Ultimate Guide to PPC Competitor Analysis for Marketing Agencies

Client competitors dominating paid search? Analyze their moves, uncover strategies to boost your client’s ROI, and outperform the competition. This guide covers everything your marketing agency needs for effective PPC competitor analysis, including identifying rivals, finding opportunities, and leveraging the right tools.

What is PPC Competitor Analysis?

PPC competitor research dives deeper into rivals’ paid advertising strategies to uncover market gaps and tactical advantages.

Key elements of PPC competitor analysis include:

• Evaluating visuals, headlines, descriptions, and CTAs.
• Understanding the terms competitors target to attract potential customers.
• Analyzing how competitors approach keyword bidding.
• Reviewing how they guide visitors and optimize for conversions.

This analysis is an ongoing process rather than a one-time activity. Regular updates are essential to identify seasonal trends, market shifts, and competitor strategy changes. This will ensure your clients’ PPC campaigns remain competitive and drive the highest ROI possible.

Step-by-Step Guide for PPC Competitor Analysis

Learn how to complete PPC competitor analysis and unlock hidden best practices from paid media experts.

1. Identify Your Main Competitors

Understanding your competitive landscape is far more nuanced than simply identifying who else is bidding on similar keywords. Dr. Augustine Fou, a digital marketing expert, emphasizes that effective PPC competition analysis requires examining both the visible and hidden aspects of competitors’ strategies.

Direct Competition

The highest-performing competitors often distinguish themselves through targeting efficiency rather than brand recognition or budget size. PPC managers examine these three critical elements:

• Conversion path architecture. Advanced competitor analysis reveals how market leaders structure their customer journeys. Tools like Semrush and SpyFu show that successful competitors typically maintain distinct landing pages for branded versus non-branded searches, each with carefully crafted messaging hierarchies.
• Ad scheduling patterns. Temporal bidding strategies often reveal deeper competitive insights. Many sophisticated advertising techniques include adjusting bidding aggressively during peak conversion hours while reducing spend during lower-performing periods, creating opportunities for strategic bid adjustments.
• Budget allocation signals. Analyzing competitors’ impression share and average position data over time reveals their budget management strategies and priority keywords.

Indirect Competition

Indirect competitors compete for the same customer problem rather than the same product category. This subtle distinction dramatically affects the development of PPC strategies.

Here’s a brief analysis of premium yoga mats search query patterns, revealing significant audience overlap:

• Home fitness equipment retailers
• Digital wellness platforms
• Meditation apps
• Virtual yoga studios

Indirect competitors wield a subtle but powerful influence on your clients’ cost-per-acquisition (CPA) by subtly reshaping consumer perception of value. Consider our yoga mat client. 

When a digital fitness platform like Peloton or Alo Moves offers a comprehensive wellness ecosystem – including guided yoga sessions, meditation classes, nutritional advice, and community features – the perceived value of a standalone yoga mat, even a premium one, can diminish. 

A potential customer might weigh the cost of a premium mat against the monthly subscription fee of a fitness app that includes yoga sessions, potentially making the mat seem like an unnecessary or secondary expense. This shift in perceived value forces marketing agencies to work harder and smarter to justify the cost and highlight the unique benefits of the physical product, thus impacting the overall CPA goals. 

For example, you might need to focus on ultra-specific long-tail keywords targeting users actively looking for mat features that complement their digital fitness routines (e.g., “best non-slip yoga mat for hot yoga at home”).

Understanding the landscape of indirect competitors is crucial for shaping a robust keyword strategy that goes beyond obvious product terms. Our yoga mat client shouldn’t just target “yoga mat” or “best yoga mat.” They need to consider the keywords used by those digital wellness platforms.

 Are potential customers searching for “yoga at home setup,” “best online yoga classes,” or even broader terms like “mindfulness exercises for beginners”? 

Analyzing the keyword strategies of these indirect competitors can reveal untapped opportunities to reach a broader audience interested in the outcome your product provides (e.g., stress relief, improved fitness), even if they aren’t initially searching for the product itself. 

