thinking of doing some internet marketing or... Read More
For the last several months I've been collecting and organizing... Read More
If you haven't heard the word 'niche' being batted around... Read More
What is e-Marketing?e-Marketing is still quite a controversial subject to... Read More
Developing a successful web site takes more than simply building... Read More
1. Show your prospects how much enthusiasm you have for... Read More
One of the "secrets" in Internet Marketing is knowing that... Read More
There are many different ways to have fun and socialize... Read More
The days when you could just slap up a Website... Read More
1. Maximize the effectiveness of your banner ads. Don't just... Read More
During your search, you may encounter free demographic data. If... Read More
Do you want to open the floodgate of orders at... Read More
It's a jungle out there, so know and use your... Read More
Search engine theory is great but most Web Masters Say... Read More
Special Article Report: Theses Keys Work!Many times over the past... Read More
I'd like to let you in on a little secret... Read More
The Digital Object Identifier otherwise known as the DOI is... Read More
So what's the most profitable internet marketing strategy you can... Read More
To market successfully you must incorporate the Internet into your... Read More
Dear Cathy:I just found an interesting article on someone else's... Read More
While a virus, in Medicine, is the smallest infectious agent,... Read More
If you're in the business of marketing online, a major... Read More
Last week, I wrote my first marketing/list building article. Could... Read More
There are thousands of web sites, books, CD-ROM's, cassette tapes... Read More
Just ask!You can learn useful information about your business, customers,... Read More
Internet Marketing |