Who are your competitors?

Scott Jemison
Contributing Editor

To most people this seems like an easy question. Time was if you owned a hardware store, your competition was the other hardware store down the road. It was relatively easy to keep up with they were doing. You knew if their business picked up or they were having a big sale. But that was before the internet and the inception of e-commerce.

Today, your business not only competes with other local businesses but with business around the globe. So, do you know ... who are your competitors?

If there is another business with a website that provides a similar product or services, that business is your competitor. Personal computers are as commonplace in today's home as telephones or televisions and most cell phones are internet ready. You could be losing customers to the hardware store a whole continent away.

Now, more than ever, your online presence can provide an opportunity to locate new business and new customers. Maximize your website and be competitive. A good SEO professional can teach you how to evaluate your competition.

Enter terms into the search engines and look at the number of results that the search engines return. Each of those websites is a competitor. Also, look at the Similar Pages link. Those too are your competitors. Search around to see what others are dong to attract traffic and convert visitors into customers. Then, use this knowledge to optimize your site.

Even though the economy is tight, business is still out there. You just have to compete.

Are you LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a fast-growing social media website intended for today's working professionals. It is a phenomenal opportunity to connect to professionals both local or global. From independent contractors to business executives LinkedIn is the site for prime connections in your industry.

It's simple to create a profile that summarizes your professional expertise and accomplishments. You will develop networks of your connections and the people they know, linking you to other qualified experts or professionals. This is one of the first social media sites that I used to connect to others in my profession.

What I particularly liked about LinkedIn is the ability to see other connections in my industry and to collaborate on projects. Since launching the LinkedIn profile, they continue to add other applications that can be added my profile and my recent blog submissions are updated. Also, I can include a link to my profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables my contacts to see all my credentials, instead as an attachment.

The bonus is to review statistics about your network, including how many users you can reach through your connections. It's like the professional Facebook application.