What is benchmarking?

Benchmarking is a technique for evaluating the digital performance of an organization. Benchmarks are the reference points you use.

What is benchmarking?

Benchmarking is a technique where you compare the performance of an organization. Benchmarks are the reference points with which you can see how the organization is performing. Does the chosen strategy work well? Or does the strategy need to be adjusted in order to achieve even better results?

Benchmarking can be divided into two categories, namely: internal and external. With internal benchmarking you compare the internal structure of the organization. You can think of the processes within the organization. With external benchmarking you compare your own brand with that of the competition or the entire sector.

Before you can get started with benchmarking, it is important that you know a number of foundations. First of all, it is important that you know the company well. What strengths and weaknesses does the organization have? It is also important to know the strengths and weaknesses of the competition. You also need to ensure that you adopt best practices and start to achieve superiority. This way you can ensure successful benchmarking.

How does benchmarking work?

For benchmarking it is important to collect sufficient data. The data you will collect comes from the marketing activities you use the most. Often these are social media channels and emails. You make an analysis based on the collected data. And that way you determine which improvements need to be made. You can then optimize the website based on this analysis. This way you can ensure that you get even better results. The results you want to achieve are:

• Higher conversions;
• Generating more organic traffic;
• Lowering costs;
• Setting up processes more efficiently.

The benchmarking process consists of a number of steps. The first step is to select an object that you will analyze and compare. Then you choose a company with which you want to compare. Then you will collect the data. In the fourth step you will determine where and why performance is lagging. And finally, you record your findings and implement improvement measures.

Search engine optimization makes extensive use of benchmarking. The SEO benchmarks are compared with those of the competition. The first important point of reference is the keywords. Here you have to see which keywords perform well. The second point of reference that is important in SEO is the technical part. Think of the loading speed of the website and mobile compatibility. Finally, a backlink analysis is important for benchmarking. You will compare the results of relevant links on your website with those of your competitors.

Advantages

Benchmarking has a number of advantages. First of all, you will receive an early warning in the event of competitive disadvantages. Secondly, it creates support for change. Third, it can motivate your employees. And finally, you can save costs because you come up with new insights.