In online advertising, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are a potent force for driving traffic and conversions. With fierce competition fighting for the same clicks, how can you ensure your PPC efforts stand out? The answer lies in conducting a thorough PPC competitor analysis.

This guide will equip you with the knowledge and tools to dissect your rivals' strategies and then leverage those insights to supercharge your own campaigns.

Most of this guide will be specific to PPC search ads, but many of the ideas can apply to PPC display ads too.

What is PPC Competitor Analysis?

PPC competitor analysis is the process of examining your competitors' strategies, tactics, and performance of their online ad campaigns. Done right, it help you to:

  1. Identify gaps in your own approach
  2. Discover new opportunities in the market
  3. Benchmark your performance against industry standards
  4. Refine your targeting and messaging

By understanding what works (and what doesn't) for your competitors, you can make data-driven decisions to optimize your campaigns and spend your budget more effectively.

The Importance of Monitoring Online Behavior and Demographics

Keeping a close eye on online consumer behavior and demographic trends could be a tipping point in your PPC strategy. Why? Because understanding who is clicking—and why—can make the difference between a campaign that soars and one that flounders.

Not all audiences are created equal, and your ideal customer profile (ICP) may differ quite a bit from your competitors'. By diving into demographics and behavioral patterns, you can:

  • Uncover trends that may impact campaign performance
  • Spot untapped audience segments that call for specific messaging
  • Avoid wasted spend by ensuring your ads reach the most relevant users

It’s also worth noting that the business you originally considered your biggest competitor might actually have less audience overlap than expected. Careful investigation helps you fine-tune your targeting, identify missed opportunities, and ultimately build campaigns that speak directly to the right crowd.

Identify Your PPC Competitors

Part of the analysis is knowing the sites you're up against.

Why Segment Your PPC Competitors?

Not all competitors are created equal. Breaking your competition into clear segments—direct, indirect, affiliates, and resellers—creates a sharper, more strategic foundation for your analysis.

  • Tailor Your Approach: Identifying whether a competitor directly offers the same service or solves the customer’s problem in a different manner lets you adjust your messaging, ad copy, and even your offer structure more precisely.
  • Guard Against Threats: Learning which groups represent the most immediate threat (like direct competitors) versus those with less of an overlap, you can focus your effort and budget in the most impactful places.
  • Monitor Affiliate Impact: Segmenting out affiliates and marketing partners shows where your brand visibility is amplified—or diluted—by third-party promoters. It can reveal potential areas for collaboration or concern.
  • Identify Channel Overlaps: With resellers and comparison shopping engines in their own buckets, you can see whether your products or services are being promoted or priced competitively elsewhere, and take steps to manage pricing integrity or partnership agreements.

This precise segmentation helps you to benchmark more accurately and hypertarget your messaging. Those open up competitive advantages that generic, one-size-fits-all approaches often miss.

Here are some methods to pinpoint your PPC competitors:

Keyword Research

Start by identifying the keywords you're targeting or considering for your PPC campaigns. Tools like SpyFu can show you which advertisers are bidding on these keywords.

It's an easy search: type the keyword into the SpyFu search bar, click the Advertiser History tab to see top advertisers over time.

This approach helps you find competitors who are directly vying for the same audience.

Market Research

Next, expand beyond direct keyword competitors. Look at businesses offering similar products or services in your target market. They might be using different keywords but still competing for the same customers.

Competitive Intelligence Tools

You can also speed through that research by turning to specialized tools that are designed for PPC competitor research. Platforms like SpyFu and Ahrefs offer features that seek out your top PPC competitors based on shared keywords, ad spend, and other metrics.

With most of these tools, you can start with a keyword or with a specific domain to kick of your research. You will find related keywords and related domains to research even further. When you start, keep an eye out for these data points:

  • Search volume: See which keywords drive the most traffic.
  • Cost-per-click (CPC): Gauge how much competitors are paying for each click.
  • Competition level: Assess how crowded the ad space is for each keyword--currently and over time.
  • Organic vs. paid keywords: Determine if they rely more on paid ads or organic SEO.
  • Estimated monthly clicks: Understand the scale of their campaigns.

