Google Ads Competitor Analysis: How to Spy on Your Competitors in 2024

When it comes to Google Ads, it’s important to know what your competitors are doing. What keywords are they bidding on, what do their ads look like, and how much are they spending on Google Ads? Gaining insights into your competitors’ Google Ads campaigns can help inform your own strategy. While you can’t spy on your competitor’s Google Ads account directly, there are tools that we can use to gain some insights.

This comprehensive guide will give you strategies and tips for researching competitors’ Google Ads campaigns. You can use the information for your own campaign. Keep in mind that some of the best tools are premium keyword research tools, so they come with a cost. Additionally, an advertising research tool can provide insights into competitors’ ad copies, targeted keywords, ad positions, and spending within Google Ads, enabling you to track and refine your own advertising strategies based on observed trends and historical performance.

What is Competitor Analysis in Google Ads?

Competitor analysis in Google Ads is the process of researching and evaluating the advertising strategies of other businesses or advertisers in the same market. It involves studying their keywords, ad copy, budget allocation, and performance metrics to gain insights into how they are running their ad campaigns. This information helps you make informed decisions, refine your own ads, and stay competitive in the online advertising landscape.

Why Should I Spy on My Competitors’ Google Ads?

Spying on your competitors’ Google Ads can provide valuable insights into their advertising strategies and help you make informed decisions for your own campaigns. It allows you to discover their best-performing keywords, ad copy, and budget allocation, giving you a competitive edge. By understanding what works for them, you can refine your own ads to improve performance and stay ahead in the market.

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Can I See My Competitors’ Google Ads Keywords and Advertisements?

Yes, you can see some of your competitors’ Google Ads keywords and advertisements using tools like SEMrush and Google Ads Auction Insights. The Google Ads Keyword Planner is another essential tool for generating keyword ideas, analyzing competition, and uncovering new keyword opportunities. These tools provide insights into the keywords your competitors are bidding on and allow you to view examples of their ad copy. While you won’t have access to all their data, this information can help you better understand their strategies and improve your own ad campaigns.

In the first video, I will go over all the different ways to do Google Ads competitive analysis. Some of the methods include using the Google Ads Transparency Center, SEMRush, and SpyFu. It’s difficult to spy on your competitors without a paid keyword tool. This video will show you the best ways and the least expensive ways to see your competitors google ads strategy.

You can also watch the video below to see more of your competitors advertisements. It will show you exactly how to use Google search results to see the ads of your competitor.

How to Do Google Ads Competitor Analysis

I will give you the best tips below for competitive analysis in Google Ads along with tools, websites, and resources that will help you.

1. Use the Google Ads Transparency Center

The Google Ads Transparency Center allows anyone to see any business’s Google advertisements. You can go directly to the Transparency Center and simply enter a business name.

Enter a Business in the Google Ads Transparency Center

You can enter any business into the Google Ads Transparency Center search bar. When you find your competitor, click on their business name. Then, you can view any ad they have run recently, different ads for different countries, different ad formats, and even search by topic.

View Your Competitors Ads in the Google Ads Transparency Center

The ads can tell you what keywords they are bidding on based on the headline and the description. You can use the ads to also view your competitor’s ad copy.

View a Specific Ad and Variations

Lastly, you can click on any individual advertisement and see some of the variations that your competitor is using.

2. See Competitors’ Google Ads Using the Google Search Results

When you search for one of your competitors or one of the keywords they are bidding on, you may see one of their ads in the search results. When you click on the 3 little dots next to the ad, you can see more ads that they are running on Google.

Click on See more ads this advertiser has shown using Google

Next, click on the ‘See more ads’ link that pops up when the ‘My Ad Center’ page opens. That will open up the ads so you can spy on your competitors.

Now You Can Spy on Competitors Google Ads Using My Ad Center

You will see all sorts of different ad formats, and locations where ads were running, and you can even adjust the time period.

3. Find Competitors Using the Auction Insights Report

The Google Ads Auction Insights report lets you compare your ad campaign’s performance with other advertisers participating in the same auctions. It provides statistics like impression share, overlap rate, outranking share, position above rate (for Search campaigns), top of page rate (for Search campaigns), and absolute top of the page rate (for Search campaigns). This information helps you make strategic decisions about bidding and budgeting to improve your ad performance. To access the report, go to your Google Ads account, select the relevant campaign, ad group, or keyword, and click on “Auction insights.”

4. Use SEMRush to Analyze Competitors’ Google Ads

SEMRush has 3 different tools that can help with your PPC Advertising campaigns: Keyword Magic Tool, Advertising Research, and PLA Advertising. By using SEMrush’s paid marketing tools, you can gain valuable insights into your competitors’ Google Ads campaigns, keywords, estimated traffic, ad copy, and more to optimize your own Google Ads strategy effectively.

To analyze your competitors’ Google Ads using SEMrush, follow these steps:

SEMRush Keyword Magic Tool

Use SEMrush’s “Keyword Magic Tool” to access a vast keyword database for SEO and PPC. You will be able to research related terms, niche topics, and question keywords for your PPC campaign.

