seo search engine optimization link building agencyseo search engine optimization link building agencyseo search engine optimization link building agencyseo search engine optimization link building agency
  • BRANDS
    • Marketer.co
    • PPC.co
    • Link.Build
    • DEV.co
    • Website.Design
  • SERVICES
    • Managed SEO
    • Link Building
    • On-Page SEO
    • White Label SEO
    • Content Writing
    • SEO Audits
    • PPC Management
  • TOOLS
    • Backlink Checker
    • Site Audit
    • Broken Link Tool
    • Robots.txt Tester
    • Sitemap Validator
    • Site Speed Tester
    • Title Tag Checker
    • AI Content Writer
    • SEO Training
  • WHY US
    • Case Studies
    • Our Process
    • Our Team
    • Our History
    • Acquisitions
    • Become a Writer!
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
LOGINGET STARTED
✕
How & Where to Share Your Content for Local SEO
How & Where to Share Your Content for Local SEO
October 4, 2021
Do Other Local Business Ads Threaten Local SEO?
Do Other Local Business Ads Threaten Local SEO?
October 4, 2021

How Working with Competitors Can Help Local SEO

Last Updated by Timothy Carter on October 4, 2021
How Working with Competitors Can Help Local SEO

Working directly with your competitors, and at times giving them mention, is actually a worthwhile strategy for local SEO. With the right approach, you’ll greatly increase your domain authority and local relevance, and any traffic you lose to your competitor will be more than made up for by the increases you see from local searches.

Table of Contents

  • The Local Relevance Factor
  • The Competitor Search Factor
  • Strategies to Use Your Competitors

The Local Relevance Factor

First, consider the local relevance factor. Google is constantly updating its index to determine which businesses are local where, and what those businesses do. It searches for contextual clues throughout your content, your links, and the prominent titles on your website. One obvious strategy to increase the local relevance of your brand is to include your city and/or state in much of your web copy. But another, even more valuable strategy is to mention your competitors.

When Google crawls the web and sees you and your competitor’s name frequently mentioned together, it will learn to form a connection between them. Because your competitors operates in the same region and the same industry, you’ll gain extra authority from both a local SEO and industry-based SEO perspective. That means your domain authority will increase, your rankings for local keywords will rise, and you’ll enjoy the benefits of far more organic search traffic.

The Competitor Search Factor

There’s another major search benefit to using your competitors’ names. Imagine a prospective customer who is searching for a solution both you and your competitor offer. They’ve only heard of your competitor before, but they want to do some research before buying. They search Google for your competitor’s name.

If your brand frequently mentions your competitor’s name, it’s highly likely that you’ll be the second result to pop up. That means you have a shot at stealing your competitor’s otherwise untouchable branded search traffic.

Strategies to Use Your Competitors

Now that you know the benefits of mentioning and using your competitors in a local SEO strategy, we can focus on the day-to-day tactics that make these benefits possible. There are several strategies you can use, both onsite and offsite, but using them in conjunction with each other will give you the greatest benefit.

Mutually Attending Events

Your first option is to find out what local events your competitors are attending, and attend them. Local event attendance is a great local SEO strategy in itself, since you have the perfect opportunity to submit a press release and write new content featuring local keywords, but if you can capitalize on your competitors being there too, you can sweeten the deal. Consider interviewing a representative from one of your competitors at the event if you really feel like going all-out. We have done this at our West Palm Beach location, with great success:

Strategies to Use Your Competitors

We have garnered hundreds of local “competitors” to events in South Florida which have included sponsors and great opportunities for rubbing shoulders with top local talent.

Exchanging Links

First, understand that “exchanging links” regularly can get you into trouble—if you constantly swap links with one partner, Google will suspect you of link manipulation and you’ll likely be penalized accordingly. However, occasionally swapping guest posts can only serve to strengthen both of your sites. You’ll trade authority and diversify your content blend, all while increasing your local relevance. It really is a win-win situation.

Writing Industry-Covering Review Articles

This is one of the greatest strategies you can use since it capitalizes on a very specific type of query. Write an article that covers all the options consumers have for businesses like yours in the area. For example, you could use an article to ask and answer the question, “who is the best plumber in Albany?” In the article, detail yourself along with all your competitors, but do try to remain unbiased. Anyone looking to comparison shop will find your article easily, and you’ll have the home field advantage since the article is featured on your site. You might lose a few visitors to your external links, but the information you provide will allow you to win out in the long run.

