Productive web surfing is a skill. Analyzing competitor content may give you the breakthrough you need to spark new ideas. In this sense, your competition becomes a kind of collaborator. Every site is unique, with its own priorities and pathways to connect with prospects and customers. Here are some ways to generate new and better content ideas by re-imagining, not copying, your competitors’ content.
What content is optimized and popular?
Search the name of the company online and observe what listings come up in the search engines? Is it just the name of the company or are pages included? Are there posts from a blog listed? Case studies, directory listings? Social media? Viewing these organic search results will show you their SEO level and what content is popular.
What’s on their menus?
Go through each of the main menu listings and any submenus. Look to see how much detail is provided and if the content reflects the title. While the About Us page is easily recognizable, other options might include “We’re Different” or “Work With Us”.
Do their headlines offer a benefit?
If so, take some of the words they use and make them more descriptive. For example, change XYZ Construction Equipment Manufacturer builds long lasting equipment to …builds safe, durable equipment that gets excavation jobs done.
Do they have a blog?
Review the “Most popular” posts. See how many comments and shares they got. Why do you think people responded? Put your own spin on a similar, focused topic.
Are there strong points of differentiation?
Understand how you are different. How does your company want a visitor to interact with you? Do you want to talk through a video with a call to action at the end? Offer downloadable content? What annoys you about your competitor’s site and how would you fix it? What tone is best for your company?
What’s not on the site?
This may be more important than what is there. What could you not find on their site that you know customers want? Discovering this is as simple as knowing what questions your customers ask most often, what tasks they want to perform on your site, and what results they are looking for.
Creative ideas flow not from avoidance but through debate and opposition. Such a setting can occur while looking at a competitor’s content.
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