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You are looking to stay one step ahead of your competitors and anticipate their next shots?
I have what you need! Thanks to a simple and effective tool, you will be able monitor the smallest changes in real time on their sites and sales pages.
Addition of a new feature, launch of a promo, change of design... Nothing will escape you anymore!
Something to inspire you and react quickly to stay in the race.
Ready to play web spies?
Let's get started.
Why Is Spying On Your Competitors Crucial?
Before we see how to set up this hack, let's recall why it's so important to keep an eye on the competition:
🥇 Anticipate market trends
En watching the changes on your rivals' sites, you can catch the latest developments in your sector directly. New offer, new positioning, new trendy color code...
You will always know what works (and what doesn't) without having to test.
🤝 React faster and fairer
Seeing what others are implementing allows you to react accordingly. If a competitor releases a highly anticipated new function, you can develop your own in the process so as not to be left behind.
Conversely, if one of its sales pages disappears after 2 weeks, No need to reproduce the same error !
⏰ Save a lot of time in R&D
Instead of reinventing the wheel, Let your competitors do the tests for you !
By analyzing what works for them, you already have 90% of the work done. All you have to do is adapt the best ideas to your own way.
A real gain of time and energy!
📈 Boost your conversion rate
As we know, an effective landing or sales page is the key to converting more visitors into customers.
By drawing inspiration from the tried and tested techniques of your most successful competitors, you Put all the chances on your side to increase your conversion rate.
As you will have understood, being one step ahead of your rivals is essential to remain competitive in the long term. Hence the interest in setting up regular and automated monitoring!
Detailed guide: How to set up your automatic spy?
For this mission, we will use a very practical tool: VisualPing.
It is a site monitoring service that alerts you as soon as a change is detected on a web page.
Let's see how to set it up:
Step 1: Create your VisualPing account
- Go to the site www.visualping.io
- Click on”Get Started“
- Fill out the form with your email and a password
- Click on”Create your account“
The free version allows you to monitor up to 62 pages, which should be more than enough for your main competitors. You can always upgrade to a paid plan later if needed.
Step 2: Add pages to watch
- In your dashboard, click on”New Job“
- Paste the URL of the page to be monitored (home page, sales funnel, product page...)
- Choose the monitoring frequency (every hour, every day, every week...)
- Select which areas of the page you want to monitor specifically (it's best to choose several different ones)
- Click on”Create Job“
Repeat for all of your competitors' critical pages. I advise you to focus on:
- Their homepages
- Their sales funnels
- Their flagship product sheets
- Their feature pages or prices
- Their reviews...
Set the frequency of reports according to your desires according to a duration or modifications.
Step 3: Get your alerts by email
As soon as a change is detected on one of the monitor pages, you will receive an alert by email with:
- The page concerned
- The zone that has changed
- A before-and-after comparison
All you have to do is analyze the nature of the change and draw insights from it for your own business. Easy!
For example, let's say a competitor adds a “30% off” banner on their home page. It can mean:
- That he is looking to boost his sales in the short term
- That its pricing is no longer competitive enough
- That a new offer will soon be released...
It's up to you to dig deeper to understand the reasons behind this change and how to take advantage of it!
Concrete examples to inspire you
To make it more meaningful, here are some concrete application cases depending on your activity:
E-commerce
By monitoring the product sheets of your rivals, you will be able to identify at a glance:
- The addition of new features or options on their best sellers
- Visual changes (new photos, videos...)
- The appearance of labels (e.g.: Made in France, new, best-selling...)
- Flash promotions or price changes
Online press site
Following the homepages of your competitors will allow you to:
- See which topics are “buzzing” and generating the most clicks
- Identify new editorial sections or formats
- Identify topics sponsored by advertisers
- Anticipate the launches of new newsletters or services
Sports coach
By monitoring the sites of your colleagues, you will quickly know:
- What programs or packages are successful
- What promos or free trial offers do they offer
- If they add new services (nutrition, mental preparation...)
- What influencers do they promote to gain credibility
As you can see, the possibilities are endless! All it takes is a little curiosity and creativity to transform this “stolen” information into real gold for your business.
Perfect Little Spy Checklist
Let's recap! To get the most out of your spy tool, follow these best practices:
✅ Identify your most serious competitors (5 to 10 max to start with)
✅ Select their most strategic pages (homepage, sales channel, prices, product sheets...)
✅ Set up an appropriate monitoring frequency (1 to 2 times per week minimum)
✅ Monitor multiple areas on each page
✅ Carefully analyze each alert received
✅ Systematically dig into the “why and how” behind each change
✅ Ask yourself how to take advantage of it for your own business
✅ Quickly define an action plan to react if necessary
✅ Stay on the lookout all the time to always be one step ahead!
Once well established, this regular espionage will become a real reflex for your business. Enough to make the best decisions at the right time! 007 just has to be careful.
FAQs
Is it legal to spy on your competitors?
Yes, as long as you only monitor public data! Anything that is visible to any Internet user can be used. On the other hand, avoid trying to break into private spaces or hack servers... That is illegal (and not very moral).
Should you spy on all your competitors?
No, focus on those who really threaten your business, because of their positioning and the quality of their execution. Also, give preference to those who are a step ahead in terms of innovation or growth. You will learn the most from them!
How often do you check for changes?
It all depends on your sector and the “responsiveness” of your competitors. On average, one to two checks per week is a good pace. But if you're in a fast-paced market, you can go up to once a day. The main thing is that it stays manageable and doesn't overwhelm you!
Conclusion
Espionage is an integral part of any good competitive intelligence strategy. It is a gold mine of information and inspiration to manage your business effectively.
So take advantage of tools like VisualPing to automate this monitoring and save a lot of time. Put the key pages of your rivals under close surveillance, decipher their actions, get inspired by their best ideas... In short, let them do the work for you!
But remember that espionage is not an end in itself. The aim is not to stupidly copy what others do. It is a first step to better understand your market and its codes.
It is then up to you to recreate in your own way, according to your target and your positioning. This is how you will create a unique and memorable experience for your customers. Your competitors will still be able to race!
So put on your best black suit, pull out your latest gadgets and get started. Your mission, if you accept it, is to become the sharpest spy in your sector. May the force be with you! 🕵️ ♂️
