Google Ads Competitor Analysis: Spying on Competitor Keywords

Your competitors are the best market research team you never hired. They have spent thousands of dollars A/B testing headlines, offers, and keywords. When they find a winner, they scale it.

If you are not actively monitoring their ad account structure, you are starting from zero while they are starting from experience.

But simply "typing their name into Google" is not analysis. It is anecdote. To win the war, you need Competitive Intelligence (CI).

In this guide, we will deploy the Competitor Mirror Framework, showing you exactly how to download their keyword list, clone their high-performing landing pages, and bid on their brand terms without starting a bidding war you can't afford.

The Financial Logic of Conquesting

Why bid on a competitor's brand name? Because the user searching for "Salesforce" is already "Solution Aware" and "Product Aware." They have their credit card in hand. You just need to say, "Before you buy that, look at this."

The Conquest ROI Formula:

$$ \text{ Conquest ROI} = \frac{(\text{LTV} \times \text{Conversions}) - (\text{Conquest CPC} \times \text{Clicks})}{\text{Legal Risk Cost}} $$

If you can steal a customer with a Lifetime Value (LTV) of $5,000 for a Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) of $200, you execute that strategy every single day.

Theory: The Auction Insights Report

Google gives you free competitor data, but most advertisers ignore it. Auction Insights tells you:

1. Impression Share: How often they show up vs. you.
2. Overlap Rate: How often you are in the same auction.
3. Position Above Rate: How often they rank higher than you.
4. Top of Page Rate: How aggressive their bidding is.

If you see a competitor with 90% Top of Page Rate, you know they are using a "Target Impression Share" bid strategy. You can drain their budget by forcing them to overpay for that top spot.

Framework: The Competitor Mirror Matrix

Do not just copy. Mirror and Pivot.

| Layer | What They Do | Your Counter-Move (The Pivot) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Keywords | Bidding on generic "CRM" | Bid on "Best CRM Alternative" | | Ad Copy | "Join 10,000 Users" (Social Proof) | "Rated #1 for Ease of Use" (Feature superiority) | | Offer | "Get a Demo" | "Start Free Trial - No Card Required" (Friction removal) | | Landing Page | Long-form sales letter | Interactive Calculator / Tool |

Execution: The 4-Step Spy Operation

Step 1: Using "Auction Insights" for Target Identification

1. Go to Campaigns → Auction Insights (Tab).
2. Sort by Overlap Rate.
3. Identify the top 3 rivals who are actually in your auctions (not just the big brands you think are rivals).

Step 2: The Transparency Center Exploit

Google now requires verification. This is a goldmine for you.

1. Search for your competitor on Google.
2. Find their ad.
3. Click the tiny three dots icon next to the URL.
4. Click "See more ads by this advertiser".
5. You are now in the Google Ads Transparency Center. You can see every single ad they have run in the last 30 days. You can filter by Video, Image, or Text.
   • Action: Screenshot their headlines. Look for patterns. Are they all mentioning "20% Off"? That's their offer.

Step 3: Mining Keywords with Keyword Planner

1. Go to Tools → Planning → Keyword Planner.
2. Select "Start with a website".
3. Paste your competitor's Landing Page URL (not home page).
4. Google will spit out the keywords it thinks that page is relevant for.
5. Download the list. This is their SEO and PPC keyword map.

Step 4: The "Target Outranking Share" Bidding Strategy

If you absolutely must beat one specific competitor (e.g., a personal vendetta or market dominance play).

• Create a Portfolio Bid Strategy.
• Choose Target Impression Share.
• Select Reference competitor features. (Note: Google officially sunset the direct "Target Outranking Share" automated strategy, so you now achieve this manually by setting a Target Impression Share > 90% and monitoring the Auction Insights report daily).
• (Reference: Google Bidding Updates https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2472712).

Advanced Strategy: The "Custom Intent" Trojan Horse

You can target people on YouTube who recently searched for your competitor's keywords. This is cheaper than Search Conquesting.

1. Go to Audiences → Custom Segments.
2. Create New.
3. Choose "People who searched for any of these terms on Google".
4. Enter your Competitor's Brand Terms: competitor login, competitor pricing, competitor alternatives.
5. Apply this audience to a Video Action Campaign (YouTube).

The Result: The user searches for "Competitor X" on Google. They don't click anything. 5 minutes later, they go to YouTube. BAM. Your video ad plays: "Still looking for a Competitor X alternative? See why we are 50% cheaper." You hijacked the intent without paying the expensive Search CPC.

Case Study: The "David vs. Goliath" SaaS Battle

Client: New Project Management Tool (Budget: $15k/mo) Competitor: Monday.com (Budget: Unlimited)

The Strategy: We couldn't outbid them on "Project Management Software" ($30 CPC).

1. We ran an Auction Insights report and saw Monday.com dominating.
2. We identified their weak point: Complexity. Users complained it was "too hard to setup."
3. We launched a Conquest Campaign on [monday.com alternative].
4. Ad Copy Pivot: "Monday.com is Too Complex? Try the Simple Alternative."
5. Offer: "Import your Monday board in 1 click."

The Result:

• Captured 15% of their "Alternative" traffic.
• CPA: $65 (vs $150 on generic terms).
• Conversion Rate: 8% (High intent).

Pitfalls to Avoid

1. The Legal Cesspool

You CAN bid on a competitor's trademark keyword. You CANNOT use their trademark in your Ad Copy.

• Okay: Keyword [Nike Shoes]. Ad: "Best Running Shoes."
• Illegal: Ad: "Better than Nike." Google will disapprove your ad immediately for "Trademark Policy." (Reference: Google Trademark Policy https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6118?hl=en).

2. The "Ego Bidding" Trap

Do not bid on a competitor just to beat them. If their customers are low quality or churn continually, you are paying to acquire bad customers. Always measure the LTV of conquested leads separately.

3. Ignoring "Partner" Traffic

Competitors might be bidding on the Display Network or Search Partners. Use similarweb or SpyFu (paid tools) if you want to see outside the Google ecosystem.

Summary

Competitor analysis is not about copying; it's about finding the gap in the armor.

Your War Room Checklist:

1. Check Auction Insights today. Who is actually stealing your impressions?
2. Visit the Transparency Center and build a Swipe File of their creative.
3. Use Keyword Planner to scrape their landing pages for terms.
4. Launch a Custom Intent YouTube campaign targeting their searchers.

Do not play fair. Play to win.