Maximize Marketing Impact Through Competitive Benchmarking

Challenge

Benchmarking is more than just tracking numbers. 

When you benchmark, you evaluate your business’s performance, strategies, and outcomes against your competitors or industry leaders.  

Benchmarking allows you to identify gaps, set realistic performance goals, and develop actionable strategies for improving your market position.

Ready to benchmark against competitors and market trends? 

Use this step-by-step guide to position yourself among top competitors, assess market trends and growth dynamics, optimize marketing strategies, and gain market share.

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1. Start with Market Overview to Identify Top Competitors

Start with the Market Overview dashboard to instantly identify the top competitors in your market. 

The Market Summary section shows the size of your market. The Consolidation section displays the top three players and their respective market shares. 

Use this data to benchmark your market share against these top competitors. This action will help you better understand your market positioning and potential gaps to fill. 

Step 2. Analyze Competitor Growth Using the Growth Quadrant

Scroll to the Growth Quadrant. The quadrant’s clear visuals help you quickly determine which competitors have seen the most growth in specific traffic channels.

Note the trends of all competitors. If one or two competitors trend upward, it is likely because of their successful marketing strategies. If all competitors show similar growth rates, their success may be attributed to larger market forces or customer preferences.

Hover on the dot next to a competitor’s domain to get details on their growth. Jot down this info as you build your own growth goals.

Then, filter by channel to benchmark specific campaigns.

Use this data to:

• Pinpoint successful strategies among your competitors
• Select high-performing channels in your market 
• Optimize strategies across those channels 
• Attribute growth and determine goals 

Step 3. Compare Competitor Traffic with Market Players

The Market Players section of the Market Overview compares competitors' market share and traffic across all major channels.

For each channel, spot which competitor brings in the most traffic and who’s made the biggest gains. It’s worth following both the market leader and the underdog with traction.

Also, look for channels where your top competitor falls behind the pack. This gap presents an opportunity for you to reallocate resources to gain market share on those channels.

Regularly take your website’s Google Analytics data and compare it to the metrics in Market Players. Has your position changed in the market? Why or why not?

Step 4. Uncover Key Metrics in Traffic Overview for Actionable Insights

Looking to outperform the market average and gain market share? Check out the Traffic Overview dashboard.  

This dashboard goes under the hood of your competitors’ websites and offers immediate, actionable insights. 

Enter your competitors’ domains to detect shifts in metrics like visits, conversion rates, bounce rates, and other user behavior indicators.

Go through all the columns to unearth where competitors are doing well and where they might be vulnerable. 

For example, if a competitor's page views per visit increase while their conversion rate drops, it suggests visitors aren’t finding what they need. If bounce rates are rising across the board, it could indicate a trend with customers in general. 

By comparing these metrics, pinpoint where your organization performs well or needs improvement.

Then, take these findings to capitalize on competitors’ vulnerabilities and make traction on their successes.

Step 5. Understand Traffic Flows with Sources & Destinations

Next, check the Sources & Destinations dashboard to understand how traffic flows to and from your competitors’ domains.

The data here can help you understand: 

• Referral Channels: Which sites and platforms drive the most traffic to your competitors so you can identify partnership or ad opportunities.
• Audience Behavior: How visitors navigate away from your competitors’ sites, giving you insights into audience preferences and potential content gaps to fill.
• Traffic Opportunities: You can target emerging traffic channels or unexpected referrers to capture additional market share or expand your reach.
• Competitor Strategies: How effectively your competitors use specific traffic channels, helping you benchmark your own efforts and optimize accordingly.

Step 6. Identify High-Traffic Content with the Top Pages dashboard

Finally, go to the Top Pages dashboard. Here, you’ll gain insights into the topics, products, and services that audiences flock to most.

Filter by channel to spot which drove the most traffic to competitors’ top pages. 

Then, use Google Analytics to get your traffic numbers. Compare your findings to these competitor results and:

• Find new content opportunities.
• Maximize your content promotion strategies.
• Exceed your inbound KPIs.
• Take away competitors’ market share!

Solution 

Benchmark your strategy against competitors to stay ahead. Follow these steps:

1. Capture competitors’ market share by reviewing the Market Summary to assess your position.
2. Prioritize following strategies from those trending upwards in the Growth Quadrant to focus efforts effectively.
3. Capitalize on the competition’s weakest channels through Market Players data.
4. Optimize engagement and conversion by analyzing competitors' cross-channel metrics in the Traffic Overview dashboard.
5. Refine acquisition and retention strategies using Sources & Destinations insights on visitor pathways.
6. Create content inspired by the highest ranking results from the Top Pages dashboard to capture audience interest.

Focusing on proven channels will help your team drive growth, improve market positioning, and stay competitive.

Benchmark Your Growth Against the Competition with Traffic & Market