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Oct 28, 2024
Guide to Google Adwords Competitor Analysis: 2024 Strategies
Guide to Google Adwords Competitor Analysis: 2024 Strategies
Guide to Google Adwords Competitor Analysis: 2024 Strategies
Guide to Google Adwords Competitor Analysis: 2024 Strategies
Unlock the power of AdWords competitor analysis! Discover top tools and strategies to analyze your competition, improve ad performance, and boost your Ad ROI.
Unlock the power of AdWords competitor analysis! Discover top tools and strategies to analyze your competition, improve ad performance, and boost your Ad ROI.
Unlock the power of AdWords competitor analysis! Discover top tools and strategies to analyze your competition, improve ad performance, and boost your Ad ROI.
Unlock the power of AdWords competitor analysis! Discover top tools and strategies to analyze your competition, improve ad performance, and boost your Ad ROI.
Finley Cope
Finley Cope
Finley Cope
Finley Cope
Anyone trying to better their PPC strategy and get a leg up in the market needs to perform Competitor analysis for Google Ads campaigns. Knowing what keywords your competitors are bidding on and the ad copy that is working most effectively for them can give you some ideas of where to optimize your campaigns, cut costs or increase return (ROAS). Here is a thorough guide detailing the best practices and most effective tools for doing Google Ads competitor analysis.
The Truth About “Spying” on Your Competitors in Google Ads
When we refer to "spying" on competitors, we’re actually talking about a strategic analysis that leverages publicly available data to optimize your own campaigns. Tools for Google Ads competitor analysis are designed to provide insights on keywords, bidding strategies, and ad performance based on the data competitors openly share through paid ads.
Conducting competitor analysis allows you to benchmark your performance, understand market trends, and discover which strategies competitors are using. With the right tools and approach, you can uncover valuable information to adjust bids, refine targeting, and make more data-driven decisions that optimize your Google Ads campaigns.
How to See Competitors in Google Ads: Auction Insights Report
The Google Ads Auction Insights Report provides a direct look at how your campaigns perform compared to competitors bidding on the same keywords. Available within the Google Ads interface, this report offers several metrics that can reveal your position and performance relative to other advertisers.
Key Metrics in the Auction Insights Report:
Impression Share: Shows the percentage of times your ad appeared compared to the total possible impressions for your targeted keywords.
Overlap Rate: Indicates how often your ad appeared alongside a competitor’s ad.
Position Above Rate: Shows the frequency with which a competitor’s ad ranked above yours when both appeared.
Top of Page Rate: Indicates the rate at which your ad appears at the top of the search results compared to competitors.
By using this report, you can understand who your biggest competitors are, how often they outrank you, and whether you need to adjust your bidding strategy to improve your visibility.
Other Helpful Tools for Evaluating Your Google Ads Competition
Beyond Google’s built-in Auction Insights, a variety of google ads competitors analysis tool to help you gain deeper insights into competitor strategies. Here’s a breakdown of some of the top tools for conducting an in-depth Google Ads competitor analysis.
1. Google Search Results
Typically, the best way to figure out how to check competitors ads on google is to Google search relevant high-volume keywords. This shows you their ad copy, calls-to-action as well as any discounts or deals they have that other business are using to drive clicks. You can identify trends in ad messaging by looking through search result titles manually, which should give you ideas for what to include or try with your own ad copy and variants.
2. Google Ads Keyword Planner
Google Ads Keyword Planner is a tool within Google Ads that helps users discover keyword ideas and see estimated search volumes, cost-per-click (CPC), and competition levels. Though primarily used for keyword research, it can be an effective tool for understanding which keywords competitors may be targeting based on high traffic and competitive bids.
Top Features: Provides keyword suggestions, search volume data, and competitive adwords spend.
Pricing: Free to use within Google Ads, but requires an active Google Ads account to access complete data.
Keyword Planner’s data on competitive metrics and CPC can help you gauge how much your competitors are investing in specific keywords, allowing you to decide where to allocate your budget effectively.
