Why is traffic gap analysis important?<\/h2>\n
Monitoring your own website traffic isn\u2019t going to help you outpace your competitors. You\u2019ve got to understand what\u2019s working for them, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, to bridge any gaps in traffic and eventually outperform them. That\u2019s where a traffic gap analysis comes in.<\/p>\n
A traffic gap analysis will help you:<\/p>\n
Benchmark your performance:<\/strong> With a clearer picture of where you stand in the industry, you\u2019ll not only get a benchmark for success but set more realistic goals for growth.<\/p>\n Spot opportunities: <\/strong>Your competitors might be tapping into traffic sources you haven\u2019t yet considered.<\/p>\n Better allocate resources: <\/strong>By uncovering your competitors’ high traffic sources, you can focus your resources on channels you know drive success.<\/p>\n Stay ahead of the curve: <\/strong>Digital trends and audience behavior shifts rapidly. With regular traffic gap analysis, you can stay updated with these changes and stay in the game.<\/p>\n To build a foundation for your traffic gap analysis, you first need to analyze your competitors\u2019 general traffic trend over time. And to get this data, you can use a traffic analytics<\/a> platform like Similarweb<\/p>\n On our platform, you can view a competitor\u2019s performance using the Website Analysis module, and from there zero in on their visits over time to analyze the traffic trend over a particular period:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a snapshot of <\/em>Starbucks\u2019 website traffic<\/em><\/a> trend worldwide over the last 12 months as an example. With this view, you can change the date range, country and type of traffic (desktop, mobile or both) you\u2019d like to analyze.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Next, discover which countries are driving the most traffic to your competitors\u2019 website by looking at the \u2018Top Countries\u2019 section. Get a full list of countries they receive traffic from sorted by share of traffic<\/a>:<\/p>\n Then check out how your competitor\u2019s traffic is shared between different marketing channels<\/a> to identify their key traffic sources:<\/p>\n Looking at Starbucks\u2019 marketing channels overview, you\u2019ll see that their biggest sources are organic traffic and direct traffic (no surprises here given that Starbucks is a household name) but they get the least traffic from social and email.<\/em><\/p>\n The next step is comparing your<\/em> website’s traffic with that of your competitors. This step is at the core of traffic gap analysis, as it illuminates the gaps, strengths and weaknesses of the competitive set that will later form the roadmap you\u2019ll use to win more traffic.<\/p>\n With Similarweb it couldn\u2019t be easier to see direct comparisons of how your website traffic measures up to your competitors.<\/p>\n Using the same Website Analysis module, add in your brand alongside up to 4 competitors to compare the traffic and engagement of all sites:<\/p>\n With this overview, look for gaps between you and your competitors according to:<\/p>\n Traffic trend:<\/strong> Look into the traffic trends as a whole to see where you stand against competitors. Are you getting the most, the least or an average amount of traffic? Use this as a benchmark of what you could potentially achieve.<\/p>\n Then, look for spikes in traffic that your competitors are getting (but you are not) to understand seasonal trends that you could be capitalizing on.<\/p>\n Device: <\/strong>Comparing the device-specific traffic (mobile vs. desktop) of you and your competitors can reveal your target audience\u2019s preferences, and signal if and where you need to optimize your website and content to better suit them.<\/p>\n Country traffic share: <\/strong>See if competitors are getting significant traffic from a country where you have little to none to seek out areas of improvement – or even new market opportunities<\/a>!<\/p>\n Dive into a competitor’s organic traffic and engagement metrics to gauge the effectiveness of their SEO strategy<\/a> and the quality of their user experience and content. When compared with your website\u2019s own data, you\u2019ll quickly see where you could drive more traffic or improve engagement.<\/p>\n Is your bounce rate<\/a> higher than the rest? Maybe your content isn\u2019t quite resonating with your audience. Or, do you have lower pages per visit or visit duration<\/a>? If so, you need to figure out what keeps your audience on their site for longer.<\/p>\n Look into the \u2018Organic Traffic\u2019 tab on your competitive Channel Traffic overview on Similarweb\u2019s platform to dig out some juicy traffic insights:<\/p>\n Then, look under the Traffic and Engagement page to compare your engagement data. Similarweb will automatically highlight which website is winning for each metric:<\/p>\n Keywords are the pillars of organic traffic. Analyzing keyword gaps<\/a> (keywords your competitors rank for but you don’t) and overlaps (keywords both you and competitors rank for) can shine a light on a host of untapped keyword and content opportunities that could result in more organic traffic to your site<\/a>.