Know your competitor, and you’ve already won half the battle in any market.
Mastering Google Ads competitor analysis can make a critical difference. With rising ad costs and new competitors frequently entering the scene, gaining insights into their strategies isn’t just a nice to have—it’s essential for sustainable growth.
This blog will walk you through simple, effective Google Ads competitor analysis methods. You'll learn how to identify key competitors, access valuable insights from their ad strategies, and use this information to enhance your campaigns. By the end, you will learn actionable steps to make your ads stand out and stay ahead of the competition.
Identifying Competitors' Google Ads
Identifying competitors is crucial to refining your Google Ads strategy. It helps you understand their targeting, messaging, and approach. Here’s how to find direct and indirect competitors:
Using SERPs for Competitors
The easiest way to start is by observing what appears when you search for the same keywords you're targeting. Type the primary keywords related to your products into Google, and note the brands appearing in the ad placements. These brands compete directly for the same audience and ad space as you.
Additionally, if you run premium skincare ads, search terms like 'best skin care products' reveal competing brands. Analyze their ad frequency, placements, and focus—whether it's on price, quality, or unique selling points (USPs).
💡Pro Tip: Make sure to perform these searches in incognito mode to avoid personalized results and get an accurate picture of who your competitors are.
Finding Competitors with Branded Keywords
Branded keyword searches offer another way to identify competitors. These searches involve looking up brand-specific terms for your brand and others in your industry. For example, searching for your brand's name might reveal other advertisers bidding on your branded keywords, indicating that they view your audience as valuable.
Searching for well-known brands in your market can uncover other companies aiming to capture their traffic. If you notice multiple brands showing up consistently when you search for specific competitor names, they might also be worthwhile to monitor.
Spotting Unexpected Competitors
Sometimes, you may come across competitors you might not have considered before—these businesses often serve a similar audience but have a different focus or product line. For example, a brand that sells natural supplements may find competitors in wellness-focused skincare brands when searching for general health-related keywords.
Identify Indirect Competitors: These brands might not directly compete with your product but attract a similar customer base.
Look for Different Focus Areas: A natural supplement brand might find competitors in wellness-focused skincare brands.
Adapt Your Strategy:
Explore creative ad angles that competitors use.
Adjust ad campaigns to capture market share from these less obvious competitors.
For a comprehensive guide to competitor analysis on Google Ads—including tips on SERP monitoring, branded keyword searches, and more—look at this blog by Oppizi.
Identifying your competitors is an essential first step, but understanding their strategies requires a closer look at their ads. Through Google Ads competitor analysis, you can access detailed ad information and uncover how they approach messaging, targeting, and creative formats.
Accessing Competitors' Ad Information
Once you’ve identified key competitors, examining their ad content can reveal valuable insights into their messaging, targeting, and ad strategy. For instance, brands partnering with GoMarble have the added advantage of accessing comparison insights across industry benchmarks.
This enables them to see how their campaigns stack up against competitors, identify performance gaps, and set data-driven goals tailored to their market landscape. With GoMarble’s support, brands can translate competitor insights into actionable strategies that drive sustainable growth.
Google Ads Transparency Center for Insights
The Google Ads Transparency Center is a valuable resource for Google Ads competitor analysis.
For example, if a brand regularly changes its ad creatives or tests multiple formats, it may suggest that it is experimenting with what resonates most with its audience. Conversely, a stable set of creatives might indicate a focus on a specific message that has proven successful.
💡Pro Tip: Look for patterns in ad content, such as seasonal promotions or recurring offers, to understand how competitors adjust their strategy over time.
Using Search Terms for Ad Variations
Use search terms to observe how competitors adapt ads for different queries:
Industry-specific terms: See how competitors customize ad copy and headlines.
Ad Extensions: Analyze their use of callouts, site links, and structured snippets.
Buyer Journey Adaptation:
Transactional Keywords: Direct calls-to-action.
Awareness-stage Keywords: Informative, education-focused content.
For instance, you might find that a competitor uses more direct calls-to-action for transactional keywords while opting for educational content in ads targeting awareness-stage search terms. You can refine your approach by identifying these variations to better align with user intent.
Now that you better understand your competitors' ad content and formats, the next step is to dig into their target keywords. Analyzing competitor keywords provides insight into their bidding strategies, ad spend priorities, and the search terms driving traffic to their ads.
