Staying ahead in any type of advertising, be it digital, radio, or out-of-home, requires keeping a close eye on your competitors and their strategies. If they’re advertising on the subway, you probably should be too. Similarly, if they’re focusing on a specific keyword in pay-per-click (PPC), you should follow suit.
Via Paul Google Ads provides numerous free benchmarking tools for data analysis. Let’s explore five of my top picks for analyzing your Google Ads competition.
1. Unveiling the Competition with Auction Insights
The Auction Insights report reveals your keyword competition. It shows you the impression shares, average position, overlap rate, position above rate, and top of page rate for each competitor on a specific keyword. This data enables you to strategically manage your bids against your toughest rivals. The following graphic illustrates which competitors are bidding on the keyword “foam mattress.”
2. Grading Your Performance with Google Ads Grader
No Google Ads toolkit is complete without the Free Google Ads Performance Grader. This tool instantly audits your account and generates a report card comparing your performance to industry standards and best practices. You’ll gain insights into your:
- Inefficient spending
- Quality Score
- Impression share
- Account activity
- Click-through rate
- Most and least effective text ad
Give the Google Ads Grader a try today and discover your score.
3. Uncovering Hidden Gems with Keyword Planner
While Google Ads Keyword Planner is often used for finding keyword ideas from your own site, try entering your competitors’ URLs. The results might surprise you with keyword ideas you hadn’t considered, which your competitors are likely already using.
For those with some budget flexibility, paid tools offer additional insights. Here’s one I frequently use:
4. Decoding Competitors with SEMrush
SEMrush.com is a powerful yet affordable tool for paid search marketers. At nexus-security, we leverage this platform to empower our clients with a competitive edge in their Google Ads accounts. It provides reasonably accurate data on competitors’ keywords, spending, and even sample ads. Imagine you own a pet supplies business and want to know who’s bidding on the keyword pet supplies. Simply enter “pet supplies” into the search bar, and voila! The top 15 sites bidding on this keyword appear:
SEMrush also lets you analyze a competitor’s URL. Sticking with the pet supplies example, we can easily see PetSmart’s paid search investment, traffic volume, targeted keywords, and sample ad text.
Directly Engaging Competitors with Competitive Campaigns
Once your Google Ads account is well-structured, consider further optimization with direct competitive advertising. Let’s use a famous rivalry as a high-level example. Imagine you’re Coca-Cola. Bidding on the keyword Pepsi could increase brand awareness and potentially convert Pepsi drinkers.
The following screenshot demonstrates a well-executed competitive campaign. However, it’s crucial to avoid negative tactics. Coca-Cola wouldn’t want to launch an ad directly criticizing Pepsi, as it could harm their brand image. They must also comply with Google policies, meaning using the trademarked term Pepsi in their ad text is prohibited.
Keep in mind that Quality Scores tend to be lower for competitive campaigns, and your ads might not rank first. Google prioritizes relevant search results. However, there’s no concrete evidence that higher ad positions guarantee higher ROI.
Also, be prepared for counter-campaigns from competitors when you launch a competitive campaign targeting them.
Weighing the Value
Competitive campaigns can be effective and worthwhile if your budget allows (if not, use our tips for competing without increasing bids). Prioritize branded and non-branded terms first. If budget remains after optimizing those campaigns, a competitive campaign could be a strategic move.
Speaking of budgets…Even with a tight budget, ensure you’re bidding on the same top non-branded keywords as your competition. Use the tactics outlined here to identify those keywords.