How to outshine your competitors in 2020
When you’re a small business trying to compete with bigger brands it’s important to try and identify hidden opportunities.
Grab a coffee and read our quick top tips to help your business stand out from your competitors in 2020.
Feature Snippets
When writing content for SEO you should always be thinking about what your potential customers might type into Google.
Featured Snippets are a format which provides search engine users with a concise, direct answer to their questions.
Google Trends is a great tool to use to help find topics to rank for in your industry. But how do you compete against bigger brands to rank higher in search results? Find long tailed topics and queries that are easily missed so you have a stronger chance at ranking in the top position.
There are over 200 major ranking factors when it comes to how search engines read content, but it all boils down to one thing: who’s the best at being helpful to users. Or, in SEO terms, at satisfying user search intent.
Which Marketing Channels?
Research all Marketing channels and try and establish an opening to which ones your competitors are not actively using. This could be Instagram influencers or display advertising. So many of the bigger brands are ignoring offline marketing channels which still today have a big impact. Could you speak or exhibit at an event or could you take a shot at running a direct mail campaign. It’s all about testing to see what works best for your business!
Your Offering
What is your offering? Can you offer a service/product or tool your competitors are not? Make sure it has interest, there is a need and that you actively promote it, not just on your website but also across your social media channels. If you have the budget, you might want to also run a Google Ads campaign for immediate results and to increase your audience reach.
Website Data
Take advantage of your website data. Create a Google Analytics account and look at the locations, platforms and demographics of your website visitors to identify where you should focus your attention. Are your website visitors young/old/in other countries/on mobile or tablet.
Local Targeting
Looking at your website data, are there more visitors in a certain location? I.e. if you are seeing more website visits from people in London than any other location, you may want to create a local SEO strategy. This means optimising your website and creating a content plan for London searches i.e. SEO specialist in London.
Prepare for Voice Search
I’ve mentioned voice search in a previous blog and I can’t mention it enough. It’s going to count for over 50% of search queries this year so shouldn’t be dismissed from your 2020 Marketing strategy. Not all businesses have tapped into writing for Voice Search so could be a good opportunity for smaller businesses to focus on.
Forecast Market Trends and Patterns
Keep up with developments in your sector, follow consumer trends and invest in new technology. Why not be the first to talk about a new tool, platform or product. Sign up to industry newsletters, set up Google Alerts and take some time to read and share what is happening in your industry that will benefit your audience.
Follow the above strategies and you have a greater chance at competing with bigger brands and most of all your competitors!
