Experiencing frustration or disappointment upon seeing competitors outperform your website in Google’s rankings? Aim to surpass them? Gain momentum, as this guide will delve into strategies to outperform competitors on Google. Seeking assistance in outpacing competitors in search? Enlist the expertise of our team of over 500 digital marketing professionals. Contact us for further information!Discover five essential steps to outmaneuver the competition in Google’s search results.1. Competitor AnalysisUnderstanding your competitors and their SEO tactics is crucial for outperforming them in Google’s search rankings. This process is known as competitor analysis. Identify a select few top competitors who are gaining increased organic search traffic and ranking above you. Analyze the keywords they rank for, the number of backlinks their top pages possess, and the type of content they produce.How can you obtain this information? Various tools, such as CompetitorSpyFX, Ahrefs, and SEMrush, are available to assist in analyzing your competitors’ search performance, top keywords, and factors influencing their SEO. These tools can also help you identify your top competitors in search.Here’s some information you can gather from SEMrush’s Domain Overview report: [Image of SEMrush Domain Overview report for eBay]Once you have this data, identify opportunities your competitors are capitalizing on that you are missing, as well as opportunities they are overlooking.2. Keyword ResearchConducting competitor keyword research is essential for outperforming them on Google. Enter your competitors’ websites into a keyword research tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush to identify the keywords their sites rank for in search results.[Image of SEMrush top keywords report]Performing a keyword gap analysis can be beneficial. Enter one of your pages and several competitor pages into a tool like Ahref’s keyword gap analysis tool to identify keywords your competitors are ranking for that you are not.Once you analyze the keywords your competitors are ranking for, you’ll have a list of potential keywords to target and a better understanding of how to outpace the competition on Google. Ideal keywords to target are those with low competition and high search volume, as they are easier to rank for and still drive traffic to your site. Ensure that the keywords you target are terms your potential customers will search for.3. Craft High-Quality ContentGoogle aims to provide users with high-quality content that addresses their questions. Therefore, creating exceptional content that appeals to your potential customers and is relevant to your business is crucial for outperforming competitors in search. Examine the content ranking well on Google and what people are sharing on social media to gain insights into what people enjoy.Tools like BuzzSumo can assist in finding this content. Enter a topic, and BuzzSumo generates reports on the top content on that subject, such as the following web content report for “ecommerce.” [Image of BuzzSumo web content report for ecommerce]Focus on creating content that aligns with users’ search intent – helping users achieve their goals when they search on Google. Provide valuable information through your content and answer questions thoroughly.Utilize Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) boxes and related keywords to identify other topics you may want to cover in a post or article. [Image of People Also Ask box with questions about horses]4. On-Page SEOOn-page SEO, another significant aspect of SEO, involves factors on your site that can impact your search engine performance. On-page SEO includes various elements, such as:
Keywords: Include the targeted keywords in your content’s body copy, ensuring natural flow.
Title tags: Your pages should have title tags that describe the page’s topic and include keywords.
Meta descriptions: Write meta descriptions that describe each page’s content, which appear on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Heading tags: Use headings to organize your content into sections and include keywords in your headings.
URLs: Your URLs should be easy to read, descriptive, and contain keywords if possible.
Alt tags: All images should have alt tags briefly describing the image’s content.
Page speed: Users expect pages to load quickly, and Google considers page speed as a ranking factor, so ensure your pages are fast.
Internal linking: Add links between your website’s pages to help users find the information they seek. Monitor for broken links.
Mobile-friendliness: Over half of website traffic comes from mobile devices, so ensure your site is mobile-friendly.
Ensuring your on-page SEO is optimized will help you avoid issues that could prevent you from outperforming competitors in search.5. Build LinksBacklink profiles, the quantity and quality of other domains linking to a given page, are another major factor in search engine rankings. If you and a competitor have similar pages, and theirs ranks higher, it could be due to a better backlink profile. How do you obtain more links to your pages?Create high-quality content that other websites will want to link to on their site. Some particularly linkable types of content include infographics and “ultimate guides.” You can also reach out to relevant websites and request they link to your page. This approach works best when you identify a specific place where your link could be valuable on their site.For example, perhaps they maintain a list of resources for your industry, or they have a broken link that could be replaced with a link to your page. Avoid “black hat” link-building techniques, such as buying links and posting spam comments with links, as these can harm your rankings.Another strategy to outperform your competitors is to utilize the Google Ads platform to place pay-per-click (PPC) ads on Google SERPs.While this won’t affect your organic rankings, Google displays PPC ads above organic search results, so your ads will be the first thing users see. Here’s what PPC ads look like in a Google SERP: [Image of PPC ads for dog food in Google search]PPC is particularly useful for quickly reaching the top of search results pages, as it takes time to climb through organic rankings. Search ads also tend to work best for bottom-of-the-funnel leads – those close to making a purchase decision.In fact, 65% of all high-intent searches lead to an ad click. SEO, on the other hand, can attract leads throughout the funnel. For these reasons, using both SEO and PPC is often a smart strategy.PPC helps you appear at the top of search results and target bottom-of-the-funnel leads, while SEO helps you establish a more sustainable presence in search results.Ready to outperform your competition on Google? WebFX can assist you. With over 28 years of digital marketing experience, we offer a full range of Internet marketing services, including SEO and PPC management.Our work has proven results. Over the past five years, we’ve generated more than 24 million leads and $10 billion in revenue for our clients. Want to know how your website stacks up in terms of SEO?Obtain a free SEO report with our SEO Checker tool. For assistance in creating and implementing an SEO strategy to outperform your competitors and grow your business, contact us today.
