Nowadays, it takes more than an eye-catching website and innovative brand to attract clients, especially at the local level. Such things are great but unless you have a clear idea of your competition and target audience, they won’t provide all of the returns you should be getting. This is where competitive audits can help you gain an advantage, enabling you to understand your competition and what works.
Why Are Competitive Audits Necessary?
Any white label SEO service will tell you that a great targeted marketing campaign is based upon comprehensive industry research. This includes taking a look at what some of your top competitors or doing and emulating their tactics or improving upon them. Homing in on the strategy of local competitors helps you identify what you can do to boost local traffic and brand visibility.
Tips for Finding Local Competitors
Research Local Pack Rankings: One of the best ways to identify your competition in the neighborhood is to perform a bit of research as to what comes up in your local Google pack. Performing a simple search will provide you with some insight into who is at the top of the packs in Google.
Perform Keyword Research: After getting an idea of some of your competitors, performing research is the next step. Come up with a few industry-related keywords and have your clients make some suggestions, then conduct searches from your client’s business and document the top three competitors you see for each search you’ve conducted.
Measure the Results: Now it’s time to perform a few searches with Google Directions. Type your client’s address as the starting point and that of their first competitor, then log the distance. Do so for every pack you’ve researched. Afterward, write down the greatest distance Google comes up with for each pack.
Rate Strongest Competitors: After performing all of the research above, you’ll now be able to determine who are your client’s top local competitors. Add their names into a spreadsheet that also records their distance, as well as the number of times they appear across all seven Google packs.
Digging Deeper Into Local Competitive Audits
While basic keyword research and Google pack results are excellent starting points, a thorough competitive audit goes beyond surface-level data. To truly understand your client’s local market, here are additional areas to explore:
On-Page SEO Analysis
Review how competitors structure their websites. Are they optimizing title tags, headers, and meta descriptions with local keywords? Are they publishing location-specific landing pages? These elements can reveal opportunities for your clients to gain an edge.
Backlink Profiles
Local businesses often build authority through partnerships, sponsorships, or local directories. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to identify where competitors are getting backlinks. Replicating strong links—or finding higher-quality opportunities—can significantly boost local search rankings.
Content Strategy
Pay attention to the types of content your competitors are producing. Do they focus on blogs, video marketing, or case studies? Evaluating engagement levels can help you refine your own strategy and provide more value to potential customers.
Reviews and Reputation
Customer reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, or Facebook heavily influence local rankings and buyer decisions. Track not only how many reviews competitors have but also how they respond to them. Training your clients to actively engage with reviews can provide a major advantage.
Social Media Presence
Social signals aren’t a direct ranking factor, but they do contribute to brand visibility and traffic. Analyze which platforms competitors are most active on and how their audience interacts with them.
Bringing It All Together
When combined with traditional methods like pack rankings and keyword research, these deeper insights create a 360-degree view of your client’s competitive landscape. From there, you can prioritize actionable strategies, such as developing hyper-local content, building stronger backlink networks, or implementing a more aggressive review-generation campaign.
With a comprehensive competitive audit in place, you’re not just reacting to what competitors are doing; you’re anticipating their moves and positioning your clients to consistently outperform them.
Let DMB provide you with in-depth local SEO insight
Our white label SEO services can give you the tools you need to excel at the local level, as well as abroad. Call white label digital marketing agency today at 1 (800) 430-0499 or fill out our online contact form to learn more about our affordable white label SEO audit, content marketing services, and branding solutions.
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