Advantages and disadvantages of competitive research

Introduction
When you plan your marketing strategies, it is essential to recognize the competitor’s tactics. And you can gain knowledge of your competitor’s strategies by conducting competitive research. It can be done either through researching appropriate keywords using keyword research tool or following every social media account. It is the best way to keep your business one step ahead and perform better than them.

However, with the evolving requirements of the market, businesses have also changed the ways of conducting competitive research. Thus, it holds several advantages and some disadvantages that we are going to share with you all in this blog.

Advantages Of Competitive Research

Provide Fast And Detailed Organic Research
When it comes to competitive research, organic research is considered the most crucial area. Organic research allows you to learn more about the Search Engine Optimization methods your competitors are using. It also assists in driving organic traffic to your website.

You can even rank your website higher in the search results without taking the help of paid ads. You can use a keyword research tool to boost traffic and find out the keywords your competitors are using the most. These tools are well-versed in letting you see the top domains with whom you are going to compete and examine their SEO strategies.

Organic traffic lets businesses enjoy 40 percent of online revenue. Competitive research ensures that to get the benefits of gaining the knowledge of current market trends and the interest of the customers.

Create A Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Why will people choose your brand? What is unique about your brand? This question lets you conduct competitive research and separate your brand from that of your competitors. It gives you an overview of your competitor’s brand and what makes it unique.

Competitive research allows comparing your USP to that of your competitor’s USP. Comparison between the USP allows you to separate the points between your brand and your competitors.

You can compare your mission statements, products, services, integrations, and other distinguished talking points that can benefit your brand over your competition.

Allows You To Acquire Backlinks
If you are well-aware of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) then you also know the importance of backlinks to your websites. Backlinks from highly authoritative websites serve as a testimonial of your expertise in your industry and allow boost your ranking in search results.

Competitive research helps businesses who find it arduous to acquire reliable backlinks for their websites. It provides you a list of top domains that you can pitch for guest posting and obtaining backlinks.

Furthermore, you can compare your backlink profile with your competitors. It delivers you the information about the website sponsoring your competitors, but not you.

Disadvantages Of Competitive Research

Overwhelmed With Multiple Data
Competitive Research provides you with tons of knowledge about your competitors and market. This bunch of data can be overwhelming.

It is because competitive research provides you an insight about your competitors dealing in different market segments and the area they work on, like PR and campaigns, building backlinks, and many more.

If you work on filling all those gaps at once, you may end up being frustrated. It can impact your business as a whole. Hence, while interpreting competitive research, it is essential to consider the capacity of your business carefully. Rather than identifying the entire market segment, it is advisable to concentrate on your target audience first and then focus on other aspects one by one.

Misinterpreting Market Requirements
Competitive Research allows you to identify every market requirement. It also allows you to identify the products and services satisfying the needs of your market.

The limitation in competitive research may come in two ways. The one is you overestimate the data you acquired about your competitors and give up without even trying.

Or, you misinterpret the uniqueness of your offerings. Though you and your competitors deal in the same market, it is not that you tend to satisfy the needs of those markets.

Conclusion
When you work smartly and proactively, competitive research proves to be the best tool for distinguishing your brand from that of your competitors. It does not matter whether you have a large enterprise, a blogging website, or a small organization, competitive research is always beneficial in the smooth running of a business.