3. Google Ads Campaign Target ROAS Simulator
The Target ROAS Simulator in Google Ads allows advertisers to predict the impact of different return on ad spend (ROAS) targets on campaign performance. This tool simulates outcomes based on historical data, showing how adjustments to ROAS can affect impressions, clicks, and conversions.
Top Features: Simulates campaign performance at different ROAS targets, provides metrics like impressions, clicks, and conversions.
Pricing: Free to use within Google Ads.
The ROAS Simulator is particularly useful for comparing your ad spend efficiency with competitors, helping you understand if you're achieving the most effective return.
4. Google Merchant Center’s Price Competitiveness
In Google Merchant Center, the Price Competitiveness tool (for eCommerce) sheds light on how your prices measure up against competitors using Shopping ads. This tool can show you if your prices are competitive; this is important because the reality of ad performance shows that shoppers usually choose a lower price.
Key Features: Reflects your price relating to the depth of competitors, indicates a trend in pricing.
Price: Free for Google Merchant Center account holders.
Price Competitiveness insights are great for changing bid strategy or ad copy to favor competitive pricing or additional added benefits.
5. Google Merchant Center’s Best Sellers
The Top Seller report in the Google Merchant Center lists some of best selling products per category according to data from within Goggle Shopping. The purpose of this data is to guide eCommerce advertisers towards ad targeting products in high demand, and optimizing inventory strategies.
Key Features: Gives updated categories of best-selling products, product demand trends
Cost: Free (Users need Google Merchant Center account to get started)
Understanding the hot products can also help you with better targeting in your ads — especially if these selected few are popular items, and this adds to relevancy when entering those competitive markets.
6. Semrush’s PPC Toolkit
Another complete SEO & PPC tool is Semrush, which also offers an advanced toolkit for digital advertising along with what I mentioned before. Which makes it great for analysing competitive Google Ads strategies - as you can discover your competitors' ad keywords, copy and budget inside out.
Key Features: Advertising Research, Keyword Gap Analysis, Traffic Insights, Ad Copy Analysis.
Pricing: Starts at $119.95/month for the Pro plan; Business plans include additional features to support larger campaigns
One of the best ways to do competitor analysis is through Semrush Advertising Research, which shows you specific keywords your competitors are bidding on as well as their estimated ad spend and KPIs such keyword performance over time. This is where you can find areas for improvement or even spaces to trim down on your own campaigns.
7. Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
While Ahrefs is best known for its SEO capabilities, it also provides valuable PPC insights. The Site Explorer tool lets you analyze a competitor's domain for both organic and paid keywords, estimated ad spend, and top-performing ads.
Top Features: Backlink Analysis, Organic & Paid Keyword Research, Traffic Estimation.
Pricing: Plans start at $99/month.
Ahrefs’ comprehensive data can give you a clearer view of where competitors are getting their traffic from and how their paid keywords contribute to their visibility. Ahrefs’ traffic data is also highly valuable for estimating competitor reach and budget.
8. SpyFu’s PPC Research
SpyFu is a dedicated google ads competitor analysis system, ideal for analyzing paid keywords, ad history, and estimated budgets of competitors. The PPC Research module provides insights into competitor ad copy, keywords, and performance, enabling you to find profitable keyword opportunities.
Top Features: Competitor Keyword Research, Ad History Analysis, Estimated Ad Budget.
Pricing: Starts at $39/month, with unlimited searches on premium plans.
SpyFu’s Kombat tool is particularly helpful for discovering keywords your competitors use that you’re not currently targeting, enabling you to expand your reach and tap into new keyword markets.
Bottom Line: Focus on Your Industry, Not Just Direct Competitors
Direct competitors should be the primary focus, but it's essential to monitor broader industry trends as well. Your Google Adwords campaign can stay competitive by you knowing what the top players are doing in your niche and monitoring seasonal, as well industry-specific trends. As you build your new strategy, continually check back on it and make sure to read consumer trends in the market; apply these insights into future ad copy/ targeting development which will keep your campaigns flexible with changes in the marketplace.