This allows you to capture users earlier in their decision-making process, potentially before they’ve even considered a specific product type.

The key is to maintain competitive awareness while avoiding obsession with competitors. This balanced approach ensures that PPC strategies remain responsive to market dynamics while preserving the unique value propositions of your client’s offerings.

2. Analyze Competitor Keywords

High-traffic keywords often mask complex user intent variations. For example, someone searching “yoga mat” might be:

• Conducting initial product research.
• Ready to make an immediate purchase.
• Looking for product comparisons.
• Seeking replacement options.

Each intent pattern requires different ad copy, landing pages, and bidding strategies. PPC managers often segment their keyword portfolios based on these intent signals, allowing for more precise budget allocation and messaging alignment.

Competitive Position Analysis

Start by analyzing competitor bid patterns at different times of day and days of the week. With Google Auction Insights, you can track impression share, overlap rates, and position above rates for the competitors, breaking the extracted data into hourly or day-of-week intervals. This temporal analysis often reveals opportunities for competitors to reduce their presence, creating windows for more cost-effective bidding.

To examine how competitors structure their ad groups, leverage tools like Semrush, SpyFu, or Ahrefs to gather data on the keywords they’re bidding on. Look for patterns in the keywords associated with their ads and note how they might be grouped based on themes, intent, USPs, or audience segments.

Automated Bid Pattern Analysis

When examining Google Auction Insights data, look for distinct bidding patterns that reveal competitor strategies. Some advertisers maintain consistent impression share throughout the day, while others show aggressive early-day bidding followed by reduced presence.

Common Auction Pattern Signals

Tools for Auction Analysis

For example, an eco-friendly yoga mat retailer noticed competitors showing strong morning presence with reduced afternoon visibility. This pattern creates opportunities for strategic bid adjustments during lower-competition periods.

Effective PPC tracking is essential to capitalize on these insights. Tools like Google Ads provide detailed data on impressions, clicks, cost-per-click, and conversions. Monitoring these metrics over time allows you to identify trends, assess the effectiveness of your bidding strategies, and make data-driven adjustments to optimize your campaigns.

Finding Profitable Keyword Opportunities

Tools like Google Keyword Planner are great for gathering baseline data and exploring low-hanging fruits. Look for keywords with high commercial intent but moderate competition. These often include:

• Long-tail variations of product features.
• Problem-solution phrases.
• Comparison-based searches.
• Location-specific modifiers.

The most valuable opportunities often lie in understanding the relationship between keywords.

For example, analyzing the progression from awareness-stage keywords to purchase-intent terms can reveal crucial gaps in competitor strategies.

Advanced Keyword Gap Analysis

The easiest way to complete keyword gap analysis is by leveraging Semrush to compare your client’s keywords with competitors.

1. Log in to Semrush and navigate to the Keyword Gap tool.
2. Add your client’s website and up to four competitor URLs for comparison.
3. Select organic, paid, or PLA keywords and pick a region or search engine.
4. Check the Venn diagram to see shared and unique keywords.
5. Explore various filters to find missing, shared, or unique keywords.
6. Export the analysis to refine your strategy offline.

However, advanced keyword gap analysis adds a few more steps to help you stay ahead of the competition.

7. Analyze search term reports to examine negative keyword strategies. Competitors’ blind spots in negative keyword implementation often reveal opportunities for targeted campaign expansion.
8. Study the relationship between organic and paid keyword performance. Areas where competitors heavily invest in both channels often indicate high-converting terms worth pursuing.
9. Map keyword patterns to customer journey stages. Understanding how search behavior changes throughout the buying process helps identify underserved segments of the conversion funnel.
10. Monitor bid adjustments across device types and locations. Geographic and device-specific bid patterns often reveal sophisticated targeting strategies that can be adapted for your campaigns.

Then, you can evaluate search volume and CPC to prioritize opportunities.

3. Dissect Competitor Communication

Despite the emphasis some marketers place on strategy, particularly the importance of keyword analysis, we contend that a broader perspective is necessary.

The best route is to start exploring competitors’ tone and messaging, CTAs, and unique offerings.