Performing Competitor Keyword Analysis
Choosing the right keywords is crucial for understanding where competitors focus their ad spend and which terms attract valuable traffic. By analyzing these keywords, you can pinpoint high-impact terms that align with user intent and refine your approach to stay competitive.
Google Keyword Planner Insights
Google Keyword Planner is a valuable starting point for exploring keyword opportunities. Here’s how to use it effectively:
Enter Seed Keywords: Generate a list of related terms that potential customers might use when searching for products like yours.
Identify Competitor Keywords: The tool reveals keywords your competitors may also target, helping you focus on strategic search terms.
Expand Your Keyword List: Use the insights to find overlooked search terms that competitors might miss, helping you attract a broader audience.
💡Pro Tip: To maximize relevance, focus on keywords that align with your product offerings and pay attention to those appearing frequently in competitor ads.
Studying Competitor Keyword Data
Beyond generating keyword ideas, assessing the cost-per-click (CPC), search volume, and relevance of keywords your competitors might be using is important. Understanding how often some keywords are searched can reveal what drives significant traffic to your competitors' ads. By considering CPC, you can identify keywords that balance search volume and budget efficiency well.
For example, if a competitor frequently appears for high-CPC keywords in your industry, it might indicate that these terms are crucial for driving high-intent traffic. On the other hand, finding niche keywords with lower CPCs can provide opportunities to target specific user intents without directly competing on high-traffic terms.
Employing Tools for Keyword Insights
Beyond the basics provided by Google Keyword Planner, additional tools can offer deeper insights into competitor keyword strategies. These specialized tools analyze competitors' keywords more thoroughly, revealing which terms they invest in and how their keyword choices impact ad performance. Understanding these patterns allows businesses to identify gaps in their strategies and adjust their keyword focus to better align with market trends.
These tools provide data on:
Search Volume: Understand the demand for specific keywords.
Competition Levels: Identify keywords with lower competition that you can target.
CPC Estimates: Evaluate cost-efficiency for potential keywords.
With a solid understanding of the keywords your competitors focus on, the next step is to analyze how they communicate with their audience. Examining their ad copy can reveal the messages, unique selling points, and emotional appeals that drive engagement.
Examining Competitors' Ad Copy
Once you've identified the right keywords, understanding how competitors use them in their messaging can provide valuable insights into their overall strategy. Analyzing their ad copy helps you see what resonates with your shared audience and how to differentiate your approach. Here's how to effectively examine competitors' ad copy.
Competitor Messaging, USP & CTAs
Ad copy reveals competitors' core messaging strategies and how they position their products or services. Focus on the following:
Study Headlines & Descriptions:
Identify whether they emphasize affordability, quality, or specific product features.
Evaluate Unique Selling Points (USPs):
Examples include "eco-friendly materials," "free shipping on all orders," or "premium quality guaranteed."
Recognizing these themes helps you find market gaps where your brand can stand out.
Analyze Call-to-Actions (CTAs):
Common CTAs like "Shop Now", "Limited-Time Offer", or "Get a Free Quote" provide insights into the actions they encourage their audience to take.
💡Pro Tip: Note repeated phrases or offers, as they may indicate messages that have successfully driven conversions.
Analyzing Ad Copy Themes
Advanced tools can provide deeper insights into the themes and emotional triggers competitors use. These tools help you:
Identify Emotional Appeals:
AI-powered tools can reveal if competitors use urgency (e.g., "Hurry, limited stock!") or exclusivity ("Members-only deals").
Highlight Recurring Phrases:
Find common words, phrases, or tones that resonate with audiences in your industry.
Understand Effective Messaging:
Use insights to craft ad copy that connects with your audience, leveraging proven emotional triggers to stand out.
Once you've analyzed your competitors' messaging and identified effective themes, the next step is to look at where those ads lead. Examining competitors' landing pages can reveal how they convert ad clicks into actions, giving you insight into their overall conversion strategy.
Reviewing Landing Pages
Analyzing competitors' landing pages can reveal how they convert clicks into actions, offering valuable insights to enhance your own designs. Focus on key aspects like structure, visuals, and content placement, paying particular attention to pricing, customer reviews, and social proof, as these elements often drive conversions. Evaluate the user experience (UX) by ensuring important information is easy to find and that the page guides users effectively toward action.
