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PART 3 – Online Competition &
Your Unique Selling Feature
Introduction
| This is Part 3 of a 9 part series dealing with
the planning and steps required to build a successful Sponsored
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Campaign. The objective of Parts 1 through 3 is to
discover the information you will need to establish your main
sponsored search campaign goal and to define it in clear,
measurable and achievable terms. |
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““...discover the
information you will need to establish your main
sponsored search campaign goal and to define it in
clear measurable and achievable terms.” |
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In
Part 1 and
Part 2 of this series we examined what your main motivation for running
a Sponsored Search Engine campaign is, the products/services you are
selling (features/benefits/big picture intangible), who your target
customer is and what your target customer wants from your
products/services. In Part 3 we will examine who your online competition
is and what your Unique Selling Feature is.
Online Competition
Your site has three main types of direct online competition:
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Competitor’s sites that are
placing well organically in search engines (sites that show up in
the ‘natural’ results of search engines) for the search terms (aka
keywords) that your customers will be using to find your products
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Competitor’s sites that are
placing well on search engines with sponsored (paid) search engine
ads for the search terms that your customers will be using to find
your products
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Search engine alternate products
(ie related news articles) usually placed near the top of the
organic results when a search is done using the search terms that
your customers will be using to find your products
Our focus will be on the competing
organic and sponsored listings.
Identifying Online Competition
Trying to identify your sponsored search engine competition on all of the
search engines that are in use would be a monumental task. Fortunately,
the ads from two sponsored search ad distributors appear on results for
over 90% of all searches done on North American search engines: Yahoo!
Search Marketing (formerly Overture) and Google AdWords. By checking out
the paid ads that are running for your products/services at these two
locations, you should be able to identify your main sponsored search
engine competitors. Note: MSN does display some of its own ‘sponsored ads’ in
the same area that it displays Yahoo! Search Marketing ads – verify that
the sponsored ads at MSN for your keywords are the same as shown in the
Yahoo! Search Marketing tool below. If they are not, you will need to
extend your sponsored competitor research to MSN.
By checking out the organic results at Yahoo!, Google and MSN, on the
same keywords used in your sponsored search competitor analysis, you
will be viewing the organic results served up on over 90% of all North
America searches.
We will be going into detail on keyword selection in Part 5 of this
series. For now, we will focus on the main keywords that will help you
to do an initial identification and analysis of your primary search
engine competitors. Review the products/services you identified in Part
1 and identify the top 3 or 4 items you will be competing on.
To identify your top sponsored search competitors for each of those top
3 or 4 items, determine the search terms you feel your customer is most
likely to use when attempting to find these products/services online.
Keep your search terms specific. For instance, if you sell custom cowboy
boots for men use terms such as ‘cowboy boot men,’ ‘cowboy boot’ or
‘custom cowboy boot’ – avoid overly broad terms such as ‘shoes’ or
‘footwear.’
Make a note of the sites you find in the top 5 sponsored positions for
each keyword at both of the above locations. When you have completed
gathering competitor site names, compile a list identifying the 5
competitors with the strongest sponsored search presence.
Now perform regular web searches at Yahoo!, Google and MSN for the same
keywords noting the top 3 for each of the search results. Compile your
list, identifying the 3 competitors with the strongest organic search
presence.
Online Competition - Analysis
Note: the degree and complexity of your competitor analysis is up to
you. The preceding and following guidelines will give you a good
starting point – but remember – you will need to remain aware of your
online competitors and monitor their changes to remain competitive.
Now that you have identified your major sponsored ad and organic search
engine competitors, it is time to analyze their sites. This exercise
will enable you to identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses –
as well as the strengths and weaknesses of your own site.
Revisit the results of Part 2 of this series where we identified your
main target customer. As you visit each of your competitor’s sites and
review your own site, try to observe and react as your target customer
would. For each of the sites you visit (including your own) record how
your target customer would answer each of the following questions:
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What is the overall feel of the site (does it address the big picture
intangible)?
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Does the site treat its visitors well (ease of navigation, fast
loading, quality content)?
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Does the site motivate target customers to purchase or find out more
about its products/services?
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What will the target customer like about the site?
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What will the target customer not like about the site?
Add relevant issues that your industry/products/services may have in
regard to the above list, if you feel they are relevant.
For each of the sites you visit, check out the pricing, service and
quality of products/services being offered in comparison to your own.
After gathering and reviewing all of this information, you will have a
better understanding of your online competitors – their strengths and
weaknesses as well as your own site’s strengths and weaknesses.
Online Competition - Summary
Your analysis of your competitors may have revealed a number of areas
where your site/products/services might be improved. Remember, for
the most part, search engine users do not visit all of the sponsored and
organic results on a search engine results page before making a buying
decision. Even if your site requires some ‘upgrades’ before it can go
head-on with all of its main competitors, it may still be possible to
create successful sponsored search campaigns through the prudent use of:
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the right keywords (Part 5),
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a sound campaign strategy (Part 6),
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tailored landing pages (Part 7),
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strong ad copy (Part 8), and
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campaign management follow-through (Part 9).
Ultimately, the better your site meets your target customer’s needs and
wants in comparison to your competitors’ sites, the better your site
will perform.
Your Unique Selling Feature
Your Unique Selling Feature or Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is the
main reason your target customer should buy from you and not one of your
competitors. It should be a clear, complete statement of why your
products/services are better than those of your competitors. It should
be accurate, and of value to your target customer.
In Part 1
you identified your products/services (features/benefits/big picture
intangible), in Part 2 you identified and came to better understand your
target customer, in Part 3 (above) you identified and analyzed your
main, direct, online competitors. By combining what you have learned in
these 3 processes, you should now be able to identify your company’s
Unique Selling Proposition.
A sample USP might be:
AABBC provides accurate,
easy-to-install accounting software specifically designed for the
travel industry and is proven to reduce invoice processing time by
15%.
A Unique Selling Feature/Proposition
will provide a focal message for your sponsored search marketing
campaign and enable you to better market your products/services. It may
not end up being a catch-marketing phrase, and it may not be directly
usable in copy, however your knowledge and understanding of it will
enable you to better motivate your target audience.
Summary
With the completion of Parts 1 through 3 of this series, you have now
gathered the information you will need to define your main sponsored
Search Engine Marketing campaign goal in clear, measurable and achievable terms. Part 4
of this series will assist you in defining your main campaign goal and
the metrics you will use to monitor and direct your success.
**PART
1 - Campaign Goal Building, Focus and Product Identification
**PART 2 -
Target Audience – Identification and Understanding
**PART 3 - Online Competition & Your Unique Selling Feature
**PART 4 -
Setting Campaign Goals & Success Metrics
**PART 5 -
‘Best’ Keywords for Your Campaign
**PART 6 -
Campaign Strategy
**PART 7 - Successful Landing Pages
**PART 8 -
Successful Sponsored/PPC
Ad Creation
**PART 9 -
Campaign Management - Monitoring Your Success |
SEO