Mimicking Your Competitors’ Backlink Profiles and Followings

Finally, take advantage of the work your competitors have already done. You can use a backlink profile tool like Moz’s Open Site Explorer to review and see what types of links your competitors are building. While you don’t want to copy this exactly, you can draw inspiration from it and discover new local sources you haven’t previously considered. You can also engage with your competitors’ social followings; you can usually determine whether each follower is a local resident, and you can definitely tell they’re interested in your industry. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple mention to earn a new loyal follower. We cover more of this in detail in our comprehensive online marketing guide.

Don’t hesitate to use your competitors when trying to build your local SEO presence. While it might seem strange or counterintuitive at first, soon you’ll find that the strategy has immense net value to your brand. Build yourself into a recognizable local presence, keep user experience at the heart of what you do, and you’ll see multiplied incoming traffic as a result.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Timothy Carter
Timothy Carter
Chief Revenue Officer at SEO.co
Industry veteran Timothy Carter is SEO.co’s Chief Revenue Officer. Tim leads all revenue for the company and oversees all customer-facing teams - including sales, marketing & customer success. He has spent more than 20 years in the world of SEO & Digital Marketing leading, building and scaling sales operations, helping companies increase revenue efficiency and drive growth from websites and sales teams. When he's not working, Tim enjoys playing a few rounds of disc golf, running, and spending time with his wife and family on the beach...preferably in Hawaii.

Over the years he's written for publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Marketing Land, Search Engine Journal, ReadWrite and other highly respected online publications. Connect with Tim on Linkedin & Twitter.
Timothy Carter
Latest posts by Timothy Carter (see all)
  • Drip Marketing Campaigns: How to Structure & Send Emails for Maximum Impact - February 6, 2023
  • Why Aren’t My Landing Pages Working? [50 Reasons] - January 31, 2023
  • 18 Search Engine Alternatives to Google - January 20, 2023
Share
1
Timothy Carter
Timothy Carter
Industry veteran Timothy Carter is SEO.co’s Chief Revenue Officer. Tim leads all revenue for the company and oversees all customer-facing teams - including sales, marketing & customer success. He has spent more than 20 years in the world of SEO & Digital Marketing leading, building and scaling sales operations, helping companies increase revenue efficiency and drive growth from websites and sales teams. When he's not working, Tim enjoys playing a few rounds of disc golf, running, and spending time with his wife and family on the beach...preferably in Hawaii. Over the years he's written for publications like Entrepreneur, Marketing Land, Search Engine Journal, ReadWrite and other highly respected online publications.

Related posts

Is It Possible to Succeed in SEO Without Link Building?
February 8, 2023

How to Rank Without Building Backlinks


Read more
Ultimate Guide to Drip Marketing Campaigns
February 6, 2023

Drip Marketing Campaigns: How to Structure & Send Emails for Maximum Impact


Read more
Local SEO Strategies & Tips
February 1, 2023

14 Local SEO Strategies & Tips


Read more

Local SEO

  • Local SEO Guide
  • Local SEO vs. National SEO
  • Prioritizing Local SEO
  • Rank for Multiple Locations
  • Why Your Site Isn’t Showing
  • How to Share Local Content
  • Acquire Local Link Citations
  • Move Your Local Business
  • Optimize Google Business Profile
  • Leveraging Competition
  • Local SEO Threats
  • Local SEO Mistakes
  • Keyword Research for Local SEO
  • Link Building for Local SEO
  • Local SEO Content
  • Local SEO Audits
  • How to Improve Local SEO

Inc 5000 Logo

Our Services

  • SEO Services
  • Link Building Services
  • On-Page SEO
  • White Label SEO
  • Content Writing Services
  • Amazon SEO
  • PPC Management
  • Public Relations
  • Brand Mentions
  • SEO Site Audits

SEO Resources

  • SEO for Beginners
  • Link Building Guide
  • Local SEO
  • Online Marketing
  • Digital Marketing
  • Content Marketing
  • SEO Reseller
  • Backlink Checker
  • Keyword Research
  • Google Ranking Factors

About SEO.co

  • About Us
  • SEO Team
  • SEO Blog
  • SEO Clients
  • SEO Tools
  • Markets Served
  • Locations Served
  • Client Login
  • Contact

Contact Us

Email: info@seo.co
Call: +1 (877) 545-4769
Address: 1425 Broadway Suite 22689
Seattle, WA 98112
White Label SEO Agency
  
Outwrite. Outrank.
© 2023 SEO.co. All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy | Sitemap
    GET STARTED
      Manage Cookie Consent
      To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
      Functional Always active
      The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
      Preferences
      The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
      Statistics
      The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
      Marketing
      The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
      Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
      View preferences
      {title} {title} {title}