Final Thoughts
An AdWords competitor analysis properly executed allows you to take far more strategic decisions with your Google Ads campaigns. Through a combination of Google Analytics tools (like Auction Insights and the Keyword Planner) coupled with advanced platforms such as Semrush, Ahrefs, and SpyFu you can access insights on competitor strategies to fine-tune your ad spend delivery method in order to better enhance campaign performance.
These tools and tactics have been compiled to give you a solid foundation for conducting competitor analysis not only if you are new to using Google Ads (formerly Adwords), but even as guidance on how best refine existing efforts in the space, helping drive your PPC campaigns forward with increased visibility, lower CPCs and bigger return.
Anyone trying to better their PPC strategy and get a leg up in the market needs to perform Competitor analysis for Google Ads campaigns. Knowing what keywords your competitors are bidding on and the ad copy that is working most effectively for them can give you some ideas of where to optimize your campaigns, cut costs or increase return (ROAS). Here is a thorough guide detailing the best practices and most effective tools for doing Google Ads competitor analysis.
The Truth About “Spying” on Your Competitors in Google Ads
When we refer to "spying" on competitors, we’re actually talking about a strategic analysis that leverages publicly available data to optimize your own campaigns. Tools for Google Ads competitor analysis are designed to provide insights on keywords, bidding strategies, and ad performance based on the data competitors openly share through paid ads.
Conducting competitor analysis allows you to benchmark your performance, understand market trends, and discover which strategies competitors are using. With the right tools and approach, you can uncover valuable information to adjust bids, refine targeting, and make more data-driven decisions that optimize your Google Ads campaigns.
How to See Competitors in Google Ads: Auction Insights Report
The Google Ads Auction Insights Report provides a direct look at how your campaigns perform compared to competitors bidding on the same keywords. Available within the Google Ads interface, this report offers several metrics that can reveal your position and performance relative to other advertisers.
Key Metrics in the Auction Insights Report:
Impression Share: Shows the percentage of times your ad appeared compared to the total possible impressions for your targeted keywords.
Overlap Rate: Indicates how often your ad appeared alongside a competitor’s ad.
Position Above Rate: Shows the frequency with which a competitor’s ad ranked above yours when both appeared.
Top of Page Rate: Indicates the rate at which your ad appears at the top of the search results compared to competitors.
By using this report, you can understand who your biggest competitors are, how often they outrank you, and whether you need to adjust your bidding strategy to improve your visibility.
Other Helpful Tools for Evaluating Your Google Ads Competition
Beyond Google’s built-in Auction Insights, a variety of google ads competitors analysis tool to help you gain deeper insights into competitor strategies. Here’s a breakdown of some of the top tools for conducting an in-depth Google Ads competitor analysis.
1. Google Search Results
Typically, the best way to figure out how to check competitors ads on google is to Google search relevant high-volume keywords. This shows you their ad copy, calls-to-action as well as any discounts or deals they have that other business are using to drive clicks. You can identify trends in ad messaging by looking through search result titles manually, which should give you ideas for what to include or try with your own ad copy and variants.
2. Google Ads Keyword Planner
Google Ads Keyword Planner is a tool within Google Ads that helps users discover keyword ideas and see estimated search volumes, cost-per-click (CPC), and competition levels. Though primarily used for keyword research, it can be an effective tool for understanding which keywords competitors may be targeting based on high traffic and competitive bids.
Top Features: Provides keyword suggestions, search volume data, and competitive adwords spend.
Pricing: Free to use within Google Ads, but requires an active Google Ads account to access complete data.
Keyword Planner’s data on competitive metrics and CPC can help you gauge how much your competitors are investing in specific keywords, allowing you to decide where to allocate your budget effectively.
3. Google Ads Campaign Target ROAS Simulator
The Target ROAS Simulator in Google Ads allows advertisers to predict the impact of different return on ad spend (ROAS) targets on campaign performance. This tool simulates outcomes based on historical data, showing how adjustments to ROAS can affect impressions, clicks, and conversions.
