Pay-per-click, or PPC, is a digital advertising medium where advertisers pay a fee whenever someone clicks on their ads. Essentially, they’re paying for every visit their platform makes, whether it’s a landing page or a mobile app.
When your PPC works, such fees will no longer be significant. That’s because a successful click is worth more than its price. For example, if a click that costs USD$4 results in a USD$400 sale, then you’ve made a profit—a big one.
PPC campaigns appear in various shapes and sizes (e.g., text, videos, or images) and on different platforms such as search engines, websites, and more. If you’re looking for ways to improve your PPC strategy, you may seek ads experts for professional services and advice.
But how will you ensure the success of your marketing campaign? The answer is simple: conduct a PPC competitor analysis. With this, you’ll be able to target the right keywords, avoid ad overspending, and deliver your message in a captivating and engaging way.
This article will discuss everything you need to know about PPC competitor analysis and some helpful tips to make it work on your end. Read on to learn more.
Why Is PPC Competitor Analysis Important?
Competitor analysis is an essential part of any marketing strategy. You can use this to compare yourself with your competitors in terms of strengths, weaknesses, and market differences to stay ahead of the competition.
In addition, PPC competitor analysis is essential because:
👉 It helps identify the keywords your competitors are using. You can use the insights provided to pinpoint gaps in your PPC campaigns to save money.
👉 It helps adjust marketing benchmarks. With this, you’ll be able to find out more opportunities to improve your campaigns.
👉 It gives you an edge over the competition. Understanding your competitors’ ad strategy and copy always makes you one step ahead of them.
👉 It helps you explore new trends, ideas, and changes to grab your customers’ attention.
Conducting a competitor analysis also helps identify the direct and indirect competition. It’ll help you improve your ad position to outrank others on the search engine results page (SERP).
Identifying Your PPC Competitors
Identifying your competitors is arguably the most crucial step in competitor analysis. After all, what’s the purpose of doing all these if you don’t know who your competitors are? Here are some questions to answer:
✔️ Who’s Your Competition?
To find out your competitors, you need to reexamine your business details. What kind of products or services do you offer? Where is your business located? Who are the customers you serve?
You might have an idea of who your competitors are. Nevertheless, keep in mind that there’s a difference between your offline and online competitors.
✔️ What Kind Of Competitors Do You Have?
Once you’ve determined your competitors, it’s time to find out what kind of competitors they are. After all, comparing yourself to someone with more or less ad spending leaves may not make sense—it won’t be fair for both parties.
Below are some types of PPC competitors:
👉 Direct Competitors: Businesses offering similar products and services as you are
👉 Indirect Competitors: Businesses addressing similar concerns but in a different way
👉 Affiliate Partners: Platforms you and your competitors may use to advertise products and services for a fee
👉 Comparison Shopping Engines: Platforms that compile multiple products and services into one location for easy comparison
👉 Resellers: Individuals or businesses that may sell products and services similar to yours
Keep your eyes on keyword trends or run an activity comparison to produce more insights that can help improve your PPC campaigns.
✔️ Where Are You Competing With Them?
Keeping track of your competitors’ activities on every advertising platform on the internet would be impossible. When running a competitor analysis, you need to determine where your nemeses spend most of their time and resources.
Here are some questions to help you:
👉 Where can you find most of your competitors’ ads? In search engines or social media platforms?
👉 Do your competitors have campaigns for retargeting?
👉 Are your competitors competing locally or globally?
👉 Do your competitors turn off their ads during a particular day?
👉 Do your competitors boost their ads during special days and holidays?
You also need to find out your competitors’ choice of device. Do they prefer promoting their products and services on desktops, mobile devices, or a combination of both?
✔️ Why Are They Competing?
The last step of identifying your PPC competitors is to find out why they’re competing in the first place. At some point, you’ll encounter competitors that bid on keywords to price you out of the competition.
Conducting PPC Competitor Analysis
Once you’ve identified your competitors, you need to look at the following steps to learn more about them and their strategies:
✔️ Identify Your Competitors’ Keywords
A keyword research tool might help you accomplish this step. With this, you’ll be able to determine the potential of your keywords. It’ll also help you understand the difficulty of achieving the top spot in the SERP and your competitors’ PPC budget.
✔️ Analyze Your Competitors’ PPC Landing Pages
Analyze your competitors’ landing pages but never copy what they’re doing, especially if it means more harm than good to your PPC campaigns. Observe their keywords, ad copies, and calls to action, and check how these elements are used in their PPC campaigns.
Also, take note of the elements that may affect user experiences such as ad design and button placement. Identify what must be improved and apply what you’ve learned in your campaign.
✔️ Analyze The Quality Of Your Competitors’ Websites
Compare the functionality of your website to your competitors. Consider factors such as loading speed, calls to action, navigation, brand consistency, testimonials, etc. Then, analyze your website and check if there’s anything you can do to make yours superior to your competitors.
✔️ Track Your Competitors’ Ad Displays
Visit your competitors’ websites and see how their ads are displayed. Most likely, you’ll be welcomed by their remarketing campaigns. Analyze their ad copies, calls to action, images, and keywords, and incorporate some of their best practices into your PPC campaigns.
Final Thoughts
Understanding the competition in the world of PPC campaigns gives you a competitive advantage against your competitors. With this, you can improve your strategy so you’re always one step ahead of them.
You may apply some of your competitors’ best practices to your marketing strategy but never copy them. Always strive for originality to make you stand out in the market.
