What do you do for understanding competion? Do you check just first page results or overall result in Google?
depends on what you are trying to exam?!?!?! for instance, if you search for a specific keyword and a particular site show up number one in the results, I then check the site for KW density, content and overall layout. If it is okay or a threat, I then begin to look at the type of and number of backlinks to develope a strategy for beating them. Hope this helps. Good luck
lol... I check sales and that's it...As long as they get me sales we have no issues. I told the people advertising my sites that the target is live links that would get me tageted visitors interested in my products. I sell ...the most spammy things online...lol...market flooded with them...but they anage to get me sales....so I guess that is the right way to verify if it is effective
Use softwares like seoglass to study the competition. Or else use SEOquake plugin from mozilla firefox.
You can use Brad Callen's new Niche Finder Software to study your competition. It will be available to the public soon.