Tools for Stellar Online Market Research

30 May Tools for Stellar Online Market Research

If you’re looking to increase revenue, acquire a specific demographic of clientele, and just learn more about where your customers are coming from, you need to undergo a little market research.  While you might perceive online market research to be a strategic and challenging task, you’re probably engaging in some of the most effective tools right now.

Whether you’re a New York web design company, a restaurant, or a Fortune 500 company, you should know a thing or two about your stance in the competition.

Here are some helpful tools that you might already be using, or might consider implementing in your online market research campaign:

Keyword Search

When you’re researching a specific item, service, or place on Google, you try to use specific keywords in your search pertaining to that industry.  Your business also possesses specific keywords that are pertinent to your industry; keywords that your desired clientele are using in their search for you.

Try doing a little research for your own business and see how you size up against competitors.  If you’re a web design company in Hauppauge, you might consider searching for various keywords like Hauppauge SEO firm, web design firms on Long Island, and a number of other criteria that you fulfil.  You will find hard data about who your competitors are, what they’re doing to rank, and what you can do to bolster your own campaign.  Further, you will be informed about other ways to market your own brand on the search engines, which you had not previously considered.

Links of Competitors

After you’ve done some keyword searching, you might have acquired a list of top competitors in your area.  Try searching for a competitor’s URL in Google and look at the results.  You will clearly see other companies that are linking to that URL, how many sites are linking to them, and a number of other useful pieces of information.  This information can help you analyze what the competitor is doing differently, the kinds of products they are distributing, and how you can posit yourself better.  Link development is always a beneficial tool, as you might consider building an online rapport with sites that have high page rank.

Blogging

Get involved in the world of blogging to see what people are really talking about in your industry.  Social media is a great tool for connecting, but blogging also tends to occur rapidly and in an approachable tone.  Here, customers and competitors are often having authentic conversations about your industry, divulging priceless information about your business, and disclosing honest opinions.  You might also learn what your customers’ needs are and how you can deliver on your product and customer service.

Organize Surveys

If you’re looking to acquire honest opinions about your brand via a non-scientific approach, you might consider online surveys.  These samplings of market research are affordable and easy tools to garnering widespread information about your business, product, and brand.  Are you generating what your customers need and want?  Is your product better than that of your competitors?  These pieces of information are priceless to your business and online marketing campaign, and they’re easy to acquire.

These tools for online market research don’t demand savvy tech skills.  All you’ll need is some time and a desire to learn more about your business, competitors, and how to rise above.