Let's put our PPC data up against Semrush – a comparison most users can benchmark pretty well.

I wanted to see what our newly expanded PPC dataset actually looks like in the wild. Not in isolation, but side by side with a familiar benchmark. So I lined up SpyFu against Semrush and started poking at real advertisers.

Semrush is a fair barometer. A lot of people know it. A lot of people trust it. If we’re going to claim we’ve moved into a different league with PPC data, this is how you test that theory.

And yes—we kept score.

Using Real Local Advertisers as Test Cases

I started with a simple local query: HVAC Phoenix. Local service businesses are where PPC data gaps show up fast, because these advertisers don’t always run massive, polished national campaigns.

I grabbed a real HVAC advertiser and dropped the domain into both platforms.

On Semrush: zero paid keywords.
On SpyFu: 73 paid keywords, complete with terms like “HVAC repair near me” and visible ad history.

So I kept going.

Another HVAC advertiser showed 220 paid keywords in Semrush. SpyFu surfaced 1,266.
Another showed 119 keywords vs. nearly 3,900.

A huge leap in keywords can only give you more thoughtful, well-rounded context to build on. You don't want to make critical campaign decisions based on spotty coverage.

Local PPC Is Where the Gap Gets Obvious

I stuck with local businesses because that’s where most advertisers actually live.

I switched to plumber in Denver and pulled up a real company.

Semrush showed one paid keyword.
SpyFu showed 277.

That’s not a rounding error. That’s a fundamentally different picture of how that advertiser is actually spending money on Google Ads.

Ad History Access (and the Paywall Reality)

At one point, I tried to open ad history inside Semrush.

Upgrade required. (Seriously?)

To get basic access to their ad data, you’re looking at another $120 per month. That’s just table stakes for seeing historical PPC activity.

Meanwhile, SpyFu includes this data by default. No upsell. No gated tabs. If you’re paying extra just to see ads, it’s worth reconsidering where your budget goes.

Giving Semrush Every Home-Field Advantage

To be fair, I analyzed Semrush’s own domain. If anyone should have full keyword coverage, it’s them.

Globally, Semrush reports about 26,000 paid keywords. In the US, around 15,000.

SpyFu shows 58,000.

I mean, that's the least cherry-pickingest domain of any cherry-picking anyone could possibly do. That’s beating them on their own turf.

When More Data Reveals Waste

Here’s where things get interesting.

When you have deeper PPC data, you don’t just count keywords—you start diagnosing problems.

Using SpyFu’s Google Ads Advisor, we looked at Semrush’s own paid keywords and flagged negative match opportunities. Keywords like “API,” “HTML,” “website builder,” and unrelated SaaS brands.

These aren’t edge cases either. Not only are these irrelevant, these are expensive, short-tail keywords that can quietly burn tens of thousands of dollars per month if they’re not filtered out.

More data doesn’t just tell you what someone is bidding on. It tells you what they shouldn’t be bidding on.

And that’s where recommendations start to matter.

Where This Is Going

The real takeaway isn’t “SpyFu has more keywords.” That's great to say, but that means so much more when you're using the tools.

Here's what I mean.

With expanded PPC coverage across Google advertisers, we can surface smarter recommendations for every domain—your competitors, your clients, your own accounts. Negative matches. Missed opportunities. Patterns that only show up once the data is deep enough.

And the more data we add, the sharper those recommendations get.

Right now, this is the strongest PPC dataset SpyFu has ever had. Realistically, it’s stronger than anything else available today. And now you can see exactly why—side by side.

We Can Do This All Day.

It's not the first time we've offered up a transparent, fair comparison of SpyFu vs. Semrush.

That focused on SEO research, and we're just as confident in our PPC chops. SpyFu customers have been in on the secret that they get more Google Ads insights at a far less expensive price.

Plus, SpyFu’s expanded PPC data dramatically increases paid keyword coverage, especially for local advertisers.

Deeper data enables smarter insights, including wasted spend and negative match opportunities.

We want to provide insights to you that make a difference in how well you perform. We take that seriously, and I hope this gives you the confidence to dive in knowing that you have a much bigger, clearer, action-driving picture than before.