<\/p>\n Find out why your competitors are ranking highly for some keywords when you\u2019re not. They could be keywords you\u2019re actively trying to target, or keywords you\u2019re missing out on completely. Whichever it is, analyze the overlap between you and your competitors with Similarweb\u2019s Keyword Gap tool<\/a>:<\/p>\n Once here, you can see where you are losing out on keyword traffic share, or spot brand new keyword opportunities. Filter by traffic, <\/em>search volume<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>search intent<\/em><\/a> to qualify which of your competitors\u2019 best performing keywords could drive more organic traffic to your website.<\/em><\/p>\n We all know content is King. And great content is the key to driving organic traffic. So naturally, analyzing gaps in your content<\/a> compared with competitors is a pretty important step.<\/p>\n It\u2019s about looking at the existing content, topics and keywords they\u2019re focusing on to uncover their biggest traffic magnets.<\/p>\n First things first – take a good look at your competitors’ content. Everything from their articles and guides, to their service or product pages. Look for patterns – what topics are they covering? Are there gaps in their content that you could fill with your own unique perspective or expertise?<\/p>\n Next, assess the quality. Search engines prize high-quality content above everything else, so scrutinize depth, relevance, and engagement levels. Where can you one-up them with more comprehensive, engaging and up-to-date versions of your competitors\u2019 content?<\/p>\n Get an understanding of which keywords your competitors rank for on Google to spot any keyword opportunities that could boost your own organic rankings.<\/p>\n With Similarweb\u2019s Ranking Distribution tool, you can access a full list of keywords your competitors rank for and use the available filters to refine by specific keyword, search volume or position (i.e. 1-3 or top 20) to extract their best keywords:<\/p>\n Analyzing a website\u2019s technical performance can reveal a lot about how traffic gaps are formed in the first place. So, examining your competitors’ site structure<\/a> and technical performance is an important step in understanding why their site may be getting more traffic – and could be the key to closing the gap.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to get a sense of their websites\u2019 technical performance<\/a>:<\/p>\n PPC is a potent source of traffic. And one that can be acquired more easily than the rest with the right strategies and investment. But, how do you know you\u2019re doing enough to secure a solid stream of paid traffic?<\/p>\n By examining your competitors\u2019 paid traffic trends<\/p>\n Look closely at the ebbs and flows, peaks in paid activity and areas of consistent growth. Then, compare it with yours to highlight any gaps you need to fill to win that paid traffic for yourself.<\/p>\n Compare paid traffic trends using Similarweb\u2019s Paid Search overview feature, under the main Paid Search module. Here, you can compare traffic trends with up to 4 competitors by selecting the \u2018Paid Search Traffic\u2019 tab on the graph:<\/p>\n Notice a common surge in paid traffic over the holiday season and summer months across this competitive set. Trend patterns like this could indicate when the target audience is most likely to engage with paid ads.<\/em><\/p>\n Looking at how much your competitors are investing in their paid strategy<\/a> gives you insight into what and where<\/em> they are spending to capture paid traffic. And, when you compare their ad spend to their actual paid traffic for that month, you\u2019ll see whether their spend decisions resulted in more traffic.<\/p>\n This could highlight gaps in your PPC spend<\/a> where you are either spending too much or not enough. With definitive proof of where it pays off to invest budget, you can allocate more wisely for greater returns in paid traffic.<\/p>\n See your competitors\u2019 ad spend under the \u2018PPC spend\u2019 tab on the graph:<\/p>\n It looks like Starbucks invests most of their PPC budget between September and December. This lines up with the release of their eagerly awaited autumn and holiday menus each year, which have become quite the cultural phenomenon. After all, it\u2019s not really autumn until your first taste of a pumpkin spice latte <\/em><\/p>\n Next up, pinpoint the paid keywords that are driving the most visitors to your competitors\u2019 websites. Look at the traffic share for each of the top paid keywords<\/a> to highlight gaps where you are not yet targeting high-traffic keywords in your paid strategy.<\/p>\n You can find a snapshot of the top paid keywords in your Paid Search overview. Access the full list to analyze the competitive keyword traffic share:<\/p>\n Look at the distribution of traffic for each keyword to see where you have little to no share. You can also select \u2018newly discovered\u2019 and \u2018trending terms\u2019 to find keywords that are currently gaining traction for your competitors that you are yet to target.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Why is dissecting your competitors\u2019 most successful landing pages and ad copy important to traffic gap analysis? Because they\u2019re the key to unlocking what resonates strongly with your shared target audience, and what causes them to actually click and convert.