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How to spy on your competitors and steal their best traffic sources...

by Daniel Scott
5 replies
Hi guys,

So... those of you who know me know me as a copywriting and conversion specialist.

I write killer copy that converts like mad... I put together slick sales funnels... and I've been able to turn failing promotions into winners.

But between you and me... I don't know the first thing about traffic.

However, I AM eager to learn... hence this post.

Now, we all know (hopefully!) that targeted traffic is what's really important. And every niche has different places where the best source of traffic is.

My thoughts are... if I can skip the whole "spending way too much time and money on trial and error" thing... and figure out how my competitors are doing things... it's going to put money in my pocket a lot faster.

(Just to be clear... I'm not talking about copywriting. I'm talking about selling my own products and services in various markets like weight loss, dating, whatever.)

So... if there's products or services that can make this easier... I'm more than happy to pay for them. I've heard about SpyFu for PPC campaigns, and am about to look into it (though I don't know how effective it is)... but any other ideas would be killer.

(On a related note, if a traffic expert wants to pair up with me, let me know... I think we could both make a lot of money.)

And just so you know... I'm not expecting any magic bullets. I know there's going to be a lot of good old-fashioned hard work involved when it comes to getting good at this stuff.

But I'd be crazy not to take advantage of the huge amount of knowledge you all have.

-Daniel
#competitors #sources #spy #steal #traffic
  • Profile picture of the author myob
    Nearly all of my traffic is directly from readers of my articles on weight loss, fitness, medical, pharmaceuticals, and dozens of other topics in the most hotly competitive niches. If you think you can outrank any of the entrenched and deep-pocketed SEO professionals in these arenas by "spying" on them, you will be spending way too much time and money on trial and error. There are no magic bullets, and it's just going to take a lot of good old-fashioned hard work involved when it comes to getting good at this stuff. But you already knew that.
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  • Profile picture of the author yourreviewer
    Scott, take a look at the article below by Kim Roach. While this may not be exactly what you are looking for, take a look at Point 1.

    BuzzBlogger.com » Unusual Traffic Strategies for 2011
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    • Profile picture of the author netcatapult
      Originally Posted by yourreviewer View Post

      Scott, take a look at the article below by Kim Roach. While this may not be exactly what you are looking for, take a look at Point 1.

      BuzzBlogger.com » Unusual Traffic Strategies for 2011

      Great tip from "yourreviewer" for getting some good insights on Bit.ly URLs. If you can afford Spyfu, this is an excellent resource for getting information about your competition. Also, Market Samaraui has a module that allows you to spy on your top 10 competitors. For more in-depth analysis particularity for actual back links and which anchor text your competitors are using you should check out more robust software such as SEO powersuite. There are plenty of good tools available as you mentioned, there is no magic bullet and it is just a matter of how well you can analyze the data and how you decide to take action. Hope this helps!
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      • Profile picture of the author Daniel Scott
        Originally Posted by myob View Post

        Nearly all of my traffic is directly from readers of my articles on weight loss, fitness, medical, pharmaceuticals, and dozens of other topics in the most hotly competitive niches. If you think you can outrank any of the entrenched and deep-pocketed SEO professionals in these arenas by "spying" on them, you will be spending way too much time and money on trial and error. There are no magic bullets, and it's just going to take a lot of good old-fashioned hard work involved when it comes to getting good at this stuff. But you already knew that.
        What about finding which keywords you SHOULD be aiming to outrank them for? Any hints or tips?

        Originally Posted by yourreviewer View Post

        Scott, take a look at the article below by Kim Roach. While this may not be exactly what you are looking for, take a look at Point 1.

        BuzzBlogger.com » Unusual Traffic Strategies for 2011
        Awesome. Thanks a ton.

        Originally Posted by netcatapult View Post

        Great tip from "yourreviewer" for getting some good insights on Bit.ly URLs. If you can afford Spyfu, this is an excellent resource for getting information about your competition. Also, Market Samaraui has a module that allows you to spy on your top 10 competitors. For more in-depth analysis particularity for actual back links and which anchor text your competitors are using you should check out more robust software such as SEO powersuite. There are plenty of good tools available as you mentioned, there is no magic bullet and it is just a matter of how well you can analyze the data and how you decide to take action. Hope this helps!
        I have Market Samurai - never knew it had that feature! Thanks heaps.

        I'm happy to pay an SEO company to get me good rankings - what I'm unsure about is how to go about finding the best keywords, for example. By the same token, I'm sure there's a lot of traffic my competitors have coming from sources I never would have thought of.

        So I guess that's what I'm trying to divine here.

        Thanks a heap for the responses so far... they're very much appreciated. Keep 'em coming!

        -Daniel
        Signature

        Always looking for badass direct-response copywriters. PM me if we don't know each other and you're looking for work.

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      • Profile picture of the author thedog
        Originally Posted by netcatapult View Post

        Great tip from "yourreviewer" for getting some good insights on Bit.ly URLs. If you can afford Spyfu, this is an excellent resource for getting information about your competition. Also, Market Samaraui has a module that allows you to spy on your top 10 competitors. For more in-depth analysis particularity for actual back links and which anchor text your competitors are using you should check out more robust software such as SEO powersuite. There are plenty of good tools available as you mentioned, there is no magic bullet and it is just a matter of how well you can analyze the data and how you decide to take action. Hope this helps!
        Yes, I also use this technique with MS.

        You can find some pretty cool high PR backlinks using this... I like to search for similar niches to mine, but with tougher competion... and then find out where they're getting their backlinks from.

        I've found some pretty nice high PR blogs, that accept comments... and not OBL.
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