Gathering Competitor Data

Once you've identified your competitors, it's time to collect data. Focus on gathering information about:

  • Keywords: The keywords your competitors are bidding on.
  • Ad Copy: The text and creatives used in their ads.
  • Landing Pages: The design, content, and call-to-action (CTA) elements of their landing pages.
  • Bidding Strategies: The estimated cost-per-click (CPC) that they set for different keywords

Tip: I mentioned SpyFu with an emphasis on search ads. However, AdBeat is a great resource for display ads, and Google Ads Auction Insights can provide valuable data to help you round out your research.

Where Competitors Are Running PPC Campaigns

Now that you’ve gathered a list of competitors, the next step is to determine exactly where they’re putting their ad dollars to work. Understanding the channels and contexts they prioritize can help you focus your efforts where they matter most.

Key Factors to Consider

  • Ad Platforms: Are your competitors bidding heavily on Google Ads, venturing into Microsoft Advertising, or going after audiences on social networks like Facebook and Instagram? You might also spot them using retargeting networks or niche platforms suited to your industry.
  • Geographic Focus: Check if your competitors are targeting local markets, running regional campaigns, operating nationwide, or going global. SpyFu gives you extensive global coverage, and SimilarWeb can help you spot geographic coverage in smaller local areas.
  • Timing and Seasonality: Take note of when their ads are most active. Are their campaigns running around the clock, or do they gear up during peak seasons, holidays, or major sales events? Some advertisers even pause campaigns on weekends or late nights to maximize ROI.
  • Device Targeting: See whether their campaigns lean toward mobile users, desktop browsers, or cover both. This can point to user behavior trends in your space and reveal areas you might want to emphasize.

As you dissect these elements, you’ll uncover not only where your competitors are competing for attention, but also where opportunities might be hiding for you to stand out.

Analyze Competitor Keywords

Keywords form the backbone of any PPC campaign, and a thorough analysis of your competitors' keyword strategies can give you some valuable insights. By drilling into the keywords they buy, you might discover high-performing keywords that have slipped under your radar. Or, you might identify long-tail opportunities with less competition. Good discoveries aren’t limited to new keywords either. This analysis can help you refine your campaign by revealing potential negative keywords to exclude.

To conduct a comprehensive keyword analysis, use tools like SpyFu or Ahrefs. These platforms allow you to delve deep into your competitors' keyword lists, revealing patterns in their targeting strategies. As you sift through this data, keep an eye out for any gaps in their keyword coverage—these represent prime opportunities for your own campaigns.

Spotting Keyword Opportunities

When analyzing your competitors' keywords, focus on several key factors to identify the most promising opportunities. Search volume and competition levels are strong indicators of a keyword's potential value. High-volume keywords with relatively low competition can be golden opportunities, but don't overlook lower-volume terms that align closely with your offerings.

These are often long tail terms with higher conversion rates. They don’t get a lot of volume, but if you nail the answer to their search, expect more clicks.

Inside Tips from Your Competitors

Pay attention to seasonal trends and fluctuations in keyword popularity. Some keywords may spike during certain times of the year, presenting opportunities for timely, targeted campaigns. This is the exact kind of insight you can only get when you analyze what’s working for your competitors. Their buying habits will point to seasonality and popularity.

Additionally, look into your competitor’s average ad position and estimated CPC for various keywords. This information can help you gauge the kind of budget needed to compete effectively for specific terms.

Examine Competitor Ad Copy and Creative

Your ad copy is often the first interaction potential customers have with your brand. This is your chance to hook a potential customer’s attention apart from everyone else, so you need to know what you’re up against. Analyzing your competitors' ad creative can provide inspiration and insights for improving your own.

When examining competitor ads:

  1. Note the unique selling propositions (USPs) they highlight
  2. Note any ad extensions they use
  3. Look for stand-out calls-to-action (CTAs)
  4. Pay attention to their use of tone, emotional triggers or urgency

Tools like AdEspresso (for Facebook and Instagram ads) and SpyFu (Google search ads) can help you track and analyze competitor ad copy over time, allowing you to spot trends and test new approaches. SpyFu tracks copy changes, giving you a peek into past messaging that your competitors decided to drop. Remember to roll “lessons learned” into your PPC approach.

