3 Digital Tools to Go One Up on Your Competition Great content. Knowledge of what customers are saying. SEO: These tools can help you with the most important elements of competition.

Not very long ago, promoting a brand was a drastically different task from what we know today. Thanks to the internet, over 40 percent of the world's population is logging on to a computer and using that tool to gather information. As a result, the way in which we define competition has changed. Businesses today must go to great lengths to market their brands to stand out in a vastly overpopulated market.

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In most cases, it's a safe bet to say there are hundreds -- if not thousands -- of other people trying to do the exact same thing. So, what does it take to stay ahead of the curve?

Truth be told, there are very few things written in stone when it comes to digital marketing. However, there are a number of fundamental practices that put businesses in a better position to get their name out there. Here are three tools to consider when incorporating these practices into your strategy.

SEO Power Suite

Google now processes 3.5 billion searches a day. Think about the sheer number of online experiences that begin with a search engine! Given that few of those searches go beyond page one of the results, you can't afford to omit an SEO strategy in your marketing mix.

SEO requires a great deal of research and attention to detail. SEO PowerSuite is equipped with four major tools to cover all the bases of an SEO campaign.

• Rank Tracker -- Thorough keyword research is the backbone of SEO. This software allows you to track an unlimited number of keywords and phrases across many search engines (both global and local). This tool even compares present keyword rankings to any other point in time so you can easily determine which ones to pinpoint based on historical performance. Going even further, you are provided with recommendations from 20 different sources of words to use in your strategy.
• Website Auditor -- Conducting a website audit is one of the first steps involved in an SEO campaign. The Website Auditor allows you to conduct an in-depth analysis of your platform and identify any issues that are potentially hurting your rankings. From there, you are given recommendations of how to optimize your landing pages to get the best results.
• SEO Spyglass -- This is the real essence of organic competitive analysis in your search marketing efforts. SEO Spyglass helps you gain a strong knowledge of your competitor's backlinks to get a feel for his or her strategy, identify that brand's strengths and weaknesses, and determine where your links intersect. This knowledge puts you in a much better position to build quality links to your own website.
• LinkAssistant -- SEO PowerSuite compiles a detailed list assessing your link-building opportunities, with various techniques like guest posting and reviews. Then, it checks the SEO value of each target and evaluates its quality. It also provides outreach options, verification and reporting functions.

Once you have all this great information, the software allows you access to such huge amounts of data that your competitors might never have. It also integrates data from sources such as Google Analytics, AdWords, Webmaster Tools and more.

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SEO plays a huge role in how people find your business. Take your time and equip yourself with the best resources to gain a competitive edge.

Awario

Believe it or not, a large portion of marketing involves no public action. The best strategies start with you listening to what people are saying within the industry. A big part of content marketing is simply knowing what topics to create your material around. Once there is a firm grasp of the hot button issues and concerns, you are better equipped to create relevant and meaningful messaging.

Awario helps this process by serving four major functions:

• Brand awareness -- Social media has made the concept of tracking brand mentions easier than ever. Awario keeps up with the top social networks and over 13 billion pages each day to track what people are saying about your business in real-time.
• Market research -- This is perhaps the most important step in starting (and running) a business. Awario allows you to glean knowledge about the hot button issues across your industry as well as the profiles you need to appeal to.
• Sales opportunities -- While monitoring conversations about your brand or field, Awario keeps track of potential customers looking for services you provide. From there, you can target them with your messaging and offer solutions to their problems.
• Influencer marketing -- Awario uses analytics to identify influencers pertaining to your niche. Collaborating with the right figures can do wonders to grow awareness of your brand in different communities. Just be sure you have a good plan on how to reach out!

This program is truly a go-to resource for gaining the proper insights to craft your branded material.

Contently

Now that you've learned the basics you should know about incorporating SEO into your marketing mix and the pressing topics to address, you need a tool that will help you create the best content and track its engagement.

Enter Contently. This tried-and-true program is meant to help you with three of the main tasks involved in content marketing.

• Creation -- Contently uses key insights mined across the web to push you in the right direction in creating brand material that gains significant traction. Each step of the process is streamlined across your team, from ideation all the way to final approval.
• Connect -- If you are working in a startup or small business, chances are, you are juggling a lot of different tasks. When this is the case, Contently's software is set up to match you with freelancers through the company's extensive network of content creators. Once the material has been crafted and approved, you can easily publish it on your most important channels.
• Data -- Without proper analytics, creating quality content is much harder. Using the tracking dashboard, you will gain vital information as to how your content is faring across the web. These metrics are crucial to identify strengths, or how you can improve your messaging.

Content marketing is currently one of the hottest topics in the entire business world. Rightfully so. Studies have found that when content marketing adopters and non-adopters are compared, the adopters have conversion rates that are nearly six times higher than their competitors'. These statistics cause brands everywhere to make room in their budgets for a plan. Therefore, you need to go the extra mile and use the right tools to make your material stand out.

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Ever since the first transaction in the history of humankind took place, the goal has always been to stay ahead of the competition. As time goes on, this task gets harder and harder. The name of the game is combining superior intellect with the right tools to get the job done. Use these resources to put your messaging in front of as many eyes as possible.