How To Spy On Your Google Ads Competition In 2023

As we journey through the ever-changing landscape of the online marketplace, one thing remains constant: the need for businesses to stay ahead of their Google Ads competitors. With Google Ads being a cornerstone of digital advertising, it’s more important than ever to keep a watchful eye on your competition, especially if you’re working with a Google Ads agency.

In this blog, we will share top-notch strategies that you can use to uncover your competitor’s ad copy, landing pages, and bidding tactics. By knowing what your rivals are up to, you’ll be able to tweak your ads and gain an edge in the fiercely competitive world of online advertising.

So, grab your magnifying glass and sharpen your detective skills because we’re about to reveal the secrets of spying on your Google Ads competitors. 

What are Google Ads?

Google Ads is an online advertising platform that allows businesses to display ads on Google’s SERPs and other partner websites. With Google ads, you can create ads that target specific keywords and demographics, allowing you to reach your ideal audience with precision and only pay for the click or impressions your ads receive. 

What is Google Ads Network?

Google Ads network is a collection of websites and apps that partner with Google to display ads. When you create an ad through Google ads, you can choose to display it on the Google search network, which includes Google search, maps, display network, etc. 

What is Ad Rank?

Ad Rank is a system that Google uses to determine the order in which ads are displayed on SERPs. Ad Rank is calculated based on various factors, including the relevance and quality of your ad, your bid amount, and the expected impact of ad extensions and other ad formats. 

Key Google Ads Competitor Insights:

• Know the competitors who are using Google Ads:

To gain an edge in the competitive world of online advertising, it’s crucial to know your competitors who are utilizing Google Ads. Understanding their strategies can provide valuable insights and help you refine your own advertising efforts. Start by conducting thorough research using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to analyse your competitors’ websites.

Identify the keywords they are targeting and gauge the amount of traffic they receive from organic searches. This information will help you understand their online presence and enable you to make informed decisions when it comes to leveraging Google Ads for your business. Stay ahead of the competition by staying informed.

• Google Ads Auction Insights:

In the world of online advertising, Google Ads is undoubtedly one of the most powerful tools available. With the ability to target a specific audience, track conversions and measure ROI, it’s no wonder many businesses rely on Google Ads to drive traffic and increase sales. Google Ads Auction Insights is a tool that allows advertisers to compare their performance in the Google Ads auction against their competitors.

One of the most important metrics provided by Google Ads auction insights is impression share, which is the percentage of times your ad was shown out of the total number of times it could have been displayed. By comparing competitors’ impression share, you can see how often your ads are being displayed relative to others in your industry. If your impression share is low, it may be a sign that you need to increase your bids or improve the relevance of your ads.

Average position is another key metric provided by Google Ads auction insights which refer to the average position your ad refers to the average position your ad appears in the search results. A higher average position typically means that your ad is more visible and, therefore, more likely to be clicked on. If your average position is lower than your competitor’s, you can see how your ad ranks relative to others in the industry.

Google Ads auction insights also provide information about overlap rate, which refers to the percentage of times your ad and a competitor’s ad are shown at the same time. If your overlap rate is high, it may be a sign that you and your competitor are bidding on the same keywords and targeting the same audience. Analysing your overlap rate can get you insights into your competition and help you make strategic decisions about differentiating your ads and improving your performance. 

• Understand the amount of traffic your competitor gets:

The most important step in understanding your competitor’s Google ads traffic and optimizing Google Ads for your business is to do some research. One way to do this is by using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to analyze your competitor’s websites. These tools can inform you about keywords your competitors are targeting and how much traffic they get from organic searches. While this information isn’t specifically about Google Ads traffic, it can still help you understand your competitor’s overall online presence and make informed decisions when it comes to optimizing Google Ads for your business.

Google’s Display Planner is a tool that helps you gain insights into your competitors’ display ad campaigns. With this tool, you can view information about your competitors’ targeting options, ad placements, and estimated impressions. By analysing this information, you can get a sense of which type of audiences your competitors are targeting and which ad formats they are using. Once you have this information, you can analyse and draw your insights. 