Tone and Messaging

While tone is often tied to brand positioning, it’s usually adjusted to fit the target audience. If your client is targeting Gen Z, the tone of voice will likely revolve around this generation’s jargon. However, messaging is usually consistent across all target groups to maintain brand identity, even if the tone varies.

Here are some things you shouldn’t miss when assessing a competitor’s tone of voice and messaging:

• Consistency with brand values – check if the competitor maintains a unified message across different campaigns and platforms.
• Adaptation to the target audience – observe how they tailor their tone to fit specific demographics or market segments.
• Use of jargon and vocabulary – analyze whether they rely on niche-specific terms or simplify messaging for broader appeal.
• Multichannel adaptation – review how their tone shifts across social media, ads, blogs, and customer service interactions.

Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

In PPC campaigns, it’s important to explore competitors’ different CTAs. The most popular CTAs include:

• Get started
• Claim your discount today
• Start free trial
• Buy now
• Get limited time offer

A list of CTAs gathered from competitors can also inspire A/B test variations for your client, helping refine messaging to boost conversions and uncover what resonates most with the target audience.

Unique Offers

Compare exclusive competitor offers, such as limited-time discounts or free trials, and develop counter-strategies for your clients.

These could include matching competitors’ offers or introducing unique incentives that provide added value, such as free upgrades, extended warranties, or bonus features. 

Also, analyze how competitors present these offers in their ads – do they use urgency, exclusivity, or social proof? Understanding these tactics will help you to position your client’s offerings more effectively.

4. Examine Competitor Ad Extensions and Features

Let’s see how smart PPC managers use ad extensions to beat the competition.

Strategic Analysis of Ad Extension Implementation

Digging into how competitors set up ad extensions uncovers their conversion playbook. While most use standard extensions, the real advantage is in analyzing their specific setups.

Sitelink Extensions

The most sophisticated advertisers use sitelinks as strategic conversion funnels, not just additional links. When examining competitor sitelinks, analyze how they:

• Create urgency through time-sensitive promotions in sitelink text.
• Deploy different sitelink combinations based on search intent stages.
• Customize sitelink messaging for mobile versus desktop users.
• Test various landing page combinations to optimize conversion paths.

During peak shopping seasons, leading advertisers often shift their sitelink strategy to emphasize shipping deadlines and gift-related categories, outlining their care for shoppers who want to save time and money.

To drive urgency, a yoga mat brand might run limited-time promotions such as “20% Off This Week Only!” or “Free Shipping Ends Soon!”

Sitelinks tailored to search intent could include “Why Eco-Friendly Yoga Mats?” for awareness, “Compare Our Yoga Mats” for consideration, and “Best Sellers: Shop Now” for decision-making. 

During seasonal periods, they might feature “Order by 20th Dec for Christmas Delivery” to capture last-minute shoppers or “Gift Yoga Mats – Perfect for Any Yoga Lover” to align with gift-giving trends. 

Testing landing pages and customizing for mobile users, such as with “Shop on the Go – Quick Checkout,” ensures an optimized user experience and higher conversions.

Structured Snippets

Structured snippets offer unique insights into how competitors prioritize their value propositions. The most effective implementations:

• Rotate snippet content based on seasonal trends and promotions.
• Align snippet messaging with specific keyword intents.
• Test different value proposition hierarchies to identify what resonates most.
• Use industry-specific terminology to signal expertise.

For example, an eco yoga mat store might use Product Benefits like “Sustainable Materials,” “Superior Grip,” and “Lightweight Design” to showcase key features. 

Seasonal snippets such as Holiday Deals could include “Free Shipping Over £50” and “Order by 20th Dec for Christmas.” 

Aligning snippets with eco-conscious values, like “100% Natural Cork” under Eco Commitment, signals expertise while appealing to environmentally aware shoppers.

Price Extensions

One of the best price extension strategies is monitoring when rivals launch sales. After identifying limited-time offers, it’s the best time to adjust your client’s price extension visibility to maintain competitive positioning. During quieter periods, it’s best to focus on value-based messaging instead of pure price competition.

