market types influence marketing and SEO success?

Marketers and SEOs have always found it difficult to crack the code for marketing success.

In today’s highly competitive market, we often get caught up in traditional digital marketing strategies only to find that they are not always the best way to grow.

There is one factor, which we often overlook but should have a significant impact on our decisions and priorities in terms of marketing tactics and channels.

This article discusses how understanding the type of market in which an organization operates can influence our marketing decisions.

Different brands require different marketing strategies

Tim Soulo published on LinkedIn a few month ago.

The article caught my eye because it demonstrated that Ahrefs, a well-established SEO tool on the market, did not require many of the common tactics found in digital marketing.

Recently, I read this th on Twitter and received a response from Amanda Natividad. VP of Marketing at SparkToro.

This made me wonder why/why these strategies work, and whether they can be repeated again under the same conditions.

How does performance marketing work and should we ignore it?

It’s all about market type.”

What are the different types of markets? What do they mean to us as SEOs and marketers?

It is important to understand the market in which your business operates.

The four different types of markets have a major impact on how we select and prioritize our marketing tactics and channels.

• Perfect Competition
• Monopoly competition.
• Oligopoly.
• Monopoly.

Note that the above market types are not always accurate, but give a good idea of how they work.

1. The Perfect Competition

A perfect competition market has a large market, many buyers and vendors, and similar products.

The price is not controlled by the companies (the market share of the company does not affect the price) and the entry barrier into this market is low or even zero.

The consumer is king here, as they are able to switch products quickly (products are very similar), while businesses are not able to manipulate prices. Prices are determined by supply and demand.

The high level of competition in this market can be a disadvantage to sellers/businesses. In such markets, you’ll hear clients say that “our audience is everyone.”

Online book retailers are an example of a business that operates in a market with perfect competition.

It’s basically the same product. Semrush’s broad match keywords for “books” show that online demand for books is high.

What does this mean for SEO and marketing strategies?

What I learned from working with businesses in this type of market:

Branding is Important

In this market, the best way to distinguish your business is by building brand awareness and trust. Content for the awareness stage on social media and SEO channels is a top priority.

I do brand analyses in SEO to see what [Brand name] + keyword query patterns are being used by people and optimize our website for these queries.

As an example:

• Create a testimonials page on your site to capture these searches and control your brand’s reputation. Avoid clicking on them on third party websites.
• If you have a FAQ about your [brand], make sure to respond to all of your brand’s FAQs directly on your site, rather than – once again – losing visitors by sending them away to other websites. You can also control the story of your brand.

You cannot let other websites handle the information and story of your brand if you aren’t Nike (which is most businesses).

Answer these FAQs in your About page, product pages, etc.

Localization

Look for localization opportunities when possible. You could use phrases like “buy books near me” or “books near me”.

This screenshot shows a moderate search volume for “books” in Palo Alto, with low keyword difficulty.

Niche down

We as SEOs and marketers don’t really have any control over business decisions or which markets we target.

You can still narrow down your marketing strategy to focus on specific audiences/markets and then grow your brand.

Consider different personas of customers, and adapt your content strategy according to them.

Performance marketing is not the best approach for businesses that are in this market because they lack control over product pricing.

The price of the product will not change, as in our example with the books.

You cannot say that I am selling this book at $30 because of my high acquisition costs, when the standard price is $20 for all other sellers.

In this market structure, customer service is crucial and could be a way to differentiate your business.

2. Monopoly competition

Everybody has encountered a client who claims, “We have no competitors.” It is likely that this business operates in a market with monopolistic competition. It means that while your company is not directly competing with anyone else, there are other options.

As an example, I had a customer a few decades ago who specialized in diagnosing knee problems. They developed a device for diagnosing knee problems. They claimed to be the only ones in the world who made and sold this device.

In this case they should have a monopoly.

Not exactly. They are the only ones selling these devices so people with knee problems go to doctors and practitioners to get diagnosed. This device can be replaced by “manual tests” performed by specialists. In this market there is still competition but not direct competitors.

A website that sells “evening gowns” is another example.

Semrush’ broad match keyword for “evening dresses” shows that demand for evening gowns is high.

