Everything you need to know about the SEO Benchmark: definition and challenges for your website

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Le benchmark SEO is a term used to describe how a company compares its search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts with those of its competitors.

This process enables us to understand how other players in the market work to increase their online visibility, and to put in place best practice to improve the performance of our own website in the face of the competition.

What is an SEO benchmark?

SEO benchmarking consists of studying the natural referencing strategies implemented by different competitors in the same sector.

The web professionals then analyse the various strengths and weaknesses of each campaign to identify the elements that have contributed to the success of the website.

This information will then be taken into account to build or improve your own SEO strategy and outperform your rivals in the search results.

Strategic benchmarking

This takes into account the analysis of objectives and the choice of target keywords. This involves studying the queries typed in by Internet users when they are looking for a product or service similar to that offered by your site. The objectives can be varied, such as improving organic traffic, generating leads or the increase in the conversion.

Technical benchmark

It consists of analysing the technical aspects of competing sites, such as the site's architecture, design and content. loading speed or the quality of the code. Certain errors can have a negative impact on positioning in the search engine results pages.

Editorial benchmarking

A study of the content published on competitors' sites should enable us to establish a precise and detailed inventory so that we can put in place an appropriate editorial production strategy. The aim here is to offer content that is relevant and optimised for search engines, adding value to your website in the eyes of web users and facilitating their engagement.

The popularity benchmark

This involves estimating the reputation of competing sites on the Internet using indicators such as the number of backlinks (incoming links), presence on social networks and audience share (number of visits and page views).

Why carry out an SEO benchmark? The benefits for your company

Performing an SEO benchmark is a key element in improving the performance of your website and develop your market share.

Defining a high-performance SEO strategy

Comparing your site with those of your competitors will give you a better understanding of their successes and obstacles, and enable you to target the aspects that need to be optimised to ensure the success of your own SEO strategy.

Measuring and monitoring performance

Benchmarking gives you the opportunity to evaluate your results against those of your competitors on a regular basis. In this way, you can adjust or implement new actions to progressively gain positions in the search engines.

Using best practice in competition

When you identify the best practices used by your competitors that are working well, don't hesitate to apply them to your site. This does not mean copying others, but rather building on their successes and proposing an optimised SEO strategy that is unique to your company.

How do you carry out an effective SEO benchmark?

To create a useful and relevant SEO benchmark, you need to consider a number of key stages and points.

Identify competitors: First and foremost, you need to identify the key market players with whom you are competing on the Internet.
Analysing the data : Gather information on each competitor's strategies, including their rankings on the main queries, the quality of their content, the technical aspects of their site and their popularity.
Learning from experience : Identify the main strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and list the elements that need to be maintained or improved on your own website.
Implementing actions : draw up a concrete action plan to put in place an effective SEO strategy, with the aim of improving your search engine positioning.
Evaluating results: Regularly measure your site's performance using key indicators and adjust your actions if necessary to make progress on your objectives. SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

Finally, it is essential to note that SEO benchmarking must be carried out on a regular basis.

Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, as are your competitors' strategies. So it's important to keep abreast of market trends and adapt accordingly to maintain your competitiveness on the Internet.