SEO Copying Pitfall #1 – Does the Competition Have the Right Keywords

The most common mistake people make with the copy the competition’s strategy is they find the competition the wrong way.  The way it should be done is to search keywords you’d like to rank for in a couple different search engines and see who ranks best.  Then take the top three or four and duplicate some of the effective tactics they display.

Unfortunately, a common way of doing this is to type in the nearest and best known competition and start copying.  The problem is you have no idea how or if their website ranks.  You might be copying the worst ranked site on the web for all you know.  Unless you found out that your nearest competition hired the best search engine optimization company in town, don’t start with them.  Let the search engines point you to the competition that’s doing it best.  If your nearest competition still comes up in that list, feel comfortable that you will be using their valuable tactics, not junk they put on the web.