There have been multiple instances over the years where a client will be doing very well within their niche, and then out of nowhere the competition really ramps up and all sorts of new players start to pop into the first page of Google for your keywords. When that starts to happen it is pretty easy to look at the backlink profiles of these new competitors. Paying attention to the anchor text ratios of these newly ranking sites is important. We typically will have to get more aggressive with the link building strategy at that point, in order to stay ahead of the competition. Monitoring the link profiles of these competitors will also now need to happen at least once per month as well. And keeping a log of this monthly data is also very important.
Founder and CEO, Private College Admissions Consultant. Business Owner at AdmissionSight
Answered 2 years ago
A few years ago, our team at AdmissionSight was working hard on implementing an updated SEO strategy for our website. We had done a thorough research and were confident that this new approach would greatly improve our online presence and increase organic traffic. We lacked backlinks and relied heavily on keyword optimization. Everything was going according to plan until one day; we noticed that a competitor had significantly changed their website and SEO strategy. It seemed like overnight, they were ranking higher than us for many of our target keywords. This came as a shock and we knew that if we didn't act fast, we could lose a lot of traffic and potential clients. We immediately gathered our team and brainstormed ways to pivot our SEO strategy in response to this new development. We analyzed our competitor's changes and devised new tactics to incorporate into our strategy, which was also influenced by algorithm updates. We changed our website structure, created new content targeting the same keywords, and focused on building backlinks. After 2 months of hard work and dedication, our efforts paid off. We saw a significant improvement in our rankings, and organic traffic increased by over 30%. This experience taught us the importance of being adaptable and proactive in business, especially regarding digital marketing strategies like SEO.
An instance where I had to swiftly modify my SEO approach was mainly in response to a Google algorithm update, rather than actions taken by a competitor. In SEO, while monitoring competitors is beneficial, it's crucial to recognize that Google's algorithms are the ultimate arbiters of rankings, prioritizing content they consider most useful and relevant to users. Merely mimicking competitors' strategies isn't always effective; such an approach can lead to both you and your competitors falling behind in rankings following Google updates. Therefore, while it's wise to keep tabs on the competition, adhering to Google's guidelines is essential for sustained success in search rankings
As an SEO consultant for over 6 years, there are often times where I have to take a strategy and flip it completely upside down in response to a competitor's actions. A specific instance I had last year in the flooring industry was a competitor of my flooring client decided to shift nearly 50% of their Google Ads budget and put it into link building efforts. For the previous 6 months I had been focusing my attention on building out a great resource section on our site with installation guides, material comparisons, etc. When we realized our competitor's domain authority was jumping 1-2 points every 6 weeks, we became concerned, and we had to slow down on our content production and earn more high-quality backlinks. Thankfully, our site was more authoritative, and we were monitoring our competition's growth which allowed us to catch their shift in strategy early, but it is a reminder to all marketers that you are never safe, and even if you think there is a barrier to entry, it can be crossed. Always be sure you are monitoring competitors at least quarterly to avoid having to be too reactive.
Last year, our marketing team was focusing on ranking locally for general "landscaping" terms. We wrote numerous location pages for the certain areas that serve. However, our key competitor was significantly pushing their projects and services. At the time, we didn't have any pages that covered the specific services so our competitor was taking all of the leads for people searching for "patio design" "custom pergola" etc. Our team pivoted quickly and started cranking out content surrounding our specific projects/services. We wrote a lot of helpful content regarding each of these and targeted high search volume terms. Within a few weeks, our rankings for these terms significantly improved, traffic to the website increased, and we received more responses for these specific projects. Taking a deep dive on what your competitors are doing that are ranking above you helps give you insight on what kind of sites Google is rewarding.
As we constantly monitor our clients competition for content growth, backlink growth, and other major SEO wins, we have had to (within reason) be dynamic in our approach. When one competitor in New South Wales used (successfully) Programmatic SEO (a strategy where we are at expert-level) to generate bulk pages for all New South Wales Suburbs, we quickly highlighted this to the client and made the suggestion to take their approach as our concept, but make our approach many times better - this strategy worked better than expected and still works to this day for service location page strategies (way better than using AI generated content that search engines immediately see!). We have used this strategy in similar circumstances for local movers, cash for car services, real estate, plumbers, and more.
At one point we were taking on terms where the first word is "brand" followed by terms such as resonance, assets, and performance. Unfortunately, we experienced an onslaught of search (not actual) competitors. This showed us quickly that we were going to need to find a more niche topic cluster and thankfully we did because we are seeing very consistent traffic growth from perhaps a better target audience.
When a competitor began ranking higher with frequent content updates, we pivoted by focusing on producing higher quality content more consistently, effectively regaining our position and audience engagement.
I recall a situation where we had to pivot our SEO strategy swiftly in response to a competitor's aggressive move. They had launched a series of highly targeted content campaigns that directly competed with some of our key search terms. This strategy started to significantly impact our search rankings and organic traffic. To counter this, we conducted a rapid and thorough analysis of the competitor's content and identified gaps and opportunities. We noticed they were strong on certain keywords, but there were related, yet less contested, long-tail keywords they hadn't fully capitalized on. We decided to pivot our focus to these long-tail keywords, developing rich, in-depth content tailored to these specific areas. Simultaneously, we boosted our existing high-performing content to reinforce our position on those keywords where we still had an edge. This included updating articles with fresh information, improving on-page SEO, and increasing internal linking to enhance their visibility and relevance. This swift strategic shift helped us regain our footing in search rankings. It was a clear lesson in the dynamic nature of SEO; being agile and responsive to the competitive landscape is crucial. The experience also highlighted the importance of continuous monitoring and analysis of both your and your competitors’ SEO strategies.