• Check your competitor’s top keywords:

The most important step in understanding your competitor’s top keywords is identifying who they are. It starts with searching for keywords relevant to your business and seeing who is ranking at the top competitors in your niche. The next step is using keyword research tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to find the keywords they are ranking for. Now you can look at the content your competitors provide and the keywords they use in their content. Identifying the topics they cover can give you a better understanding of your content strategy and the keywords driving traffic to their websites. Also, keep an eye on their metadata, like title tags, meta descriptions, and webpage headers. These elements play a crucial role in your SEO and can give you insights into the keywords your competitors are targeting. Analysing the backlink profile of your competitors is, again, very important. This can give you an idea of the keywords they are targeting and the content driving the most backlinks. 

• The amount of money your competitors are making using Google Ads:

One of the best ways of understanding your competitor’s advertising budget is to use Google’s Auction Insights report. This report provides detailed information about how your ad performance compares to other advertisers competing for the exact keywords and audience. This report includes data on key metrics, including impression share; average position refers to where your ad ranks compared to other advertisers.

Finally, the overlap rate refers to how often another advertiser’s ad is shown at the same time as yours. Another way to gauge your competitor’s advertising budgets is to look at their landing pages. By analysing your competitor’s landing pages, you can see how much they are investing in their advertising efforts. High-quality landing pages that are well-designed and optimised for conversions typically indicate a significant advertising budget.

Most Common Paid Marketing Tools: 

• Auction Insights via Google Ads Campaign

Auction Insights is a powerful tool for analysing your Google Ads Campaign. It allows you to see how your ads perform about your competitors in the same auctions. It helps you with metrics like impression share and average position for your and the competitor’s ads. You can use this information to adjust your bidding strategy and improve your ad position.

SEMrush is an all round marketing tool that provides insights on SEO, PPC, social media, and content marketing. It allows you to analyse your website’s ranking positions, track keyword performances and identify new growth opportunities. This tool gives you the option to analyse your competitor’s strategies and benchmark your performance against industry standards. This is a tool that specialises in competitor data allowing you to get ad keywords and the traffic numbers of your competitors. 

Ahrefs can provide detailed insights into your competitor’s backlink profiles, allowing you to identify new link-building opportunities. It can be utilised for all aspects of your Google Ads competitor analysis. It will show you things like top pages, IPs, and external links regarding your competitors. With this tool, you can also conduct keyword research and analyse your website’s ranking positions. 

iSpionage is a competitive intelligence tool that allows you to analyse your competitor’s SEO and PPC campaigns. It provides insights into their organic and paid search performances as well as backlink profiles. iSpionage offers a range of other features, including ad monitoring and competitor alerts, that can help you stay ahead of your competition.

SpyFu provides insights into the ad copy, keywords, and landing pages of your competition. This is a simple and effective tool that helps you find your competitor’s top-paid keywords, the CPC (cost per click), and the monthly cost. Knowing where your competitors are spending their dollars, you can decide which keywords are worth pursuing. 

KeywordSpy is an innovative research tool that not only analyses competitors’ PPC campaigns but also provides invaluable insights into ad copies and landing pages. This tool allows you to see a competitor’s keywords, domains, ad copy, and AdWords competitor analysis. KeywordSpy also offers a range of other features, like advanced keyword grouping and filtering, which can help you take your PPC campaign to the next level. Its ability to track your keyword performance and identify areas for improvement allows you to be in control of your marketing strategy.

Similarweb provides insights on traffic sources, demographics, and engagement metrics. It allows you to find out your competitor’s monthly traffic, which channels bring the most visitors, and specifically where these visitors come from. Similarweb gives you opportunities for growth and optimisation by analysing competitors’ strategies. Similarweb also offers other range of features like keyword research and content analysis which can help you improve your overall digital marketing strategy.

Conclusion:

In today’s highly competitive digital landscape, staying ahead of the curve is the name of the game. When it comes to Google Ads, getting a leg up on your rivals can mean the difference between success and bitter failure. Luckily, with a slew of advanced tools and platforms available, keeping tabs on your competitor’s moves has become easier. While snooping on your competition is a powerful tactic, creating ads that pack a serious punch is equally important to stand out from the crowd.

By blending a strategic approach to undercover ops with a focus on crafting top-notch content that resonates with your audience and drive conversions, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your marketing goals and taking your campaigns to new heights. Let’s begin your reconnaissance today and unlock a whole new realm of opportunities for growth, expansion, and success in 2023