<\/p>\n Looking into the messaging, value propositions, CTAs and design formats that actually drive traffic<\/em> will highlight a ton of areas where you could improve. Often, even the smallest tweaks inspired by competitive insight<\/a> can result in an uplift in paid traffic.<\/p>\n To examine competitive ads using Similarweb, check out our Search Ads feature<\/a>. Here, you can view the ads that are driving the most traffic and engagement for your competitors:<\/p>\n You\u2019ll see the traffic and estimated ad impressions of your competitors\u2019 highest-performing ads, as well as the search ad text exactly as it appears on search results. Happy spying! <\/em><\/p>\n Similarweb can also help you unearth your competitors\u2019 high-traffic landing pages<\/p>\n Using our Paid Landing Pages tool<\/a>, you will get a list of their top landing pages ready for you to slice and dice:<\/p>\n Examine the top-performing landing pages for each competitor and dive deeper with details of the ads and keywords driving traffic to them.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Look at how much referral traffic your competitors receive to get an idea of where you stand and if there’s opportunity for you to win more traffic from external sources.<\/p>\n Is their referral traffic consistently growing while yours remains a little stagnant? Find out by switching to the \u2018Referrals\u2019 tab on your Marketing Channels overview to compare their referral traffic trend to yours:<\/p>\n If you find their referral traffic is looking pretty healthy, investigate where it\u2019s coming from by identifying their biggest traffic sources – the domains and websites that are consistently sending visitors their way.<\/p>\n You may be able to target similar websites and redirect some of that traffic to your own website.<\/p>\n Delve into your competitors\u2019 referring domains with Similarweb\u2019s Incoming Traffic tool:<\/p>\n For each referring domain, you can see how the traffic share is split between your chosen set of competitors. And, as an added perk, our platform will identify which brand is getting the most engagement from visitors sent from each domain<\/em><\/p>\n On your Incoming Traffic overview, you can see the industry that each referring domain belongs to.<\/p>\n Analyzing referral traffic gaps by specific industry is a strategic approach for maximum relevance and quality. Rather than casting a wide net, honing in on industry-specific sources minimizes noise from aggregators and news sites, offering a clearer picture of the websites that could genuinely drive traffic to your website.<\/p>\n This focused analysis helps identify key players in your niche, fostering more targeted and effective referral traffic strategies.<\/p>\n As we all know, social media can be an absolute powerhouse when it comes to driving traffic. But, how does your social traffic measure up to your closest rivals?<\/p>\n Refer back to your Marketing Channel Overview under the Social tab to compare social traffic trends:<\/p>\n When analyzing your competitors\u2019 social traffic trend, look for periods when it spikes or dips. Check it against your own to see if there\u2019s a pattern, and if not, you could be missing out on times in the year when your competitors go full throttle with their <\/em>social strategies<\/em><\/a>, and you don\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n Next, discover the social platforms they are getting the most traffic from. This will show you where you\u2019re falling behind and if there are untapped opportunities to win more traffic from platforms you aren\u2019t prioritizing as much.<\/p>\n Find this out using Similarweb\u2019s Social Overview feature, where you can add in your competitors to see the share of traffic split by network:<\/p>\n In this competitive set, YouTube, Facebook and Reddit appear to be the <\/em>most popular social networks<\/em><\/a> for the target audience. But, notice that Dunkin\u2019 Donuts is getting a fair amount of traffic from Pinterest, and the others next to none. Are they onto something here? This could be a potential opportunity to capture another sub section of the target audience.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n How are your competitors killing it on social media? Find out by scrutinizing every inch of their social media pages and posts to pinpoint exactly what\u2019s driving their success.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick step-by-step:<\/p>\n 1) Assess their social network profiles<\/p>\n 2) Examine the content the<\/a>y share<\/p>\n 3) See how they interact with their audience<\/p>\n 4) Analyze their metrics<\/p>\n Use social media analytics tools or platforms’ built-in insights to see data on your competitors’ posts, including engagement rates<\/a>, reach, and click-throughs. Compare these metrics with your own to identify gaps you need to fill.<\/p>\n 5) Look for opportunities<\/p>\n Spot areas where your competitors may be missing out on opportunities, such as underutilized platforms or topics that are not being addressed. Then, focus on these in your own social strategy to gain a competitive edge.