10 Competitor Analysis Tools You Should Be Using

 

As many retailers have discovered, the move to a digital world has brought many challenges with it. One of the more serious ones every retailer needs to plan for is the direct competition from other retailers, especially those operating digital store fronts. Big internet retailers like Amazon and Overstock now compete with you for customers that would shop at small, local, stores in the old days. 

 

While the heightened competition on the web is a threat to be taken seriously, there are advantages to early adopters who move with the times. Thinking digital, investing in technology, and keeping track of the competition can all help you leapfrog the competition. 

 

Below, we cover the various categories of competitor analysis you should be investing in. We also highlight some of the best tools for the job.

 

 

 

Competitor price analysis is the process of monitoring your competitors’ prices. This can give you an advantage in tight markets where price differentials matter. In our view, this should be a retailer’s first area of focus in competitor analysis.

 

 

Competitor Monitor’s strength is price analysis of your competition’s moves. Some people are surprised to discover how much our software handles, on top of all the basic price monitoring. Competitor Monitor’s software also keeps track of product reviews for you, so you know how your online competitiveness is changing. 

 

These are some of the benefits you get with a focused competitor price analysis tool like Competitor Monitor:

We might be biased, but Competitor Monitor is hands down the best tool for competitor analysis when it comes to prices. We have a special focus on retailers and manufacturers, which makes sure that if you run any of these business types, you will be in good hands!

 

 

 

With your price intelligence taken care of, you will also discover the importance of search engine optimization (SEO). SEO, however, has become just as competitive as pricing, making it necessary for retailers to stay on top of their competitors’ SEO moves. These tools can help you know exactly what the competition is doing to rank their stores higher in Google.

 

 

While there’s a ton of SEO tools available, SEMRush is a favorite among SEO professionals because of its feature-complete approach. The software has tools for a variety of tasks, including competitive SEO intelligence, competitor keyword spying, analysis of a competitor’s search ads, and more. 

 

 

SEOQuake makes it simpler for even beginners to use competitor analysis in optimizing their site’s search engine rankings. All you have to do is install the SEOQuake browser plugin, then browse to a competitor’s site. You will get insights on where your competitor ranks in the search rankings, and how to replicate some of their success for your own store.

 

 

A tool founded by prominent SEO expert Neil Patel, QuickSprout is surprisingly easy to use. You can use QuickSprout to get vital metrics on your site’s performance in search engine rankings. The competitor analysis tool on the site allows you to plug in your competitor’s URL. You will then get a snapshot of estimated traffic scores, SEO score, and other SEO information so you can reverse engineer their rankings.

 

 

 

Search rankings and prices might have been enough to win the retail battle a decade ago, but nowadays, social media is important as well. Just like you can use competitor analysis to better compete when it comes to pricing and SEO, you can do the same for your social media success. If your competitors are driving tons of click throughs to their sites from social media, for example, these tools can help show you how they are doing it. 

 

 

BuzzSumo is a social media analytics tool that lets you pull back the curtain on how your competitors’ content is performing. You will be able to see the most shared and most popular social media content by others in your industry. You can then apply these insights into creating your own content that will attract similar volumes of shares.

 

 

Mention, just like its name suggests, helps you quickly understand and track your brand mentions on social media. The software also has a range of competitor analysis features, including tracking competitor mentions and the influencers that work with your competitors.

 

 

Unlike the previous social media competitor analysis tools, FollowerWonk is limited to just one platform: Twitter. The tool, however, has powerful competitor analysis features. You can select your competitors’ Twitter accounts and instantly compare audiences. This will show you new potential followers and influencers you can target for growing your own Twitter following.

 

 

 

Many retailers rely more on pay per click (PPC) advertising for their sales than they do organic social media or search engine optimization (SEO). Just like with your competitor analysis for prices, PPC competitor analysis can yield valuable results for your business. It can lower your ad costs and help you convert better, which means you make more sales. These tools will help you achieve these results. 

 

 

SpyFu is a PPC competitor analysis tool that helps you see what ads your competition have been running. You can also see a useful overview of how your competitors have been driving traffic to their product pages. Armed with these results, you can chart a winning PPC strategy for your own store.

 

 

A powerful tool with advanced PPC spying features, KeywordSpy will suit the needs of large enterprises. The company boasts multinationals like Toyota and IBM among its clients. Its advanced tools include the ability to see your competitors’ Adwords budget as well as real-time tracking of your keywords.

 

 

Another prominent tool for PPC competitor analysis is iSpionage. This tool helps you see the keywords that your competitors are bidding for on pay per click ad platforms. The tool helps you identify profitable ad campaign ideas from the campaigns your competitors are running already.

 

 

 

As we’ve seen, the world of competitor analysis tools is quite vast. This is why we recommend starting with just one tool, and getting to grips with the capabilities of these tools. For retailers, few things are as important or decisive as the prices you charge. This one form of competitor analysis could literally change your business. So go on ahead and start spying on your competitors. Your business could grow as a result.