Working on a competitive comparison page?
Here are 7 best practices for high-converting competitive pages š
Over the last 6 months, Iāve had a blast co-hosting a podcast called "Compared to What" with my pal, Federico Jorge.
The show is 100% dedicated to competitive comparison pages, so needless to say I got a crash course from the master himself.
Worth mentioning, Federico founded a company called Stack Against that builds comparison pages for its clients.
What are competitive comparison pages?
You see them all the time, just google ā[Company Name] Alternativeā and youāre likely to see them sitting at the top of Google.
These pages are your opportunity to clearly differentiate your product from the competition.
Visitors who land on these pages have higher buying intent than your average website visitor, are typically further down the buyer journey, and actively evaluating multiple solutions.
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Thereās a lot to consider when creating this type of page, so I wanted to share some of my favorite takeaways from my conversations with Federico š
1ļøā£Ā Lead with a single message
Your page should have one top-level theme that is clearly communicated above the fold.
Give visitors a clear and compelling reason why they should choose you over the competition. Every section after the hero should be evidence supporting your top-level message.
2ļøā£Ā Ā Optimize for humans first, then SEO
Incorporate keywords into your narrative naturally. If you want the benefit of your H1 being āX vs Yā or āX alternativeā then use CSS styling to make it a sub-title.
3ļøā£Ā Ā Focus on your target audience
If your solution is better suited for a specific audience, make that clear early in your messaging. Always be qualifying.
4ļøā£Ā Ā Use social proof to remove bias
People believe real buyers far more than anything you say on your website. Use real testimonials to support your differentiated claims.
5ļøā£Ā Ā Make it easy to switch
Offer simple migration tools, or free services to lighten the load. Promote these as part of your call to action.
6ļøā£Ā Ā Use comparison tables in context
Lengthy side-by-side comparison tables leave too much up to interpretation. Instead, try using smaller comparison tables to support key differentiators. Context is key.
7ļøā£Ā Ā Avoid naming competitors in search ads
Once you've created your comparison page, you'll need to promote it. If you've invested in paid search around competitive keywords, avoid naming your competitor directly in the ad.
Google doesnāt allow it, so your ad will eventually be taken down. But you can get creative, like the MailerLite example shown in the carousel.
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Found this helpful? Be sure to follow the full first season of Compared to What, playing on The Compete Network. We just wrapped recording on season one and our final two episodes will be launching soon.
Show link is in the comments š
#productmarketing #competitiveenablement #competitiveintelligence
Comments:
Check out season one of Compared to What š