Benchmarking has been utilized in business since the early 1800s. Back then, industrialists would invest time and money researching their manufacturing competitors in order to figure out what tactics they were using so that they might adopt them in their own factories.
As time went on and industries grew more competitive, benchmarking quickly became a fundamental practice that companies used to reference where they were in relation to their competition.
Fast forward to the digital age, and things aren’t too dissimilar. Instead of comparing factory practices, businesses of all sizes and sectors are now comparing and contrasting digital performance, results, and other data against specific reference points in their efforts to differentiate. These reference points (these are the actual benchmarks) could be an industry average, an aspirational best-in-class quantifiable achievement, or whatever a particular competitor is up to.
The fundamentals of digital benchmarking
Effective digital benchmarking helps you to identify areas for improvement, while giving you a framework that will support your firm in facilitating continuous growth.
For most companies, for which online presences are paramount, digital benchmarking is a fundamental aspect of strategic planning. Indeed, digital benchmarking helps marketers to develop a deeper, and somewhat objective, understanding of their position in the market by measuring internal results against direct competitors.
However, the trouble is that many people don’t know where to begin. First of all, once you get your hands on a website benchmarking tool, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the sheer number of metrics and information thrown your way. On top of that, using these metrics to derive actionable insights is a challenging endeavor, even for the most seasoned marketer.
After all, the data you collect is practically meaningless unless you can use it to pinpoint your brand’s most relevant benchmarks and understand what the comparative information means in relation to your current circumstances.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at three aspects of benchmarking that are essential for digital marketers to focus on.
1. Web Traffic
Traffic is one of the most important references you need to consider when benchmarking. This includes measuring the volume of traffic that your competitors receive but also other metrics that help you obtain a clearer understanding of the quality of their traffic. Some of the most important metrics you can use for traffic benchmarking include:
- Total number of visitors
- Pageviews
- Monthly visits
- Bounce rates
- Top performing referral channels
In general, these metrics simply allow you to see how popular specific websites (and individual pieces of content) are within your industry. By identifying the market leaders or those with audiences considerably larger than yours, you can observe their strategy and try to understand the tactics they use to build and maintain these high levels of traffic. This data will also give clues into the type of content that resonates best with your target audience.
You should also look at overall website rankings to determine how each brand compares to others in terms of reach and interaction at the global, local, and category levels. And, of course, compare yourself to the competitors. If some brands surpass your digital efforts, investigate more to determine why. It may provide insights into how to strengthen your digital strategy.
One final traffic metric that would be wise to measure is direct traffic. This is traffic that a website receives directly without the user having clicked on a link on another site. In other words, there was no referral, meaning the user either typed the URL directly in their browser or had the site bookmarked.
Sometimes cross-platform clickthrough attribution blind spots can cause direct traffic measurement inaccuracies. Generally, though, visitors who access a website this way are often loyal and engaged visitors. Thus, the more direct traffic a website receives, the stronger its digital brand.
2. Content Engagement
Engagement metrics are generally concerned with how users behave once they access a competitor’s website. This information tends to give insight into the quality of the traffic a website receives and its value to the company.
Some of the main engagement metrics that you can measure include:
- Session duration
- Bounce rate
- Click-through-rate (CTR)
- Time on page
- Bounce rate
An example of a worthwhile benchmarking strategy here would be to evaluate the number of pages people view per session on your website and the amount of time they spend on each page. Then, examine the average levels for your industry. Make sure you identify sites similar to yours in terms of size and scope.
This will allow you to get a sense of how much content these companies deliver and the channels their visitors typically consume. Armed with these benchmarking results, you will be able to recognize your site’s shortcomings, which will reveal an obvious area for improvement.
3. Branded Search Volume
Lastly, comparing branded search volumes between you and your key competitors offers a simple insight into how your digital brand is performing in its industry.
In this context, branded search volume refers to Google search keywords that include brand names, such as “Deals on Nike shoes,” or “What makes MacBooks the best?” These searches contain brands that users have explicitly sought out, signifying that users are already familiar with those companies.
Benchmarking the number of monthly searches that include your brand name vs. your rivals will help you paint a clearer picture of the competitive landscape and allow you to see how your digital brand is performing in terms of share of awareness and demand.
You can even use this information to identify competitors to include in your other benchmarking practices, as it’s not always easy to discern who your true competitors are in digital spaces.
Conclusion
These three digital benchmarking methodologies all help you understand how your digital presence, strategy, and existing audience compare to that of your primary competitors (or industry leaders). Without this data, it’s practically impossible to discern how you stack up against the other players in your market. As a result, you could be passing up a huge opportunity to enhance your strategy and gain a stronger footing in your digital market.
