Competition is what drives the market. It’s also what drives your prospective customers (and their budgets) to other companies.

We’re all up for a little healthy competition, right? That’s not so much the case in the online marketplace. When it comes to gaining customers, if your direct competitors are getting sales, it’s at your expense.

So how do you funnel more leads and sales into your own pipeline? Easy – the simple answer is more visibility over your competitors. The complexities lie in how to obtain more visibility. We’re going to deconstruct some of the top ways you can outrank your competitors on Google in the SERPs and more effectively gain organic visibility so that your website can come out on top.

Keyword Research

Keyword research is market research.

Keyword research is incredibly important because it impacts every SEO task that follows. Effective keyword research outlines your strategy for on-page SEO, content creation, and most importantly, helps you better understand your audience and their intent.

Target the entire buying cycle in your keyword strategy

When a person is in the process of making a purchase, the searches begin very broad in the research phase and become more specific as that person gets closer to making a purchase. With SEO, you can (and should) target users at all points in the buying cycle.

Don’t overlook long-tail terms

Many companies get hung up on the top funnel terms. Big, broad, high volume terms that are sure to bring in tons of sales leads and sales, right? The truth is, broad terms are extremely competitive, and can also bring with them a lot of unqualified traffic. Long-tail keywords (~3+ word searches) generally have lower search volume and are less competitive but represent users who are near the end of the buying cycle. This is also a space where you can more easily outrank competition on Google and earn more qualified traffic at the same time.

Competitor Analysis

Keep the same mindset when trying to outrank your competitors on Google by identifying areas where you can gain quick wins.

If you’re competing in an established industry, competition can be fierce. Oftentimes, the SERPs are saturated with existing companies and the top positions are monopolized by industry giants.

If you copy everything an industry giant is doing on their website, down to keyword strategy and metadata, you won’t just assume their authority and rankings. Instead, you may be missing out on opportunities to home in on more specific keyword themes that could result in more qualified traffic.

Define your competitors

Create and maintain a list of competitors to monitor. This will help you narrow your focus when developing a responsive strategy.

You might be surprised to find that you have a different set of competitors online. When identifying your direct online competitors, look for the websites that rank on page one of the SERPs for the keywords you are specifically targeting.

See what works for them

Let’s start with competitors within your niche. You’ve identified a website that is ranking for keywords that are relevant and attainable for your website.

What should you do?

• Start by looking at their metadata and headline strategies.
• Learn from what they are doing well.

Perhaps they are benefiting from a playful tone in their meta descriptions with interesting CTAs. Or maybe they use a lot of technical jargon that resonates with their target audience.

If they are within your niche, and outranking you in the SERPs, you may want to consider a similar strategy. Bookmark their website so you can come back to it and continually analyze their optimizations and content.

Let’s say your competitor is outranking you for a keyword you are targeting on one of your main pages. Create more content and web pages that directly relate to that keyword and relevant derivatives.

Here is an easy way to see how many pages reference a specific keyword you are targeting.

Using this command shows us how many pages under this domain reference cloud computing. According to this data, Amazon will be hard to beat for this keyword. But test your competitor’s website with your keywords to see where you need to focus your content strategy.

Breaking it down with Breaking Bad

Here’s an example: if your competitor outranks you for “Breaking Bad,” you should create more content around that theme. “Breaking Bad”, “Breaking Bad AMC”, and “Breaking Bad Finale” are all obvious keywords to build on within your theme.

Google has an unlimited amount of user search data and can recognize trends in search behavior. So, Google understands that “Breaking Bad” searchers want to see content involving “Jesse Pinkman,” “Los Pollos Hermanos,” and “Bryan Cranston.”

If you want to rank for “Breaking Bad,” you should have quality content related to each of those keywords with a clean internal linking structure. Google will index these pages and determine that “this website has more ‘Breaking Bad’ authority than the competitor with just one ‘Breaking Bad’ page.”

Okay, so how does this apply to your business?

Say your competitor outranks you for “Cloud Computing.”

Find some relevant derivatives with search volume and build out content around those keywords. There are countless websites and extensions that provide keyword ideas. For example, this Chrome extension allows you to instantly see derivatives in the SERPs when you search.

Continue to utilize this strategy as your competitors build out their content.