Top Features: Simulates campaign performance at different ROAS targets, provides metrics like impressions, clicks, and conversions.
Pricing: Free to use within Google Ads.
The ROAS Simulator is particularly useful for comparing your ad spend efficiency with competitors, helping you understand if you're achieving the most effective return.
4. Google Merchant Center’s Price Competitiveness
In Google Merchant Center, the Price Competitiveness tool (for eCommerce) sheds light on how your prices measure up against competitors using Shopping ads. This tool can show you if your prices are competitive; this is important because the reality of ad performance shows that shoppers usually choose a lower price.
Key Features: Reflects your price relating to the depth of competitors, indicates a trend in pricing.
Price: Free for Google Merchant Center account holders.
Price Competitiveness insights are great for changing bid strategy or ad copy to favor competitive pricing or additional added benefits.
5. Google Merchant Center’s Best Sellers
The Top Seller report in the Google Merchant Center lists some of best selling products per category according to data from within Goggle Shopping. The purpose of this data is to guide eCommerce advertisers towards ad targeting products in high demand, and optimizing inventory strategies.
Key Features: Gives updated categories of best-selling products, product demand trends
Cost: Free (Users need Google Merchant Center account to get started)
Understanding the hot products can also help you with better targeting in your ads — especially if these selected few are popular items, and this adds to relevancy when entering those competitive markets.
6. Semrush’s PPC Toolkit
Another complete SEO & PPC tool is Semrush, which also offers an advanced toolkit for digital advertising along with what I mentioned before. Which makes it great for analysing competitive Google Ads strategies - as you can discover your competitors' ad keywords, copy and budget inside out.
Key Features: Advertising Research, Keyword Gap Analysis, Traffic Insights, Ad Copy Analysis.
Pricing: Starts at $119.95/month for the Pro plan; Business plans include additional features to support larger campaigns
One of the best ways to do competitor analysis is through Semrush Advertising Research, which shows you specific keywords your competitors are bidding on as well as their estimated ad spend and KPIs such keyword performance over time. This is where you can find areas for improvement or even spaces to trim down on your own campaigns.
7. Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
While Ahrefs is best known for its SEO capabilities, it also provides valuable PPC insights. The Site Explorer tool lets you analyze a competitor's domain for both organic and paid keywords, estimated ad spend, and top-performing ads.
Top Features: Backlink Analysis, Organic & Paid Keyword Research, Traffic Estimation.
Pricing: Plans start at $99/month.
Ahrefs’ comprehensive data can give you a clearer view of where competitors are getting their traffic from and how their paid keywords contribute to their visibility. Ahrefs’ traffic data is also highly valuable for estimating competitor reach and budget.
8. SpyFu’s PPC Research
SpyFu is a dedicated google ads competitor analysis system, ideal for analyzing paid keywords, ad history, and estimated budgets of competitors. The PPC Research module provides insights into competitor ad copy, keywords, and performance, enabling you to find profitable keyword opportunities.
Top Features: Competitor Keyword Research, Ad History Analysis, Estimated Ad Budget.
Pricing: Starts at $39/month, with unlimited searches on premium plans.
SpyFu’s Kombat tool is particularly helpful for discovering keywords your competitors use that you’re not currently targeting, enabling you to expand your reach and tap into new keyword markets.
Bottom Line: Focus on Your Industry, Not Just Direct Competitors
Direct competitors should be the primary focus, but it's essential to monitor broader industry trends as well. Your Google Adwords campaign can stay competitive by you knowing what the top players are doing in your niche and monitoring seasonal, as well industry-specific trends. As you build your new strategy, continually check back on it and make sure to read consumer trends in the market; apply these insights into future ad copy/ targeting development which will keep your campaigns flexible with changes in the marketplace.
Final Thoughts
An AdWords competitor analysis properly executed allows you to take far more strategic decisions with your Google Ads campaigns. Through a combination of Google Analytics tools (like Auction Insights and the Keyword Planner) coupled with advanced platforms such as Semrush, Ahrefs, and SpyFu you can access insights on competitor strategies to fine-tune your ad spend delivery method in order to better enhance campaign performance.