While different brands may sell “evening gowns”, each offers a unique style and market to target, allowing for differentiation and brand loyalty.

The perfect competition market and the monopolistic market are very similar. The main difference may be that consumers are not aware of all the alternatives available on the market.

What does this mean for SEO and marketing strategies?

What I learned from working with businesses in this type of market:

• Brand awareness campaigns are just as important as the right competition market type. It is important to answer all your brand questions on your website.
• You should tailor your content strategy so that it focuses on the awareness stage, as well as long-tail and bottom-of funnel keywords. My approach for the “evening gowns” example was:
  • Focus on “[Color/Size/Model/Occasion]+ evening dresses” keyword patterns. It is an excellent opportunity to interact with users looking for alternative testing methods, answer questions and introduce your company.
  • What to wear to [Event]?
• Profit from trending topics. You can use Google Trends to find related topics by plugging in your keyword and playing around with it.
• Performance marketing is the most powerful lever in this market. You need to quickly inform consumers about the alternatives/brands available in this market, as they don’t have enough knowledge. The best way to achieve that is through ads. Advertising can also be used to protect market share from new competitors, as the entry barrier is low.

3. Oligopoly

A market with oligopoly means there is limited competition. The market has few players and the entry barrier is high.

Mobile phone manufacturers and automakers are examples of companies in this market.

SaaS companies such as Ahrefs, SpakToro and others are also excellent examples. Keyword research software is relatively rare in SEO (compared to the other markets). The entry barrier (in this instance, creating a new keyword research tool) is high.

Few SaaS tools dominate the market of keyword research tools and have therefore a great deal of control over pricing.

This type of market is sometimes called “imperfect competition”, or competition between a few.

What does this mean for SEO and marketing strategies?

What I learned from working with businesses in this type of market:

Businesses do not have to offer discounts

This tactic, while useful, is not required due to the market structure.

Markets with oligopoly are considered to be “non-priced” markets. This is why Ahrefs grew despite the discontinuation of discounts and free trials.

Content Marketing is Vital

It is important to target users at various stages of the buyer’s journey.

Aleyda’s Keywords and Patterns Mapping cheat sheet is a great resource for creating content for SaaS.

Performance Marketing is useful for expansion

When you are expanding, performance marketing can be helpful.

There may be a saturation point where an increase in advertising costs does not lead to a proportional rise in market share. There is a limit on how much advertising can affect market share.

You will have an advantage by identifying keyword opportunities that your competitors might not have considered and seizing them before they do.

4. Monopoly

Most people think of monopolies in terms of non-profits, such as electric or water companies.

Monopolies can be found in all kinds of industries. Recently, Google was accused monopolizing online advertising.

A monopoly is characterized by a business having complete control over its pricing. There’s also a high entry barrier and only one supplier.

I used to work at a SaaS firm that was the sole provider of their product for many years. Recently, another competitor entered the market.

It was the only product available for developers. The business grew as a result.

It’s easy to assume that a small market doesn’t require a marketing plan, but this is not the case.

What does this mean for SEO and marketing strategies?

What I learned from working with businesses in this type of market:

You must be found

It is essential to have a strong business in a market with a monopoly.

It is important to appear in the SERPs for your main keyword and brand name. It is usually very simple to do this if you have sorted out your technical issues and set up your indexing properly.

If you have a unique name for your brand, then it is unlikely that this will be an issue.

Paid ads are not as effective as SEO

This was one of only a few instances where SEO was used as the primary channel for brand searches.

Advertising can be kept to a minimum.

Understanding the impact of different market types on digital marketing and SEO efforts

Our marketing strategy cannot be operated on a “spray-and-pray” basis, or with just a checklist.

It is important to know the different types of markets and which levers have more impact.

It is important to consider this when deciding if you want to work with a client on SEO, and what your role as an SEO is in the organization.

We don’t want to grow or rank our business in a vacuum. Understanding the market structure allows us to prioritize and use tactics that will have the greatest impact. Or, as Soulo stated at the beginning, “focus on the things where you get clear value.”

The first Search Engine Land post that appeared was How Market Types Shape Marketing and SEO Success.