Week 3: Your digital marketing toolbox

Week 3: Your digital marketing toolbox – Competitive Analysis

(How do I stand up against the competition? What can I do to differentiate my company? I want to see how my brand compares against industry benchmarks.)

Competitive Analysis:See how you stack up against the competition. Find opportunities to differentiate your brand or product.

When you’re trying to differentiate yourself from your competition, it pays to have some insight into what they’re doing to compete. That’s where Think with Google’s Competitive Analysis comes in. It provides you with some terrific information related to your direct competitors that you can use to make better choices for your own marketing budget. You may learn something vital about your space that you didn’t know and that’s too important to pass up.

Google Trends:Use real-time data to gauge consumer search interest in your brand or a competitor’s brand.

Want to see search interest in your category or your brand? What about interest for a competitor’s brand name? Want to monitor related queries in the U.S. and abroad? Google Trends uses real-time data to help marketers gauge consumer search behaviors over time.

Get started by typing in the name of the brand, product, or category you’re interested in. Once your initial results page loads, click on “Compare” to enter another search term. You can add up to four more search terms.

Google Alerts: Use the power of alerts to monitor your brand and the competition.

You’ve got alerts set up for mentions of your own brand (right?). Do you have Google Alerts set up for your competition? For your broader category? Go to google.com/alerts to set up separate alerts so you can keep track of what’s happening in your category. Don’t forget to include company nicknames and alternate spellings.TRY IT NOW

Google Predictive Search:A quick hack to see how people are searching your brand or your competitor’s brand.

Open an incognito window (so that your previous search history doesn’t skew the results) for Google, and start typing your brand name (or your competitor’s). You might have to experiment with this one. Follow your brand name with the word “is.” Or perhaps try “My product vs.” to see the brands people think you compete with. Or go through the alphabet: “My brand a,” “My brand b,” etc., to see what words autocomplete.START SEARCHING

Culture & Trends:What’s trending in my category or market? I want to find out what my potential customers are engaging with and searching for.LEARN MORE

Consumer Insights:Who is buying my product and why? What are they searching for and where are they shopping? I want to make better decisions about my marketing campaigns and ad spending.LEARN MORE

Diagnostic Tools & Industry Benchmarks:Am I fast enough? How is my site performing? Am I using the right platform? How does my campaign compare to the rest of the industry? I want to measure my brand’s performance and get tips on improving key metrics.LEARN MORE

The first step to successfully competing in any business space is understanding your customers – followed closely by knowing your competition. These insights will ensure you’re never left behind by their wants and needs, or by the movements of your direct competitors. After all, staying ahead is what business and marketing are all about. Think with Google can help.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week everyone.