<\/p>\n When a website gets a lot of direct traffic, it\u2019s a bit of a flex<\/p>\n It\u2019s a clear sign of great brand recognition and a loyal customer base that just keeps coming back.<\/p>\n Understanding how your direct traffic measures up against competitors will highlight if your brand awareness<\/a> and customer engagement strategies need a little more attention.<\/p>\n Compare direct traffic trends with competitors back in your Marketing Channel overview:<\/p>\n Ideally, every brand should be ranking in the top spot for keywords related to their brand name or key products. For instance, Starbucks would expect to rank at #1 for branded keywords like \u2018starbucks\u2019, \u2018starbucks near me\u2019, or \u2018frappuccino\u2019.<\/p>\n In the same way, your brand should<\/em> be getting the lion\u2019s share of traffic for your branded terms, but this is not always the case. Often competitors bid on them in PPC campaigns in an attempt to redirect traffic from your website to theirs.<\/p>\n Start by looking at how well your competitors are ranking for their own branded keywords using Similarweb\u2019s Keyword tool<\/a>. Are they dominating the traffic share of their branded keywords?<\/p>\n Then, look at your own business to see how you measure up. If your presence isn\u2019t as strong in your own realm of branded keywords, you know you\u2019ve got work to do to bridge the gap.<\/p>\n Next, find out if the reason you\u2019re not ranking highly is because competitors are targeting your branded keywords in their content or paid search campaigns. You can do this using an ad intelligence tool, like Similarweb\u2019s Search Ads tool.<\/p>\n Upload a branded keyword list to see every search ad that targets your branded keywords:<\/p>\nHow to run a traffic gap analysis<\/h2>\n
1) Analyze your competitors\u2019 traffic performance<\/h3>\n
Identify their traffic trend<\/h4>\n
![\"Check](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/General-Traffic-trend-Starbucks.png\")
<\/p>\nCheck their traffic share by country<\/h4>\n
![\"Competitor](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Starbucks-traffic-share-by-country.png\")
<\/p>\nInvestigate their traffic sources<\/h4>\n
![\"Marketing](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Starbucks-Marketing-Channels.png\")
<\/p>\n2) Compare your competitors\u2019 traffic against yours<\/h3>\n
![\"Compare](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Coffee-shops-website-overview-traffic-trend.png\")
<\/p>\nPerform gap analysis for each traffic source<\/h2>\n
1) Organic traffic<\/h3>\n
Analyze gaps in organic traffic and engagement data<\/h4>\n
![\"Organic](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Organic-traffic-marketing-channel.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Compare](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Organic-engagement-data.png\")
<\/p>\nAnalyze keyword gaps and overlaps<\/h4>\n
![\"Keyword](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Coffee-shops-keyword-overlap.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Keyword](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Keyword-gap-coffee-shops-keywords.png\")
<\/p>\nLook for content gaps<\/h4>\n
Identify opportunities using ranking distribution<\/h4>\n
![\"Analyze](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Ranking-Distribution-overview.png\")
<\/p>\nAnalyze your competitor’s website structure and technical performance<\/h4>\n
\n
2) Paid traffic gap analysis<\/h3>\n
Spot paid traffic gaps and trends<\/h4>\n
![\"Paid](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Paid-search-overview-traffic-.png\")
<\/p>\nAnalyze gaps in ad spend<\/h4>\n
![\"PPC](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/PPC-Spend-overview-coffee-shops.png\")
<\/p>\nAnalyze gaps in paid keyword traffic share<\/h4>\n
![\"Look](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Competivie-Keyword-Share-coffee-shops.png\")
<\/p>\nCompare landing page and copy<\/h4>\n
![\"Search](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Search-Ad-competitive-analysis-coffee-shops.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Examine](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Paid-Landing-Pages-Coffee-set.png\")
<\/p>\n3) Referral traffic gap analysis<\/h3>\n
Compare your referral traffic trend<\/h4>\n
![\"Examine](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Referral-traffic-overview.png\")
<\/p>\nFind gaps in referring domains<\/h4>\n
![\"See](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Incoming-Traffic-Coffee-set.png\")
<\/p>\nAnalyze referral traffic gap by industry<\/h4>\n
4) Social traffic gap analysis<\/h3>\n
Find gaps in social traffic<\/h4>\n
![\"Analyze](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Social-traffic-overview.png\")
<\/p>\nAnalyze in traffic gap by social network<\/h4>\n
![\"Analyze](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Social-network-comparison-coffee.png\")
<\/p>\nDrill down into their pages and posts<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\n
5) Direct traffic gap analysis<\/h3>\n
![\"Compare](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Direct-traffic-overview.png\")
<\/p>\nCompare branded search gaps<\/h4>\n
![\"Branded](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Branded-keyword-gap-analysis.png\")
<\/p>\n