Now, it's time to see how your ads stack up against theirs regarding visibility and performance. Using auction insights can help you understand your position in the competitive market and identify opportunities to improve your ad performance.
Utilizing Auction Insights
Understanding your competitors' ad strategies goes beyond their messaging and landing pages. Auction insights offer a way to see how your ads perform against competitors in real-time. This data can help you identify where you stand and where you can optimize further. Here's how to make the most of auction insights.
Impression Shares and Ad Positions
Auction insights in Google Ads provide crucial information about your visibility:
Impression share: This shows the percentage of impressions your ads receive for a keyword or campaign.
Compare with Competitors: See if your share is significantly lower than that of key competitors. This might indicate opportunities to increase bids or enhance ad relevance.
Ad Position Data: Indicates where your ads appear about others.
If a competitor consistently appears above you, they might have:
Higher Bids: Outbidding you for specific keywords.
Better Quality Score: More relevant ad copy and landing pages
💡Pro Tip: If a competitor has a significantly higher impression share, consider reviewing your bids and ad relevance to ensure you take advantage of valuable opportunities.
Analyzing Auction Insights
Auction insights can also reveal trends in how your ads perform relative to competitors over time. For example, suppose you see your overlap rate (how often a competitor's ad appears when your ad appears) increasing. In that case, it may indicate that the competitor is ramping up their spending or targeting similar keywords more aggressively.
Another helpful metric is the outranking share, which indicates how often your ad ranks higher than a competitor's. A declining outranking share could mean it's time to reassess your bidding strategy or improve the relevance of your ads. Conversely, if you consistently outrank a competitor, you can shift your budget toward other opportunities while maintaining a strong presence.
Strategy Adjustments Based on Insights
Use the insights gained from auction data to optimize your campaign:
Increase Bids: For keywords where competitors dominate the impression share.
Refine Ad Relevance: Improve ad copy and landing pages to boost quality scores.
Adjust Budget: Shift focus to keywords with a lower overlap rate for better ROI.
For additional insights, Google’s Auction Insights support page provides a detailed metrics breakdown that reveals how your ads perform compared to competitors. These metrics, like impression share and overlap rate, offer essential data for refining your competitive keyword strategy.
With a clear understanding of how your ads compare to the competition in the auction space, the next step is to dive into the actual performance metrics of your campaigns. Monitoring key metrics like click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates can help you fine-tune your ads for maximum effectiveness.
Monitoring Ad Performance Metrics
Keeping a close eye on key performance metrics is essential for ensuring your Google Ads remain effective and competitive. You can make data-driven decisions and adjust your strategy as market conditions change by tracking specific data points. Here's what to focus on.
Key Ad Performance Metrics
💡Pro Tip: A/B testing different ad variations can optimize CTR and conversion rates, allowing you to find what works best for your audience.
Ongoing Market Monitoring
New competitors constantly enter the market and shifting user behaviors impact campaign results. Regularly tracking your ad performance keeps you agile and ready to adapt to these changes.
Review your auction insights and other performance data regularly to spot trends, such as sudden drops in impressions or changes in competitor activity. If a new competitor begins to gain traction or if an existing competitor increases their ad spend, being aware of these changes can help you adjust your strategy in real time.
Each step discussed in the blog helps refine your approach, ensuring your ads stay competitive and effective. As we wrap up, let's summarize the strategic advantages of a thorough competitor analysis and how these insights can shape your advertising strategy moving forward.
Conclusion
Effective Google Ads competitor analysis—from keyword choices to ad copy and landing page designs—can provide a competitive edge that drives better results. These insights allow you to fine-tune your campaigns and ensure your ads reach the right audience most effectively. Yet, diving into the details of competitor analysis, making sense of the data, and continually optimizing your strategy can quickly become a full-time task. Many brand owners struggle to balance this with the day-to-day business demands.
This is when a performance marketing agency can become a crucial ally, providing the expertise and focus to drive better outcomes from your ad campaigns. At GoMarble, we do more than offer insights; we work alongside you to turn those insights into action. Our AI-assisted expert marketers focus on analyzing your competitive space, refining ad strategies, and crafting campaigns designed for profitable growth. Combining data-driven decisions with creative storytelling, we help your brand achieve benchmark-beating ROAS while staying ahead of the competition.
If you're ready to elevate your ad performance and grow your brand, contact us today, and let's create a strategy that works for you.