Understanding your competitors’ popularity can be very helpful but it’s not just about seeing who’s getting the most stars or likes. If you’re thinking about advertising on a website or just curious about how your rivals are doing on Google, knowing how much traffic they’re pulling in can really give you an edge. It’s like having a sneak peek into their playbook.
So, how do you actually find out how much traffic a website gets? Here are three solid methods to do just that:
Alexa
Alexa, which is now part of Amazon, is a fantastic tool for checking out how much traffic a website is pulling in. It’s very easy to use too. Just type in a website’s domain and it dishes out all sorts of numbers like “Estimated Page Views” and “Estimated Unique Visitors.”
But Alexa doesn’t stop there; it also gives you a bunch of other stats. You can see things like the site’s global rank, how engaging it is and even what percentage of its traffic comes from search engines. The catch? To access all these great insights, you need to sign up for a paid subscription. And just a heads-up, it’s not exactly wallet-friendly—the advanced plan kicks off at $149 a month.
Ahrefs, SEMRush and SpyFu
Ahrefs, SEMRush and SpyFu are like the Swiss Army knives for anyone wanting to peek at organic traffic stats. These tools are pretty much staples in any professional digital marketer’s toolkit.
They’re great for competitive research because they provide loads of useful data. For example, you can get a snapshot of a website’s monthly organic traffic, see the organic keywords they’re using and even check out their paid keywords.
Just a quick note about Ahrefs—it stands out from the bunch because it’s the only one that offers insights into “global” search traffic. So if you’re curious about how a website performs on a worldwide scale, Ahrefs is your go-to.
Similarweb
Similarweb is another tool I use to check out website traffic and trust me, it’s pretty robust. They have a whole bunch of reliable data that they base their traffic estimates on.
So, where does all this data come from? Well, Similarweb pulls its info from a few great sources. First, they have this massive panel of monitored devices—it’s actually the biggest in the industry. Then, they work with local internet service providers (ISPs) from various countries. They also have their own web crawlers that constantly scan every public website to keep their map of the digital world very accurate. And lastly, they get data directly from hundreds of thousands of websites and apps that are hooked up to their system.
What kind of traffic stats do they offer? Similarweb can show you the total visits a site had over the past month and it even tells you if the traffic has gone up or down since the month before. You can also see how many pages visitors check out on average, how long they stick around and the site’s bounce rate.
Plus, Similarweb gives you some extra goodies. You can see the traffic breakdown by country for desktop views, find out which sites are sending the most traffic and check the mix of traffic sources like referrals, direct visits and searches. They even list the top five organic keywords that are pulling viewers in.
Additional Tips
Stats are very helpful but they’re just part of the picture when it comes to sizing up the competition. Here are a few extra tips to really dial in on how well a site is doing:
Take a look at their YouTube channel. How many views are their videos getting? It’s a good indicator of how much people are engaging with their content.
Don’t forget to check the comments and shares on their posts. More interaction usually means they’re doing something right.
Also, scope out their social media pages like Twitter and Facebook. See how active their followers are. Are people liking, commenting and sharing their stuff? That level of engagement can tell you a lot about their fan base’s enthusiasm.
Conclusion
While these tools and tips give you a solid start to understanding competitor website traffic, sometimes you might need a bit more expertise to navigate the digital marketing landscape effectively. That’s where we, at Tribal Pearl Media, come in. Contact us to boost your online presence.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the best tools for estimating a competitor’s website traffic?
You’ll want to check out Alexa, Ahrefs, SEMRush, SpyFu and Similarweb. These tools are awesome because they let you peek into things like how much traffic a site gets, who’s checking them out and how well they’re doing compared to others.
How can Alexa help understand a competitor’s website traffic?
Using Alexa, you can see stuff like how many people visit a site, how many unique visitors they get, their worldwide ranking, how engaging their site is and how much of their traffic comes from searches. Just a heads up, you’ll need a paid plan to get the full scoop.
What makes Ahrefs unique among traffic estimating tools?
Ahrefs is great because it shows you traffic from all over the globe. This means you can see how popular a site is not just in your country but internationally.
Can Similarweb tell you the traffic origin of a competitor’s website?
Yes, Similarweb is pretty thorough. It can show you where a site’s visitors are coming from, which websites are referring to them and how they’re finding the site—whether it’s through direct visits, searches or links from other sites.
Why is it important to check a competitor’s social media engagement?
Keeping an eye on how much people interact on a competitor’s social media can tell you a lot. If they have a lot of likes, comments and shares, it means they’re doing something right and people are really into what they’re posting. This gives you clues on what might work for you too.
