Story Based Question
You’re in charge of SEO for a global e-commerce site that sells unique handmade crafts. Your brand is well-established in the U.S., but now you’re expanding into international markets, specifically the UK and India. As you dive deeper into international SEO, you realize that in each of these countries, there are local competitors who have been in the market longer and are highly optimized for their local search terms. You’re wondering, How do I evaluate and manage these local competitors in international SEO to ensure my brand stays competitive?
Exact Answer
To evaluate and manage local competitors in international SEO, analyze their keyword strategies, backlink profiles, content quality, and user engagement. Use tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Adapt your strategy by focusing on localized keywords, creating superior content, and building quality local backlinks.
Explanation
Managing local competitors in international SEO requires a keen understanding of what they’re doing right, and then building a strategy that improves upon it. Here’s how to approach it:
- Analyze Local Competitors’ Keyword Strategies
- Understanding which keywords local competitors are ranking for helps you pinpoint opportunities and gaps. You want to know if they’re dominating specific search queries or if there’s room for your brand to come in with more targeted, localized content.
- How to Implement: Use tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to conduct a competitor analysis. Look at the keywords they are ranking for in the local market, and assess their keyword volume, ranking position, and competition level. This will show you where they’re strong and where you might be able to outrank them with more localized keywords.
- Evaluate Their Backlink Profile
- Backlinks are a major ranking factor. If local competitors have established strong backlink profiles from authoritative, regionally-relevant sources, they might have an edge over you. Identifying their backlinks gives you insights into where they are gaining authority, and which websites are linking to them.
- How to Implement: Use backlink analysis tools like Ahrefs or Majestic to analyze their backlink profiles. Look for high-quality, region-specific domains that link to them. You can try to earn backlinks from similar sources or create better content that naturally attracts more backlinks.
- Analyze Their Content Quality
- Local competitors may have content that speaks directly to the cultural preferences of the market. Assess the quality and relevance of their content. Are they offering the right type of content that appeals to local users? Do they provide information that’s valuable and engaging?
- How to Implement: Analyze their content for keyword targeting, readability, user engagement, and regional relevance. If their content is heavy on general terms, create more specific, localized content that is optimized for regional preferences. For example, for the UK market, use British English terms and focus on local trends or topics.
- Evaluate Their User Engagement
- In many cases, user engagement signals can affect rankings. Local competitors with strong social media presence, local reviews, and high engagement may have better trust signals. You need to understand how engaged their audiences are, as this could indicate loyalty or a competitive advantage in local markets.
- How to Implement: Track competitors’ social media and online reviews. Look at how many social shares, comments, or reviews they receive. If they have strong local engagement, try to implement similar strategies, such as encouraging reviews or running local social campaigns that resonate with your audience.
- Localize Your Strategy
- After evaluating local competitors, adjust your approach to create content and products that are more relevant to the local audience. This means targeting local search terms, creating region-specific content, and developing strong relationships with local influencers and websites.
- How to Implement: Focus on localized keywords, build content that speaks directly to the local culture, and implement local link-building strategies. For example, if you’re expanding into India and your competitors are ranking well for “traditional Indian crafts,” you might create content around “best handmade Indian crafts” or collaborate with local Indian artisans to improve local authenticity.
Example
Let’s say you’re expanding your e-commerce business, which specializes in handmade crafts, into the UK and India, competing against established local players.
- Keyword Strategy:
- After using SEMrush to analyze your UK competitor, you find that they are ranking for terms like “traditional British crafts” and “handmade UK gifts.” For India, your local competitor ranks well for “authentic Indian handmade products” and “Indian home decor.”
- You decide to target regional variations, such as “best British handmade gifts” for the UK market and “unique Indian handicrafts” for the Indian market, ensuring you’re speaking the language your customers use.
- Backlink Profile:
- Upon reviewing your UK competitor’s backlinks, you discover they have links from local blogs, industry sites, and even local cultural institutions. Similarly, your Indian competitor has strong links from Indian arts and crafts publications.
- You start building relationships with local UK bloggers and influencers who specialize in handmade crafts. In India, you collaborate with well-known Indian artisans and contribute guest posts to local craft websites to build authority in the market.
- Content Quality:
- You notice your UK competitor offers basic product descriptions, while your Indian competitor regularly publishes guides and blog posts about the cultural significance of various crafts.
- You decide to create richer, more engaging content that highlights the unique cultural background of the crafts, the craftsmanship behind each piece, and local trends in both the UK and India. You also include locally relevant guides, such as “The Top Handmade Gifts in the UK for 2024.”
- User Engagement:
- Your UK competitor is active on Instagram, running regular campaigns about British craftsmanship. Your Indian competitor, on the other hand, regularly posts on local craft forums and has a strong base of product reviews.
- You build a strategy to increase your own social engagement. For the UK market, you run a campaign highlighting British artisans and encourage customers to share their own craft experiences. In India, you encourage product reviews and engage with users in local craft communities.
- Localized Strategy:
- You adjust your product offerings by emphasizing British and Indian craftsmanship. You create region-specific landing pages and ensure that shipping and payment options cater to local preferences.
- For example, you create a UK-specific page featuring “The Best Handmade British Gifts for Christmas” and an Indian-specific page with “Traditional Indian Craft Décor for Your Home.”
Evaluating and managing local competitors in international SEO involves understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and strategies. By analyzing their keywords, backlinks, content quality, and user engagement, you can develop a more localized SEO strategy that targets regional search trends and ensures you stand out in each market.