Write blogs titled “Advantages of Cloud Computing” and “Different Types of Cloud Computing Software.”

Create a tutorial post titled, “How to Use Amazon Web Services,” or an info-graphic that compares “Microsoft Azure Capabilities vs. Amazon Web Services.”

Link these pieces back to your main Cloud Computing page and see how they perform.

Leverage searcher intent to outdo your competitors

If your tutorial video is a hit, create more tutorials. If your info-graphic gets 50 re-shares on social, create more info-graphics.

Let’s say your competitor wrote an article on “Cloud Computing in Healthcare” which performs well in the SERPs. If info-graphics are your bread and butter, create a “Cloud Computing in Healthcare” info-graphic.

Maybe you see an opportunity to expand on a subtopic on which they only scratched the surface. Write an article that dives deep into the “Specific Use Cases of Cloud Computing in Hospitals”. Outrank your competitors by having a better understanding of your audience and catering to their intent.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO can make or break the effectiveness of your website. From the SERP to the site, your website needs to provide a seamless experience that makes it easy for search engines and users to comprehend your content.

Are your images properly optimized within your CMS? Check out our guide to SEO Image Optimization. 

Is your content easily outlined through proper use of headings and header tags? Read up on SEO Header Tag Best Practices.

Does your site load quickly? Is it easy for users to find the pages they are looking for? Here, we outline important Website Tips for SEO Success.

Are you regularly publishing quality content that is written with SEO in mind? Read up on writing On-Page Content for SEO.

Ready to start climbing the ranks? Key takeaways to keep in mind are 1) tap into the wants and needs of your target audience through keyword research 2) honestly evaluate your site against your direct online competition, and 3) find the opportunities that will provide quick wins while you work to establish your overall authority.

Craving more SEO tips? Subscribe to our newsletter for fresh insights.

There are many paid media & digital marketing agencies out there who aren’t shy about promising you the world before delivering absolutely no value.

“You said you wanted to double your leads, you didn’t say we couldn’t spend 10 times as much to do so!”

Successful paid media agencies don’t operate this way. Titan Growth was named an All-Star agency by Google (one of only a handful) because we are committed to building sustainable, scalable paid media strategies.

The truth is that paid media can offer great ROI, flexible spend, and inexpensive testing. Why, then, don’t more businesses take advantage of the opportunity to invest more in paid media?

Here are the top 5 Paid Media objections that our new business team hears on an ongoing basis:

Objection 1: Paid media is too expensive

Paid media shouldn’t be looked at as a cost. It’s an investment. If it’s working, it shouldn’t matter how much it costs.

If I gave you the following two offers, would you take the cheaper option or the more expensive one?

Offer 1 (Cheaper): You give me $10 now, and I will give you $20 tomorrow.

Offer 2 (Expensive): You give me $100.00 now, and I will give you $10,000.00 tomorrow.

Offer 2 is 1000% more expensive than offer 1, but I bet any rational person would take offer 2 all day long.

The important point isn’t how much you spend, but your return on investment (ROI). The issue is that most companies don’t have their close rates or average order value calculated, let alone customer lifetime value. You need to be looking at the numbers that actually impact ROI to understand how much money you should be spending and how much more money you’re getting by spending that money.

Of course, calculating these numbers won’t just benefit your decision on whether paid media is the right investment. It’ll also help you determine the value of all of your marketing efforts, and let you understand how to allocate those dollars.

Without knowing your target cost per acquisition (CPA) and ROI, you cannot contextualize the value that paid media brings in.

Here are some suggestions on how to get started calculating a basic ROI.

If your company closes on about 25% of leads gained, and each closed lead is worth an average of $2,000, then start your hypothetical ROI calculation at $500 CPA (Cost per acquisition). To hit a 1:1 ROI—that is, breaking even—you can’t spend more than $500 on each lead.

If you know that 50% of closed leads make another purchase, use an estimated lifetime value (LTV) for a more accurate calculation. In this case, the LTV would be ($2000) + (.5)($2000) = $3,000.

The hypothetical minimum CPA would then be (.25)($3,000) = $750.

In other words, each lead is worth, on average, an additional $250 when using a LTV calculation: thus a 1:1 ROI would be spending $750 to acquire each lead.

eCommerce is much the same, except treat ‘close rate’ as ‘conversion rate’.

