Here are some guidelines to help you better understand your competitiveness against other market players.
1. Interpret your local results
In the Competitive Benchmark tool, your local results give you an overview of your competition within a specific area. You have access to the top 20 local results.
Keep an eye on the locations that don't rank
Some locations won't make it into the top 20 and will be visible at the bottom of the local analysis page. You won't be able to see their exact position on Google if it's above 20.
💡Export your data to get the list of locations that don't appear in the top 20, and take corrective action!
Identify recurring local competitors
While you have a well defined list of national competitors, some local competitors may appear repeatedly across several results. It could be worthwhile to add them to your list of competitors to monitor.
💡Ask your Customer Success Manager to add these local competitors. You can include up to 12 competitors in your national list.
2. Interpret your national results
Local results are aggregated and compared to the list of competitors you have selected, providing you with a national overview.
Pay attention to your appearance rate...
The appearance rate is a key indicator for understanding your results. It shows you how often your Google listings appear in the local rankings of your locations for the selected keyword. The higher the rate, the more frequently you appear in the top 20 local results.
For example, if you have a network of 100 locations and an appearance rate of 50%, it means that 50 out of 100 locations appear in the top 20 local results for the selected keyword.
💡A competitor with a low appearance rate shouldn't be considered a true competitor for your brand. Only competitors with an appearance rate equal or higher than yours should be taken into account.
...but adjust it based on the number of locations
For a more accurate analysis, balance the appearance rate by factoring in the number of locations.
For instance, if you have a network of 100 locations and an appearance rate of 50%, an done of your competitors has an appearance rate of 60% with 50 locations, it means that only 30 of their locations appear in the top 20 local results.
💡Compare like for like and refine your analysis by considering the number of locations. This will give you a more accurate picture.
Feel free to contact our team if you have any further questions!