PPC spy tools are a crucial component of your marketing and competitor analysis toolkit. That is a truth, just like Trump’s hair resembles a small furry animal or that the planet is round. Our advice is to become a spy instead of being bashful because if you don’t, your rivals will!
Even though it may sound dishonest, spy tools are simply sophisticated research aids that help you save time and give you crucial rival information. Having a secret PPC spy card up your sleeve is not cheating—face, let’s it—you won’t be the only person employing these fantastic tools. Instead, it’s being shrewd.
The choice is where these tools really fall short. Choosing which PPC tool to use might be a big hassle because there are so many of them available. Thus, we enter the picture. We’ve compiled a list of 15 tools that would impress even Sherlock to assist you in finding the ideal PPC espionage tool that will give you an edge over the competition. Take a peek around and get ready to put together your arsenal for making effective paid marketing campaigns.
Alternately, go straight to the section you want to read:
- Google Search
- Google Display Network
- Social Media Ads
Google Search
You have a significant advantage in AdWords auctions by being aware of the top-performing keywords and average cost per click of your competition. Huge, like a blue whale. You can find dozens of fresh keyword suggestions and steal them from your competitor.
Observations to make when spying:
- Which keywords are your rivals spending the most money on?
- Which terms that appear to be effective for your rivals may you add to your account?
- Are you placing bids on any keywords that nobody else uses? (Just in case, you might want to look up the historical performance of this keyword.)
1. Your AdWords Account
Unexpectedly, the most crucial AdWords spy tool doesn’t set you back a lot of money and is available to everybody with a Google AdWords account for free. The list of domains, their impression share, average position, overlap rate, position above rate, top of page rate, and outranking share will all be displayed in the Audience Insights report. Set a solid basis for future keyword research using this tool. Make a list of your primary rivals, then use various AdWords spy tools to enter their domains to learn their best practices and trade secrets.
2. Follow
Follow is the ideal tool for thoroughly studying each competitor because it brings all competitor espionage capabilities together under one roof. Because Follow functions as a browser extension, using it is really easy. To gain competition insights, just visit a competitor’s landing page and enable the extension. Everything from website traffic statistics to PPC keywords to SEO success is covered in the following. Follow is the finest choice if you’re seeking a PPC surveillance tool that can do it all.
3. Serpstat
Serpstat is an excellent tool to have at your disposal if you want to stay one step ahead of your competitors. You can find a list of successful websites for the same competitive keywords as your business and even monitor their keyword trends. In order to find out what position these keywords occupy on which pages, you can go one step further and use Serpstat’s keyword map. Even better, Serpstat enables you to use keywords your rivals aren’t fully utilizing.
4. SpyFu
SpyFu is a fantastically thorough PPC research tool that will provide you with a wealth of industry-specific information. For instance, it will be helpful to find out which keyword groups your competitors use most frequently, how much money they spend on AdWords, and even viewing their past campaign history with PPC ad pictures. Cool, huh? Another great feature of SpyFu is its keyword overlap tool, which displays the percentage of your AdWords terms that overlap with those of your rivals.
5. SEMrush
You can find information about your competitors’ Product Listing Ads (PLAs) and YouTube activity in addition to the Google Search Network. SEMrush also provides you with an up-to-date summary of the SERP (Search Engine Result Pages) results in real-time.
6. iSpionage
When it comes to PPC espionage, espionage, which bills itself as the #1 AdWords spy tool, is one of the best. When looking for a competing domain, you can obtain comprehensive information on a competitor’s top-performing keywords. Even better, iSpionage will show you what your rivals are doing if you’re unsure of how to create effective PPC ad wording. This spy tool also allows you to keep an eye on the landing sites of your rivals and will let you know when anything changes.
7. KeywordSpy
Another excellent PPC surveillance tool is KeywordSpy, which can be used to find your rivals’ best-performing AdWords keywords. This might not be your preferred PPC research tool if you prefer incredibly simple user interfaces. However, during the free trial period, it has a tonne of essential information available.