Value-adds play a key role in price presentations. Instead of showing bare numbers, top performers pair prices with benefits. After all, “Premium Plan $99/month includes 24/7 support” resonates better than “$99/month” alone, helping to push higher-tier offers.

Advanced Extension Combinations

Analyzing competitors’ use of ad extensions reveals key patterns:

• Variations across device types.
• Combinations tailored to search intent.
• Seasonal adjustments and geographic deployment.

It might seem time-consuming, but success lies in regularly testing and refining extension strategies based on performance data, prioritizing user experience and conversion intent.

For example, an eco yoga mat store might combine sitelinks like “Best Sellers: Shop Now” with callout extensions such as “Eco-Friendly Materials” and structured snippets highlighting “Lightweight Design” or “Non-Slip Surfaces.” 

Variations across devices, like mobile-specific click-to-call extensions, ensure accessibility for on-the-go shoppers. 

Seasonal adjustments, such as emphasizing “Free Shipping Over £50” during holidays or geographic deployment with location extensions for local eco-conscious communities, further refine the strategy.

Ad Copy Testing Framework

While analyzing competitor CTAs and messaging provides insights, a structured testing approach helps identify what truly drives performance in your market.

Ad Testing Tools

Creating Your Testing Structure

For example, an eco yoga mat advertiser might test these elements:

• Headlines showcasing “Sustainable Materials” against “Eco-Friendly Design”
• CTAs like “Shop Now” versus “Get 20% Off Today”
• Benefit-focused copy against price-focused messaging

When competitors adjust their messaging, track changes in impression share and position above rate through Google Ads Auction Insights. These metrics reveal how ad copy changes impact campaign performance.

Ad Copy Evolution

Top performers regularly rotate ad variations based on:

• Seasonal shopping trends
• Peak conversion periods
• Competitor offer changes

After identifying successful competitor patterns, create variations of your top-performing ads. For instance, if competitors shift toward sustainability messaging during Earth Month, test similar themes while maintaining your unique value proposition.

5. Analyze Landing Pages for Conversion Optimization

While PPC campaigns drive traffic and potential buyers to your client’s website, good ad copy is only half the job. The conversion-optimized landing page will help to improve ROI on your ad campaigns.

The landing page analysis consists of two main parts – exploring competitor content and user experience.

AIDA Framework

Apply the Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) model to competitor landing pages. Evaluate:

• Headlines – do they grab attention immediately?
• Content –  is the messaging clear and persuasive?
• Design – are visual elements guiding users toward conversion?
• CTAs – are they prominent and compelling?

User Experience (UX)

User experience and interface also play a vital role in conversion. By exploring competitors’ landing pages from the UX/UI side, you can identify design elements, navigation structures, and content layouts that enhance usability and drive engagement. You’ll also be able to:

• Assess loading speeds using Google PageSpeed Insights.
• Evaluate mobile responsiveness and ease of navigation.
• Analyze exit pop-ups and special offers.
• Identify banners, live chat, and other features that improve bounce rate.
• Find testimonials and trust badges competitors use to boost conversions.

6. Evaluate Audience Targeting and Demographics

The difference between average and exceptional PPC performance often lies in audience understanding. Seasoned practitioners go beyond basic demographics to analyze purchase intent signals, device preferences, and browsing patterns across different platforms.

Audience Profile Intelligence

Audience profiling starts with digital body language, which reveals crucial targeting opportunities. Users who interact with specific product categories or pricing pages signal their position in the buying journey. Tracking these behavioral patterns will help refine the targeting approach.

Then, there are cross-device behavior patterns that offer another layer of insight. Mobile-first users often show different conversion patterns than desktop users. Understanding these variations helps optimize bid adjustments and ad scheduling.

Facebook Ads Manager provides a wealth of demographic and psychographic data about your audience, including age, gender, interests, behaviors, and even life events. Track Facebook Ads metrics like reach, engagement, and website clicks to understand how different audience segments respond to your ads. This granular data allows for precise targeting and optimization of your Facebook campaigns.

