Determine Competition?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by iTISTIC, Sep 28, 2005.

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  1. #1
    What is the best way to determine competition for a particular keyword? I have been looking at the result count on google to use as a gauge, but feel this isn't entirely accurate.

    Can somebody post the process they use to determine competition?
     
    iTISTIC, Sep 28, 2005 IP
  2. sgtsloth

    sgtsloth Peon

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    #2
    I always check out the top sites on Google and consider them my competition. I try to figure out if I stand a chance against them by following a few steps...

    -Look at their backlinks (link:www.blahblah.com),
    -See how many pages they have indexed (site:www.blahblah.com),
    -and examine how well optimized their actual site is

    If the top ranked sites are unoptimized and have a few random links, I think I could probably take them on. That site hasn't made a concentrated effort to rank well.

    But if you see a bunch of massive sites that have clearly put some cash into getting their ranking, consider how much energy/time/money you have to go after the keyword.

    Hope that helps! :)
     
    sgtsloth, Sep 28, 2005 IP
  3. iTISTIC

    iTISTIC Peon

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    #3
    Wouldn't it be better to use linkdomain: on Yahoo rather than using link: on Google since Google does not display a lot of backlinks?

    What I'm trying to do is go through a large list of keywords and determine what is the best content to develop, optimize, and promote based on competition. This is not easy at all, lol.

    Does anyone have any automated tools that help them with this that are actually worth what they cost?
     
    iTISTIC, Sep 28, 2005 IP
  4. tesla

    tesla Notable Member

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    #4
    You can also check the competition of keywords using Wordtracker. Many webmasters use this tool including myself, and they allow a free trial. You can also use 7search's keyword research tool, which is free.
     
    tesla, Sep 29, 2005 IP
  5. iTISTIC

    iTISTIC Peon

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    #5
    Thanks, Tesla.

    7Search seems like it's only for PPC. I need to determine competition in the natural SERPs, not PPC, though.
     
    iTISTIC, Sep 29, 2005 IP
  6. opiapr

    opiapr Peon

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    #6
    Do a search on G then save the top site and look at it HTML to see if your keyword is been used.
     
    opiapr, Sep 29, 2005 IP
  7. iTISTIC

    iTISTIC Peon

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    #7
    Some others have suggested searching for the following:

    inanchor:"keyword here" intitle:"keyword here"

    That will only show sites that have the keyword in their title, and in at least one anchor text on the page. Does this really mean the site is well optimized? Does internal link structure matter that much? I'm sure it helps, just don't think it's the best way.

    I guess the best thing to do would be to examine the sites on the first page, their backlinks, on-page optimization etc. manually to determine what the competition is like. Just makes for a damn tedious process, haha.
     
    iTISTIC, Sep 29, 2005 IP