8. SimilarWeb
SimilarWeb is a great addition to your toolkit because it covers a wide range of PPC research topics, from monitoring competitors’ keyword usage to optimizing landing pages. The most popular keywords for a domain will be shown in the Keywords section. Every keyword’s monthly search columns, CPC, and traffic production are visible. Additionally, SimilarWeb will direct you to the top lead generators of your competition by showing you whose landing pages are receiving the most PPC traffic.
Google Display Ads
Advertisers can use the Google Display Network to be innovative and use top-notch design to grab viewers’ attention. You might be able to find a brilliant remarketing idea because display advertising is a common remarketing medium.
- How much are your competitors spending on Display ads?
- What cool design ideas can you apply to your own campaigns?
- What are the top publisher sites the competing ads appear on? — Can you target the same publishers?
- Which display ads have run for the longest time? They’re the best-performing ones.
- Are your competitors running any split testing campaigns that you could learn from?
9. WhatRunsWhere
WhatRunsWhere will provide you with a fantastic insight into the media channels outside of AdWords that your competitors utilize in addition to Google Display Network ads (e.g. Media Buy and AppNexus). When you click on one of the Publisher sites, you can check who else is placing ads there and decide if there are any other placements you’d like to target.
10. Who Is Retargeting Me
Here is a fantastic little tool that can reveal who is specifically retargeting you. Simply visit the website, and it will display the businesses that are directing advertisements your way. How does this assist? Simple: By using some reverse engineering, you can draw some intriguing correlations. Do competitors retarget you specifically or generally, for instance, if you visit a specific page on their website? What kind of advertising do they run? What can you learn about their tactics?
11. Adbeat
Adbeat is a really effective tool for developing your Display ad strategy. Additionally, you may use Adbeat to observe your rivals’ Display ad split tests. Adbeat is a fantastic tool for spying outside of the Google Display Network because it has information on over 90+ ad networks. The monthly price for the Mobile-included package is $399. You can export all the data and utilize Adbeat for one month if you only need it once for research.
12. AdClarity for Display ads
Want to learn which competing Display advertisements are doing the best? Discover new sources of traffic? Boost the reach of your campaign. Clarity provides the resources to assist with each of these three Display advertising facets.
13. BoxOfAds
BoxOfAds is a wonderfully made PPC spy tool that provides you with a breakdown of the landing pages and creatives used by your rivals. You will have access to all of the ad creatives used by your rivals on tens of publisher websites. In the display ads section, you may view all of a competitor’s banner advertisements and information on where and how well they have been performing. The Text ads spying function on BoxOfAds displays all of the most recent advertisements from an advertiser.
14. MixRank
MixRank is a fantastic Android and iOS spy tool since it offers the largest mobile apps, developers, SDKs, technologies, services, and integrations database. It is undoubtedly one of the most striking newcomers. To provide you with the most recent information about the landing sites, campaigns, and technology of your rivals, MixRank crawls the internet. MixRank’s comprehensive search tool can assist you to find new players in the market if you want to find new rivals.
Social Media Ads
Facebook is by far the most widely used paid social media platform. Google and Facebook control more than 65% of all digital advertising spending, making them social media titans. Prior to beginning your Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram advertising campaign, identify the secret ingredient that makes your competitors’ ads so appealing to prospective clients. We dare you to try.
What to watch out for:
- Which sponsored social media platforms are your rivals using, and what is successful for them?
- Are desktop or mobile ads the most effective ad formats for your competitors?
- What value propositions do your rivals use? Are these offers at the top or bottom of the funnel?
- Which of your rivals’ advertising and posts receive the most interaction—are any of their strategies worth stealing?
- What draws their intended audience to the advertisements of your rivals?
- What demographics are your rivals using social media to target? Can you snatch their audience?
15. Adicted.io
The greatest database of Facebook ad examples in the world is Adicted.io. And it’s great. Take care when using. Adicted.io has the drawback of literally making you addicted to browsing all the creative advertisement concepts from the biggest businesses in the world. Before you start down this specific rabbit hole, it would be best to obtain some munchies.
Quick Summary:
It’s time to conduct some espionage now that you are fully informed about the top PPC tools and their fascinating features. Plan your next steps using the information you’ve obtained; nevertheless, don’t simply copy what your rivals are doing. Consider where and why they are spending the most money. The match is officially underway.