Use tools like Google Ads Auction Insights or Semrush to analyze how competitors adjust messaging and bidding strategies across devices or behaviors. These tools reduce manual effort by highlighting gaps, such as underperformance on mobile during peak hours or missed opportunities to target high-intent shoppers.

Opportunity Mapping

Track cost metrics by area to identify high-potential markets with lower advertising costs.

Seasonal patterns inform targeting refinements:

• Monitor year-over-year performance changes.
• Track audience engagement fluctuations.
• Adjust budgets for peak conversion periods.
• Anticipate competitive pricing shifts.

Timing influences campaign success across segments. B2B campaigns typically perform better during business hours and weekdays, while B2C advertising sees stronger engagement on evenings and weekends.

Regional Performance Analysis

Geographic data from Google Ads Auction Insights reveals valuable opportunities in different markets. You’ll often find competitors maintain varying presence across locations, creating opportunities for strategic expansion.

Geographic Analysis Tools

For instance, an eco-friendly yoga mat retailer might notice these regional patterns:

• Los Angeles: High competitor presence, premium pricing
• New York: Limited competition, higher conversion rates
• Miami: Strong seasonal trends, value-focused messaging

Understanding these patterns helps adjust location-based bid strategies. When competitors show weaker presence in certain areas, you can capture market share through targeted campaigns with location-specific messaging.

Regional Targeting Strategy

Start by identifying areas where competitors maintain strong presence versus regions they may overlook. High-value markets often show these patterns:

• Above-average conversion rates
• Lower cost-per-click rates
• Strong seasonal performance
• Limited competitor presence

Use auction insights data broken down by location to spot opportunities. For example, if major competitors reduce presence in specific regions during off-peak hours, adjust your bidding strategy to maintain consistent visibility during these windows.

7. Monitor Competitors’ Remarketing Strategies

Display network analysis shows fascinating trends in remarketing behavior. While some advertisers blast high-frequency ads across all platforms, top performers take a more surgical approach.

Bid higher when your client’s audience is most active to save budget and prevent increased brand keyword costs. However, be mindful of ad fatigue, which the audience experiences around the 5th to 7th day of the remarketing campaign.

Rotate creative assets before this threshold to keep the message fresh while maintaining brand recognition. The most effective campaigns typically run three to four creative variations simultaneously, each speaking to a different customer pain point.

Platform-Specific Remarketing Tactics

Different platforms demand unique remarketing approaches, each supported by data-driven strategies:

• Google’s Display Network excels with clear, value-focused messaging. Benefit-led headlines paired with quantifiable offers, such as “Save 50% Today”, consistently outperform brand-focused messaging.
• Social platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn require content that blends seamlessly with organic posts. Remarketing ads that align with users’ casual, discovery-focused scrolling behavior tend to see significantly better engagement.
• YouTube remarketing campaigns perform well when targeting mid-length videos in popular categories like how-to guides and product reviews. Strategies like advanced frequency capping, which limits exposure after multiple skips in a short period, can enhance overall campaign efficiency by focusing on more engaged viewers.
• TikTok’s remarketing utilizes its sophisticated algorithm to deliver highly targeted ads in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle sectors. Its ability to connect with Gen Z audiences makes it a standout platform for driving high click-through rates and even higher ROI in the FMCG industry.

8. Competitors’ Messaging

Competitor remarketing ads often provide a window into their messaging priorities. Evaluate whether their ads genuinely add value beyond the initial engagement. Are they addressing customer objections, offering time-sensitive discounts, or reinforcing their unique selling propositions (USPs)?

To outperform your competition, design remarketing ads that re-engage users and move them closer to conversion.

Create ads highlighting solutions to your audience’s common objections or concerns. Showcasing testimonials, case studies, or awards can also help win over clients still in consideration.

9. Identifying Trends

Recognizing peak traffic patterns is essential for optimizing PPC campaigns. Although certain high-traffic times may vary by industry, common spikes are often influenced by factors such as:

• Major shopping events. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or days before Christmas drive significant eCommerce traffic spikes, requiring strategic bid adjustments and budget allocation. Monitor real-time performance metrics to maintain visibility when competition intensifies.
• Weather and seasonal changes influence consumer behavior across industries. Analyze year-over-year data to identify recurring patterns in CPC, search volume, and conversion rates. Even established businesses may have untapped seasonal opportunities.
• Daily and weekly patterns vary by industry and target audience. B2B campaigns often perform better during business hours, while B2C engagement peaks during evenings and weekends.

