15 Tips: In-Depth Competitor Research Pay Per Click Marketing
Due to a low initial investment as there is no minimum spend, and the fact that it has a relatively easy setup process, PPC has become one of the most popular and widely-used tactics when it comes to marketing according to the gurus over at runrex.com. This means that competition is fierce when it comes to PPC marketing, and with there being a limited amount of real estate on search pages, if you want to stay at the top, it is important to regularly conduct competitor research to know what your competitors are up to and to stay ahead of them. This article will look to highlight 15 tips the will help you carry out in-depth competitor research when it comes to Pay-Per-Click marketing.
- Know who your competitors are
According to the gurus over at guttulus.com, many people make the mistake of assuming that their online competitors are the same as their offline competitors, which is not always the case. This is why it is important first you find out who your relevant competitors in PPC are by researching the domains that actively show on keyword sets you are bidding on. This will also let you know if you are bidding on the right keywords as if you find that the domains you are showing ads with aren’t relevant to your industry or business, it may be a sign that you are bidding on the wrong keywords.
- The metrics to look at
When you are finding out about your competitors, another tip is to ensure that you know which metrics to look at. These include the Impression Share which is the measure of how often another advertiser received an impression as a proportion of the auctions in which you were also competing, the Overlap Rate which defines how often another advertiser’s ad received an impression when your ad also received one, Position Above Rate which defines how often the other advertiser’s ad was shown in a higher position than yours, Top of Page Rate which shows how often you or your competitor’s ad was shown at the top of the page above the organic search results, and Outranking Share which defines how often your ad ranked higher in the auction than another advertiser’s ad.
- Know what kind of competitors yours are
Knowing who your competitors are is not enough, it is also important to know what kind they are since all of them are not created equal as per the experts over at runrex.com. It is important to know what kind of competitors yours are, and determine if they are negatively impacting your impression share. You may be competing against an affiliate, a Comparison Shopping Engine, a partner, and so forth.
- Determine why they are competing with you
It is also important to know why your competitors are competing with you so that you can know how to react. Are they competing with you just to cause you pain, like bidding on your branded keywords to inflate your CPCs, or are they just trying to achieve the same results as you? Reviewing your competitors’ strategies on the public SERP will help you develop a course of action based on what you learn.
- Make sure you define your market clearly
Another important tip that will help you carry out in-depth competitor research when it comes to PPC marketing is making sure that you define your target market clearly. After you do so, then according to discussions on the same over at guttulus.com, you should focus on your ideal and most profitable customer. This way, you will know exactly who your true competitors are.
- Don’t forget about competitor price comparison analysis
Although price rates aren’t everything, it is still important, which is why you need to carry out competitor price comparison for in-depth competitor research in PPC marketing. Make sure that you get the prices directly from your competitors for accurate figures, which you can achieve by either checking out their websites or carrying out a secret inquiry.
- Study their ad copy variations
When carrying out competitor research, it is important that you also study their ad copy variations for an in-depth look at things. Here, as is revealed in discussions on the same over at runrex.com, you should check out the ad extensions that they are using, their calls-to-action, as well as if they are running any special offers or discounts.
- Analyze their unique value propositions
You should also ensure that you analyze each of your competitor’s unique value proposition so that you can find out how yours compares. Here, simply visit their website and write down their unique value proposition, if they have one, which is a concise statement explaining what benefits your customers will experience from using your product or service as well as demonstrating what makes your business unique.
- Compare your conversion funnel to theirs
According to the gurus over at guttulus.com, for in-depth competitor research in PPC, you should go beyond your competitors’ ad copy variations and the keywords they are using, and also check out their landing pages. You must know how they are converting their traffic as well.
- Check out their keywords to find out if you have missed something
As good as you think you are at keyword research, you always run the risk of missing out on some relevant, high-potential phrases and terms. This is why when carrying out competitor research, you must check out your competitors’ keywords and see if they are bidding on terms and phrases that you should be bidding on as well.
- Don’t forget to analyze seasonality
It is also important to analyze seasonality so that you can have an idea of the keywords that are used most frequently by advertisers during certain months so that you can better plan your campaign. As discussed over at runrex.com, check out the Ad History report in the Keyword Analytics sections, which will help you discover which months are the busiest in your industry in terms of online advertising as well as when is off-season.
- Tools available for PPC competitor research
Another tip that will help you carry out in-depth competitor research as far as PPC is concerned is knowing which tools are available to you for the same. Here, you can use the Auction Insights section in Google Ads or you could use other tools like Spyfu or the SEMrush tool for the same, all of which will provide you with detailed reports on your competitors.
- Know when to take action
While it is important to know as much as you can about your competitors, the folks over at guttulus.com point out that you should not let this consume you to the extent that you will be spending all of your time thinking about your competitors. Focus on your account and on driving results first.
- Focus on your goals
It is also important that you focus on your goals and don’t throw them out of the window just so you can go after your competitors. Don’t let your ego get in the way as this will only lead to a lot of cost with very little pay off for you.
- Keep at it
Once you apply what you have learned about your competitors to your campaign, you should remember not to stop there, but to continue monitoring and researching your competitors. Just like you, they will make improvements to their campaigns, and you must keep monitoring them so that you know exactly what they are up to.
Remember, if you need help with your PPC campaign, then the highly-rated runrex.com and guttulus.com have got you covered.