The secret to AliExpress’s success: locking in direct competitors and optimizing strategies

On the AliExpress platform, sellers face fierce market competition. To stand out in such an environment, you not only need to know how to find and analyze competitors, but you also need to master effective competitive strategies. This article will provide a comprehensive discussion of how to find your competitors, analyze their key data, and what measures you can take to outperform them.

How to find competitors

Google keyword search

By entering relevant industry keywords into Google and then viewing the search results on the first two pages, you can initially determine your competitors. These competitor sites may appear in search results, allowing us to further analyze them.

Tool assistance

• Similarweb: Provides traffic estimates of different websites, main traffic sources and other information to help us understand the website traffic of competitors.
• iSpionage: You can monitor your competitors’ advertising on search engines and learn about their search keywords, advertising content, consumption amounts and other information.
• Sprout Social: Provides social media management and analysis services to help us understand our competitors’ activities and influence on social media.

Analyze key data of competitors

Domain name/server registration time

By querying the registration time of the domain name, you can understand the establishment time of the competitor’s website, thereby judging its sophistication in the industry.

Inclusion of websites

Use the Google search command site:abc.com to query the inclusion of competitor websites in the Google database to determine their weight in the search engine.

The weight of the website

Use tools such as Ahrefs’ DR (Domain Rating) or Moz’s DA (Domain Authority) to evaluate the weight of your competitor’s website to understand its influence in the industry.

Website traffic estimates and main traffic sources

Use tools such as Similarweb to estimate the website traffic of competitors and understand their main traffic sources to help us determine the focus and optimization strategy.

Strategies to defeat your competitors

I have what others don’t have

For categories with different styles, such as clothing, shoes, etc., avoid selling the same products as your competitors. Doing so reduces direct competition in selling prices and sales volume.

Everyone has my integrity

In the case of similar product types, provide more competitive prices by reducing costs and other methods.

People are honest and I am good

Even if you sell the same product, you can still attract buyers by optimizing the design of the detail page and improving the visual effect of the product.

Cost control

• Logistics freight: As the order volume increases, you can negotiate with the logistics company to obtain lower freight discounts, thereby reducing product costs.
• Purchase cost: Bulk purchases can get discounts from suppliers, further reducing costs.

Lock direct competitors

Among the many competing products, only those products with similar styles, attributes, functions, similar prices, and slightly higher sales volume are real direct competitors. For example, if you sell a $6 wireless laptop mouse, a $3 optical mouse may not be a direct competitor.

Through the above methods, we can have a more comprehensive understanding of our competitors’ strengths and strategies, and formulate more accurate business development plans accordingly. Whether it is optimizing search and purchasing strategies or guiding pricing, advertising, customer service, etc., it can improve the competitiveness and profitability of AliExpress’s business.