Every business has competition.  Losing business to a competitor can be a bit frustrating.  Why did they go to them instead of you?  What about their business seemed more appealing than yours?  How do I attract more customers and thus add to my bottom line?  These questions can be addressed with a little strategy.  This part of the business plan is actually fun since it involves techniques that get results fast.

Know your competitors

In business you have to know who your competitors are.  If you are planning a new site, knowing who they are before you build your site gives you great advantage.  Why you ask?  Because you can build your site to be found easier if you start from the beginning.

The first place you need to start is looking up your main keyword in Google and find out who is already ranking both naturally and in the paid search results for that keyword.  If you do not know what a keyword is, click here.

Secondly, you need to find out how strong your competitor is according to Google and the other search engines.  You will need to know how many links the site has and how much content it contains.  Simply knowing these facts gives you some needed ammunition. 

Now you simply make your site stronger than your competitors.  I mentioned earlier that Google does not play favorites, if your site is better optimized you will rank higher over time.  Keep in mind that this takes some time and you won’t see the results the next day after you publish your site.  You will notice that even big business websites are optimized poorly.  If you have SEO guidance, taking over a top spot in search is like shooting fish in a barrel.  So why are big businesses dropping the ball with their sites?  Most likely they have no idea that their site is not optimized because no one told them that it needed to be.  I have noticed that a lot of businesses are ranked in the number one or two spot for paid advertising but have zero presence in natural search.  These types of sites are ripe for domination.  You can put very little work into a site and emerge in the top results easily.  Again the reason is people do not take the time to learn what it takes to rank in search naturally.  Think of it in terms of dieting.  Most people do not want to take the time to adjust their lifestyle and change their habits; it takes too long and does not give immediate results.  They want the fast fix, the easy way.  Although dominating your competitors can be easier than losing weight, it is still best to get some guidance.

After you start to rank above your competitors, you always have to be on the offensive.  Sooner or later other businesses will figure it out.  If they are a serious business, it would be stupid of them not too.  If you have a constant link building program and a constant site presence campaign, they will never catch you.

At the Village Navigator we build battle plans.  We give you a list of your competitors, what keywords they are optimized for, how much they spend on their pay per click advertising and a whole lot of other information.  We take this information and build you a plan that you can use to make a difference in your business.  When we say make a difference, we mean make more sales, get more leads or make more money.  No matter what your business is, we show you how to increase it and make more income.