Compared to brick and mortar businesses, who primarily have to compete on a local level, when you go online, you’re competing against a much broader range of alternatives to your business. Some of them will have a more established presence and a bigger budget than you.

But that doesn’t mean that competition is impossible, however. Here, we’re going to look at how to work both hard and smart to make sure your business can break through the tight net of competition online.

Identify your competitors

First of all, you need to know who it is, exactly, that you’re competing with. There are a variety of ways to do this. You can use search engine terms that you think customers would use to find your own website or business, for instance, and see who pops up. You can look at names that get more frequently mentioned in relevant industry media.

However, for the most comprehensive look, you can hire competitor analysis services to not only tell you who you competitors are, but which spaces they’re most active in and how effective they are at capturing your target market’s attention. You need to vary your strategy to make sure that you’re making moves that will actually be effective against the companies that you’re trying to beat, after all.

Learn from your competitors

Once you know who your biggest competitors are, you should take the time to actually look at what it is they are doing and to find out how successful it is. Pay attention to which kinds of posts on social media tend to get the most engagement and which of their ads appear to you most often.

This way, you can see what works for them and emulate it while adding enough of a twist to differentiate it from them. However, it’s just as important to learn about what doesn’t work from them, as well. If they have been around longer than you have, then you will be able to identify mistakes that they have made and ensure you don’t make them, yourself.

Focus down on a niche

If you try to go blow for blow using the exact same marketing strategy as a bigger competitor, then you are likely to lose out time and time again, since they have the budget to beat you. However, you can take the fight to the areas that they’re not currently fighting in, reaching customers that they may be missing.

Finding a niche, finding your USP, and differentiating yourself from your competitors can help you establish a presence that they will then have a harder time trying to take off of you. This doesn’t mean you should give up competition in all areas, but it just means the bulk of your success might come from narrowing your focus some.

Visibility is key

There are some forms of visibility, such as bad reviews and takedown articles, that can hurt your brand online, of course. However, in most cases, the more visible your business is, the better it is likely to fare. Maintaining good PR relationships and having your brand featured in online publications can certainly help this.

However, perhaps the real authority lies with Google. The search engine sees more traffic than any other page on the internet and, as such, search engine optimization can play a crucial role in helping you get competitive. If you can use SEO to appear at the top of search engine results pages, it can help your brand get more established in the minds of the user as the go-to name for what services and products you provide.

Take it local again

If your business has a local base, then you should be willing to make use of that. The internet can help you reach more widely than ever before, but it can also help you better target those that live closer to you, too. Local search marketing is an example of how to better hone your focus down to those close to you. If done right, then they may be more likely to stumble upon your business first than even the biggest international businesses that you’re competing with, all because you’re the closer and, thus, more convenient solution.

Use a professional’s touch

You might have some marketing savvy and worthwhile insights when it comes to reaching your audience online. However, when it comes to your knowledge of the platforms, marketing principles, and different kinds of strategies through the various online channels, it’s not likely that you have the expertise you need to be truly competitive unless you specifically studied in it.

For that reason, it’s always a good idea to reach out for some help and to partner with a media agency that specializes in digital media. Aside from helping you get results more quickly, you can also learn from these agencies over time, getting the kind of expertise that allows you to eventually run your own online marketing operations completely.

Make use of the asset your competitors don’t have

What do you have that your competitors don’t? We’re not talking about a niche or anything that makes your services and products different. Rather, we’re talking about your customers. You have the customers that your competitors don’t and for a reason. Who better to inform others of that reason than the customers themselves?

Word of mouth and positive social proof are some of the most powerful forces of all when it comes to effective online marketing, so do not be shy about using them, at all. Encourage your customers to leave reviews, write testimonials, get active on social media and more.

There are no guarantees as to whether you can beat your competition online or not, even with the tips above. However, the more willing you are to market smartly and try more effective strategies, the better your odds. Good luck out there.