SEMRush Advertising Research

• Analyze your competitors’ ad strategies, including the keywords they bid on, using SEMrush’s advertising research tool.

• View ad copy examples from industry leaders and see when they ran their ads.

• Discover new advertisers in Google Ads.

SEMRush PLA Advertising

• Assess the performance of other Google Shopping advertisers.

• Find the search queries triggering their Product Listing Ads (PLAs) and their positioning.

• Explore your competitors’ successful ads in detail.

See Competitor Ad Budgets and Keywords

• Evaluate your competitors’ estimated PPC spend and strategy.

• Understand their recent spending, seasonality changes, and the most popular keywords that advertisers are bidding on.

• Utilize the Google Ads Keyword Planner to uncover new keyword opportunities and understand search trends.

• Monitor which domains and subdomains competitors direct their paid traffic to.

Analyze Competitors’ Ad Copy and Landing Pages

• Observe your competitors’ ad positioning in paid search results and what their advertisements look like.

• Analyze their ad copy for insights on what appeals to users.

• Use live ad examples available in SEMRush to enhance your own ad copy.

5. Use SpyFu to Spy on Competitors’ Google Ads

By using these SpyFu tools, you can uncover your competitors’ Google Ads keywords, ad strategies, and estimated traffic, allowing you to gain insights, make informed decisions, and improve your own Google Ads campaigns. To analyze your competitors’ Google Ads using SpyFu, follow these steps and use the following tools:

Google Ads Advisor

• Start by entering your competitor’s website in SpyFu’s Google Ads Advisor tool.

• SpyFu will provide insights into their paid keyword strategy, ad spend history, and keyword weaknesses and wins.

• You can also explore specialized areas like ad copy and keyword groups to understand their tactics.

• Enter your website, and SpyFu will help you find your competitors.

• SpyFu will recommend profitable keywords you’re not already buying.

Google Ads Competitor Keyword Spy Tool (Kombat)

• Search for a competitor to access a list of every keyword they’ve ever bought on Google.

• Download their PPC keywords to see how many clicks they get and how much they pay for each keyword.

Find Competitors’ Keywords You Don’t Already Buy

• Enter your own domain to discover core keywords that your top Google Ads competitors are buying but you’re not.

• This helps you identify new keyword opportunities.

PPC and Google Ads Keyword Research

• Enter your website, and SpyFu will analyze your competitors’ keywords.

• SpyFu will show your competitors’ most successful keywords.

Competitor Google Ads Campaign and Ad Test History

• Browse your competitor’s complete Google Ads campaign history.

• View the results of every ad split test they’ve run and learn from their experiences.

PPC Negative Match Recommendations

• Scan your Google Ads account for costly irrelevant and broad keyword matches.

• SpyFu suggests negative keywords based on your competitors’ unsuccessful attempts.

PPC Ad Rank Tracker

• Track your ranking progress and impression share for important keyword groups.

• SpyFu provides expansion keyword suggestions and recommended actions to take.

6. Use iSpionage to Analyze Google Ads Competitors

By utilizing iSpionage’s competitive intelligence tools, you can gain valuable insights into your competitors’ Google Ads keywords, ad strategies, and estimated traffic, helping you make informed decisions and improve your own Google Ads campaigns. To analyze your competitors’ Google Ads using iSpionage, follow these steps:

AdWords Competitor Keyword Tool

• Access iSpionage to discover your competitors’ profitable keywords, ad copy, and landing pages.

• iSpionage provides seven years’ worth of PPC and SEO keyword data for Google, Bing, and Yahoo, including millions of keywords, ad copy variations, and domains.

Learn from Your Top Google Ads Competitors With iSpionage

• iSpionage identifies your main AdWords competitors and reveals their monthly budgets and PPC strategies.

• Use this information to focus on the top advertisers in your industry and learn from their successful tactics.

Find New Profitable Keywords

• Access a complete list of AdWords competitor keywords.

• Sort the list to find effective keywords with the Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) and add high-volume, profitable keywords to your campaign.

Improve CTR and Lower CPC

• Identify competitors’ profitable ad copy using the Ad Effectiveness Index (AEI) algorithm.

• Study their ads to create compelling offers and ad copy that stands out, leading to higher click-through rates.

7. Analyze Competitors’ Live Ads and Landing Pages

You can learn a lot by doing a few searches and analyzing the search engine results pages. Do their ads describe key differentiators or encourage action? How do they direct visitors – to product, content, or contact pages? One of the things that you can do is search for your competitor or a competitive keyword.

View Competitors Ads For Your Top Keywords

You will be able to see your advertisements and your competitors’ advertisements when you search specific keywords. You can see the headlines, description lines, ad assets, and use this information to improve your own ads.

Look at Competitors Landing Pages For Your Top Keywords

While I didn’t click on this particular advertisement, I found their landing page for this keyword. You should analyze your competitors landing pages as well.

Conclusion

While you can no longer directly see competitors’ keywords and budgets, thoughtful analysis of available information provides valuable perspective. Use these tips to research competitors’ Google Ads and bolster your own PPC strategy.