If your company has a 10% purchase rate on viewing a product page, and the products average around $25 each, then start your hypothetical ROI calculation at $2.50 CPA.

Paid Media Objection 2: We can run our own automation

Automation is a useful tool, but it is far from being able to replace skilled analysts.

Here’s what automation does:

• Frees up the account manager to spend more time on big-picture strategy
• Allows the analyst team’s research and tests to show results more quickly
• Handles low-level optimizations while the team optimizes higher-level boundaries

Here’s what automation can’t do:

• Plan the strategy that underlies account performance
• Research and target the exact audience your company wants to reach
• Craft compelling ads
• Keep track of sales cycles, competitor activity, and seasonal shifts
• Day-to-day prioritization of spend allocation/budget

The truth is that the sophistication behind running a successful paid media campaign involves a team of analysts, both for daily improvements and big-picture strategy.

Automation is a great tool, given your account has a clear and curated strategy in place, but it has the potential to waste incredible amounts of money if not carefully planned and managed.

Paid Media Objection 3: We can do it in house for cheaper

Setting up an in-house paid media department might be easy, if you already have an expert account manager on payroll with enough time to do the work of an entire team, or the resources to find an experienced team that isn’t already at a top-tier agency.

Most companies would benefit from the support of a diverse team of account managers and analysts, but don’t have the resources to bring the department in-house.

Unless you have a healthy seven-figure personnel budget for your new paid media team, you won’t be able to replicate a top-tier agency’s capabilities. You also won’t be able to get dedicated support from Google and other paid media platforms with an in-house team—support that agencies are able to get even for smaller accounts.

So, yes, you can do it in-house. It might even seem like a good idea if you don’t take into account your ROI and the value of agency expertise, supplemented by a partnership with Google support. If you decide to go this route it will be important to understand the risks and rewards, and make sure the rewards far outweigh the risks.

Objection 4: Committing to one agency is too much of a risk

Choosing a marketing agency is a commitment, but it shouldn’t feel dangerous if done with care. After all, reputable agencies are comfortable sharing their approach to paid media account management, and demonstrations of their expertise—whether it’s case studies, technical blog posts, or a competitive analysis of your existing account.

Any agency that hasn’t been in business for long or is reluctant to share information as simple as case studies is a risky bet.

The challenge is to find the agency that:

• Has a track record of success.
• Shares your partnership and mutual investment goals.
• Is a top-level partner with the networks you want to advertise on.
• Has an experienced team (think A+ experienced players, not brand new analysts).

Finding the best agency for your company means finding the right partner.

We went into more detail on this point in our article Is Your Agency A Service Or A Partnership?, but here’s the quick version:

Your company and your agency partner have to be mutually invested in achieving your marketing goals.

True partnerships where both your company and your agency are committed to working together for mutual benefit aren’t risky—they’re ideal.

Objection 5: I don’t want to change the status quo

When switching agencies, there is the potential for a temporary dip in performance—but there is the certainty that new eyes will see new possibilities. Reputable agencies have developed their own techniques to avoid significant performance hits, while finding the best ways to capitalize on what your company already has.

Don’t let your company be trapped. If the relationship isn’t working for you, inertia can keep you “held hostage”, but you owe it to yourself and your company to find the right marketing partner instead of settling for paying for a service relationship.

Bottom Line:

Hiring a paid media agency is an investment worth making. Don’t hire an agency to make quick fixes, but to be your partner who builds a promotion strategy that directly contributes to your bottom line.

Instagram is the highest-engagement social media platform.

Each individual audience member is far more likely to engage with your content on Instagram than other platforms, which means that smaller audiences are still valuable.

The real question is, how do you get and keep those audience members on Instagram?

Successful Instagram accounts thrive on creative visuals. Because of this, brands can craft distinctive identities and successfully target specific customer personas, not through Facebook-style audience targeting but through self-selection and carefully curated content.

Many marketers dismiss Instagram on the grounds that it’s only for Gen Z and younger millennials. The truth is that Instagram’s appeal and demographics are growing, and older generations can also be reached with the platform. After all, the effects of amazing visuals aren’t limited to any one age group.

Here are three impressive examples of brands who have built their identity and customer loyalty with smart and strategic use of Instagram.

There’s a few common themes in the examples below. Read through and see if we noticed the same things about how to build a brand on Instagram!

