How to use Stillio and Semrush for Competitor Research

Understanding who your competitors are is necessary for starting and running your business.

Competitor research requires you to constantly monitor competitors’ websites, social media channels, and other aspects of their online presence. However, keeping an eye on them by manually visiting all their digital touchpoints can take up most of your valuable time and be challenging to fit into your business agenda. 

That’s where Stillio and Semrush come in. The popular automated website screenshot-capturing tool Stillio partnered with Semrush to offer a comprehensive solution for tracking competitors and staying ahead of the competition. 

This article will demonstrate how to use Semrush for competitor research and combine it with Stillio.       

Getting started with online competitor research

Taking the first step in online competitor research can be daunting, especially if you’re doing it yourself. The good news is — that you can use tools like Stillio and Semrush to automate most of these processes, get valuable insights into your competitors’ online presence, and save time to do more important tasks. 

Here’s how you can start your journey of online competitors’ research using these two tools:

Setting up automated screenshots with Stillio

We can begin by visiting Stillio and setting up automated screenshots of competitors’ websites and social profiles. Why? Having these screenshots directly saved to your account will enable you to keep tabs on changes in real-time without manually checking each competitor’s page and social media feeds. 

To start with Stillio, you’ll first need to gather the URLs of competitors’ websites and social profiles you want to track. Then, you can adjust the capture frequency to get updated images as often as you wish.

Once the account is created, Stillio will begin taking screenshots according to your instructions and save them in your account. These screenshots can be accessed anytime from your account dashboard, which will help you know how your competitors have progressed over time.

You can organize your different URLs with tags for easier reference if you have more than one brand to track.

Using Semrush for competitors analysis

Once you have set up screenshot automation with Stillio, it’s time to dive deep into metrics to complement those screenshots. Semrush’s Trends report would be the perfect fit, as it is specifically designed for competitor research.

Suppose you haven’t had the chance to meet them yet. In that case, Semrush specializes in SEO and online marketing, providing various tools that cover most marketers’ digital needs.

With the. Trends report at your disposal; you can track competitor traffic and get an overview of the market in several different ways:

Competitor Traffic

• Visits and unique visits: Website traffic is a crucial measure in competitor research. Tracking and comparing these metrics against your own and that of other key players will help you understand the popularity of your competitors and how long you’ve to go to match that figure.
• How many pages users see in each visit: The number of pages visitors see in each web visit provides insight into their engagement. Looking at various pages in one visit can mean that they find the content helpful or are having difficulty finding what they’re looking for. On the other hand, looking at just one page can mean the page is boring, or the company is leading right where they need to go. It’s up to you to analyze what the case is.
• How long they’re staying on their site: The better the quality of content on the website, the longer visitors will stay. When you see visitors staying on the website for longer periods, it means they are enjoying being there — reading blogs or watching videos. But if they leave the website quickly, they aren’t getting the information they’re looking for, or the experience is poor.
• Bounce rate: The bounce rate shows the percentage of visitors who left the website after taking no action. If the bounce rates are high, there are two possibilities: either the visitor got the information right on the first page, or they didn’t find the content relevant to their query (the page was ranking for a wrong keyword). If you track the bounce rate on a competitor’s site, you can find areas of improvement on your site.
• Source: Identifying the traffic source of your competitor’s website can give you a hint of where you could optimize your own site. For example, if you see a big part of your competitor’s traffic comes from referrals, it might be time to start working on those backlinks!
• What pages they’re looking at: If you can track the pages of your competitor’s websites that are most popular among their users, you can identify the type of content that resonates with them. You can also create a content plan for your website with that information. 

Overview of the market:

• Who’s targeting which keywords: The Semrush Trends report gives you an overview of what keywords your competitors prioritize in their SEO strategy. Once you get those keywords, you can find potential gaps in your SEO strategy and adjust accordingly. 
• Main domains: Although you know that you have competitors in the market, do you know who exactly you should be looking at? With the Semrush Trends report, you can identify the main domains competing in your market, giving you valuable insights into their strengths and weaknesses and developing a strategy to outperform them.
• Growth quadrants: Semrush’s Growth Quadrant provides an insightful competitive landscape for top industry players. Based on traffic growth rate and volume, this tool divides these top players into four segments: Niche players, Game changers, Leaders, and Established players. 

In addition to its comprehensive suite of tools, Semrush offers a valuable report called EyeOn. This report allows you to know your competitors’ latest activities, such as newly published blog posts, SEM ads, social media interactions, and more. To harness the full potential of this feature, use EyeOn reports with Stillio’s screenshots. 

For example, suppose EyeOn notifies you of a competitor’s new blog post, and you’ve set up Stillio to capture screenshots of their blog regularly. You can quickly locate and analyze the post’s content in that case. This powerful combination of Semrush and Stillio lets you stay up-to-date with your competitor’s strategies and adapt your approach accordingly.

Conclusion

Stillio and Semrush are powerful tools for competitor research. Combining automated screenshots with comprehensive competitor analysis allows you to gain invaluable insights into your competitors’ online presence and make informed decisions about your online strategy. 

Whether tracking competitor traffic, market metrics, or staying ahead of competitor activity, with Stillio and Semrush, you can get the comprehensive approach to competitor research needed to stay ahead in today’s crowded business landscape. Plus, with Semrush’s 14-day free trial, you can use these powerful tools today and experience the difference. 

So why wait? Start your free trial now and take your competitor research to a new level.