Shawn Cohen - “A Programmatic Approach to SEO Competitive Analysis”
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Transcript of Shawn Cohen - “A Programmatic Approach to SEO Competitive Analysis”
How Competitive Analysis Saved GM…in 1921
Mustang Colors
Mustang Colors
Mustang Colors
Mustang Colors
Mustang Colors
Mustang Colors
Ford Quote
“Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.” Henry Ford, 1908
Model T Black
Competitive Manufacturer
F*ck that sh*t.
Competitive Manufacturer
Competitive Manufacturer
Competitive Manufacturer
Ford acquiescence
Ford acquiescence
Ford acquiescence
Ford acquiescence
Want to motivate a client or an executive?
Show them what the competition is doing.
HOW TO LEVERAGE COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
FINDING THE STORY IN THE DATA
Financial technology softwareSoftware helps CFOs make better decisions
Where’s the data?
We have 127,000 leads in our CRM.
LEVERAGE DATA FOR INSIGHT AND ACTION
Where’s the Story? Email Marketing
@midnight
Themes by popularity in SEMRush
@midnight
Themes by popularity in SEMRush
@midnight
Themes by popularity in SEMRush
Post about jobs for veterans in August.Don’t post about jobs for veterans in March.
Comp analysis and content gap analysis
Who is beating me?How are they beating me?
What is Competitive Analysis?
What content is winning?How can I create something better?
What Is a Content Gap Analysis?
Where Competitive and Content Gap Analysis Fit In
Brand Identity $Marketing
Objectives
Digital Goals
Objectives& KPIs
Business Objectives
Testand
Learn
Comp Set and
Content Gap
AnalysisKeyword Research
Content Strategy
and Execution
Market Research
Offline Media
Demand Generation
PPC and Display
Advertising
Market Execution
SoftwareDevelopment
Social Media
StrategySocial Media
Analytics
Social MediaAdvertising
Social Listening
Lead Nurturing
ConversionOptimization
MarketingAutomation
User Experience
TagManagement
Email Marketing
PersonaDevelopment
Planning the Overall Marketing Mix
Old Process: Competitive Analysis
Identify keywords we want to rank forType keywords into Google manuallyRely on gut-level feelings about what’s worthwhileGain an understanding of domain-level competitors
Old Process: Content Gap Analysis
Search the keywords we want to rank forLook for content patternsProduce content to beat competitors
Old Process: What’s Missing
EfficiencyA comprehensive view of the digital landscapeFull understanding of competitor URLs’ visibility Keywords that aren’t on your radar yetDomains we aren’t competing directly against
Advantages of the New Process
Fast and efficientUncovers new keywordsIdentifies new competitorsOffers comprehensive view of direct competitors
Competitor’s competitor’s competitor
Competitor’s competitor
A Growth Strategy Based on Competitive Analysis
Competitor 1 KW set
My KWSet
Competitor 2 KW Set
Competitor 3 KW Set
Success Story: Texas Veterans’ Land Loans
Problem: organic landing page had stagnated in rankings and traffic
Objective: Increase keyword rankings and traffic from the organic channel
Success Story: Texas Veterans’ Land Loans
Problem: organic landing page had stagnated in rankings and traffic
Objective: Increase keyword rankings and traffic from the organic channel
Success Story
Success Story
Problem: Rankings and traffic weren’t growingObjective: Rank higher, rank for more terms, and increase organic trafficCurrent state: 25 keywords represented on 2,800 searches per month
Success Story: Texas Veterans’ Land Loans
Success Story: Texas Veterans’ Land Loans
Outcome: KWs volume doubled, visibility up 150%, traffic tripled
BUT WHY?
WHY did I know it should be 800 words?WHY not 500 or 1,000?WHY not video or a pretty graphic?
Combining the Competitive and Content Gap AnalysesHook into the SEMRush APIPull results for all keywords I rank forPull results for all keywords my competitors rank forAnalyze top resultsMake necessary changes to my client’s content
The Process
Subscriptions- SEMRush- Moz Excel Skills- VLOOKUP- Pivot tables- Turning add-ins on/off
REQUIRED SKILLS & SUBSCRIPTIONS
WHAT IS SEMRUSH?
@midnight
Themes by popularity in SEMRush
Copy/paste
Process: Plug into API
OPEN THE SERP ANALYSIS SPREADSHEET
Process: Add Moz KW difficulty
Open in Pivot
PASTE KW DIFFICULTY INTO SERP ANALYSIS
Open in Pivot
Process: Pivot table
Use OneTabMake observations- Content type- Word countDo link and social analysisEval Excel spreadsheet
EVALUATE MOST AUTHORITATIVE URLS
EXCEL SKILLS TO LEARN
VLOOKUPPivot tablesTurning add-ins on/off
WHY THIS COMBINES COMP AND CONTENT GAPWhile you’re identifying competitors, you’re also granularly analyzing their content to find a solution to your biggest SEO growth inhibitors.
Conclusion
View large amounts of data at onceDon’t waste timeDon’t conflate offline and online competitorsBeat the hell out of them
Analysis Manifesto