Impressive Example: @titosvodka & @vodkafordogpeople

Tito’s Vodka has separated its Instagram presence into multiple accounts—the main @titosvodka account represents the brand, while @vodkafordogpeople highlights some of the brand’s most important social causes: rescuing dogs and supporting nonprofits that benefit animal welfare.

What’s impressive about the Tito’s Vodka Instagram?

The two highlighted accounts have very different, but complementary, roles in branding and loyalty-building.

What is @titosvodka for?

• Building trust through curated content: @titosvodka typically posts in response to holidays, relevant popular hashtags, or to offer entertaining and useful suggestions.
• Engagement through practical suggestions and effective writing: @titosvodka posts recipes for interesting drinks using their vodka.
• Highlighting heritage and brand values: the account showcases the brand’s authentic Texas small-business roots.
• Specifically for fans of the brand.

What is @vodkafordogpeople for?

• Consistency: @vodkafordogpeople uses emotional cues and demonstrates a commitment to social responsibility in every post.
• Outreach: even people who aren’t fans of Tito’s can be drawn in with cute dog pictures.
• Engagement: @vodkafordogpeople posts a profile of a Tito’s fan’s pet every other day and tags their owner in the description.
• For dog fans and brand fans.

These accounts together showcase something critical about the Tito’s Vodka brand without pushing it in their audience’s face. What are they doing?

• Demonstrating brand values and charity in an authentic way.
• Choosing a cause and showing commitment in a way that appeals to a passionate group of potential customers.

Impressive Example: @letterfolk

What’s impressive about the Letterfolk Instagram?

Letterfolk has built its brand on relatable, self-aware humor, straightforward acknowledgment of the people behind the brand, and genuine community connections.

Letterfolk’s brand identity is so strong that they no longer even need to create their own content. The majority of photos on the account are from lifestyle accounts or companies in the same niche—people who actually want Letterfolk to repost their content, because that gives exposure and confirmation of their content’s value.

Letterfolk is able to do this because it developed its own niche. By crafting its own style—humorous, self-deprecating letterboard messages in a family lifestyle setting—it created a style which others enjoyed, followed, and began to replicate themselves.

The brand directly participates in a small-business ecosystem of like-minded, but not competing, companies and lifestyle blogs. Their target customer persona is established and captured; they focus on taking advantage of it.

The manicured, minimalist lifestyle ideal.

The self-aware reality.

Their images utilize both aesthetics and the targeted, entertaining messages that resonate with people in their niche. Yes, Letterfolk is selling itself, but it’s not necessarily selling the dream of being organized. It sells participation in a community that accepts and celebrates its own shortcomings. Because Letterfolk created that community, it comfortably resides in the epicenter, where engagement is fruitful and exciting.

Impressive Example: @cleopatrasbling

What’s impressive about the Cleopatra’s Bling Instagram?

The account creates a clear and consistent identity through marrying history, jewelry, and travel blogging.

Jewelry is typically displayed on fruit or other visually interesting food. We love this, but what makes it so compelling?

In addition to being individually beautiful, every picture communicates multiple ideas and feelings:

• Expensiveness.
• Delicious food.
• Luxurious goods.
• A sense of historical exoticism.
• The interesting juxtaposition of dissimilar items.

This final element ties everything together.

The brand compounds a sense of exoticism by combining fine jewelry with fruit in a way that makes the products seem like ancient artifacts.

Think of ancient Egyptian royalty being fed grapes and fanned by their attendants. Seems over-the-top, I know, but you have a clear picture in your head of what I’m describing.

The page utilizes on-brand writing that takes advantage of this collective nostalgia—this feeling of decadent, unsurpassed abundance.

Takeaways

Building a brand on Instagram can be successful without a huge budget, but that doesn’t mean it’s quick or easy. Contact us if you need help!

Instagram Success Themes

• Persistence. Persistence. Persistence.
• Quality images and the ability to curate well-composed content.
• A clear brand identity and understanding of its key elements.
• Understanding how to target distinct customer personas.
• A consistent aesthetic theme complemented by a consistent tone across all written content.
• Creating a sense of community and seeking callouts from other accounts in similar niches.
• Direct engagement with your audience, whether as a person or as a personality.
• Being open-minded and testing creative strategies to find your niche.