Absolutely, a notable time as CEO was when a key competitor of ours suddenly outperformed us in search engine rankings. They'd smartly used trend-driven keywords. Noting the glitch in time, I rallied my team and we undertook an immediate review of our SEO strategy. We subbed out sluggish keywords with the hottest ones in our tech market. We also picked up our pace on content creation to utilize these new keywords effectively. The result was swift and rewarding - we didn't just regain our position but even surpassed our earlier performance. That incident taught me the priceless lesson of remaining flexible and staying ready in the vast, dynamic world of SEO.
We're going through this right now, I wouldn't say it's in a response to a competitor's move so much as a huge change to the Google Algorithm, we used to dominate top spots in the SERPS and things have been completely shaken up and make no sense ie low quality sites with no backlinks, copied content, etc are ranking high and were dropping. Seems to be this new AI search algorithm, everyone's seems to be getting a unique search experience and search results and were currently trying to figure out what's going on. At first it appeared to be a botched Google Update that we figured would be corrected and to some extent that was the case but things aren't returning back to normal so were having to examine competitors and figure out a new strategy moving forward.
When faced with a competitor's move, one effective strategy is to quickly pivot your SEO strategy towards local optimization. By identifying location-specific keywords, optimizing Google My Business, and targeting local directories, you can attract local customers and gain an advantage over competitors focusing on broader markets. For example, a bakery in New York may discover a competitor ranking well for generic bakery keywords. To pivot, they optimize their website and content for 'best cupcakes in NYC' and create location-specific landing pages. As a result, they attract local customers searching for specific products in their area, surpassing the competitor's broader reach. Local SEO optimization may be overlooked, but it can yield fruitful results by providing a more targeted approach to search engine rankings in response to a competitor's move.
During a time when a competitor made a sudden move, we swiftly pivoted our SEO strategy by leveraging social media platforms and online communities to gather customer feedback and insights on the competitor's strategies. By actively engaging with customers and monitoring their discussions, we gained valuable insights that supplemented traditional competitor analysis. For example, we identified that our competitor had launched a new content campaign targeting a specific customer segment. This feedback allowed us to adjust our keyword strategy, optimize our content to target the same segment, and quickly regain lost traffic. By incorporating customer perspective, we ensured a more customer-centric approach to our SEO strategy adjustments.
In the changeable and hectic world of SEO, it is often flexibility that determines success, and a turning point in my experience involved rapid reaction to an unforeseen competitor move. However, our competitor, one of the main players in the industry, changed its content marketing tactics and released a set of detailed guides targeting high-value keywords that we were leading on. This presented a very real threat to our organic traffic and required immediate revaluation of our SEO strategy. We did not engage in a lengthy analysis but acted decisively. Initially, we performed an emergency audit to determine the gaps within our current content. Using tools for keyword research and competitor analysis, we determined the areas where our competitor’s content outperformed ours as well as the potential long-tail keywords they had taken advantage of. With this information, we rearranged our content calendar focusing on developing authoritative in-depth content to meet user intent. There was seamless teamwork that enhanced the speed of content development without compromising the results. At the same time, we went back to our link-building plan. With the realization that backlink was essential for search engine ranking, we launched outreach campaigns to acquire high-quality links from our new content. This not only strengthened the credibility of our pages but also widened out link profile. It led to a quick improvement of the organic search performance, sometimes even its enhancement. With a quick response to the threat from our competitor, we not only protected our territory but also left with an even stronger SEO strategy standing as a formidable force in the virtual realms. The agility needed in SEO was highlighted by this experience. In a world where winning requires ongoing vigilance and timely, carefully calculated pivots, the ability to move with speed to industry shifts and competitor moves is not just a smart strategy but an imperative.
I once changed our SEO strategy completely when a competitor’s marketing strategy showed a huge surge in organic traffic. Their content quality was superior and consistent, and both search engines and our target audiences were awarding them. We had to quickly start working on our digital marketing strategy and rehaul our process. We added new content writers to our team and went beyond simply targeting keywords. We created comprehensive guides to help our customers while pitching our products. We focused on creating more user-centric content to resolve their queries satisfactorily. With time, we saw substantial improvements in our rankings and purchases. While we didn’t outrank the competitor right away, we are now ahead of them, thanks to our user-centric approach and an added emphasis on content quality.
Our primary competitor launched a marketing campaign where they got incredible results, which also impacted our site visibility and keyword ranking. I analysed them and found that they focused on long-tail keywords and multimedia content on social media. To compete, we also had to pivot our strategy by adjusting our keywords, enhancing content, building links, and producing more social media content. In response to our competitor's move, we swiftly improved our SEO strategy and again maintained or improved our website's search engine visibility.
In response to a competitor's strategic move, I quickly pivoted my SEO strategy by focusing on enhancing user experience. I assessed the impact of the competitor's action on my website's rankings and organic traffic. To counteract this, I prioritized website speed, mobile responsiveness, and ease of navigation. By optimizing existing content and creating fresh, valuable content pieces, I captured new keyword opportunities and attracted more organic traffic. For instance, I identified that my competitor was ranking higher due to their faster website load times and improved mobile experience. I promptly implemented measures to improve these aspects by compressing images, leveraging browser caching, and optimizing code. As a result, my website's search engine rankings, organic traffic, and overall SEO performance showed significant improvement within a short period.