After identifying these trends, you can analyze how competitors adjust their bids, budgets, and ad strategies during peak times to give your clients an advantage.

Key Optimization Strategies

• Adjust daily budgets 2-3 weeks before anticipated traffic spikes.
• Create season-specific ad copy and landing pages.
• Target seasonal keywords with dedicated campaigns.
• Monitor competitor spending patterns to maintain market share.
• Set automated bid adjustments based on historical performance data.

10. Budget Allocation Insights

Combine third-party tools like Ahrefs, Similarweb, and Semrush with industry benchmarks to get a clearer picture of where competitors are directing their ad dollars. Use this information to identify areas your clients might need to adjust their strategies.

Break down budget allocation into actionable steps for your clients:

• Allocate a portion of the budget to experimental campaigns targeting new keywords or audiences.
• Reserve 10-15% of the budget for retargeting campaigns to maximize conversions from previous website visitors.
• Plan resources for A/B testing ad copy, landing pages, and bidding strategies to improve campaign performance continuously.

11. Quality Score Analysis

Quality Score directly impacts your advertising costs and position in the auction. While many advertisers focus on bid adjustments, understanding competitor Quality Scores provides opportunities to reduce costs while improving ad positions.

Strategic Quality Score Analysis

Start in Google Ads by adding Quality Score columns to your keywords tab. Export data weekly to track changes in landing page experience, ad relevance, and expected CTR. When competitors consistently outrank you with lower bids, they’re likely achieving higher Quality Scores.

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Quality Score Components

Landing Page Analysis

Visit competitor landing pages through Google Ads Preview tool and analyze:

• Mobile load time using PageSpeed Insights
• Keyword placement in headlines and content
• Call-to-action visibility and placement
• Mobile responsiveness score

Implementing Quality Score Improvements

An eco-friendly yoga mat retailer noticed competitors achieving better positions despite lower bids. Analysis showed their landing page loaded in 2.2 seconds versus 3.8 seconds for the client. Their pages featured exact-match keywords prominently and maintained consistent messaging from ad to landing page.

The optimization plan focused on:

1. Technical improvements to match competitor load times
2. Headline adjustments for better keyword alignment
3. Mobile experience optimization based on competitive analysis

Read our complete guide on Google Ads optimization checklist

Quality Score Analysis Tools

This structured approach to Quality Score analysis makes it easier to find ways to improve and to keep a clear record of the optimizations we’ve made. Campaigns can remain competitive by monitoring them regularly as market conditions change.

Read which Google Ads metrics is the most important to track, for you and for your client.

Presenting PPC Competitor Analysis to Clients

Clients want to know that your competitor analysis isn’t just an academic exercise; it’s driving tangible results. Focus your reports on actionable insights that clearly demonstrate how your understanding of the competitive landscape is informing your strategies and delivering ROI.

When presenting your PPC audit findings to clients, use competitor analysis data to demonstrate the value of your audit and the impact of your recommended changes.

Key metrics to include in client reports:

• Impression share and average position trends (showing improvement against competitors).
• Share of voice in target markets (highlighting gains or areas for growth).
• Keyword overlap and gap analysis (demonstrating how you’re capitalizing on opportunities).
• Ad copy evolution patterns (illustrating how you’re adapting to the competition).
• Auction insights with anonymized competitor data (providing context for performance).

Don’t just present data in isolation. Use platforms like Swydo to create reports that directly link competitor insights to your client’s campaign performance. 

For example, show how identifying a competitor’s weakness in a specific keyword category (revealed through competitor analysis data) led to a targeted campaign that increased your client’s conversions by X%. 

Swydo’s customizable reports allow you to weave this narrative, showcasing the direct impact of your competitive intelligence.

