10 Free Tools To Check Out Your Competitors
February 10th, 2009. Posted by Kyle Aspinall
Some of these tools have been around for years, some are quite new. It seems almost daily I come across more tools that share and mash up multiple data feeds to give interesting competitive intelligence. I’m sure our friends over at Hitwise are getting more and more nervous as companies like Google provide more free information to the public.
1.Web Page Analyzer – A fantastic tool for measuring the performance and speed of any web page. Company owner, Andrew King, has been around for many years and is an avid tramper who has visited our New Zealand shores once or twice before.
2.WayBackMachine - Great tool for seeing the history and transformation of a website over the years. This service allows users to see archived versions of web pages of the past—what the Archive calls a “three dimensional index”. Not all web pages are available, however, because many website owners voluntarily exclude their sites.
3.Google Alerts – Keep on top of your competitors name in the news or even current on your industry.
4.Google Insights – Another fantastic tool from Google. Once there make sure you login with your Google Account (If you don’t already have one sign up immediately!) you can then compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, and time frames.
5.Marketleap is another one of those sites that have been around for years. 3 great tools, Link Popularity, search engine saturation and keyword verification tool.
6.Network Tools – Want to know where your competitors are hosting their site? Country, ISP, try this tool.
7.Attention Meter – Lets you compare multiple sites across Compete, Alexa, and Quancast.
8.Spyfu.com has gone through a number of upgrades through the years. Very US specific however it does provide some good insight for NZ and Australian sites.
9.Feedwhip – detects when your competitors have changed a page on their site.
10.Linkdiagnosis – This nifty tool extracts the alt text keyword from incoming links to websites.
Ok, now that should keep you busy for the next couple of weeks. If you have any other tools or websites that you might use please share.