These tools and tactics have been compiled to give you a solid foundation for conducting competitor analysis not only if you are new to using Google Ads (formerly Adwords), but even as guidance on how best refine existing efforts in the space, helping drive your PPC campaigns forward with increased visibility, lower CPCs and bigger return.
Anyone trying to better their PPC strategy and get a leg up in the market needs to perform Competitor analysis for Google Ads campaigns. Knowing what keywords your competitors are bidding on and the ad copy that is working most effectively for them can give you some ideas of where to optimize your campaigns, cut costs or increase return (ROAS). Here is a thorough guide detailing the best practices and most effective tools for doing Google Ads competitor analysis.
The Truth About “Spying” on Your Competitors in Google Ads
When we refer to "spying" on competitors, we’re actually talking about a strategic analysis that leverages publicly available data to optimize your own campaigns. Tools for Google Ads competitor analysis are designed to provide insights on keywords, bidding strategies, and ad performance based on the data competitors openly share through paid ads.
Conducting competitor analysis allows you to benchmark your performance, understand market trends, and discover which strategies competitors are using. With the right tools and approach, you can uncover valuable information to adjust bids, refine targeting, and make more data-driven decisions that optimize your Google Ads campaigns.
How to See Competitors in Google Ads: Auction Insights Report
The Google Ads Auction Insights Report provides a direct look at how your campaigns perform compared to competitors bidding on the same keywords. Available within the Google Ads interface, this report offers several metrics that can reveal your position and performance relative to other advertisers.
Key Metrics in the Auction Insights Report:
Impression Share: Shows the percentage of times your ad appeared compared to the total possible impressions for your targeted keywords.
Overlap Rate: Indicates how often your ad appeared alongside a competitor’s ad.
Position Above Rate: Shows the frequency with which a competitor’s ad ranked above yours when both appeared.
Top of Page Rate: Indicates the rate at which your ad appears at the top of the search results compared to competitors.
By using this report, you can understand who your biggest competitors are, how often they outrank you, and whether you need to adjust your bidding strategy to improve your visibility.
Other Helpful Tools for Evaluating Your Google Ads Competition
Beyond Google’s built-in Auction Insights, a variety of google ads competitors analysis tool to help you gain deeper insights into competitor strategies. Here’s a breakdown of some of the top tools for conducting an in-depth Google Ads competitor analysis.
1. Google Search Results
Typically, the best way to figure out how to check competitors ads on google is to Google search relevant high-volume keywords. This shows you their ad copy, calls-to-action as well as any discounts or deals they have that other business are using to drive clicks. You can identify trends in ad messaging by looking through search result titles manually, which should give you ideas for what to include or try with your own ad copy and variants.
2. Google Ads Keyword Planner
Google Ads Keyword Planner is a tool within Google Ads that helps users discover keyword ideas and see estimated search volumes, cost-per-click (CPC), and competition levels. Though primarily used for keyword research, it can be an effective tool for understanding which keywords competitors may be targeting based on high traffic and competitive bids.
Top Features: Provides keyword suggestions, search volume data, and competitive adwords spend.
Pricing: Free to use within Google Ads, but requires an active Google Ads account to access complete data.
Keyword Planner’s data on competitive metrics and CPC can help you gauge how much your competitors are investing in specific keywords, allowing you to decide where to allocate your budget effectively.
3. Google Ads Campaign Target ROAS Simulator
The Target ROAS Simulator in Google Ads allows advertisers to predict the impact of different return on ad spend (ROAS) targets on campaign performance. This tool simulates outcomes based on historical data, showing how adjustments to ROAS can affect impressions, clicks, and conversions.
Top Features: Simulates campaign performance at different ROAS targets, provides metrics like impressions, clicks, and conversions.
Pricing: Free to use within Google Ads.
The ROAS Simulator is particularly useful for comparing your ad spend efficiency with competitors, helping you understand if you're achieving the most effective return.
