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Competitor analysis helps when starting a dropshipping business. Spend time gathering information about rival stores in your niche.
By looking at what your competitors, especially other dropshippers, offer, you can identify potential products and marketing strategies. Check product pages and social media ads to see what attracts the most customers, and conduct thorough competitor research with these tasks:
Do a Google search
Use competitor analysis tools
Examine social networks
Check the markets
Do a Google search
Start by searching for keywords related to your niche to see what companies come up. For example, if you’re starting a dropshipping business in the pet supplies industry, you might search for “pet toys,” “pet food,” or “pet brushes.”
Take a close look at the companies that consistently appear in search results. They are probably your main competitors in organic searches. For more detailed information, try an SEO tool .
Top-ranking competitors may optimize their content for long-tail keywords , which are longer, more specific phrases that customers are searching for.
Long-tail keywords have less competition, making them a strategic target for smaller dropshipping websites.
For example, your competitor analysis might reveal that the keyword “dog collars” is being contested by large retailers, while “LED dog collars” has less competition and “LED dog collars for small dogs” has room for your new business.
Use competitor analysis tools
Competitor analysis tools are another way to find out your rivals' strategies. Some of the most commonly used are: Similarweb , Google Ads Keyword Planner , Internet Archive or SpyFu .
Uncover insights by monitoring traffic sources, canada phone number visitor counts, and social media engagement.
If they are active on a social platform that you have overlooked, it might be beneficial to open a channel.
Explore social media
Follow your competitors’ social media pages to see how they interact with their followers. You can also check out Meta’s Ad Library , a free tool that lets you analyze your competitors’ active ads on Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta platforms.
Pay attention to the types of posts that generate the most likes, comments, and shares.
For example, if a competitor in the pet supplies niche is going viral with grooming videos, you might want to consider creating similar content. Also, look for gaps – there may be an unmet demand for content about pet wellness tips.
Check the markets
Niche sellers on marketplaces like eBay , Amazon , and Etsy also offer insight. Look at how many listings there are for similar products. If the market seems saturated, think about how you might differentiate your products, either by lowering prices or offering a superior customer experience that isn’t possible through a marketplace—something you can do by specializing in a more specific niche, such as headphones for athletes or, even further, for runners.
Record all of your competitor research in a spreadsheet to make it easier to search and reference your findings.