Scientific Competitor Analysis – Paola Didonè

05 April 2019

Posted in: BSEO

What to expect from this talk? Some finely-honed insight into how you can make your competitor analysis more efficient! It’s such a huge part of the business world, but we don’t always do it well. We let it drag on, taking up far too much time and producing underwhelming results. But don’t despair: Paola Didonè of Distilled has a method for supercharging your efforts.

Overview

What was the talk about?

How would you deal with a client request to carry out competitor research in a language you don’t speak? Paola Didone had to solve that problem for a Japanese client and in tackling it she created a strategy for conducting competitor research in every language.

The first thing Paola explained is that Google Translate can’t be trusted. She tried it for one of the languages she speaks and the results were gibberish. So Paola looked at things she knew were accurate – traffic vs. ranking frequency; search volume; CTR of SERP position.

After getting the data she needed, Paola then reviewed it using the correct metrics, specifically, URL quality over domain quality. She then looked at whether keywords were seasonal or evergreen and prioritised those that had high search volumes throughout the year.

Fave quote

“Prioritise content based on seasonality and content stability.”

Potential impact on the industry

Language opens doors in every industry, so long as you know how to master it. Paola Didone began with a project that asked her to conduct useful analysis in a foreign tongue and found a solution to this challenge. The result was a strategy that stopped language from being the most important part of her analysis, and instead made it the quality of the data she collected. How could this impact the industry? It opens SEO up to everyone, everywhere.

Key takeaways

  • Don’t trust Google Translate
  • Check hreflang
  • UR is the best ranking metric
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