Track competitors' website traffic (why and what to do?)
Likes and views are all well and good but if you’re not paying attention to website traffic, you’re neglecting one of the most important aspects of digital marketing.
We know that the more eyeballs you have on your website, the better. And what better way to gain more website traffic than (ethically) stealing them from your competition?
In this article, I’ll show you why it’s important to monitor your competitor’s website traffic, what tracking tools to consider, and how to analyze your competitor’s traffic data. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
How to Track and Analyze Competitor’s Website Traffic
- The benefits of tracking and comparing website traffic
- Tools for tracking and comparing competitor website traffic
- Panoramata
- Similarweb
- Semrush
- Ahrefs
- Spyfu
- How to Analyze Competitor Website Traffic Data
- Identify keywords
- Check what articles are performing well
- Find out their website loading times and mobile friendliness
- Determine how many indexed pages they have
- Use the most important web traffic metrics
- Benchmark against competitors
- Monitor their website traffic over time
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to track website traffic of competitor?
- Why is measuring website traffic important?
- What is competitor traffic analysis?
The benefits of tracking and comparing website traffic
Website traffic is the number of visitors who land on a website or webpage. Measuring website traffic is made possible through tools like Google Analytics which uses code snippets to track visitors.
For brands and marketers, web traffic is a valuable metric to track for several reasons.
- It lets you see what kind of traffic your competitors receive and the sources of the traffic
- It gives you information about what your competitors are doing so you can work to outperform them
- It shines a light on your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses so you can capitalize on them
- It uncovers trends and effective strategies you can apply to your website
- It lets you benchmark your website’s performance against competitors
- It monitors your website’s performance over time
- It can help you track seasonal patterns
- It gives you insight into user behavior
Key metrics move the needle on web traffic more than others. These include visits, unique visitors, pages per visit, bounce rate, average visit duration, and where the traffic is coming from.
Tools for tracking and comparing competitor website traffic
Tracking your competitors' website traffic can provide invaluable insights into their strategies and performance. Here are the six top tools to help you get started:
Panoramata
Panoramata is an all-in-one competitor monitoring, benchmarking, and inspiration platform that goes beyond social networks to track newsletters, ads, landing pages, SMS, website changes, and more.
It features a dashboard with real-time updates, a huge database of brands, and ready-made benchmarks for most industries.
SimilarWeb
SimilarWeb offers a detailed look at your competitors' traffic sources, audience demographics, and site performance.
With its intuitive interface, you can easily compare multiple websites and uncover trends that can inform your own marketing strategies.
SEMrush
SEMrush is a robust tool that provides extensive traffic analytics. It shows you your competitors' traffic volume, key sources, and top-performing pages.
Additionally, SEMrush's keyword and backlink analysis can help you understand how competitors are attracting and retaining their audience.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is renowned for its comprehensive SEO tools, but it's also excellent for traffic analysis.
It provides estimates of competitors' traffic, highlights top traffic-driving pages, and offers deep insights into the keywords and backlinks that are boosting their visibility.
SpyFu
SpyFu specializes in competitive keyword and PPC analysis, but it also provides valuable traffic insights.
You can see how your competitors rank for specific keywords, their estimated monthly traffic, and their top-performing pages. This information can guide your SEO and PPC strategies to better compete in your market.
How to Analyze Competitor Website Traffic Data
Identify keywords
Conduct a competitor keyword analysis to determine the keywords your competitors are trying to rank for.
Since you have the same or similar audience, mirroring their strategy and going after these keywords as well will benefit you in optimizing your search results rankings.
Checking their keywords also lets you uncover their website traffic sources and thus, where their conversions are coming from.
Use the tools mentioned in the previous section to identify keywords including keywords they use for organic searches, Google ads, and even other search engines like Bing.
Check what articles are performing well
Next, check the most visited pages on your customer’s website or blog. Those tracking tools mentioned earlier will show you your competitor’s top pages and how many visitors each page receives.
This information is a goldmine for your content strategy because you can borrow their tactics and apply it to your search marketing. It’s a sure way to increase your website traffic and create successful content.
Find out their website loading times and mobile friendliness
You can also check if their website is mobile-friendly and if their website loads quickly. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to see if their website is slower or faster than yours.
The speed and interface of their website affect their search engine rankings, too, and therefore search traffic volume.
Determine how many indexed pages they have
Like page speed, indexed pages affect search engine results page rankings, too. The more indexed pages, the better the performance on SERPs.
To measure this, Google is your friend. In the search bar, type “site:yourcompetitorswebsitedomain.com” and click enter. The number of search results will equal the number of indexed pages they have.
Use the most important web traffic metrics
Key metrics move the needle on web traffic more than others. These include visits, unique visitors, pages per visit, bounce rate, average visit duration, and where the traffic is coming from.
Benchmark against competitors
Monitoring your competitors’ traffic isn’t enough. You also have to see if your website traffic is up to snuff.
That’s where benchmarks come in. Benchmarking your traffic against your competitors will uncover your problem areas and opportunities.
You can even reverse-engineer your competitor’s successful tactics so you can improve your website traffic.
Monitor their website traffic over time
Competitor tracking is an ongoing process. Your competitor’s website and search strategy are dynamic. Any changes they make to their website will give you a clue about what to adjust to your website.
Make it a habit to monitor your competitors regularly so you can stay abreast of trends and continually improve. That way, you’re always a step ahead in the ecommerce game.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to track website traffic of a competitor?
To track a competitor's website traffic, use tools like SimilarWeb, SEMrush, or Ahrefs which provide estimates of their traffic volume, sources, and key metrics. Additionally, analyze their social media activity and use Google Alerts to stay updated on their online presence.
Why is measuring website traffic important?
Measuring website traffic is crucial for understanding how many visitors your site receives, identifying which marketing strategies are effective, and uncovering potential areas for improvement.
It provides insights into audience behavior, helping to optimize content and marketing efforts for better engagement and conversions.
What is competitor traffic analysis?
Competitor traffic analysis involves evaluating the website traffic of your competitors to understand their online performance and strategies.
This helps in identifying their strengths and weaknesses, benchmarking your own performance, and discovering opportunities to attract more visitors and improve your marketing efforts.
