Watch the competition

It can be really easy to get carried away on new developments for your community website, and often it is tempting to include more and more features for your community. Often features are introduced and are rarely used by the community which can be an unnecessary expense and waste of time for the administrator who installed the extra functions.

Whilst it is a good idea to ask members if they would like to see a specific feature, if you mention one in particular many will often say they would love to see it but then when it is introduced, rarely use it.

This is where it pays to always keep an eye on the competition. Finding competitors is not particularly hard to do. A search on Google for similar keywords to the ones you are targetting (you are targeting keywords, right?!?) will no doubt bring you plenty of results. When you have found a few competitor websites, take a look around. Consider the following:

What seems to be the most popular sections of the site? Why?
If there is an ideas / suggestions forum, what are people asking for?
What do users seem to be least happy about (eg over-zealous moderators, a software bug etc)
Admin announcements – what are your competitors planning on introducing in the future?
What features do you personally like about the site? Does your site have these features?

Considering these three core areas will really help you to develop your own community. By no means am I saying you should go out and copy whatever a competitor is doing – if you do this you will not be offering anything unique to your own community.

What I am saying is that it always pays to check back at your competitors’ sites from time to time to see how their community is ticking along. What can often give one community the edge over another is how responsive they are to change – by keeping on top of your competitors you can ensure you are one step ahead of the game.

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12 Responses to “Watch the competition”

Compare your site traffic » Community Spark:
April 14th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
[...] to use services such as Alexa and Compete – as I said in a previous article, you should always keep an eye on your competition. These services help you do just [...]
Using other forums as promotional tools » Online Community Building:
June 20th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
[...] I have said in a previous article, you should always be aware of your competition. By using other communities that your target audience visit, you will be indirectly promoting your [...]
Establish a routine and boost productivity » Online Community Building:
August 19th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
[...] list of tasks though, as this can restrain innovation. Always leave time to think of new ideas, to check out the competition and predict what your members will want in the [...]
Don’t follow your competition too closely » Online Community Building:
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:37 pm
[...] back at the beginning of March, I wrote about the importance of keeping an eye on the competition. By doing this, you will be able to learn from the mistakes of your competitors. You will be able [...]
Alberghi:
October 1st, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Competition on google is a really fact! everyone trying to be the first.
Martin Reed - Blog Author:
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Alberghi – In this article I was talking about watching what your competitors are doing with their websites, but it also pays to monitor their search rankings too!
Be proactive now or you’ll hate yourself later » Online Community Building:
October 11th, 2007 at 12:32 am
[...] it is essential that you are always proactive and thinking about the future. If you don’t watch the competition and think about whether your members will be happy tomorrow, you are only inviting stagnation, [...]
abbigliamento:
October 27th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
if you want your website on the tops you need pr but how much pr is enough? you must see the competitors for this .. to achive them you need a pr of your competitors.
Martin Reed - Blog Author:
October 29th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
abbigliamento – I am not convinced by your argument, and with the changes in PageRank and the pending introduction of ‘TrustRank’ I think the concept of PR being important is outdated. Besides, there are search engines other than Google!
Get rid of idleness once and for all » Online Community Building:
November 7th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
[...] written before about the importance of keeping an eye on the competition. If you struggle to get motivated or find that the development of your site is stuck in a rut, you [...]
How your competitors can make you more money » Online Community Building:
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:15 pm
[...] Keeping an eye on your competitors is important. Knowing who they are, what they are doing and what their customers (members) are demanding will help you improve your own website. When considered this way, competitors can be a positive influence on your site – they can even help you make more money. [...]
Watching referral stats can aid growth | Community Building & Community Management:
January 14th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
[...] as you, otherwise they would not have linked to your site. As I have said before, you should always keep an eye on the competition – check out their site and see if you can learn anything from [...]

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Compare your site traffic » Community Spark:
April 14th, 2007 at 3:06 pm

[...] to use services such as Alexa and Compete – as I said in a previous article, you should always keep an eye on your competition. These services help you do just [...]

Using other forums as promotional tools » Online Community Building:
June 20th, 2007 at 5:01 pm

[...] I have said in a previous article, you should always be aware of your competition. By using other communities that your target audience visit, you will be indirectly promoting your [...]

Establish a routine and boost productivity » Online Community Building:
August 19th, 2007 at 4:16 pm

[...] list of tasks though, as this can restrain innovation. Always leave time to think of new ideas, to check out the competition and predict what your members will want in the [...]

Don’t follow your competition too closely » Online Community Building:
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:37 pm

[...] back at the beginning of March, I wrote about the importance of keeping an eye on the competition. By doing this, you will be able to learn from the mistakes of your competitors. You will be able [...]

Alberghi:

October 1st, 2007 at 11:15 pm

Competition on google is a really fact! everyone trying to be the first.

Martin Reed - Blog Author:

October 3rd, 2007 at 8:55 pm

Alberghi – In this article I was talking about watching what your competitors are doing with their websites, but it also pays to monitor their search rankings too!

Be proactive now or you’ll hate yourself later » Online Community Building:
October 11th, 2007 at 12:32 am

[...] it is essential that you are always proactive and thinking about the future. If you don’t watch the competition and think about whether your members will be happy tomorrow, you are only inviting stagnation, [...]

abbigliamento:

October 27th, 2007 at 5:15 pm

if you want your website on the tops you need pr but how much pr is enough? you must see the competitors for this .. to achive them you need a pr of your competitors.

October 29th, 2007 at 9:37 pm

abbigliamento – I am not convinced by your argument, and with the changes in PageRank and the pending introduction of ‘TrustRank’ I think the concept of PR being important is outdated. Besides, there are search engines other than Google!

Get rid of idleness once and for all » Online Community Building:
November 7th, 2007 at 7:02 pm

[...] written before about the importance of keeping an eye on the competition. If you struggle to get motivated or find that the development of your site is stuck in a rut, you [...]

How your competitors can make you more money » Online Community Building:
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:15 pm

[...] Keeping an eye on your competitors is important. Knowing who they are, what they are doing and what their customers (members) are demanding will help you improve your own website. When considered this way, competitors can be a positive influence on your site – they can even help you make more money. [...]

Watching referral stats can aid growth | Community Building & Community Management:
January 14th, 2009 at 4:06 pm

[...] as you, otherwise they would not have linked to your site. As I have said before, you should always keep an eye on the competition – check out their site and see if you can learn anything from [...]

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