Evaluate Competitor Landing Pages

The landing page is where the conversion magic happens. Analyzing your competitors' landing pages can reveal best practices and areas for improvement in your own conversion funnel. Optimizing your own page with these findings can boost your conversion rates.

Landing Page Elements to Evaluate

  • Design: Look at the layout, color scheme, and overall design.
  • Content: Evaluate the messaging, headlines, and supporting content.
  • CTA: Analyze the placement, design, and wording of CTAs.

Tools like Unbounce and Instapage offer competitive analysis features that can help you benchmark your landing pages against industry standards.

Bring Device Targeting into Play

Segmenting Keyword Lists by Device Based on Competitor Insights

Device matters a lot in PPC strategy. What works for desktop doesn’t always translate to mobile, and your competitors know this. As you analyze their campaigns, pay close attention to how they segment keyword targeting between devices.

  • Separate Your Keyword Lists: If you spot your competitors bidding aggressively on certain keywords only for mobile, or vice versa, consider following suit. For example, quick-action intent phrases like “near me” or “open now” tend to perform better on mobile devices, while longer research queries might be reserved for desktop users.
  • Customize for User Behavior: Notice differences in how keyword intent changes by device. Mobile searchers may be looking for fast answers or store locations, while desktop users might perform deeper comparisons. Segment your keyword lists accordingly to target these distinct behaviors.
  • Monitor Competitor Patterns: Use tools like SpyFu or Ahrefs to see which keywords your competitors designate for mobile versus desktop. Identify any device-specific bids, and adapt your own lists to capitalize on trends they may be missing—or to challenge their dominance in a particular space.

Segmenting your keywords by device lets you deliver ads that better fit user context, improve relevance, and ultimately stretch your budget further. Analyzing how competitors approach device targeting gives you a playbook for what’s working in your vertical.

Analyze Competitor PPC Performance

While you won't have access to your competitors' internal data, you can still gather valuable insights about their PPC performance from competitive research tools. Key metrics to track include:

  • Click-through rate (CTR)
  • Quality Score
  • Ad position
  • Estimated traffic and conversions

Use tools like Google Analytics and Mixpanel to benchmark your own performance against industry averages. This can help you set realistic goals and identify areas for improvement. Case in point: there isn’t one “good” click through rate in PPC ads. A 2.5% rate in one industry might be lucrative, and a 6% click through rate in another industry could be the middle-of-the road standard. Analyzing your competitors helps you know where to set your sights.

Leverage Insights from PPC Competitor Analysis

The true value of competitor analysis comes from your ability to apply the insights to your own strategy. Here are some ways to leverage your findings:

  1. Refine your keyword targeting based on competitor successes and gaps
  2. Improve your ad copy by incorporating effective elements from competitor ads
  3. Optimize your landing pages using best practices observed in competitor pages
  4. Adjust your bidding strategy to compete more effectively on high-value keywords

Tip: Not every battle is won with higher bids alone. Competitors may use advanced tactics, like refining their ad copy, improving click-through rates, or optimizing landing pages to improve their ad standings. Look beyond bid amounts and take the entire approach into consideration.

Remember, the goal isn't to copy your competitors, but to learn from their successes and mistakes to create a unique and effective PPC strategy. Find what they do well and emulate them with your own touches.

Common Mistakes in PPC Competitor Analysis

To ensure you're getting the most out of your analysis, avoid these common pitfalls:

  1. Focusing solely on direct competitors and ignoring indirect ones
  2. Neglecting to analyze mobile-specific strategies
  3. Failing to consider the full customer journey beyond the initial click
  4. Overreacting to short-term competitor tactics without considering long-term trends

By staying aware of these potential mistakes, you can conduct a more comprehensive and effective analysis.

Conclusion: Stay Ahead of the Game

PPC competitor analysis is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. This analysis is crucial because it provides insights that can help you refine your own PPC strategy, allowing you to bid smarter, write more compelling ads, and design landing pages that convert better.

The PPC landscape is dynamic, with new competitors entering the market and existing ones constantly refining their strategies. By regularly analyzing your competitors, you can stay agile and responsive to market changes.

Remember, the insights you gain from competitor analysis are just one piece of the puzzle. Combine them with your own data, industry knowledge, and creativity to craft a PPC strategy that not only keeps pace with your competitors but propels you ahead of the pack.