You’ve seen them, and you probably know how they’re created. I took the liberty to say what everyone is thinking.
No need to read further, I’ll just copy the exact same things to make sure Google knows what the page is about. Share it if you liked it.
1. Post Sponsor
Whoever paid to be the first on the list.
2. Obvious solution
Things that won’t affect the “leader’s” sales. May include anything from Google products, Excel, Photoshop to social media, doing things manually and unconventional use of common things, like using a Notepad ++ to build a landing page via HTML.
3. Subpar competitor
Something similar to number one, but not as good.
4. Actual competitor
If it’s not on the list, the list will look suspicious. You need to include it but you also need to make it look unappealing while keeping facts in check.
5 – 10. Anything remotely relevant
It’s a top 10 list so you’ve got to have 10 things on it. Common practice is ripping bottom items from similar lists.
Not on the list
Some actually good solutions, but you can’t advertise them for free because that would be counterproductive. Your chances of being called out for not including them are low so don’t worry about it.