4. Google Merchant Center’s Price Competitiveness
In Google Merchant Center, the Price Competitiveness tool (for eCommerce) sheds light on how your prices measure up against competitors using Shopping ads. This tool can show you if your prices are competitive; this is important because the reality of ad performance shows that shoppers usually choose a lower price.
Key Features: Reflects your price relating to the depth of competitors, indicates a trend in pricing.
Price: Free for Google Merchant Center account holders.
Price Competitiveness insights are great for changing bid strategy or ad copy to favor competitive pricing or additional added benefits.
5. Google Merchant Center’s Best Sellers
The Top Seller report in the Google Merchant Center lists some of best selling products per category according to data from within Goggle Shopping. The purpose of this data is to guide eCommerce advertisers towards ad targeting products in high demand, and optimizing inventory strategies.
Key Features: Gives updated categories of best-selling products, product demand trends
Cost: Free (Users need Google Merchant Center account to get started)
Understanding the hot products can also help you with better targeting in your ads — especially if these selected few are popular items, and this adds to relevancy when entering those competitive markets.
6. Semrush’s PPC Toolkit
Another complete SEO & PPC tool is Semrush, which also offers an advanced toolkit for digital advertising along with what I mentioned before. Which makes it great for analysing competitive Google Ads strategies - as you can discover your competitors' ad keywords, copy and budget inside out.
Key Features: Advertising Research, Keyword Gap Analysis, Traffic Insights, Ad Copy Analysis.
Pricing: Starts at $119.95/month for the Pro plan; Business plans include additional features to support larger campaigns
One of the best ways to do competitor analysis is through Semrush Advertising Research, which shows you specific keywords your competitors are bidding on as well as their estimated ad spend and KPIs such keyword performance over time. This is where you can find areas for improvement or even spaces to trim down on your own campaigns.
7. Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
While Ahrefs is best known for its SEO capabilities, it also provides valuable PPC insights. The Site Explorer tool lets you analyze a competitor's domain for both organic and paid keywords, estimated ad spend, and top-performing ads.
Top Features: Backlink Analysis, Organic & Paid Keyword Research, Traffic Estimation.
Pricing: Plans start at $99/month.
Ahrefs’ comprehensive data can give you a clearer view of where competitors are getting their traffic from and how their paid keywords contribute to their visibility. Ahrefs’ traffic data is also highly valuable for estimating competitor reach and budget.
8. SpyFu’s PPC Research
SpyFu is a dedicated google ads competitor analysis system, ideal for analyzing paid keywords, ad history, and estimated budgets of competitors. The PPC Research module provides insights into competitor ad copy, keywords, and performance, enabling you to find profitable keyword opportunities.
Top Features: Competitor Keyword Research, Ad History Analysis, Estimated Ad Budget.
Pricing: Starts at $39/month, with unlimited searches on premium plans.
SpyFu’s Kombat tool is particularly helpful for discovering keywords your competitors use that you’re not currently targeting, enabling you to expand your reach and tap into new keyword markets.
Bottom Line: Focus on Your Industry, Not Just Direct Competitors
Direct competitors should be the primary focus, but it's essential to monitor broader industry trends as well. Your Google Adwords campaign can stay competitive by you knowing what the top players are doing in your niche and monitoring seasonal, as well industry-specific trends. As you build your new strategy, continually check back on it and make sure to read consumer trends in the market; apply these insights into future ad copy/ targeting development which will keep your campaigns flexible with changes in the marketplace.
Final Thoughts
An AdWords competitor analysis properly executed allows you to take far more strategic decisions with your Google Ads campaigns. Through a combination of Google Analytics tools (like Auction Insights and the Keyword Planner) coupled with advanced platforms such as Semrush, Ahrefs, and SpyFu you can access insights on competitor strategies to fine-tune your ad spend delivery method in order to better enhance campaign performance.
These tools and tactics have been compiled to give you a solid foundation for conducting competitor analysis not only if you are new to using Google Ads (formerly Adwords), but even as guidance on how best refine existing efforts in the space, helping drive your PPC campaigns forward with increased visibility, lower CPCs and bigger return.