Swydo’s integrations with Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and TikTok Ads make it easy to gather and present this cross-platform data in a clear and compelling way. Its customizable reports allow you to weave a narrative that showcases the direct impact of your competitive intelligence on each platform, proving the ROI of your analysis

These reports make it easy to visualize the connection between competitor actions, your strategies, and your client’s results through charts, tables, and clear annotations.

Prove the ROI of your competitor analysis. Start your 14-day free trial of Swydo and build reports that tell a compelling story.

Best Tools for Competitor Identification & Analysis

Identifying your client’s competitors might seem as easy as searching on Google. However, you can use tools that provide valuable metrics with just a few clicks if you don’t want to spend hours analyzing your competitors manually.

These tools can often also provide valuable insights into your PPC competitor analysis, so you can hit two targets with one shot.

Meta Ad Library

The Meta Ad Library helps you review competitors’ active campaigns and identify various ad formats, messaging styles, and calls-to-action (CTAs) that competitors are using to engage their audience.

If you’re running ad campaigns on Meta’s social media platforms, Ad Library will also help you review competitors’ ad creatives and copy while also identifying the best-performing formats, like videos, single images, or carousels.

Google Ads Transparency Center

The Google Ads Transparency Center provides detailed information about active and past advertising campaigns across Google’s advertising network.

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn Ads offers a deeper dive into competitors’ ad creatives, targeting parameters, and engagement metrics.

TikTok Creative Center

The TikTok Creative Center helps advertisers analyze the competition on the rapidly growing social media platform.

Semrush

While some marketers might say that Semrush only helps with SEO-related tasks, PPC managers can also gain in-depth insights into their competitors’ online strategies. Here are the top metrics you can explore when working on PPC competitor analysis:

With its Traffic Analytics feature, you can identify your competitors’ main traffic sources, such as organic search, paid ads, social media, and direct visits. This helps you understand where your rivals are focusing their efforts and identify the top traffic sources.

Semrush also provides historical data on ad campaigns, enabling you to analyze your competitors’ advertising strategies over certain period.

SpyFu

With SpyFu, you can easily see what your competitors are up to with their paid ads and keywords. You can instantly view a competitor’s historical PPC campaigns, including keywords they targeted, ads they ran, and their estimated monthly budget.

Additionally, SpyFu helps you to explore other helpful metrics, including:

The platform also offers competitive domain analysis, which allows you to compare multiple competitors side by side.

Google Ads Auction Insights

Google Ads Auction Insights is essential for understanding how your paid search campaigns compare to similar ads from your client’s competitors. The tool helps you to gather information on these metrics:

Additionally, the tool highlights areas where you may miss opportunities, such as lower impression share due to budget or bid limitations. With Auction Insights, businesses can make data-driven decisions, adjust bids, improve ad quality, or expand keyword targeting on the go.

Competitor Research Ultimate Checklist

Once you’ve completed the PPC competitor analysis, review the checklist of the most important tasks to ensure you’ve completed everything. We recommend saving this list and checking it when reviewing your clients’ PPC campaigns.

Key Takeaways

A comprehensive PPC competitor analysis is essential for maximizing the impact of your campaigns, staying ahead of competitors, and achieving a better return on investment (ROI). While it might take an hour or two for every client, your analysis will help you save hours when building new campaigns and optimizing existing ones.

• Identify competitors – focus on both direct and indirect competitors to understand market dynamics and uncover audience overlaps.
• Keyword gaps – use tools like Semrush to identify high-performing keywords and niche opportunities for cost-effective targeting.
• Ad copy and CTAs – differentiate messaging by analyzing competitor tone, CTAs, and unique offers to boost engagement and conversions.
• Landing page optimization – ensure responsive, user-friendly designs and compelling CTAs for improved conversion rates.
• Audience targeting – refine campaigns using insights from competitor demographics, behaviors, and missed opportunities.
• Build visual reports – use platforms like Swydo to present valuable insights and needed improvements to your clients in an easy-to-digest manner.
• Integrate SEO and PPC: Recognize the synergy between SEO and PPC. Use insights from both channels to inform your keyword strategy, optimize your landing pages, and maximize your overall online visibility