It’s hard to get the upper hand over your competitors if you don’t know how they got the upper hand over you. That’s true whether you are trying to beat out a competitor in the Google Local Search results or a competitor who is not local.

I have had a number of clients whose big obstacle to getting their business more visible (and more profitable) was simply that they did not know how their competitors grabbed the lead in their market. Your business suffers when you find yourself saying things like “I think my competitor is screwing me over, but I don’t know how” or “I want to find out why my competitor’s website brings in more traffic and seems more effective than mine.”

The flipside is that that you can turn the tables on your competitors-local or non-local-when you have specific information about their tactics. The following are ways to get that information.

Here are three questions I get all the time, and some great resources you can use to get the answers and some fast intel on your competitors:

Q: “My competitor’s site does well in the organic search results. What’s the best way to find out why the search engines love his site?”
A: Many people think the Google Local Search results are totally different from the search-engine-optimization (SEO) side of Google. They are wrong. True, they’re two different beasts, but there is also a great deal of overlap. If you have a basically SEO-friendly site, you are more likely to do well in the local rankings.

You can find out how your competitor gets his site to rank higher than yours if you go to the completely free WebsiteGrader.com. Just enter your URL in the box. You’ll see an overall score, as well as recommendations on how to improve your site. Do the same for your competitor’s site, and you’ll know what to ask your webmaster to do next to get your site a boost in Google.

Q: “My competitor’s site has been ranking higher and higher. How do I find out how he’s been changing his site?”
A: Use the free “Wayback Machine” at Archive.org to see what your competitor’s site looked like a few months ago, last year, or ten years ago. There you can see how a site has changed over the months or years. That tells you how you might be able to change your site and get a leg up.

Q: “How can I find out what’s being written about me and what’s being written about my local competitors?”
A: You can use a tool called Google Alerts to have Google email you whenever someone on the web posts anything about you or your competitors. Depending on what terms you have Google alert you about, you can get notified whenever someone writes anything on the Web about you, your competitor, or Google Local Search terms you are or want to be found for, like for example “Minneapolis auto repair”).

There are many ways to apply “competitive intelligence” you get on your local competitors and use it to your advantage. But the resources I named should get the ball rolling, and should answer at least a few of your burning questions. At least you’re no longer flying blind.