Anyone trying to better their PPC strategy and get a leg up in the market needs to perform Competitor analysis for Google Ads campaigns. Knowing what keywords your competitors are bidding on and the ad copy that is working most effectively for them can give you some ideas of where to optimize your campaigns, cut costs or increase return (ROAS). Here is a thorough guide detailing the best practices and most effective tools for doing Google Ads competitor analysis.
The Truth About “Spying” on Your Competitors in Google Ads
When we refer to "spying" on competitors, we’re actually talking about a strategic analysis that leverages publicly available data to optimize your own campaigns. Tools for Google Ads competitor analysis are designed to provide insights on keywords, bidding strategies, and ad performance based on the data competitors openly share through paid ads.
Conducting competitor analysis allows you to benchmark your performance, understand market trends, and discover which strategies competitors are using. With the right tools and approach, you can uncover valuable information to adjust bids, refine targeting, and make more data-driven decisions that optimize your Google Ads campaigns.
How to See Competitors in Google Ads: Auction Insights Report
The Google Ads Auction Insights Report provides a direct look at how your campaigns perform compared to competitors bidding on the same keywords. Available within the Google Ads interface, this report offers several metrics that can reveal your position and performance relative to other advertisers.
Key Metrics in the Auction Insights Report:
Impression Share: Shows the percentage of times your ad appeared compared to the total possible impressions for your targeted keywords.
Overlap Rate: Indicates how often your ad appeared alongside a competitor’s ad.
Position Above Rate: Shows the frequency with which a competitor’s ad ranked above yours when both appeared.
Top of Page Rate: Indicates the rate at which your ad appears at the top of the search results compared to competitors.
By using this report, you can understand who your biggest competitors are, how often they outrank you, and whether you need to adjust your bidding strategy to improve your visibility.
Other Helpful Tools for Evaluating Your Google Ads Competition
Beyond Google’s built-in Auction Insights, a variety of google ads competitors analysis tool to help you gain deeper insights into competitor strategies. Here’s a breakdown of some of the top tools for conducting an in-depth Google Ads competitor analysis.
1. Google Search Results
Typically, the best way to figure out how to check competitors ads on google is to Google search relevant high-volume keywords. This shows you their ad copy, calls-to-action as well as any discounts or deals they have that other business are using to drive clicks. You can identify trends in ad messaging by looking through search result titles manually, which should give you ideas for what to include or try with your own ad copy and variants.
2. Google Ads Keyword Planner
Google Ads Keyword Planner is a tool within Google Ads that helps users discover keyword ideas and see estimated search volumes, cost-per-click (CPC), and competition levels. Though primarily used for keyword research, it can be an effective tool for understanding which keywords competitors may be targeting based on high traffic and competitive bids.
Top Features: Provides keyword suggestions, search volume data, and competitive adwords spend.
Pricing: Free to use within Google Ads, but requires an active Google Ads account to access complete data.
Keyword Planner’s data on competitive metrics and CPC can help you gauge how much your competitors are investing in specific keywords, allowing you to decide where to allocate your budget effectively.
3. Google Ads Campaign Target ROAS Simulator
The Target ROAS Simulator in Google Ads allows advertisers to predict the impact of different return on ad spend (ROAS) targets on campaign performance. This tool simulates outcomes based on historical data, showing how adjustments to ROAS can affect impressions, clicks, and conversions.
Top Features: Simulates campaign performance at different ROAS targets, provides metrics like impressions, clicks, and conversions.
Pricing: Free to use within Google Ads.
The ROAS Simulator is particularly useful for comparing your ad spend efficiency with competitors, helping you understand if you're achieving the most effective return.
4. Google Merchant Center’s Price Competitiveness
In Google Merchant Center, the Price Competitiveness tool (for eCommerce) sheds light on how your prices measure up against competitors using Shopping ads. This tool can show you if your prices are competitive; this is important because the reality of ad performance shows that shoppers usually choose a lower price.
Key Features: Reflects your price relating to the depth of competitors, indicates a trend in pricing.
