Great post. I myself do not like using compete.com or alexa.com or google rank at all. None of these are very accurate, because they are all based on estimates. Although Google Rank could be informative, but the PR that the toolbar shows is not the actual PR that Google has on file (it is delayed). Read this http://searchengineland.com/what-is-google-pagerank-a-guide-for-searchers-webmasters-11068#internal
The only true way to compare website to website is to have the same analytics code on our websites and we openly discuss these numbers. Since most of us do not like to share this information, there will not be a tool that can give you data like we want.
I still prefer the old fashioned way of checking my rankings by using a Google rank checker tool for my site and compare it to my competitors. Problem with this is that Google does not allow too many queries.
To CHRIS K: Chris next time you post it would be nice to see a link to your site, so we can judge oursleves how great your website is. Right now since you decided to not post your URL, I put ZERO VALUE behind your comments (I like to check your site myself before admitting you do good or bad.) Maybe your site works great, but how is your SEO working for you?
Although I myself do believe that I can built a site that will work better for SEO then the current platforms, to say that a college kid can built one for $500 is insane. How much do you invest (time wise) in making your platform better and to keep up with new technologies for maximum user experience? Even if you do that, what happens when you leave the dealership? Why would a dealer take that risk.
Every site is different, because the market is different and/or the product is different. The only one you can truely compare to would be your direct competitors, but then again, would you open your doors to what you are doing? I don't but luckily there is something called reverse engineering that allows me to see what the big boys do right and copy what they do. I also listen to every SEO salesman that comes my way and check out sites they use to sell.
Most of these companies give me the mumbo jumbo deal that they have software analyzing the google algorithms and they are most often full of it. Our dealership is a single point Acura dealer, so we have a limited budget compared to some dealer groups and we do not have the time to customize our website too much like checkeredflag.com does (I wish!!!)
All I care about is how my traffic and conversion numbers are. I just altered and installed a little script myself that a company wanted to sell me for $1,200 a month to improve our SEO. My SEO results did improve for a lot of keyword combinations, but how will this actually affect my traffic is what I care about. So since recently installing this, I will keep a close eye on my traffic increase and my bounce ratio.
The only true way to compare website to website is to have the same analytics code on our websites and we openly discuss these numbers. Since most of us do not like to share this information, there will not be a tool that can give you data like we want.
I still prefer the old fashioned way of checking my rankings by using a Google rank checker tool for my site and compare it to my competitors. Problem with this is that Google does not allow too many queries.
To CHRIS K: Chris next time you post it would be nice to see a link to your site, so we can judge oursleves how great your website is. Right now since you decided to not post your URL, I put ZERO VALUE behind your comments (I like to check your site myself before admitting you do good or bad.) Maybe your site works great, but how is your SEO working for you?
Although I myself do believe that I can built a site that will work better for SEO then the current platforms, to say that a college kid can built one for $500 is insane. How much do you invest (time wise) in making your platform better and to keep up with new technologies for maximum user experience? Even if you do that, what happens when you leave the dealership? Why would a dealer take that risk.
Every site is different, because the market is different and/or the product is different. The only one you can truely compare to would be your direct competitors, but then again, would you open your doors to what you are doing? I don't but luckily there is something called reverse engineering that allows me to see what the big boys do right and copy what they do. I also listen to every SEO salesman that comes my way and check out sites they use to sell.
Most of these companies give me the mumbo jumbo deal that they have software analyzing the google algorithms and they are most often full of it. Our dealership is a single point Acura dealer, so we have a limited budget compared to some dealer groups and we do not have the time to customize our website too much like checkeredflag.com does (I wish!!!)
All I care about is how my traffic and conversion numbers are. I just altered and installed a little script myself that a company wanted to sell me for $1,200 a month to improve our SEO. My SEO results did improve for a lot of keyword combinations, but how will this actually affect my traffic is what I care about. So since recently installing this, I will keep a close eye on my traffic increase and my bounce ratio.