Price: Free for Google Merchant Center account holders.
Price Competitiveness insights are great for changing bid strategy or ad copy to favor competitive pricing or additional added benefits.
5. Google Merchant Center’s Best Sellers
The Top Seller report in the Google Merchant Center lists some of best selling products per category according to data from within Goggle Shopping. The purpose of this data is to guide eCommerce advertisers towards ad targeting products in high demand, and optimizing inventory strategies.
Key Features: Gives updated categories of best-selling products, product demand trends
Cost: Free (Users need Google Merchant Center account to get started)
Understanding the hot products can also help you with better targeting in your ads — especially if these selected few are popular items, and this adds to relevancy when entering those competitive markets.
6. Semrush’s PPC Toolkit
Another complete SEO & PPC tool is Semrush, which also offers an advanced toolkit for digital advertising along with what I mentioned before. Which makes it great for analysing competitive Google Ads strategies - as you can discover your competitors' ad keywords, copy and budget inside out.
Key Features: Advertising Research, Keyword Gap Analysis, Traffic Insights, Ad Copy Analysis.
Pricing: Starts at $119.95/month for the Pro plan; Business plans include additional features to support larger campaigns
One of the best ways to do competitor analysis is through Semrush Advertising Research, which shows you specific keywords your competitors are bidding on as well as their estimated ad spend and KPIs such keyword performance over time. This is where you can find areas for improvement or even spaces to trim down on your own campaigns.
7. Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
While Ahrefs is best known for its SEO capabilities, it also provides valuable PPC insights. The Site Explorer tool lets you analyze a competitor's domain for both organic and paid keywords, estimated ad spend, and top-performing ads.
Top Features: Backlink Analysis, Organic & Paid Keyword Research, Traffic Estimation.
Pricing: Plans start at $99/month.
Ahrefs’ comprehensive data can give you a clearer view of where competitors are getting their traffic from and how their paid keywords contribute to their visibility. Ahrefs’ traffic data is also highly valuable for estimating competitor reach and budget.
8. SpyFu’s PPC Research
SpyFu is a dedicated google ads competitor analysis system, ideal for analyzing paid keywords, ad history, and estimated budgets of competitors. The PPC Research module provides insights into competitor ad copy, keywords, and performance, enabling you to find profitable keyword opportunities.
Top Features: Competitor Keyword Research, Ad History Analysis, Estimated Ad Budget.
Pricing: Starts at $39/month, with unlimited searches on premium plans.
SpyFu’s Kombat tool is particularly helpful for discovering keywords your competitors use that you’re not currently targeting, enabling you to expand your reach and tap into new keyword markets.
Bottom Line: Focus on Your Industry, Not Just Direct Competitors
Direct competitors should be the primary focus, but it's essential to monitor broader industry trends as well. Your Google Adwords campaign can stay competitive by you knowing what the top players are doing in your niche and monitoring seasonal, as well industry-specific trends. As you build your new strategy, continually check back on it and make sure to read consumer trends in the market; apply these insights into future ad copy/ targeting development which will keep your campaigns flexible with changes in the marketplace.
Final Thoughts
An AdWords competitor analysis properly executed allows you to take far more strategic decisions with your Google Ads campaigns. Through a combination of Google Analytics tools (like Auction Insights and the Keyword Planner) coupled with advanced platforms such as Semrush, Ahrefs, and SpyFu you can access insights on competitor strategies to fine-tune your ad spend delivery method in order to better enhance campaign performance.
These tools and tactics have been compiled to give you a solid foundation for conducting competitor analysis not only if you are new to using Google Ads (formerly Adwords), but even as guidance on how best refine existing efforts in the space, helping drive your PPC campaigns forward with increased visibility, lower CPCs and bigger return.
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Join Global Businesses and Unlock Your SEO Potential!
Join Global Businesses and Unlock Your SEO Potential!
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© Copyright 2024, All Rights Reserved by ClimbSEO
© Copyright 2024, All Rights Reserved by ClimbSEO
© Copyright 2024, All Rights Reserved by ClimbSEO